I'm not an expert on equestrian costume or riding side-saddle, but I think these ladies ARE riding side-saddle. I can see the subtle outline of the right leg wrapped around the saddle horn with the left leg hanging more or less vertically. As for the skirt spreading, I have seen it done. At Bristol, Mary Kababik, who plays Queen Elizabeth, has ridden in the main parade on a side-saddle for the last 5 years and with the amount of fabric in her skirt it looks almost exactly like that. In this painting the ladies aren't riding perpendicular to the horse, they are riding more or less parallel wi the horse with their lower body turned slightly to the side.
Just my ha'penny's worth, Karen Seamstrix On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 19:08:23 -0600 "Diane Maynard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > I can tell you that that I believe that BOTH of these paintings are > of women > riding ASTRIDE. These are two of my favorite paintings and I have > duplicated both of these gowns for myself. It takes a LOT of > material to > make the skirts of these gowns. If one is riding side-saddle, the > gown will > not "envelope" the hind quarters of the horse the way these gowns > do. I > side saddle gown will literally hang to the side of the legs > (covering the > legs)and not cover the hindquarters of the horse. > > Diane > > > VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y > Queen Isabel of Bourbon Equestrian > 1634-35 > Oil on canvas, 301 x 314 cm > Museo del Prado, Madrid > http://www.wga.hu/art/v/velazque/05/0506vela.jpg > > VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y > Queen Margarita on Horseback > 1634-35 > Oil on canvas, 297 x 309 cm > Museo del Prado, Madrid > http://www.wga.hu/art/v/velazque/05/0503vela.jpg > > It's really hard for me to tell whether they're riding astride or > sidesaddle, but perhaps someone with more equestrian experience > could > venture. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
