Western Women's Saddlery

In Europe, sidesaddles have been in use since the Middle Ages primarily to provide women the opportunity to ride with modesty. Over the centuries, women adapted sidesaddles to their personal preferences. In 1915, Mrs. Esther Stace, riding “aside,” cleared a 6’6” jump.

In the early days of Western American expansion, “no lady straddled a horse,” but many expert horsewomen rode the prairies, ranched, and performed trick riding in their sidesaddles. After witnessing a severe riding accident, Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), a well-known cattle rancher, approached his friend and expert saddle maker, S. C. Gallup (1834-1904), Pueblo, Colorado, to make a sidesaddle suitable for the Western rider’s needs. By 1870, the Goodnight-Gallup Sidesaddle was born and came into popular use in the American West.

Until this new version appeared, sidesaddles were dangerous, hard on the horses’ backs, and uncomfortable for the riders. The new Goodnight-Gallup sidesaddle was built on a standard man’s saddle tree—higher in front over the horse’s withers. It had double-layered, square skirts, a mohair double cinch, and a downward-facing, adjustable side horn--where the rider secured her left leg. These adaptations, along with the traditional adjustable stirrups, made for a better fit for the horse and a more solid seat for the rider. These saddles were also fancy, with floral tooling on the skirts, embroidered buckskin seats, and white angora side pockets.

The Museum’s new exhibit, Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy!, opening October 23, includes an S. C. Gallup #85 Western Sidesaddle, purported to have been purchased by Ludwig Ilfeld, Las Vegas businessman and supporter of the Cowboys’ Reunions, and offered to one of the Reunion Rodeo trick riders as a courting present. Alas, she spurned him.

Pat Romero
Guest Curator - Git Fer Vegas Cowboy! exhibit