The earliest known type of sidesaddle was a stuffed pillow that was attached to the back of a man’s saddle. This was called a “pillion”. The lady would have been positioned completely sideways on the horse. There are two short scenes in the movie “The Other Boleyn Girl” of ladies riding pillion.
Later a saddle was developed that had a foot rest and back rest. Often they also had hand holds in the front and back. Called a “planchette,” this would also place the rider sideways.
Two more Planchettes the left one was made by Jami Wormer
In the 1860s, a western sidesaddle was attributed to Charles Goodnight from the United States. He had a saddle made for his wife, built on a western-style tree. It was believed that the typical English saddle was not sturdy enough for the rough country out west. There are photos of Belle Starr (a notorious bandit and horse thief) on her sidesaddle, usually with her six-gun on her hip. Her saddle is believed to pre-date the Goodnight saddle.
The western sidesaddle often included a “purse” on the offside to hold the lady’s incidentals such as coins for tolls, a handkerchief, and, possibly, a small derringer for protection.
“Goodnight” style saddles
Some famous ladies who rode sidesaddle include Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and today’s Queen Elizabeth II. Other riders include Laura Ingles Wilder of “Little House on the Prairie” fame, Annie Oakley, and Sybil Luddington, who rode to warn of the British coming just like Paul Revere, except that she rode further and she didn’t get caught!
A Midsummer Nights Dream – Calista Flockhart 1999
*Adventures of Robin Hood – Errol Flynn 1938
The Agony and The Ecstasy – Charlton Heston 1965
Alice In Wonderland – Johnny Depp 2010
Amadeus – Tom Hulce 1984
*An Ideal Husband – Paulette Goddard 1948
*An Ideal Husband – Cate Blanchett 1999
Anne of The Thousand Days – Richard Burton 1969
Auntie Mame – Rosalind Russell 1958
Bandit of Sherwood Forest – Cornel Wilde 1946
The Barrets of Wimpole Street -Jennifer Jones 1957
Bedlam – Boris Karloff 1946
*Belle Starr – Gene Tierney 1941
Berkley Square – Leslie Howard 1933
Black Beauty – Mona Freeman 1946
*Black Beauty – Mark Lester 1971
The Black Knight – Alan Ladd 1954
The Black Swan – Maureen OHara 1942
The Bride – Jennifer Beales 1985
Buffalo Bill – Maureen OHara 1944
*Camelot – Vanessa Redgrave 1967
*Canyon Passage – Rita Hayworth 1946
Captain Blood – Errol Flynn 1935
The Castilian – Frankie Avalon 1963
Cimarron – Irene Dunne 1931
*Daniel Deronda – series Hugh Dancy 2002
David Copperfield – Freddie Bartholomew 1935
The Devil and Daniel Webster – Walter Huston 1941
Diane – Lana Turner 1956
Donkey Xote – animated 2007
*Downton Abbey – BBC series Season 1
Downton Abbey – BBC series Season 2
Downton Abbey – BBC series Season 5
The Eagle and The Hawk – Rhonda Fleming
*Elizabeth – Cate Blanchette 1998
*Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Cate Blanchett 2007
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights – Juliette Binoche 1992
*Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble – Jane Seymour 1999
Excalibur – Helen Mirren 1981
Far From The Madding Crowd – Julie Christie 1967
Felicity: An American Girl Adventure – John Schneider 2005
The Fighting Guardsman – Anita Louise 1945
First Knight – Sean Connery 1995
Fire Over England – Laurence Olivier 1937
*The Flambards – BBC series 1979
The Flame and The Arrow – Burt Lancaster 1950
For The First Time – Mario Lanza 1959
*Forsythe Saga – BBC series 2002
*Fort Apache – Shirley Temple 1948
The Four Feathers – Ralph Richardson 1939
The Four Musketeers – Michael York 1974
Giant – Elizabeth Taylor 1956
Gigi – Leslie Caron 1958
*Go West Young Lady – Glen Ford 1941
Gone With The Wind – Vivien Leigh 1939
Gormanghast – Christopher Lee Ep4 2000
Hidalgo – Vigo Mortensen 2004
*The Horse Soldiers – John Wayne 1959
The Illusionist – Jessica Biel
*The Inn of The Sixth Happiness – Ingrid Bergman 1958
*Ivanhoe – Robert Taylor 1952
Ivanhoe – BBC series 1997
Jezebel – Bette Davis 1938
Jane Eyre – Joan Fontaine 1943
Jane Eyre – William Hurt 1996
Jane Eyre – Toby Stevens BBC 2006
Jane Eyre – Mia Wasikowska 2011
Knights of The Round Table – Robert Taylor 1953
Lady Jane – Helena Bonham Carter 1986
*Lark Rise to Candleford BBC Ep10 2008
Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life – Angelina Jolie 2003
The List of Adrian Messenger – George C. Scott 1963
*Love Me Tonight – Jeanette McDonald 1932
Lust for Life – Kirk Douglas 1956
Madam Bovary – Jennifer Jones 1949
Madeleine – Ann Todd 1950
Mame -Lucille Ball 1974
*The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing – Burt Reynolds 1973
The Mark of Zorro – Frank Langella 1974
Mary of Scotland – Kathryn Hepburn 1936
*Mary Queen of Scots – Vanessa Redgrave 1971
Mask of The Avenger – John Derek 1957
Master of Ballantrae – Eroll Flynn 1953
*Mayerling – Omar Sharif 1968
*Miss Marple, Murder at The Gallop – Margaret Rutherford 1963
Mistress of Paradise – Genevieve Bujold 1981
Moonfleet – Stewart Granger 1955
Moulin Rouge – Jose Farrer 1952
*Mrs. Brown – Judi Dench 1997
Mrs Parkington – Grear Garson 1944
The Musketeers – BBC series Ep6 2014
Original Sin – Antonio Banderas 2001
*The Other Bolyen Girl – Natalie Portman 2008
Phantom of The Opera – Gerad Butler 2004
Pride & Prejudice – Colin Firth 1995
The Princess Bride – Robin Wright 1987
The Princess Diaries 2 – Anne Hathaway 2004
Rachael And The Stranger – Loretta Young 1948
The Remains of The Day – Anthony Hopkins 1993
Robin Hood – BBC series – Richard Greene 1955-1960
Robin Hood – Uma Thurman 1991
Robin Hood – Russell Crowe 2010
Robin Hood: Men In Tights – Richard Lewis 1993
Rogues of Sherwood Forest – John Derek 1950
*Scaramouche – Stewart Granger 1952
*The Scarlett Letter – Demi Moore 1995
The Sea of Grass – Kathryn Hepburn 1947
Sense & Sensibility – Hugh Grant 1995
*Shallako – Sean Connery 1968
Shakespeare In Love – Gwenyth Paltrow 1998
*She Wore A Yellow Ribbon – John Wayne 1949
Snow White: A Tale of Terror – Sigorney Weaver 1997
Siege of The Saxons – Janette Scott 1963
Stand Up and Fight – Robert Taylor 1939
Suspicion – Cary Grant 1941
Sword of Sherwood Forest – Richard Greene 1960
Sylvia Scarlett – Katherine Hepburn 1935
*The Taming of The Shrew – Elizabeth Taylor 1967
The Three Musketeers – Charlton Heston 1973
*The Tomb of Ligeia – Vincent Price 1965
*Tombstone – Kurt Russell 1993
Travels With My Aunt – Maggie Smith 1972
True Women – Angelina Jolie 1997
*Two Mules For Sister Sara – Clint Eastwood 1970
Valley of The Kings – Eleanor Parker 1954
The Virgin Queen – Bette Davis 1955
Wanted Dead Or Alive – Steve McQueen “Ransom for a Nun” 1958
War and Peace – Henry Fonda 1956
Western Union – Robert Young 1941
Wild Stallion – Ben Johnson 1952
Wings of The Morning – Henry Fonda 1937
Wives and Daughters – BBC series 1999
Wuthering Heights – Laurence Olivier 1939
Wuthering Heights – Ralph Finnes 1992
The Young Victoria – Emily Blunt 2009
Young Winston – Simon Ward 1972
*Zandys Bride – Liv Ullman 1974
