Читать книгу The Horsewoman: A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed - Alice M. Hayes - Страница 12

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was invented about 1830 by M. Pellier, who was well known in Paris as a riding master. Its object is to help the rider to obtain security of seat by a fixed surface against which she can press the front and lower part of her left thigh. Before the invention of the leaping head, ladies had to rely entirely on the right leg for grip, and consequently few, if any of them, were able to hunt. Mr. John Allen, who wrote Modern Riding, in 1825, tells us that “the left leg is nearly, if not wholly useless; for though a stirrup is placed on the foot, the only use of it is to ease the leg a little, which, for want of practice, might ache by dangling and suspension.”

The following are the chief points to be considered about a leaping head:—

1. Its curve should be so arranged that the harder a lady presses against it, the more will her left leg be carried inwards, so that the flat (inside) of her knee may be brought in contact with the flap of the saddle (Fig. 12). An ordinary leaping head is curved, as a rule, in such a manner that when a rider seeks to obtain support from it by the pressure of her left leg, this limb is carried outwards, and she is able to get a point d’appui only at the extreme end of this projection (Fig. 13). It is evident that the closer the left leg is to the saddle, the firmer will be the seat. Besides, the more the left leg is brought outwards, the more weight will be put on the near side, which, as we shall see further on, is the very thing a rider ought to avoid.

2. The leaping head should be close to the upper crutch (Figs. 12 and 16). The usual plan of putting it much lower down (Fig. 15) tends to bring the weight to the near side, a fact which can be easily tested, especially in trotting, by trying the improvement in question, which was suggested to me by Mr. Ford of Rugby, who is a very competent and experienced saddler.