The Society of Sidesaddle Storytellers

The Society of Sidesaddle Storytellers Telling the story of women and horses throughout history.

We provide living history programs and riding demonstrations to inspire the next generation of women to be interested in all things horse, historic fashions, and the struggle for women’s rights.

09/13/2026

No sidesaddle today, but I hope you’ll enjoy this carriage driving lesson with Jose Hernandez! I think one of the most fun parts of being an equestrian is that there are so many different disciplines to try! My friend Marley is very interested in getting her Fjords into driving and asked if I would want to take a lesson with her with Jose Hernandez since this is up in my neck of the woods at a farm I ride at regularly. Jose is an incredible instructor and has literally gotten to compete with his clients all over the world and has even been in movies! I had a kind friend let me drive her horse Fig last year and I had a blast so was very excited to get to give driving another try. Jose gave us a history lesson too which I really enjoyed learning about chariots and the origins of horses pulling carts. He showed us how to tack up and took us on a ride around the farm. It’s incredible the difference in power between a one horse rig and two! Jose also very kindly gave us a tour afterwards and showed us all the carriages they had at the farm. I can’t wait to go back and do it again. Jose is a fantastic teacher if you’re in the east TN area. I know I have a lot of friends online that also love to drive and even show. If you’re on FB, post a photo of your horses driving in the comments. I’d love to see them!

Anyone else out here trying to will fall to come on already? I can’t wait for the temperature to cool down and give us s...
09/09/2026

Anyone else out here trying to will fall to come on already? I can’t wait for the temperature to cool down and give us some crisp, cool air! Here’s a little throw back photo from two years ago to get you in the spirit. (Photo credits to Chris Hatfield)

09/03/2026

Here’s a fantastic video on riding sidesaddle from the 1981 BBC Documentary called The Englishwoman and the Horse. You can watch this free on YouTube if you want to see the rest. Enjoy!

I got an interesting message this week from a local family who was trying to locate a sidesaddle to borrow. Their daught...
08/31/2026

I got an interesting message this week from a local family who was trying to locate a sidesaddle to borrow. Their daughter Georgia had a knee injury recently and couldn’t ride astride as it would bow her leg out too much. They had wondered if riding aside might work with her knee situation and allow her time to get healed back up. I brought a couple saddles out to try and her horse Willie was a perfect Saint! Crossing my fingers this will work out well for them while Georgia is trying to get back on her feet. 🤞 Very interestingly, throughout time there have been a lot of circumstances where men who had war injuries or even lost limbs would ride sidesaddle. Today we also have people with certain disabilities that are only able to ride because of specially built sidesaddles for them! Has anyone else with injuries found this to be a more comfortable way to ride? Would love to hear from you! Katie Allison

I’m throwing an event out for anyone of my followers that may be interested in volunteering! I realize a lot of you are ...
08/29/2026

I’m throwing an event out for anyone of my followers that may be interested in volunteering!

I realize a lot of you are in Knoxville so this is probably not feasible as it’s a drive, but I wanted to give anyone the opportunity to join in if you felt led.

I’ve been asked to help with a two day living history event at the Ashland Estate in Lexington, KY September 25-26th. On the Friday there will be about 400 highschoolers coming and Saturday the event will be open to the public.

There will be living history demonstrators there both days talking about civil war history, enslaved people’s history, equestrian history, etc. If you want to dress up, Civil war/ Victorian/ Edwardian garb is acceptable. I do have some spare outfits.

I plan on camping with my horse Thursday- Saturday and could certainly use as many hands as possible. People on the ground would be fabulous. And if there is anyone with a horse and side saddle that wants to come, we’d love to have you!

I believe I should have some KY ladies helping but I didn’t want my TN folks to feel left out if anyone wanted to come. I’m happy to share more info for anyone interested.

As always, thanks for your interest and support! ❤️

Today we say goodbye to a legend. As a girl who has grown up in East TN, I have loved and been inspired by Dolly Parton ...
08/25/2026

Today we say goodbye to a legend. As a girl who has grown up in East TN, I have loved and been inspired by Dolly Parton all my life. Not only was she an incredible musician and performer, but she was a devoted philanthropist and pillar in our community. Dolly represents so much of what the world needs. She was a bit quirky, willing to make fun of herself, and fantastical, but was always willing to go out of her way to help those in need. Over the years through her Imagination Library she has given out countless books to kids in the Southeast, has provided thousands of jobs and boosted our local economy through her beloved amusement park, gave millions in aid to local charities after our area suffered catastrophic wildfires, and the list goes on and on. She was fabulous, fun, and a force to be reckoned with. We need more Dollys in the world. Fly high. 🦋 “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” - Dolly Parton

Just slowly trying to take over the world with chestnuts and sidesaddles! How gorgeous is this duo? Ameliarose🍓 ...
08/22/2026

Just slowly trying to take over the world with chestnuts and sidesaddles! How gorgeous is this duo? Ameliarose🍓

08/12/2026

Do I have any Helena Bonham Carter fans out there? You must check out this film!

In the 1987 movie A Hazard of Hearts, compulsive gambler Sir Giles Staverley loses his estate and his daughter Serena’s hand in marriage during a high-stakes dice game. Lord Justin Vulcan wins Serena to save her from a villain, bringing romance, dark family secrets, and danger at his cliff-top mansion.

This gothic style romance has mystery, fabulous regency costumes, and multiple fantastic sidesaddle scenes!

Carter was only twenty-one years old when this movie was made and is captivating the whole way through. The movie culminates when she must make a daring sidesaddle ride to London on a fearsome stallion to save her beloved.

This movie is very fun visually to watch and is worth checking out just to see how fabulous teenage Helena Bonham Carter is as its heroine.

Thank you Wendy Deini-Pruden for sending me this movie suggestion! I throughly enjoyed it.

Address

Knoxville, TN
37918

Telephone

+18659639407

Website

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