Horseback riding is a sport at which women excel. One can try

to explain their success because they are lighter than men and

have obvious anatomical advantages for the saddle. This is

certainly not everything. After 70 years of riding and close

association with riders, I am convinced that the most important

reason for feminine preeminence in the sport is their ability to

relate to horses. It is partly a matter of sensitivity and

patience. It is also a matter of willingness to trust in a real

partnership where the whole is far more powerful than the sum of

the parts.

Men are often too preoccupied by the need to show their macho

strength in dominating a horse and are less willing to seek a

harmonious relationship. They often seem to feel they must

overpower a horse and make it totally subservient to their

will. Many of them would be pleased if a horse reacted in the

same insensate way as an automobile to a turn of the wheel, a

foot on the brake or a push on the accelerator. Some people are

just more at ease with machines which will always obey even

suicidal commands unquestioningly.

For 25 years I have owned one of the world’s largest riding

tour companies and we have found that about 70% of our clients

are female. They tend to find an easy rapport with horses which

most men have more trouble achieving. At our own dude ranch the

majority of our wranglers are women. They love working with

horses and are invariably patient, friendly and understanding

to both horses and guests without showing off. They have taken

the time to study equitation and horses in depth and many hold

degrees from the British Horse Society or similar American

institutions. Our wranglers care passionately about the

physical and psychological welfare of their horses and are

extremely conscientious. We have seen few situations where

great strength is an asset although men do have an advantage

with shoeing.

For 20 years Linda Tellington-Jones has been doing a clinic at

our ranch each year to teach people how to start young horses.

During the week she starts our four-year-old Arabians who have

not yet been backed although they are used to being around

people from the time they are born. These clinics using

non-confrontational techniques have been immensely successful

with clients (90% women) and they have given our horses a

wonderful start. During the week the young horses are slowly

prepared for a rider without being pushed too much. It is a

long process demanding considerable patience which few men seem

willing to offer. They prefer crash programs, much in vogue

these days, which overwhelm the horse in a short time and give

quick results, but do not work so well to make a trusting

partner out of the animal in the long term.

Women are also frequently the leaders of the riding tours we

handle around the world so our own ranch with its 180 horses is

not an exception internationally. From Botswana to Argentina

there are women leading rides and doing a first rate job. It

does seem to be true, however, that most Western dude ranches

still adhere strongly to the masculine cowboy mystique with

Marlboro hats, coiled ropes and jingling spurs. It depends on

one’s priorities and many of these ranches are focused more on

the trappings of a Western experience with barbecues, hay

rides, square dances and sing-along’s rather than riding in the

equestrian sense.

Many patriarchal societies of the past in the days when horses

were such a symbol of power (it was not so long ago) tended to

keep a near male monopoly on riding. It appears that this has

not always been the case. The ancient Greeks, who knew a lot

about human nature, have such a rich mythology about women

riders that it seems to me there is very likely some reason to

believe in the existence of early women equestrians. Certainly

the image of the fierce Amazon horsewomen belonging to a

matriarchal society is a powerful and pervasive tale. These

fearsome equestrian warriors were reputed to have cut off a

right breast so that they could better handle their bows and

spears. If so, they must have been mighty serious about what

they were doing. It is interesting that in Mongolian society

today women participate in riding for work and sports right

along with the men.

Women have come into their own with horses in much of the world

now that men no longer monopolize them. They find enjoyment and

fulfillment in achieving a harmonious relationship which

empowers both horse and rider. One can find somewhat the same

kind of pleasure in teamwork with a working dog. Herding cattle

with a willing horse is a good example of the kind of thing

people and horses can do together. Whatever it is that makes

women and horses such a good match, it has been a great delight

to me over the years to see the happiness which this

relationship has brought to both and I celebrate this

partnership.