ABSTRACT
Equestrian sport and the culture within the equestrian stable were traditionally based upon a masculine hierarchical regime (Plymoth, 2012). The sport was reserved for military men Bryant, 2008) and was an exclusive and aristocratic pastime catering to upper-class society (Gilbert & Gillett, 2012; Riedi, 2006). A military pursuit aimed at improving the skill and efficiency of calvary (Gilbert & Gillett, 2012; Plymoth, 2012), the first equestrians to compete at the Olympic Games were exclusively men (Bryant, 2008; Sweeley, 1972). Eventually male and female civilian participants were granted permission to participate in equestrian sport (Bryant, 2008). As Adelman (2011) explains, the end of the nineteenth century brought about change through material and symbolic struggles over the female body and femininity. Beliefs regarding female capability and expectable practice were challenged (Adelman, 2011). As women started to see progress in other sporting realms, they also began to ride astride (with legs on either side of the saddle), and safety and interest in equestrian sport improved. Once an aristocratic pastime for the upper class in Europe and North America (Gilbert & Gillett, 2012; Riedi, 2006), in some ways equestrian sport has changed significantly. Girls and young women have become overrepresented as members of youth riding organizations and in amateur equestrian sport as compared with boys and young men. Today women represent approximately seventy-nine percent of the Canadian equine industry (Equine Canada, 2010). The median annual household incomes of those involved in the Canadian equine industry are between $60, 000 to $80, 000 (Equine Canada, 2010). Demographics of equestrian sport have changed; however, cultural aspects of horseback riding have maintained the public perception that the sport is an elitist pastime (Dashper, 2012).
