"The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse." ~Jackie Kennedy, 1960
Mad Men! I'm obsessed with this 1960's era soap opera. When Betty Draper, desperate housewife antecedent, started riding, I went nuts. I enjoy those riding scenes as much for the beauty of the horses, which is timeless, as for the pure fun of finding the production faux pas.
Friends in the blogsphere, including me, enjoy criticizing what January Jones is wearing (skin hugging modern breeches instead of loose cotton jodhpurs), the tack (something about the bridle, I guess, and the blanket is cut all wrong!).
Others enjoy dishing on her riding skills, poor thing. I mean, Jones is clearly a novice rider even if the story line tries to make it look like she's a jumping, galloping fool. What drives me nuts is the way she dismounts, putting all her weight into the left stirrup and swinging her leg over instead of dropping her irons like we all learned in the first lesson. Or is that really how they dismounted in the '60's?
If the producers didn't know what a 1960's era equestrian looked like, all they had to do was find photos of Jackie Kennedy, First Horsewoman. She always looks beautiful in those old black and whites, but she looks happiest on a horse.
Gotta comment on this one. There are three ways to dismount (at least that I know of). The safest is the way you describe, which is the taking feet out of both stirrups and vaulting off. This is the way I used to do it. The logic behind it is that if you leave one foot in the left stirrup and your horse moves off while you do so, you could lose your balance and get dragged.
The other way is to kick them free and slide off. Sort of a slower version of the above.
Lastly, is the way that Betty does it. Which is actually the way I do it now. If you watch Medal finals, you'll see that most of them actually do this. It is called 'stepping off'. But the process is very quick and not as deliberate as Betty does it. As soon as the right leg has been kicked free of the stirrup, you are supposed to balance your left hand on the withers, right hand on the seat and immediately take the left foot out and hop down. You are almost taking the left foot out as soon the right has cleared the rump.
I'll admit my reason for switching from the vault to the "modified step off" is because I'm just vain enough about my saddle. It is french calf and if I vault, the pommel gets torn up. It happens during that lean forward and swing portion of the act. When I step off now, I stay clear of the pommel, rest my hand on the right most side of the seat where my right thigh nearly lays then I vault away. Keeping my hand on the right side keeps my weight distributed across the horse's back well enough that I do not torque the horse's back while just one foot is in the stirrup.
Yes, I'm anal. :)
Posted by: Crazy Horse Girl | October 26, 2009 at 03:17 PM
Hi, Crazy Horse Girl!
The thing is, Betty puts her right foot completely on the ground before taking her left out of the iron. Is that a true stepping off dismount?
I've seen what you're describing and it looks really pretty. Probably my English instructors thought the safest method was the best way to go for me. Plus stepping off clearly takes some grace and coordination which I do not claim.
Thanks for taking the time to explain the different dismounts. Your blog is beautiful, I love the photos. And Happy Belated Birthday!
Posted by: dr aletta | October 26, 2009 at 08:04 PM
Oh my! Well thank you for the compliment on my blog and pix! Always nice to hear from another blogger.
No, you are right. It sounds to me like Betty is using the 1970's Hollywood Western Dismount. The high pitched trill of a hawk can sometimes be heard during this dismount, along with a possible strum of a guitar. (kidding of course)
Yeah, I know the dismount you are talking about. It hurts me to think about it.
Posted by: Crazy Horse Girl | October 27, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Yes, definitively you got the cinematic reference down pat. Now we can both feel smug :-)
I hope you got out today to ride. Around where I live it was just about perfect fall riding weather. I really didn't want to come in.
Posted by: dr aletta | October 27, 2009 at 07:41 PM
Yesterday was a little poopy here. Think London fog. But I'll ride tonite. I confess to having access to three indoor arenas! The one tonight is not far from where Jackie (above) kept a farm!
Sunday was our good day - a really stellar day and on that day, I did get to enjoy the countryside by horseback. Man, I really, really love that.
Posted by: Crazy Horse Girl | October 28, 2009 at 08:54 AM
Hey there! I just popped in to see what's going on on your blog and saw your main page! You crack me up! I must reciprocate! Will work it in some how....
Crazy Horse Girl
Posted by: Crazy Horse Girl | November 18, 2009 at 03:22 PM
Yeay! Nice to hear from you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by: dr aletta | November 18, 2009 at 08:34 PM
The dismount didn't bother me after the galloping scene, it was that the stirrup iron was a modern day safety stirrup without the rubber band in place. It screamed beginner in the prop department as well as the in the rider.
Posted by: iamequus | January 04, 2015 at 07:55 AM