This book is the first, full-length scholarly examination of British women's involvement in equestrianism from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, as well as the corresponding transformations of gender, class, sport, and national identity in Britain and its Empire.
Muntwitz gives the reader excellent insights into the material culture of women's equestrianism. ... This is fascinating reading for all interested in how the intertwinement of material culture, gender, social class, nation, and whiteness influenced who participated in the sport and related activities and how the different positions were more or less important in various times and places. - Susanna Hedenborg, Journal of Sport History
For the reader, the history of female riders and female riding developing from the limited possibilities in the sidesaddle to the freedom of movement when riding astride, is - from my personal perspective at least - an unexpected and very refreshing picture of the British female rider. - Petra Andersson, Idrottsforum
Erica Munkwitz is Professorial Lecturer in Modern British and European history at American University in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Her research focuses on gender, sport, and empire in modern Britain, and specifically on women's involvement in equestrianism. In 2016, she received the Junior/Early Career Scholar Award from the European Committee for Sports History, and, in 2018, she received the Solidarity Prize for Excellence in Early Career Equine Research.
Introduction: The Development of Horsemanship, Gender Construction, and National Identity in Britain, 1. Ladies, Hunting, and the Sporting Revolution in Britain, 1772-1825, 2. Horseback Riding as Exercise and Female Accomplishment, 1805-1857, 3. Fox Hunting and Sporting Emancipation for Women, 1857-1913, 4. Horse Sports, Imperial Ideology, and Gender Construction in British India, 1850-1913, 5. Femininity, Sporting Equality, and Riding Astride in Britain Before and After the First World War, 1894-1932, Conclusion: Equestrianism, Feminism, and the Olympic Games, 1932-1956