Alice M. Hayes

Hayes demonstrated her riding skills on the most difficult of horses and once, in India, rode a zebra sidesaddle.

She wrote The Horsewoman in 1893, a guide to riding for ladies, in which she strongly opposed the adoption of the cross saddle position used traditionally by men.

[1] She was married to British Army veterinarian and author Captain Horace Hayes, who was 20 years older than she.

She noted that it was impossible to rein in because "he had a neck like a bull" and, though she admired the zebra's "seal-like" skin, regarded him as "too neck-strong to make a pleasant mount for a lady".

This approach allowed the pupil to experience horse jumping as early as their second lesson and was praised in Queen magazine as providing results "in so short a space of time".

Hayes wrote articles to raise awareness of the condition and her actions led the Indian Government to make additional provisions for women lepers.