Women in equestrianism

Despite this shift, women are still underrepresented at the highest levels of equestrian competition, such as show jumping, due to gender-based labor divisions and a focus on the animal's performance rather than the emotional connection.

Notable works such as National Velvet (1944), Sarraounia (1986), Mulan (1998), and Sport de filles (2012) feature young girls and warrior riders, showcasing the growing representation of women in equestrian narratives.

[1][3] In French scholarship, the primary sociological work addressing the feminization of equestrianism is Catherine Tourre-Malen's thesis and her subsequent book, which focus exclusively on Europe and the West.

[7] Catherine Monnot, on the other hand, deplored an initial bias, adding that "the demonstration suffers from a lack that runs through the whole analysis [...] One is led to believe that the author, a horse professional, has so internalized the dominant masculine discourse and values of this milieu, particularly critical of a systematically devalued 'feminine', that she no longer knows how to see and therefore analyze the meanings of the transformations underway".

[14] Jean-Louis Gouraud [fr] notes that while this trend is well-documented and widely discussed in developed, urbanized countries such as France, Sweden, and the United States, it often overshadows the historical equestrian practices of women in other regions of the world.

[clarify][26] In China, under the Tang dynasty, a loss of social status for women coincided with the development of equestrianism, as attested by the archaeological discovery of numerous statuettes of riders.

[39] Women were marginalized in their access to equitation, all the more so as, in European society, the horse held, until the beginning of the 20th century, a role as a utilitarian and military animal, associated almost exclusively with men.

[26] This restriction began to change in the late Safavid period, likely influenced by Western visitors, who observed that courtesans and wealthy women were permitted to drive carriages, and prostitutes rode freely.

Despite the restrictions imposed by systematic sidesaddle riding, European women built up a solid reputation in the circus field, becoming renowned horsewomen and attracting large audiences.

[59] In his 1979 study of the Abisi ethnic group in Nigeria, anthropologist Jean-Jacques Chalifoux notes that women are generally prohibited from owning horses, which are reserved for men, particularly for hunting purposes.

[60] In his posthumous work La femme en Chine (1876), Louis-Auguste Martin observed that among the "Lo-Lo" ethnic group (better known as the Yi), women rode horses during wedding ceremonies, wearing a long dress topped by a small coat that fell to the waist; they wore the same outfit when they needed to travel on horseback.

[61] In both the UK and Sweden, at the beginning of the 20th century, riding was inextricably linked with men and masculinity, with Swedish riders coming from the upper classes, particularly in the transport and military sectors.

[62] The Swedish press devoted numerous articles to women in equestrian sports during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, indicating a relatively rare female presence in this sector at the time.

The archetype of the warrior and equestrian heroine appears across many civilizations, including Joan of Arc in France, Hua Mulan in China, and several prominent figures on the African continent.

She harangued the women, telling them: "Since these men don't dare to go against the Turks, who will soon come and rape us in their eyes, let's go and sell our lives and honor dearly ourselves, and not stay with these cowards any longer".

[87] Soninke chivalry is said to have been created by Niamey, another Sahelian horsewoman who is evoked in the legendary tales of the griots[58] when she became a rider at a very young age, a winged horse rising from the sky placed itself at her service.

[97] Women involved in high-level competition generally have considerable financial capital, enabling them to access high-performance horses and free themselves from domestic chores, or come from well-known professional riding families.

[104] Despite the feminization of equestrian practices in the Western world, a notable divide persists between the male-dominated sphere of high-level competition and the predominantly female-dominated realm of leisure riding.

[113] According to sociology professor Ladan Rahbari from the University of Amsterdam, horse-riding in Iran is largely male-dominated ("hegemonic"), and the patriarchal, macho context means that the presence of women is strongly discouraged in sports establishments.

[123] Teli Boumbali's Badiaranké tale Une fille et son mari serpent (A Girl and Her Snake Husband) features Ngololobaabasara, a small horse gifted with speech and metamorphosis, who advises a woman, enabling her to do what usually only men can do.

[124] Nomadic populations in Iran have likely always practiced mixed equestrian transport, using horses for their annual migrations, which implies that women rode alongside men during these periods.

[136][138] This evolution in the relationship with the horse is consistent for both sexes; however, Le Mancq notes that women are increasingly disinterested in high-level competitions due to this shift, which contributes to their reduced presence at advanced levels.

[140] Amateur women riders have to overcome a "double handicap" to gain recognition for their skills,[141] as the world of equestrian competition is built by and for men, with a late and incomplete feminization.

[143] Tourre Malen[144] and Kirrilly Thompson, vice-president of the South Australian Horse Society,[134] argue that the careers of top-level female riders are also constrained by family obligations, such as child care, which are still divided along traditional gender lines.

[151] According to a 2017 review of the scientific literature, over the long term, horse riding may predispose women tourinary stress incontinence,[152] probably due to the impact on pelvic floor muscles during gait transitions.

In 1980, a study investigated panniculitis in four female riders, attributable to both cold exposure and their equestrian activities: these lesions were caused, in part, by wearing tight-fitting, poorly insulated cycling pants, slowing blood flow through the skin and thus reducing tissue temperature.

[163] These novels generally feature empathetic, nurturing girls and women, with a focus on emotional scenes and the discovery of sexuality, revealing themselves to be closer to the real personalities of a majority of female readers of their time than the adventurous characters of the early twentieth century.

[75] Adapted from the book series, Grand Galop (The Saddle club in its original version), which ran from 2001 to 2009, features Steph, Carole and Lisa at their riding school "Le Pin Creux".

[185] The 1998 Disney animated film Mulan marked a significant moment by depicting a female warrior who disguises herself as a man and participates in all the action scenes, ultimately saving her country.

[75] More recently, Disney's Frozen 2 reflects the feminization of the equestrian world in the West and breaks down gender stereotypes, featuring Elsa with whispering skills, and a mythological horse (a Nokk).