Everyone rode bareback or with just a saddle cloth until about the fourth century A.D. Early European saddles had no stirrups until the reign of Emperor Maurice (A.D. 582-602), after he learned about ...

CHEYENNE - When Sue Gentle moved to Cheyenne from Bellevue, Wash., she brought along her English saddle. "Everyone looked at me like I was nuts: 'You can't be serious,'" she said.

Western riding is about much more than just using a different saddle, and it’s a discipline in its own right. Historically, it’s a softer form of dressage. The horse, once extinct in America, was ...