Sociogenesis of American Saddlebred Horseback Riding

The United States horse showing did not begin until after Britain because of Britain's Jockey Club founded in 1750. The Jockey Club was in charge of all British racing until the end of the 19th century. The American Jockey Club was later formed in 1894. The first rules were formed in 1894 in the American Stud Book, for the official record of Thoroughbred breeding in the United States, as well as Canada. My focus will be on American Saddlebred Horseback Riding instead of Thoroughbred, but these rules began with Thoroughbred's and then to the American Saddlebred.

American's innovated the way in which jockey's ride horses. It was their idea to push the saddle forward and shorten the stirrups and the reins. They also created dirt tracks, which were much smaller in Britain and did not have a good arena for showing.

The American Saddlebred is an extremely tall, flashly, and gaited horse. It rides much differently than the jockey's we see today on TV. They have very animated steps and instead of riding down low, their heads are raised high and the rider sits very tall. Much taller than the thoroughbreds, American Saddlebred are about 15 to 16 inches tall. While Thoroghbreds were originally bred for racing, American Saddlebreds were used for showing because of their ability to slow gait and rack (which is a faster version of slow gait).

Originally, the Saddlebred was a workhorse used for ploughing. Then their owners began to brag about which horse was faster which led to raises and then showing because of their resemblance to the Arabian horse.

During shows, balance and harmony were key. Back in the day Men would wear white-tie, black-tie, and women would wear ball gowns. Today, people still dress up, but not to this extreme. The riders outfits have not changed very much except for quality.