Maggie Johnston Savors Sidesaddle in Every Way
by Sophie Schepps
Maggie Johnston’s passion for horses and tradition are perfectly encompassed in her love for riding sidesaddle. For the past decade, Johnston has been fox hunting, showing and most recently racing while riding with both legs on one side.
“You ride sitting square, you just don’t have a leg on the right,” she said. “You use your seat bones to give commands. You really need a saddle that fits properly and you’re good to go.”
Johnston grew up in Leesburg across the way from Oatlands Plantation. She began riding at the age of four and competed in three-day eventing for many years. In 1998, she decided it was time for a change of sport and decided to stop eventing.
“I met this woman who was the master of the hunt at the time and she invited me to come out,” Johnston said. “I started fox hunting that year and I loved the camaraderie and the tradition and the beauty of the land we ride over.”
During her first exposure to fox hunting, Johnston clearly remembers the moment she first saw a woman riding sidesaddle. She said the sight was mesmerizing.
“I remember it very specifically,” she said. “One day when I was out hunting in Maryland I looked ahead of me. We were hacking in after a long day and a woman named Sarah was on a leggy chestnut with four white socks riding sidesaddle. There was a fallen tree and as we hacked up to it she simply jumped over it. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was like the whole world stopped and I said to myself ‘I have to do that someday.’”
Johnston ended up buying her first sidesaddle soon after and took lessons from local expert Devon Zebrovious. Johnston immediately felt at ease in this traditional riding position.
“Since then, every horse that I’ve owned or borrowed I have ridden sidesaddle,” she said. “I started hunting and did some shows and the more you get into it, the more you learn about the attire and the traditions and it really blends beautifully with fox hunting.”
Sidesaddle dates back to antiquity and was developed as a riding style that allowed women to remain modest with an apron covering their legs. The rules of attire to signify status such as whether you are married, single or a widow are still used today by sidesaddle enthusiasts. Most riders have strong passion for discovering vintage pieces.
“That’s the fun of it,” Johnston said. “We all trade vintage habits. We ride in vintage saddles and know the history of who rode in them before. A lot of care is given to rebuild and re-flock them so they remain in use.”
Mark Thompson, a professional horseman and widely-acclaimed coach and trainer based in Aiken, S.C. and Millbrook, N.Y., has worked with Johnston in sidesaddle and was effusive in his praise for her.
“No matter what you ask of her she just does it,”Thompson said. “She has such compassion for the sport and works so hard to get it right.
“She was an incredible ambassador for sidesaddle and the Cleveland Bay breed at Breyer Fest in Lexington, Kentucky, letting kids try sitting in the side-saddle and allowing them to pet and lead her horse around the Horse Park grounds. It’s been a privilege and great adventure to work with Maggie.”
The close-knit group of sidesaddle riders also has allowed Johnston to connect with women all over the world. She’s had the opportunity to hunt in both Ireland and France in the past few years. In the U.S., she hasher colors with the Snickersville Hounds but hunts all along the eastern seaboard.
Johnston currently has two sidesaddle mounts. Along with being one of the lead organizers of the Sidesaddle Chase at the Loudoun Point-to-Point at Oatlands on April 17, she will be racing herself that day.
“People think it’s feminine and very pretty and men are amazed by it,” Johnston said. “But at the end of the day, I find it remarkable that it’s something old that is now new.”