Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America (hardcover)

On March 3, 1913, a quarter of a million people gathered in Washington, DC, to watch five thousand suffragists march down Pennsylvania Avenue. Leading the procession was a striking figure on a white horse: Inez Milholland, in long white boots and a cloak bearing a Maltese cross. Channeling Joan of Arc, she steadied the crowd and inspired her fellow marchers from the saddle. The latter half of the nineteenth century ushered in a golden age of the horse—one that saw more American women riding, both aside and astride, and taking up greater space in public life. Reporters chronicled the riding craze, from Manhattan socialites shopping on horseback to women who trained unruly horses, rustled cattle, or raced as jockeys.

In Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America, Eliza McGraw explores these stories and more. She highlights women who pioneered in Thoroughbred breeding, the circus, rescue work, and the broader equestrian world. Through their partnership with horses, these trailblazers embraced risk, authority, and athleticism—redefining what American women could be. Richly illustrated with period photographs, Astride shows how even incremental cultural shifts can spark lasting progress.