Riding Side-saddle, with no Saddle - c. 1892

This early boudoir card photo provides us a window into domestic life, somewhere near The Dalles, Oregon. As with many vintage photos, we can wonder about the story behind the image. I like to think that a young woman and her husband are visiting her mother. In any event, we see that the young woman is riding side-saddle on her smallish pony, though unlike her male companion, she is riding bareback without a saddle. Visible in the background are a number of homes on the edge of town, with a variety of wooden fences defining their property lines. -- This photo is restored and printed by Old Oregon.