Vividly costumed, ten smiling women wheel and turn around the arena on proud, excited horses. The music peaks as they join together, moving as one in a graceful sweep. The crowd roars its approval as horses and riders exit to enthusiastic applause. The thrill of such a performance is what drives a certain group of determined, strong-minded women to practice at home to perfect their riding skills, to haul horse trailers hundreds of miles for a two-hour drill team rehearsal and to enthusiastically support each other as riders and friends.

What They Do
The Texas Ladies Aside (TLA) began as an impromptu duo, the result of a chance meeting between Sallie Cochran and Eileen Craig, both of Caldwell, Texas. Eileen was riding El Mercurio, one of her Peruvian pleasure geldings, and Sallie admired the smooth stylishness of horse and rider. This, Sallie thought, was the ideal horse on which to try out her newly acquired English sidesaddle. The elegant horses proved perfect for riding aside, and soon the two women began giving local exhibitions, which became so popular that Eileen and Sallie were officially designated the Goodwill Ambassadors from Burleson County, Texas.

Over the next few years the Texas Ladies Aside was formed, reformed and refined as other riders flocked to join in. From the first pas-de-deux champagne exhibitions to full-fledged ten-person drill performances, the women of the TLA have found the Peruvian Paso horse to be the perfect partner. Today the TLA is a cohesive network of over eighty devoted horsewomen from across the nation. Many members are content to serve a supporting role; some ride in every drill, parade and performance they can manage. The TLA itself is one-of-a-kind: a drill team and parade unit whose performing members always ride sidesaddle on Peruvian horses. Its popularity and effectiveness is enhanced by the often flamboyant matching costumes worn by the performers.

Recently, the Texas legislature honored the group by designating them the "Official Equestrian Drill Team" of the State of Texas.

Now the group has a triple mission: they represent Texas, the Peruvian horse and the art of sidesaddle riding. Charlotte Kneeland, who was director of the International Sidesaddle Organization for over twenty years, says of the Texas Ladies Aside that, "This is a marvelous group that promotes sidesaddle riding in a beautiful way. They have such a sense of fun and adventure." In its thirteen years of existence, the TLA has graced countless local and county festivals and parades, larger Texas parades like the San Antonio Battle of Flowers during the annual April Fiesta, the New Year's Day Dallas Cotton Bowl Parade and the Houston and Fort Worth Stock Show Parades. Aside riders have represented the TLA in the 1990 Kentucky Derby Parade and in the Presidential Inaugural Parade in 1993. As a judged unit, the group has been extremely successful, taking top honors in many of these events. The drill team, which varies between four and twelve riders, depending on the event, regularly performs at state Peruvian horse shows and went to North Carolina to ride at the Atlantic States Peruvian Horse show in 1993. The group has performed in Ft. Worth at the AAOBPPH National Show and has been honored to entertain the crowd at the PPHRNA National Show three successive years, both in Texas and in California. "I can't say enough good things about the Texas Ladies Aside," says Janetta Michael of the PPHRNA. "Their exhibitions are consistently professional and the women are great to work with." The 1994 PPHRNA National Show in California was held in conjunction with the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon and the group was able to perform for a wide audience.

In January 1994 member telephones hummed with the news of an invitation to perform at the National Show in Lima, Peru. This prestigious invitation spurred the riders to practice as never before. Peruvian women seldom ride in horse shows and the women of the Texas Ladies Aside were very conscious of their dual position as invited guests and as examples of U.S. horse-womanship. In Lima, local Peruvian horse owners graciously lent horses for use in the TLA performance.

In only four practices, TLA members accustomed their borrowed mounts to sidesaddles, flapping skirts and close-order drills. The resulting performances in the huge grass arena were two of their finest ever, and the Texas Ladies Asides made the front page of both Lima newspapers and were featured on local television. During their nine-day stay in Peru, the group enjoyed exceptional hospitality in Lima, touring ranches, museums, and the private Peruvian horse tack collections of Sr. Luis Dapelo and Sr. Olaf Hein. This summer will be season of even more excitement for the Texas Ladies Aside. In July 1996, the TLA will get its chance to perform nationally in a mixed-breed forum: it is the only nonprofessional group invited to ride in the Mane Event, the nightly extravaganza at Equitana USA, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park. For this event, the TLA is sponsored by and is representing the PPHRNA. Participation in the Mane Event is an incredible opportunity for the group to receive national attention. The women are practicing hard to make the State of Texas, Peruvian horse owners and breeders and sidesaddle riders everywhere proud of their efforts.

Who They Are
Every spring the TLA sponsors a sidesaddle clinic, introducing women to the fun of sidesaddle riding. Using Peruvian horses in the clinics allows new riders to gain confidence, as they don't have to worry about being bounced out of the saddle at a trot. The group has also sponsored many horsemanship clinics for both junior and adult riders. Proper sidesaddle equitation is important to the TLA, and they have worked to improve show rules to elevate sidesaddle classes from costume contests to classes judged mainly on equitation. Finding a saddle that fits both horse and rider is critical for the horse's comfort and the rider's safety. Most of the members ride on English-style sidesaddles, which, having evolved in the English fox-hunting field, are designed to keep the rider as safe and secure as possible. Safety features include a breakaway stirrup and the balance strap, which is an extra girth that extends diagonally around the horse's barrel, preventing the saddle from slipping to the side. The English sidesaddle also has two pommels: the upper provides support for the rider's right leg and the lower, known as the leaping head, serves as an emergency brace for the rider's left thigh, should she find herself in an unladylike predicament. Traditional Peruvian sidesaddles, though beautifully made, usually lack this lower pommel. The quick maneuvers of an exhibition drill and the unexpected excitements of parades make the leaping head, safety stirrup and balance strap useful equipment for the TLA. Some members do use well-fitting Peruvian sidesaddles and some even find that American western-style sidesaddles serve them best. Diversity among TLA members extends beyond their sidesaddles.

Ages of active members range from 15 to 65; one supporting member is 87! Most are women in their 40's and 50's who have been horse-crazy from an early age. They are teachers, homemakers, students, skilled professionals and artists. They belong to the group because they enjoy riding aside, because they want to promote the Peruvian horse, because they enjoy each other's company or because they enjoy the drill team work or parading. Even confirmed, forty-something tomboys confess that they enjoy putting on a costume and showing off in a dress. One admitted that the only time she willingly puts on pantyhose and makeup is when she is getting ready for a TLA performance! What links the women of the TLA specifically, is the sidesaddle and the Peruvian horse.

I once asked the members if they thought the group would be the same if another breed of horse was used. The answer was a resounding, "No!" Comments included: "The breed is totally essential." "We'd be just another drill team." "The breed is of major importance to the group because it brings out the best in people." "The Peruvian is vital to the group; many of the drill riders came in as novices, which is impossible to do on a trotting horse." And, "The ladies would be just as special, but you couldn't pay me enough to knock my tailbone up to my teeth on a trotter." "Riding the Peruvian is important. The gait is more ladylike and subtle, but just as dramatic as galloping." This last comment nicely pinpoints the attraction for the overwhelming majority of the active TLA members of riding aside on the Peruvian horse. Most of the women took care to tell me that, apart from the historical interest they take in the sidesaddle and the feeling of accomplishment they received from partaking in an activity that few can do, the main reason they like to ride sidesaddle is that it is elegant and makes them feel feminine while being active. On the Peruvian horse, whose way of going is in itself elegant yet powerful, this feeling is greatly enhanced. Because these horses are still new to most people, the rider of a Peruvian horse always attracts the eye. Riding sidesaddle on a Peruvian horse assures attention from bystanders.

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