On March 3, 1913, a quarter of a million people gathered in Washington, DC, to watch five thousand female suffragists march down Pennsylvania Avenue, headed by a cohort of equestrians in breeches and plumed hats. From atop a white horse, wearing long white boots and a cloak emblazoned with a Maltese cross, Inez Milholland rallied her compatriots against hecklers. Channeling Joan of Arc, Milholland appeared strong and fearless as she sat astride her horse.

The latter half of the 1800s ushered in a golden age of the horse that found more American women riding—both aside and astride—as they commanded presence in the public sphere. Reporters filed riding-craze stories about Manhattan socialites shopping on horseback, women who exercised on hobby horses, and women who worked as horsebreakers, cattle rustlers, or jockeys. In Astride: Horses, Women, and a Partnership That Shaped America, Eliza McGraw weaves together stories of women who pioneered in worlds such as Thoroughbred breeding, the circus, and horse rescue at a time when American women in general internalized the lessons of horsewomen: take chances, take up more space, and learn to get back on.

From tamers to caretakers and performers to teachers, all worked with horses to buck the status quo. Expressing the idea of femininity with athleticism and authority, these trailblazers changed the way America understood women. Richly illustrated with period photographs, Astride demonstrates that even small changes can advance the fight for progress.