Before giving up the show ring  Valerie decided to try side-saddle riding through which she befriended Janet Macdonald.  Together in 1974 they founded the Ladies Side Saddle Association, now the Side Saddle Association.   
This style of riding was dying out so between them they revived it and stimulated its related trades of saddle making and riding-habit tailoring.  Today this association is thriving and has links world-wide.

www.sidesaddleassociation.co.uk

In 1978, Valerie and Janet produced the first book for many decades on side-saddle riding - Riding Side-Saddle - published by Pelham Books.  The book was the result of many hours of careful analysis of the relationship between the rider’s weight and body position and the responses from the horse. This is still a pretty neglected area of understanding today in many types of horse riding.

Valerie discovered that after a session side-saddle, many of her dressage students rode astride with much greater control and awareness of their own bodies, producing markedly better results.
Side-saddle   Janet Macdonald   SSA