Happy Canada Day, and congratulations to all our Cavaliers who did Riding and Horsemanship tests last Saturday! For our bi-monthly Cavaliere assessment day we ran a total of 15 full and partial practical tests. Some people were doing partial tests, some challenging multiple levels, and we had four level 4 Riding and Horsemanship tests to…
The last item on the falsemount checklist for the Blue Spur is Demonstrate the mounted combat guards and show their use. To review the 13 mounted combat guards take a quick look at this video: You don't need to know all the many uses of each guard, or the alternate names, but should be able…
What is Prix Fiore? ‘Prix Fiore’ is a term coined by Academie Duello and refers to a dressage test that includes sword forms. The Prix Caprilli is a dressage test with jumps, named for Federico Caprilli, innovator of the modern jumping seat. With the Prix Fiore (named for Fiore dei Liberi, author of the 14th…
If you are going to spend any time on horseback one thing is guaranteed: at some point you will fall off. This is inevitable, and most horse-wisdom agrees that you must eat dirt a minimum number of times before you're considered a rider. One way to make this inevitability less traumatic, both physically and mentally,…
Read More... from The Short Fall: Falling from the Falsemount
As predicted this summer's schedule in the Cavaliere program is a little wibbly-wobbly, but I will do my best to keep this blog up to date with the most recent information. Instead of weekly Mounted Games Practices on Fridays at 5-7pm, we will use this time slot for varied activites (including games practices). Here is…
Just as grappling can be done from the saddle, so can disarms. For the Blue Spur you will need to show how to: Conduct three disarms from the falsemount at the halt and in motion "In motion" means at the walk. Disarms are typically conducted when riders are at a standstill or their horses are…
In any knight's career there is likely to come a time when you find yourself deprived of your sword. No matter, grappling is a valid and common tactic from the saddle. For the blue spur you need to demonstrate how to: Conduct three grapples from the falsemount at the halt and in motion The three…
The first weekend in May was a busy one down at Red Colt. We kicked it off with a great turnout for the first Games Practice of the season on Friday evening. The next day we welcomed back Robert Borsos from Borsos Torzs Horse Archery Club for a full day of mounted archery. We had…
The second checklist item in the Swordplay from the Falsemount section is: Demonstrate proper defences and counter-attacks to all attacks from in-front on the far and near side. In this section we are looking for the ability to deal with descending, rising, and horizontal attacks on either side of the horse, performing core defences of…
Friday 18 April at around noon we are planning to burn those piles of brambles. Providing the weather cooperates, those blackberries will be toast! Bring your work-clothes and your marshmallows and join us for some revenge! We also have several other chores on the to-do list, such as putting the lovely new trough in the…
Blue Spur Curriculum: Cutting from the Falsemount What is a falsemount? Our falsemounts are simply wooden horses from which we can safely work on perfecting techniques with steel weapons without the distraction of an animal with a mind of it's own, or the worry of injuring it. Falsemounts don't buck, bite or bolt, and most…
The weather is getting warmer, the horses are shedding their Winter coats, the days are getting longer and brighter, and Academie Duello along with Red Colt Equestrian Farm Co-op are gearing up for our next Introduction to Mounter Combat workshop. Experience the childhood fantasy of being a knight as you take the first step into…
Read More... from Spring Is Springing and A New Intro to Mounted Combat Is Beginning!
Swordplay from the Ground: Armed Grapples and Disarms Sometimes, despite having a yard of steel in hand, the best option is not to "stick'em with the pointy end." Whether its because you are too close for blade play, or because you're worried that slicing your opponent open will devalue him on the ransom market, the…
In the media summer is the silly season, but in the northern hemisphere of the equine world, March is prime time for goofy, bizarre, and downright alarming horse behaviour. So this week we'll take a break from swordplay and wrestling to tackle the question of how to ride those spooks. Staying in the Saddle There's…
Swordplay from the Ground: unarmed grapples Wrestling was a large part of knightly combat, both from the ground and horseback. Not only did grappling provide a non-lethal method of taking hostages, it was sometimes the only option left when a knight had been disarmed, or when an opponent was too close for swordplay. In the…
Read More... from Up Close and Personal: Grappling from the Ground
Swordplay from the Ground: methods of attack Whatever your trade, having more than one trick is an advantage, and swordplay is no different. For your Blue Spur we want you to be more than a one-trick pony and so we ask that you: Demonstrate diverse methods of attack and counter-attack. First of all, review your…
Read More... from Strength in Diversity: attacks & counter-attacks
*Forgive the pun. I know all you horsemen out there are eagerly looking forward to this type of shedding: For that you'll have to wait for Mother Nature's good graces. Today though, we're looking at Swordplay from the Ground: Shedding the Blade The Blue Spur curriculum requires you to Demonstrate shedding the sword while standing…
Swordplay from the Ground: turns of the sword In the Green Spur checklist we ask you to demonstrate the three turns of the sword, ie, the volta stabile, the mezza volta and the tutta volta. These are described in this post from last year, so first go back and familiarize yourself with the turns. For…