Unless you plan to do all your equine activities within a few miles of your stable, you will eventually have to deal with trailering horses. For level 3 we don't expect you to demonstrate hauling, but we do want you to: Describe how to lead in and out of a trailer There are many videos…
This post is part of a series on the Segno of Fiore that displays 4 animals each representing a different martial trait the lynx, tiger, elephant, and lion. “I am the lion: nobody carries a more courageous heart. I offer everyone battle.” Tom Leoni translation - Fior di Battaglia, Getty Museum To stand across from…
“I’m the elephant, who carries a castle as freight. I never kneel or lose my stride.” Tom Leoni translation - Fior di Battaglia, Getty Museum To harness the ideals of the elephant in your martial form you must consider: Structural Alignment Placing your body in optimal positions to apply and resist force. Finding the ground…
Read More... from The Elephant and It's Castle - Structural Strength in Training
Horsemanship 3 - Stall & Pasture The first thing you will be asked on the Level 3 practical test is to Describe good and bad features of a horse’s pasture & stall. You can read chapters 14 and 15 of the Manual of Horsemanship for an in depth look at desirable aspects of stables and…
This post is the third in a series on Fiore's four animals and their relation to required traits in martial arts training and execution. “I, the tiger, am so quick at running and turning that I can’t even be overtaken by a lightning bolt." Tom Leoni translation - Fior di Battaglia, Getty Museum Though I…
We’re about halfway in our walk through the Blue Spur curriculum, and now it’s time to turn our attention back to Horsemanship. For the next couple of months the blog will look at the requirements for Horsemanship Level 3. Whereas Level 2 was simply a more in-depth version of the Level 1 topics, in Level…
As many of you know I recently attended the Rossfechten Symposium in Zwiebrücken, Germany. This four-day event brought together Mounted Combat practitioners and aspirants from all over Europe and even North America. Attendees hailed from Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA, and Canada. The event was held at the…
This post is part of a series on martial development through the metaphor of Fiore's Four Animals. "No creature can see better than I, the lynx. And this virtue puts everything in its right place and its measure." Tom Leoni translation - Fior di Battaglia, Getty Museum A technique could be mechanically correct in its…
Within his 1409 manual Fior di Batagglia, Fiore dei Liberi provides us with an effective guide for reviewing our successful execution of martial technique: surrounding his diagram of blows are a series of 4 animals, each representing an essential quality of successful execution in the art: The Lynx - Positioned above the figure’s head represents…
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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 drone of uniformly delivered content to rows of kids locked into desks is the initiation into formal learning that many of us come from. A system designed to output little industrial cogs who are themselves uniform. This is a system that is unfortunately devoid of passion and builds a habit for learning that places…
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…
Our next round of Beginner’s Courses start in a couple weeks! Challenge yourself and have fun with our unique, engaging beginner programs. Want to know what you're getting into first? Sign up for a FREE TRIAL LESSON for any of our Beginner’s Courses! Our two swordplay Beginner’s Courses, Taste of the Renaissance and Warrior Fundamentals, are 8-classes long and can be taken…
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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…