The Carosella Schedule is coming together and should be in its final form soon. In the meantime, here are some highlights! Friday 27 September Intro to Mounted Combat Ballet at the Barn Grappling and Pommel Plays Working Equitation Swordplay from the Falsemount Horsemanship Level 1 Mounted Sparring Equine First Aid Beginner Riding Saturday 28 September…
If you don't live in the BC Lower Mainland, here are three ways you can still learn Mounted Combat with Academie Duello.
Riding, Horsemanship, and Mounted Combat Fundamentals: Which Course is Right for You? Students in our mounted combat courses come to us with a wide variety of pre-existing skills. Some are expert riders, some have been practising swordplay for years, and some are complete beginners at both. Whatever your skill-set, we have courses for you! Here's…
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Exciting changes are a-hoof in the Mounted Combat Program. As of August 1st, 2018, the horses and the program will be moving to 21955 16 Ave in Langley. This beautiful property (formerly Ridge Meadows Farm) near Campbell Valley Park has an indoor arena, heated lounge, two outdoor arenas, and ten acres of pasture for our…
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Snow may have fallen this week, but that didn't keep us from riding and practising mounted combat. And with spring just around the corner, we have many more course offerings to get you out of the salle and into the saddle. Spring Courses at Red Colt Mounted Combat Mastery February is sword & shield month,…
With the evenings getting shorter, its time to switch the hours of our Riding & Horsemanship classes back to Sunday mornings. This is your last chance to get a series of classes in before our winter break! Autumn Riding, Horsemanship, and Mounted Combat Youth Riding & Horsemanship This course for kids aged 6-13 will introduce…
Another amazingly fun and exciting Carosella has passed us by. Congratulations to our high-point tournament winner Robert Borsos, and all the other riders who took home prizes! Here are a few photos from Sunday courtesy of Double Exposure Photography. Enjoy! A huge thank you to all the instructors, assistants, and volunteers who worked to make…
Registration for Carosella 2017 is open! This year spaces for participating on horseback are limited to 20, so be sure to sign up soon. Now it's time to answer some of those frequently asked questions.... Q: How can I sign up for Carosella? A: You can register online here for full and one-day passes. Regular entries…
This week I visited the Suffolk Punch Trust in Woodbridge, UK. The Suffolk Punch is the oldest registered horse breed in England, being first recorded as the Suffolk Sorrel in the 16th century. This magnificent animal is a heavy-bodied, medium-height draught horse, bred for farm work and hauling. Its broad chest, steep shoulder, and uphill build…
Horsemanship Level 4: Conditioning pt II At the end of April we covered work versus exercise in our Level 4 conditioning topic: 7. Work vs. exercise. Warm-up and cooling out, reasons why. Cooling out was covered in this Level 3 post, so this week we'll look at what constitutes an effective warm up. Just like…
Please join us in welcoming Red Colt's new resident caretakers, Elise Marquis and Graham Dube! Elise and Graham moved in at the end of April, and we are thrilled to have them join our team. Over the past year there has been a fair amount of upheaval at the barn with co-op members pulling in…
With new series of Riding, Horsemanship and Mounted Combat having just started, I thought it may be useful to re-post links to blogs which cover topics in the curriculum. You can use these blog posts as refreshers and checklists to support the material taught in classes. Each group of posts is searchable under tags such…
Horsemanship Level 4: Conformation & Unsoundness pt II Previously we looked at types of horses, their differing builds and their abilities. This week we'll examine general conformation, and what to look for when assessing any horse. Over centuries of domestication, selective breeding has created the variety of breeds and types we looked at in the…
Congratulations to all the participants who have just finished the 5- and 6-week Mounted Combat, Riding, and Horsemanship classes. Everyone who was present on Sunday completed least one part of their assessments. Kaleigh, Ari, François, Alicia, Viktoria, and Brad were tested on riding, horsemanship or both; Brad, François, Kevin, Melissa, Christian, Karissa, and Stephanie all…
There's something a little bit artificial about New Years resolutions. Why pick January 1st to start changing your ways, and not any other random day of the year? Granted, we may have a few extra pounds to shed after two weeks of rich food and reduced exercise, but you're probably going to get back on…
What do fairground rides have to do with mounted combat? A lot, it turns out. The children's game of spearing rings from the back of carousel horses descends directly from knightly games. In fact even the word 'carousel' comes from the Italian 'garosello' or 'little war'. These were the displays of skill at arms that…
There are a multitude of reasons people come to the Cavaliere Program: they always wanted to be a knight; they're bored with the show-ring and want a new equine activity; they want to take their swordfighting to a (literally) higher level; they want to learn about horses and riding; they were horse-crazy kids whose parents…
Read More... from The Cavaliere Program: Many Goals, Many Routes
The days are getting shorter, but that doesn't keep us out of the saddle. There is still programming happening into December, so come on out and enjoy crisp autumn sunshine with a sword in your hand and a horse beneath you. Private Classes & Drop-ins There are one or two drop-in spaces available for selected…