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…
Three members of the Academie Duello crew and I visited the February 8-10 Capitol Clash in Washington, DC. This is a well run HEMA tournament event that runs alongside a huge modern fencing tournament all hosted by the Virginia Academy of Fencing (VAF). I had the pleasure of being part of the reffing staff, a…
I had the pleasure this past weekend of being a judge, ring director, and instructor at Lord Baltimore's Challenge in Washington, DC, an event put on by David Biggs and a large crew of people from diverse groups such as Maryland KDF, Virginia Academy of Fencing, and the DC-area SCA chapters. David's goals with the…
Recently a group of Academie Duello members participated in a rapier tournament at Ursulmas, an event hosted by the Society for Creative Anachronism in the state of Washington. The tournament was based around the concept of martial challenges that the organizer called “labours”. These challenges pitted individuals up against an opponent who outmatched them in…
It's that time of year again, and we are taking registration for Carosella 2014! This three-day Mounted Combat Symposium has something for everyone, from absolute beginners to accomplished knights. Friday and Saturday consist of workshops on foot, on falsemount, and on the ground, and Sunday is our annual tournament where you will have a chance…
The Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW) for 2013 is over. Another satisfying year of this great event put on by the Chicago Swordplay Guild at the Dekoven Center in Racine Wisconsin. For those who are unfamiliar with the WMAW, this event started in 2001 and is one of the oldest workshops of Western Martial Arts…
Read More... from A Report from the Western Martial Arts Workshop
Sunday September 29th is the Tournament portion of Carosella. There will be competitions for every level of participant, and plenty to watch for the general public. Here's the low-down. Grooms' Competition Open to: Anyone with their own or a leased horse Cavaliere Program members with a minimum of Horsemanship 1 Format: Teams of two will compete…
With just over two weeks till Carosella 2013, I'm taking a break from our stroll through the Riding 2 Curriculum to feature some of the cool stuff you won't want to miss on the 27th - 29th of this month. Friday 27 September This day exists in the schedule to help you get the most…
This is the time where the long spring and summer of training comes together for our annual Knightly Games Tournament. And if you haven't been riding and training as much as you'd like or feel you ought to have been, September is the chance to get that last push in while the weather's good, sign…
Riding Level 2: Mounting 2. Lead horse, mount & dismount independently There's no big secret to mounting and dismounting at level 2. We simply expect you to do it more smoothly and with greater confidence. So go back and review level 1, enjoy the videos if you missed them the first time, and work towards…
September 27th - 29th is Tourney Time! Yes, planning is in the works for our Annual Knightly Games Tournament! This year we're making a full weekend of it by adding another iteration of the popular Mounted Archery Workshop, and including a day of riding, mounted combat, and games practice beforehand. Friday 27 September Workshops, Lessons,…
(photo taken by Penny Higgins) I returned home this past Monday from the excellent Borealis Swordplay Symposium in Ottawa which was hosted by Jason Smith and crew of Ottawa's Les Maitres d'Armes. The event was two days long with day one focusing on 2-hour workshops and some room for free fencing, and day two focusing…
Read More... from Borealis Swordplay Symposium and Tournament Report
We couldn't have ordered nicer weather for our annual Cavaliere Tournament ... or asked for a better group of riders and volunteers! We had four teams of grooms out bright and early to make the horses beautiful, and once more our volunteer judges from Richmond Pony Club lent their critical eyes to check horses and…
Come one, come all! The Knightly Games Tournament has something for everyone this Sunday September 30th, at Red Colt Farm! As promised last week, here is a list of games and their descriptions. Groom Competition Grooms will have 45 minutes to turn out a well-groomed and correctly tacked up horse. Entrants may participate with their…
On June 23rd and 24th, a number of Academie Duello students and a few out-of-town friends joined together in some friendly competition at the annual Multi-Format Tournament. This year we had four different categories to compete in, over two days: Saturday we held longsword and sidesword tournaments, and on Sunday we ran beginner and open…
A collection of shots from the longsword tournaments that took place this past Saturday as part of our Multi-Format tournament day. Thanks to photographer Kevin Ricks for taking these and passing them along to us.
Here are but a few of the 300-plus pictures Blake & Chris took on Sunday: The rest will be made available in some easy-viewing format soon. And for those of you who like to keep track of these sorts of things, here are the full results from the tournament. Results.pdf Download this file Note: if…
Exactly one year less a day after our first ever Cavaliere workshop, Academie Duello hosted its first ever Mounted Tournament. The weather was beautiful, the crowds enthusiastic, the volunteers awesome, and the competition both fierce and friendly. We started our day with the Team Groom Competition, in which teams of two had 45 minutes to…