Entry forms are now available for our Knightly Games Tournament, to be held Sunday 30 September 2012 at Red Colt.
The day will begin at 9am sharp for the Grooms competition. Teams of grooms will have 45 minutes to groom and tack up their horses to sparkling perfection before meeting the critical eye of our Richmond Pony Club judges at 9:45.
The mounted games will start with team competitions at 10am. Teams of 2 - 4 riders (depending on numbers of entries) will race against the clock in 2-Flag, Stick-Pegging and Quintain and Blocks, followed by those energetic souls who wish to race on foot. The tie-breaker will be Bending.
After a short lunch break at noon there will a chance for Cavaliere members to check off their blue spur mounted games requirements.
Kirsten and I have also have prepared a Prix Fiore pas-de-deux to demonstrate. What's Prix Fiore, you ask? Well, a Prix Caprilli is a dressage test with jumps, named for Frederic Caprilli, the father of the modern jumping seat. So I leave it to you to imagine what a Prix Fiore is (and if you can't guess, you'll just have to come out and watch).
Individual Mounted Games races will start at around 1:30pm and will include Rings, Spear & Hay Bale, and Litter, with 5-flag as a tie-breaker.
There will be prizes for top grooms, teams, individuals and unmounted competitors, in all divisions as well as an overall hi-point award.
Horses
Those wishing to use school horses must have been assessed to at least Riding level 1 or equivalent (Equine Canada Rider 1, Canadian Pony Club D). Last chance to asses: this Saturday from 4 - 7:30pm!).
Divisions
There will be four divisions in both the team and individual races.
Open: Riding 3 or above
Intermediate: Riding 2
Beginner: Riding 1
Unmounted: For the non-riders!
Entry fees
If you wish to use a school or borrowed horse the cost is $15 for the day.
Entry to the tournament itself is by donation, with proceeds going to the Raise the Roof fund at Red Colt (see below for progress so far).
Food
As last year, Richmond Pony Club will be running a concession, and taking pizza orders by 11am.
It promises to be a fun day for the whole family, with activities for spectators as well as competitors, so bring your friends, nieces, nephews, parents and girl guide troupe!
For entry forms go to the front desk or email me at jennifer@academieduello.com.
Raise the Roof: coming along nicely!
Chris took the day off yesterday and we were joined by our crack team of apprentices Michael and Monica. Between us we managed to block and mount all the rafters for the shedrow. Thanks for donating a beautiful sunny day to the cause, guys!
After the first hour, the rafter units were assembled and ready to mount
The work in progress
Next step ... the roof!
Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques. Read more from Devon Boorman.