Cynagua Equestrian Minister: Viscountess Juliana of Avon
Mists Equestrian Minister: Viscountess Marguerite du Royon
Oertha Equestrian Minister: Mistress Clare Elena of Strathclyde
The Kingdom Equestrian Officer serves as the administrator of all things equestrian in the West and reports to the Kingdom Earl Marshal. The purpose of the West Kingdom College of Equestrian Arts is the study of medieval horsemanship through recreating equestrian pursuits of the Middle Ages. Participants acquire skill and expertise in these areas by attending and participating in equestrian tourneys, practices, and competitions, and through lectures or other workshops sponsored by the College. The College is composed of two parts, the Equestrian Guild and the Marshallate. The Guild is focused upon the research and applied aspects of medieval equestrian arts, while the Marshallate is responsible for safety and conduct.
The College hosts two Kingdom level events per year and often sponsors a full track of classes at Collegiums and the annual Arts and Sciences Tourney. We often have equestrian activities at Crowns, Coronations and Wars, as well if the site is suitable and allows horses to be included. Activities we can do with horses are varied and diverse. From royal processions to combat on horseback, there is a wide range of interest and participation in mounted archery, cavalry drill, jousting, games, driving and more.
See the Kingdom Calendar for events that have equestrian activities. Please feel free to join the WestKingdom EQ Facebook Page or the WestKingdomEQ Yahoo Group to learn more about Horses and Equestrian events/practices near you.
If you are new to the SCA or new to Equestrian Arts, please check out Getting Started in West Kingdom Equestrian Activities – FAQ’s for Horse Owners, Horse Borrowers, Horse Renters, and the Equestrian Curious. This document attempts to answer some of the most common questions. If you have a question it does not address or just want more information, feel free to contact on the the individual officers above or one of the social media groups.
Educational Links
General
- Frequently Asked Questions for Newcomers to the Equestrian Arts
- Frequently Asked Questions for Folks Learning to be Driving Marshals
- West Kingdom Marshals - Expectations and Good Practices for West Kingdom Marshals (2-1-2016)
- WK Equestrian Marshal Authorization Process and Sample Questions
- SCA Equestrian handbook - aka The Rules
Horses in Period
- A Condensed Look at the Types of Horses in Western Europe during the Middle Ages - Viscountess Juliana (May 2015)
- Riding as Art - From Ancient Athens to Renaissance Europe - Mistress Else (from The Page - Arts Supplement, January 2017)
- Equestrian Written Documentation Project - Mistress Else - Ongoing Project to collect horse and riding/driving related quotes from horsemanship and other texts published prior to 1601.
Mounted Archery
- How to Train Your Horse for Horseback Archery
- How to Train Yourself for Horseback Archery
- How to build a mogu bear - also useful for constructing other mogu targets.
- Mogu arrow construction
- Mogu arrow construction with pictures
Close Quarters Work - Buzkashi, Pato, Mounted Wrestling (A&S), Ground to Mounted Combat (Experimental)
- Close quarters work and war horse fundamentals based on "The Art of Horsemanship" by Xenophon (from Spring 2015)
- Notes from the Cynaguan Mounted Combat Skills Workshop (November 2012)
- On-line copy of "Fight Earnestly" by Hans Talhoffer published in 1459 (translation by Jeffery Hull) - Unmounted wrestling plates start at p 115. Mounted plates start at p 206
- Thumbnails of Fiore Furlan dei Liberi da Premariacco c 1410 (Getty) - mounted and unmounted plates mixed.
