a Cavallo - Mounted Training and Horsemanship @ AEMMA

AEMMA's continued research and development efforts in the resurrection and reconstruction of medieval martial arts now extends to the realm of mounted training and horsemanship. Mounted fighting skills were a critical component of the skills possessed by the medieval warrior. The horse was instrumental in battle throughout history and we feel that in order to round out the skills of a medieval martial artist, mounted fighting training is now offered as part of the AEMMA curriculum.

Brief History:  Battle field tactics was forever changed by a certain far-reaching technique introduced into the field, that being the use of the couched lance by a group of horsemen who mounted closely coordinated charges as single units. Prior to this new development, there were three alternative methods of wielding the lance:

The principle disadvantage of these alternative methods of deployment was that once the lance made contact with the target, it was difficult to retrieve for a repeat deployment and therefore, the wielder needed to rely on other weaponry in order to prevent being vulnerable.

The couched lance, on the other hand, was tightly tucked under the right arm so that a heavier (and more effective) lance could be used. The full weight of man and horse were behind each blow and the warrior was distanced from his opponent, making him less vulnerable to attack. Unless it broke in the onslaught, the lance was retained by the knight who could use it repeatedly if required to do so. The significance of this new method of combat was that it required training and practice in order to carry it off. Moreover, as its maximum effect could only be obtained by a number of knights acting in unison, it was team training and team practice that was necessary. The tournament fulfilled all these needs admirably and indeed may have developed precisely as a result of those needs. [ 1 ]

The tournament appeared to have emerged as a distinct form of martial game at the end of the eleventh century, initially in the northern reaches of France. Even during the First Crusades and corroborated by the monastic chronicler, Robert the Monk, noted that the crusaders spent their liesure moments running at the quintain. [ 2 ]

There were three games that the riders participated in:

• The rings: three rings were suspended from poles at 8 points around the riding ring. The riders attempted to "catch" a ring on their lance at each pole. The smallest ring was worth 3 points, the middle one 2 points, and the largest one 1 point.
• The spear-throw: A target was painted on a bale of hay. The rider would ride by the hay bale, and throw a spear at the target. The spear had to be released by a certain point.
• The quintain: The quintain is a device mounted on a swivel, with a shield at one end, and a counterweight at the other. The rider strikes the shield with their lance, and makes the quintain spin. Scoring is by the number of times the quintain rotates after the strike.

Mounted Training Program

Level One - General Horsemanship

Fees: TBD
Note: In general, for those students that have no horsemanship skills, the average duration of training for this level is approximately 30-35 hours.
 

Basic Principles general anatomy of the horse, general principles of stable management, horse health and care, leading the horse to create respect and gain control, yielding and ground manners, finding and riding over the centre of gravity of your horse, stopping and turning your horse using reins and leg yielding, understanding the difference between hold and pull, communicating with your horse, develop familiarity of equipment (bits, spurs, martingales, draw lines, etc.). Perfecting Control develop that soft, steady, balanced head position, smooth, consistent, dependable frame, enhance performance by being subtle, enhancing gaits and transitions. The Finished Package integrating and practicing the attributes learned above, refinement of subtle bridle and legs responses, emphasis on cues from the rider's hips, seat, and upper thigh to establish rate and deepen collection, demonstration of self-carriage, balance and finesse.

Level Two - Rings, Spear, Quintain

Fees: TBD
Note: The average duration of training for this level is approximately 30-35 hours.
 

Rings The purpose of the rings is to develop accuracy and control with the lance. Rings can be setup either as single rings or multiple rings, of various sizes and heights. Rings can also be captured from the rider's left or right. This exercise leverages the rider's ability to control the horse, maintain one's balance and accuracy of the lance while riding. It is especially critical that accuracy be ensured should the rider progress to jousting whereby targeting the oncoming rider opponent must be secured to prevent devestating injuries. Spear Throw The spear exercise attempts to simulate an attack on a footman. The targets are typically 3 to 6 metres away and are usually constructed of bails of hay wrapped with a covering with a bull's eye or at the minimum, painted directly onto the bails. Quintain The quintain is a medieval training device that consisted of a target (usually a shield) fixed to a revolving wooden beam that pivoted on top of a centre post. Occasionally, a bag of sand was affixed to the opposite of the beam. The objective of the quintain was to train the rider to target cleanly at at speed as one would find during jousting. For those quintains that had a bag of sand attached, should the rider not hit the target cleanly or at speed, the rider would receive a painful clout from the bag of sand. It is these drills that enhance the rider's accuracy and timing when placing the lance strike.

Level Three - Jousting

Light Armoured Division (11-12th Centuries) The differentiator between light and heavy armoured divisions is the armour worn and the fact that the light armoured rider also employs a jousting shield. The light armoured division represents the early medieval period in which plate armour was not the standard of the day. Typically, the riders would have worn full helms (pembroke, barrel styles or similar), mail, coat of plates, mail chausses, leather gauntlets and shield.   Heavy Armoured Division (14-15th Centuries) The heavy armoured division demonstrates the epidemy plate armour technology of the period towards the end of the medieval period. The 14th century is regarded as a transitional period in which armour making technology was evolving at a rapid rate. Armour such as chain mail took a lesser role in defensive armour, being replaced by increasingly sophisticated plate armour complete with articulated limbs that offered very little, if any resistence to freedom of movement to the rider.

For details on AEMMA's training program, equipment requirements, armoured tournaments info, and ranking system, click on "training" on the navigation bar at the top of your browser window.

The Instructors

The entire mounted training program is under review and undergoing re-development. Come back to this page periodically to check on any new developments.

However, we are in discussion with the International Jousting Association (IJA) to determine if there is some mutually beneficial partnership which can be developed. For information on the IJA, visit www.joust-canada.ca.

Links & Resources

• Richard Alvarez, 2000 (article): "Saddle, Lance and Stirrup: An Examination of the Mechanics of Shock Combat and the Development of Shock Tactics"
• Richard Alvarez: "Mounted Combat"
• International Jousting Association - Canada
• Horse and Rider Nomenclature

Footnotes

1. Paragraph extract from "Tournaments", Richard Barber & Juliet Barker, The Boydell Press, 2000
2. Quintain: A contraption consisting of a wooden shield mounted on a beam with a counter-weight upon a pole. When the lance hits the shield, it will swing round, and the counter-weight will strike the knight out of the saddle unless the horse is fast enough, and the knight agile enough.