It is sadly and with heavy heart,
Do heavy horse not take her part,
Unsound of hoof shall miss the beat
Of drums and chants and marching feet
A mighty steed made weak by chance
And foul unlucky happenstance
Siege of Glengary will miss her thunder
Until the next year’s tales of wonder
Mark
Yep, unless an especially kind Lord creates miracles of hoof growth, my mighty warhorse Dolly will miss Siege of Glengary.
She is, of course, receiving the absolute best of care, but there is no reasonable expectation that shell be anything resembling sound in 10 days… and it would probably be unwise to try even if she does make radical moves towards four-leggedness.
As far as my riding goes, I will be continuing to work with Ally to prepare for the Equestrian Games at Siege of Glengary 2009.
I suppose there are a lot worse fates in this world than having a big, beautiful Clydesdale with lots of feather to ride as an alternate mount. They are about the same size heightwise, and its possible that Dollys barding will fit. And shes a Scot breed, so its even appropriate!
Of course, the only less period name I can think of than Dolly Madison happens to be Metallica, Allys proper name! LOL I hope everyone has a sense of humour!
Well, that all for now. Assuming no major training/weapons issues, Ill be changing mounts for Glengary.
Sliante Mhath!
Mark
Posted by: admin Tags: Barding, Medieval, SCA, Siege of Glengary, Society for creative anachronism, aethelmearc, authorization, caparison, costume, equestrian, equitation, garb, joust, jousting, knight, middle ages, renaissance, shire, sylvan glen, war horse, warhorse
Mother nature challenged Sylvan Glen’s equestrians once again on authorization day! Gale force winds howled through spring’s sunshine and deep mud, knocking over equipment and carrying conversations away. Our intrepid equestrians refused to be swayed and gathered on the fields of honor at the Bower farm.
An Imposing Silhouette: Rachel and Pierre Pointelle, Scott and Cassandra, and Lady Banshee
Lord Gunnarr and Lady Banshee traveled down from Endless Hills to conduct authoriztions and direct the merry mayhem. Lady Bathory Rose accompanied them. Participating equestrians were: Scott, Noel, Rachel, Mark and Kirsten. Paticipating equines were: Cassandra, Sioux, Dolly,and Pierre Pointelle. Rosamund ground crewed– thanks Rosamund! The newborn colt studied the grown warhorses from his lookout in the roundpen and impressed us all with his levade (a controlled rear used during mounted warfare as defense against artillery and elephant warriors.)
The authorization process first tests the rider’s control of the horse with the reins carried in one hand, leaving the other hand free for a weapon. Riders performed figure-eights and transitions (changes in gaits) to prove their communication with their mounts. We then took up weapons and demonstrated the games.  In Gunnarr’s words, all riders passed the authorizations “with flying colors.”
Mark and Dolly Behead the Enemy:
 Noel and Sioux Tilt the Rings:
Kirsten and Pierre Pointelle Gallop the Reed Chop:
We put our horses and equipment away and reconvened in the barn. Bathory Rose brought forth examples of her beautiful horse barding and caparisons. The patient Pierre Pointelle (made even more agreeable by Rachel’s endless apple supply) modeled the exquisite equine garb.
Mark, Kirsten and the Endess Hills contingent then joined Margarita, Bera, and Snaebjorn at the fairgrounds to discuss layout and scheduling for the upcoming Siege of Glengary.  The site is perfect and the autocrat is amazing. We equestrians invite you join us in September… and for all the practices leading up to an unforgetably good time!
Click here for the slideshow
Posted by: admin Tags: Barding, armor, armored horse in europe, caparison, chanfrom, cloisters, exhibit, exhibition, horse armor, leather, medieval art, metropolitan museum of art, peytral
in 2005 my dear SCA friend Sueva did the books for my business. Around that time I found out she’d never been to the the amazing museums of NYC which were my playground in my northern incarnation. I was horrified–Sueva is of strong artistic bent–if anyone NEEDS to enjoy these museums, it’s her. As a “thank you” I hosted her on a great metropolitan adventure.
We had ulterior motives. Sueva is an accomplished glassworker. She was in the process of recreating a vibrantly-colored stained glass piece… from a black and white photo. That piece resides at the Cloisters, a reproduced monastery in the Bronx which houses much of the Met’s medieval collection. And it just so happened that the “Armored Horse in Europe” exhibition was running alongside the Met’s amazing permanent armor collection.
Off we went, artistic spirits hungry, camera in hand. I recently found my photo archives from this adventure, including pieces that are STILL on my list of things to recreate, along with documentation. Enjoy!