Mounted Fencing Clinic at Historic Equitation

With reenactment events largely suspended during 2019-2020, I sought alternative activities. In mid-2021, I discovered a Mounted Fencing Clinic organised by Dominic, Emily, and their team at Historic Equitation in Sudborough, Northampton - a facility dedicated to training horses and riders in historical riding and horsemanship techniques.

The two-day clinic focused on mounted fencing, covering historical methods from the manuals written by the medieval masters Talhoffer, Kal, and Lichtenauer. Clinics function as group training sessions where participants either bring their own horses or loan animals from the facility to develop medieval mounted fencing skills.

HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) practitioners have meticulously recreated medieval fighting styles based on historical manuscripts. The oldest known European fighting manuscript is I.33, dating to approximately 1270-1320 and housed in Leeds Armouries.

Medieval combat masters created these manuscripts for practical purposes - some served as advertisements to attract wealthy clients, while others functioned as training aids for previous students. If you were an important person of high status, you had to be able to ride a horse and you had to be able to fight.

I'd encourage anyone interested to support Historic Equitation and participate in their specialised clinics.