Cavaliere Program
Once you have completed the Introduction to Mounted Combat workshop you are ready to enter into our ongoing beginner to advanced courses. These courses are offered on a regular basis both at Academie Duello and at our stables and will help you develop and progress through the programs 5 ranks (represented by coloured Spurs). Courses are divided based on three core disciplines: Horsemanship, Riding, and Swordplay. Each discipline must be developed individually and integrated with one another to progress through each rank.
Riding & Horsemanship Courses
“… it is safe to say that a good rider who is a weak swordsman would have the advantage over a good swordsman who is a poor rider.”
– US Army, Provisional Regulations for Saber Exercise, 1907.
“To neglect a detail of this kind is surely to neglect oneself; since in the hour of danger, it is certain, the owner has to consign himself, life and limb, to the safe keeping of his horse.”
- Xenophon the Greek, On Horsemanship, c. 350 BCE.
A cavalier must first be a good rider before he can be an effective combatant, and he must be a good horseman before he can be a truly effective rider. To help students pass through the ten levels of Horsemanship our Riding & Horsemanship classes offer students 90 minutes of instruction in
- Sound horsekeeping practices
- Grooming, tacking-up, anatomy and terminology
- How to develop a safe, respectful and happy partnership with the horse
- At more advanced levels: conditioning, soundness, farriery, care of injury and illness
Following the horsemanship portion of class students take part in 30 minute riding sessions on our school horses to work on their equitation and, at higher levels, their knightly games skills.
The Horsemanship portion may be taken on its own.
Classes occur roughly every second Sunday from 10am – 1:30pm. See our workshop schedule for dates.
Cost: $60+HST per session; $200+HST for four classes
Horsemanship only: $30+HST per session; $100+HST for four classes
Swordplay Workshops
As with most things, skill must be developed from the ground up; and this is especially true when learning to wield weapons from horseback. Our monthly Mounted Combat workshops provide ongoing training in the use of longsword, sidesword, spear, and grappling techniques, both from the ground, from the backs of falsemounts (wheeled wooden ‘horses’), and from horseback (at higher ranks).
Students must demonstrate proficiency with a weapon or technique from the falsemount before advancing to applying those skills on the back of a live horse. Progression in these techniques will be assessed in class and at formal tests at Mounted Combat Games Days.
Workshops take place monthly on the first or second Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00pm. See our workshop schedule for more details.
Cost: $60+HST per workshop; $150+HST for a package of three.
Integrated Training Packages
These packages combine our horsemanship, riding, and mounted combat classes together to provide a way for you to focus your training on the next level of the Cavaliere program. For a cost of $120 per month students can take part in all of our Mounted Combat and Riding & Horsemanship classes (a $60/month savings).
Green Spur Package
Partake in our riding, horsemanship, and mounted combat programs for 6 months. This includes:
- 3 Riding and Horsemanship Series
- 4 Mounted Combat Workshops
Cost: $675 + HST or $120/month + HST