Jousting at the English Tournament Society Edgcote
By Julian Hall - 01 Apr, 2011
Destrier Jousting at the English Tournament Society Edgcote Tournament 2010
[click here to watch the video]
Manor Park Farm, Ruislip
By Julian Hall - 20 Sep, 2010
It was slightly strange returning to the area where I grew up, driving into the suburbs, past familiar landmarks from long ago (including the site of the stables where I learnt to ride), but this time with a family on board and horse trailer in tow. Manor Farm is a small oasis of green amongst the neat houses of Ruislip, and Destrier were the main attraction for Hillingdon council’s Medfest, providing our usual skill at arms display and a joust on both days of the weekend.
Nate and Tiff made the long journey up from Cornwall to be with us, Tiff also returning to the area of her past, the two of them staying with her sister just down the road.
The shows were very well received by an enthusiastic audience, whose enjoy...
Avoncroft
By Julian Hall - 20 Sep, 2010
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings provided Destrier with a lovely setting for our joust and skill at arms displays on the 7/8th of August, and a very appreciative crowd – apparently a record number for the museum – enjoyed the action over the weekend.
All didn’t start well though, with Jason’s much loved jousting horse Segunda being taken ill on the journey up, and having to be taken straight home again to recover. We’re pleased to hear that she is doing well and wish her a speedy recovery.
Segunda’s place was taken by a relative newcomer, Bert, ridden by Tournament Stud’s John Neave, and the pair made a cracking debut – welcome to the world of Destrier jousting.
Zoe stood in as commentator at the 11...
Dress Rehearsal
By Julian Hall - 28 Jun, 2010
Hi everyone,
Just to say thanks to everyone who came to the dress rehearsal last weekend, I cannot remember a more enjoyable and positive get together. The sun shone too!
Saturday consisted of a brush up of our skill at arms and hunting games show with a bit of rethinking on the way the individual games were run so that when we tried again on the Sunday morning it all flowed a lot better with opposing teams running at different games one immediately after the other to keep it all flowing. When it came to the drag boar some of the horses were a little reluctant to attack it - a...
A weekend at Tournament Stud
By Julian Hall - 08 Jun, 2010
The weekend of the 5th/6th June saw several of us getting together at Tournament Stud, primarily to sort out and refurbish the group kit - but there was also plenty of time for riding and socialising.
The weather on Saturday was glorious, and it wasn't long before those macho torsoes were on show (rather unfairly, Andreas had been bronzing himself on his honeymoon in Egypt, which did rather highlight the pasty whiteness of the rest of us!)! The tilt rail now has new supports, it's covers have been washed, and we have totally new counter tilts. The lance racks are no longer falling apart and the rings have white tabs on them (courtesy of the Past Tents folk who were still at work) so they are more obvious - primarily so the aud...
Fashionable clothing for the well dressed Lady and Gentleman in the second half of the fifteenth century.
By Julian Hall - 26 Jan, 2010
The medieval tournament was the perfect place for the upper echelons of society to display their wealth, and wearing sumptuous fashionable clothing was a very obvious way to demonstrate just how important you were. Contemporary accounts from some of the most famous tournaments of the second half of the 15th Century record how knights would enter the lists accompanied by numerous squires dressed in silk damask or velvets, their horses caparisoned in similarly expensive fabrics.
Men’s fashion aimed to exaggerate the wide-shouldered, narrow-wasted look, with padded shoulders and pleated gowns helping to achieve this ideal image. The basic garments of doublet and hose were common to all levels of society, hose being made of woollen clot...
Now booking for 2010!
By Julian Hall - 17 Dec, 2009
2009 was a great year for Destrier - we've had a lot of fun and put on some spectacular shows! We're now taking events bookings for 2010, so get in touch now before you miss out!
Destrier wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - hope to see you in it!
Contact Destrier
Training a horse and skill at arms principles
By Julian Hall - 14 Dec, 2009
"The horses used by Destrier for their performances come from several different yards across the UK, but all have to be trained to a high standard.
Mounted skill at arms has two main and rather obvious, participants who have to work in harmony to achieve the best results; the rider and the horse. Both need to be trained to be safe and secure, to work with sharp weapons at speed, with ground crew safety in mind and strange looking targets scattered on the floor, and quite often a noisy crowd of spectators.
Firstly, to actually strike a target the rider needs to get close enough for sword, or the right distance away for javelin to be most effective. No matter how good the rider, if the horse simply swerves away from...
Welcome to Destrier.org.uk!
By Julian Hall - 11 Dec, 2009
We're very proud to be re-launching our website. While still under construction we hope to provide you with more pictures, videos and information on Destrier as well as how to book us for 2010. Looking forward to seeing you :)
