Interested in Roman Riding?

[John Conyard]

We hopefully have seven riders out this weekend, all on good saddles and horses. We have a new saddle, horse and rider out, but they will be very good in time. No doubt lots of problems will arise but the riders have put their time in and their kit is sound. I'm really looking forward to this one.

[John Conyard]

The weekend went better than I expected with less problems than there could have been. The young 4 year old needed a new bit to help the riders control. And we
only had one fall, a gentle reminder during training. There were no injuires which was very good. Getting everybody tacked up took a daft 53 minutes for the first training session but we soon had this down to a round half an hour as normal. Bits of the show can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS6k4N_SOrw and I hope a selection of photos will soon be on the Comitatus website.

What made the show different were the personal battles each rider faced with their mount. Each struggle was different and all were fascinating. It meant that rather riding well withing their capacity, many of us were riding on the edge, and it made for a very exciting show. I appreciate many of the public don't understand the work that goes in to making a horse perform as you wish it to, but I do, and some of our riding was excellent. I was nearly off in every show :oops: God knows what was happening here! And this was as nothing compared to some moments.
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Any way it was eciting stuff and one of the most memorable shows I've been part of.

[Cheyenne]

Cesar,

Your lady Estrella is an absolute beauty... I can't wait to have my own mount to do Roman cavalry properly with... I fell in love with one of the horses I was riding out in Chile in 2008 - he was an ex-rodeo horse used for the cattle round up and was rediculously fast... perfect size and build for a Roman pony.. but obviously not the right breed - but looked a bit like your lady there... brings back memories

[John Conyard]

Hi Claire, do you still have that old large wooden frame bargain saddle you broke at Lincoln way back when? Have you had it repaired? What type of horse are you buying and when do we get to see it? I suspect you will want to base it over on the wet side of the Pennines? With your own saddle plus your own horse you should be able to start riding as a Roman once again.

I have been posted an link with some excellent high quality photos of the horses at Sledmere.

http://ianhornerphotography.com/Living_ ... index.html

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[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Excellent shots.

[Cheyenne]

Hey John,

Yes - I do have that saddle and yes, it has been fixed - Chris did a glue and bolt for next to nothing for me and it should be good to go again. I think that realistically, buying a horse would possible take place after I have finished my studies - which is summer 2011... its something I've wanted to do for a good while and speaking with one of the others in another group who is training her new native pony to have ready for next summer- its really inspired me.. I'm thinking a dales would be a great choice.. they are up to 14.2hh - mostly black, short sturdy leg and beautiful head carriage... And yes, I'd have to have it stabled the 'wet' side of the Pennines I'm afraid... There is a stud that has bred some beautiful Dales ponies just outside Oldham http://www.strinesdalestud.co.uk/- a friend of mine used to work there and I think that would be my first port of call for buying one to break in... Lovely temperaments too and not too expensive..

[John Conyard]

I would like to keep these thread ticking over as a repository for all things to do with Roman riding.

The hot weather in Yorkshire meant that what little grass we had went brown and the horses had little appetite or opportunity to put on weight. Hal lost condition after Sledmere and so our horses went on holiday to a nice green grassy field down the road. I groomed Hal a lot, and made a new head collor for him to secure a chamfron, but it was all a bit frustrating.

My pre-conceived ideas about who could ride what are as ever are proving incorrect. Luckily everybody apart from myself thought the show at Ribchester went really well, but the size of arena was really just too small.

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We have three cavalry events lft this year to get things right so it is back to basics in the sand school for the next week. Sadly we have one horse lame and another pregnant so numbers may be a problem for the rest of the year. By next year the younger horses will be trained but it is too soon to put them in the arena at present.

On a bright note we soon hope to be ordering a batch of new saddles.

[jvrjenivs]

just a small update of my project. We also ordered some new saddles. I'm working hard to put some sets of horse gear together, with some really nice pieces for our display. Hopefully some interesting pictures will follow by the end of the year, as it takes some time and money to achieve all this.

[M. Demetrius]

Sounds like it takes quite a lot of money and time! Glad you're able to do this thing. A word of advice, though. Don't stand behind the horse when it lifts its tail. :wink:

[John Conyard]

I've ordered a new batch of saddles for Comitatus members and various friends, and added Jurjen's two saddles to the order. I think as many people as possible should have access to good quality wooden framed saddles to build this side of the hobby. And make a few dreams come true at the same time. Roman saddles seem as rare as hen's teeth. We can change that around quite quickly with a bit of planning.

I landed heavily on my new horn "horn" last weekend and pulled it clear out of the frame. I've slit the seam, taken out the horn and filled the holes in the rear cantle. I'm now off to get some very big screws

[Cheyenne]

Whose doing the saddles John? Is it Chris? I'm trying to sort out a regular supplier of woden frames for him as he said its getting a bit difficult...

[fabricius]

http://picasaweb.google.com/fabriciusde ... directlink

[John Conyard]

This all looks good fun and faintly familiar. Do you have a specific dateline? Leather stirrups and steppe saddles (based on McCellan American Indian pattern saddles and Portugese saddles?) make it seem like the Alans are coming. A fun period.

Thanks for sharing.

[fabricius]

Please to meet you . :wink:

[jvrjenivs]

Very interesting pictures.

I only think the horses are a bit big, but nonetheless I enjoyed watching them.