Equestrian:Activity guidelines - Skill at arms

Activity - Skill at arms

General

"Skill at arms" include activities where a rider/driver is attempting to strike a target with a weapon, and is often based on historic training for combat or tournaments. Targets can be done singularly, or several together.

Competition formats vary widely and are limited only by safety and the imagination of the marshal-in-charge of the competition. For example, events typically have a "challenge courses," which includes multiple targets and obstacles with a theme or goal.

Passengers using weapons do not need to hold a specific authorization, responsibility for ensuring safe use falls to the driver.

The following are examples of common activities found in the SCA.

Thrown weapons

Hunting or warfare

Spears and javelins thrown from horseback have been an effective weapon since ancient times, used in hunting and warfare alike. Many illuminations and artwork from the period show the javelin and spear in use, such as seen in the Bayeux tapestry, "Le Cheval en France au Moyen Age" (Briggitte Prevot and Bernard Ribemont), and "The Training of the Mamluk Faris" (H. Rabie).

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Thrown weapons equipment and range

Rings

Turkish, European, Arabic

Rings of various sizes are suspended from the arm of a standard. The rider attempts to spear the rings with the tip of their lance or sword. This is often used to simulate spearing an enemy or practice for jousting.

Rings may be set on either or both sides of the standard, and are often of various sizes (typically 2 to 8 inches). The minimum length of the lance from the rider's hand to the tip of the lance may be set by the tournament.

The common method of running the rings at SCA events is almost identical to plates shown in Antoine de Pluvinel's "Le Maniege Royal", and his work illustrates the riding and styles of the late 16th century. Techniques showing the correct way to hold your lance for ring tilting also show up in French illuminations from period. A description appearing in the Arabic manuals (H. Rabie, "The Training of the Mamluk Faris") includes "...metal rings, twelve in number, fixed to a piece of metal, which all had to be caught in one attempt."

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Ring lances and standards

Quintain

European jousting training

A shield or other target is attached to a horizontal arm that rotates on an upright post. A rider strikes the shield as they ride past, causing the arm to rotate. The more rotations the higher the score.

Pluvinel's work illustrates riding at the quintain. In period, quintains were constructed in varying manners; however, all were made to represent a shield or target to be struck by the rider’s lance. In 1434, Duarte, King of Portugal, writes on the techniques of jousting and discusses the different ways of carrying a lance properly. "You can carry the lance in your hand in four ways; with the lance running along the arm with the arm extended; with the lance a little higher and crossing over the mane of the horse; with the lance over the left hand or arm; and with the lance either below or above the belt."

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Quintain lance and target

Reeds

Turkish "Mamluk" warfare game

Reeds of varying heights are placed in a pattern and struck by the rider with a sword. Reeds may be placed in any pattern or randomly. A common pattern is to place the reeds in 2 rows. The rider goes down the middle, and uses a sword to cut down each reed, alternating strikes to the left and right.

The reeds may take several forms. They are often simulated by using 2-inch to 10-inch wooden dowels mounted on 5-foot standards. Another version has the reeds mounted on standards of different heights, so the rider simulates attacks to hamstring, behead or disembowel their enemies.

From "The Training of the Malik Faris", Rabie:
At first, a green reed the height of the faris was fixed in the ground. The horseman approached it from the right, riding very fast, and cut a span from it. He repeated the exercise a number of times until only one dhira (about 26 inches) was left from the length of the reed. The next exercise consisted of fixing five reeds to the ground on the right hand side of the faris, the distance between each reed being ten dhira (about 21.3 feet). The faris approached on horseback, cutting each reed, piece by piece, as in the preceding exercise. The last exercise of this kind involved the placing of five reeds on the right hand and five more on the left hand for the faris to cut through, piece by piece.

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Sword

Heads

Round or oval objects representing the heads of enemy combatants are placed on poles in any pattern, and struck by the rider using a sword. The variation involving weaving the poles was an adaptation of modern pole bending from the early years of the SCA.

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Sword

Tent-pegging

Turkish "Mamluk" warfare game

Tent-pegging, also called pig-sticking, is an activity where the rider collects various targets from the ground by stabbing downward at them with a spear or lance.

A late 13th century Arabic author mentions "cornets or cones which used to be scattered on the ground, to be collected by the mounted mamluk with the spearhead of his lance." (H. Rabie, "The Training of the Mamluk Faris")

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Spears and ring-lances
• The overhand technique (hand on top of the lance) must be used.

Birjas

Mamlūk origins

In the SCA adaption of this historical training technique, a rider thrusts a javelin or short lance through a large ring and catches it on the other side without touching or displacing the ring. The ring is usually attached or placed on top a pole approximately 5 feet tall.

Requirements:

• Weapons and games authorization
• Javelins, short lances, or wood dowel