The Horses at the Tournament
One of the best parts of the Medieval Tournament was the horses. I was in awe as I watched the horses work with the people who rode them.
The Yellow Knight was the first to be introduced and his horse came galloping in, carrying him, and decked out in yellow trappings. The horse was lively and spirited. The horse for the Black and White Knight was not as lively. He almost seemed to plod, compared to the lively horse adorned in yellow.
The horses were thoroughly trained. The Kings Mistress of the Horses demonstrated the various gaits her horse could do. It was great. The horse could lift his feet very deliberately in high steps and sometimes the gait was more like prancing. I couldn't tell you all the steps the horses could do.
The dungeon guard told me that there is a place where the horses are trained and they get their horses from there and then work with them daily to train them for their act.
One of the things I liked was watching the horse when his knight had been unseated. The horse would race from the arena, --going offstage. I'm sure the horses were trained to do that but it was like there was something very special "back home" and the horse could hardly wait to get there. I think they loved the running. Some of the horses got as much of a work out as the knights did.
The horses were not only beautiful but they were also intelligent athletes.
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