Graves, vice president, marketing & sales for Medieval Times. “Medieval Times originated in Spain, so it was natural that the creators chose the great Spanish Andalusian breed for its shows,” said Kerry D. Pure Spanish Horses:Prized by medieval royalty for its astonishing strength, agility and even temperament. Opened in 1991, the 241-acre Chapel Creek Ranch in North Texas is home to Quarter Horses, Friesians, Menorcans, as well as the Pure Spanish Horses the company breeds. There, the horses live out their lives in royal treatment. Then life as a pampered performer begins.Īfter a few years in the spotlight, the Medieval Times horses move back to the Chapel Creek Ranch. At age three, the horses move to their new homes - one of nine North American Castles - where they learn advanced-level dressage from a master horse trainer. Long reins and simple exercises such as lunging follow. As weanlings, Medieval Times horses are introduced to lead ropes and halters. Nearly all of their more than 400 horses are raised at Medieval Times’ Chapel Creek Ranch in Sanger, Texas. The magnificent stallions are born performers. Some of the most talented Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament cast members are the horses. Medieval Times admit roughly 2.5 million peasants annually. Medieval Times uses so many Andalusian, or Spanish, horses that they have their own breeding farm in Sanger, Texas The last castle in their expansion opened in Scottsdale Arizona in 2019. The investment firm opened a second location in Buena Park, California in 1986, and a third in Lyndhurst, New Jersey in 1990. The Kissimmee location of Medieval Times saw its attendance rise steadily, from 183,000 in 1984 to 600,000 by 1993. In keeping with their (loose) interpretation of medieval practices, no utensils would be allowed. Their stage would be a massive sand floor attendees could enjoy Cornish hen and cheer for one of six knights depending on which section they were seated in. The appeal came from the idea of seeing what amounted to a live stunt show, with armored knights hoisting broad swords and ramming into one another in jousts. By 1983, the first Medieval Times on American soil was open for business. Scouts visited Orlando, Florida in 1980 and came across a prime spot of real estate in Kissimmee, just 15 minutes from Walt Disney World. Target Spearing: They (once again)are go full speed on horseback towards a target then take a spear and try to get a bullseye.Montaner put on a show in Spain for years before an investment panel was gathered to bring the idea to the States. They have this set up as two different ways: in one there is a row of rings where they get a certain one for themselves while the other is a tiny ring set up on a wooden beam where they go one at a time to get the ring. Not pictured: The Ring Games- The Knights must catch rings upon their lance while riding horseback. I can’t imagine that being an easy task…especially because those horses REALLY go! Mixed with the movement and trying to hold yourself on the horse while focusing on grabbing the flag and keeping a hold of it to score the point, I can’t even imagine the skill it takes to do so! I was a little distracted by my food during the explanation of this game, but what I gathered was each knight gets a good speed with their horse, and has to grab the flag out of a wooden holder on the ground. Haha I swear, I’m not actually that competitive, I just love having a great time with all aspects, especially at shows like this where you can just let loose! Remember, it’s all fun and games, so be respectful…but for real, boo the heck out of them. You can also cheer the Knights to your left and right, because they are your allies, but anyone across the field…BOO them like your life depends on it. Make sure you BOO as loudly as you can when it’s their turn. The color that sits across from you is basically your arch nemesis, your mortal enemy, whatever the opposite of yin and yang are. They pair the knights up with a teammate and they compete against each other. Side Note: I’m sure there are way more intelligent names for the challenges, but I wanted to also give the idea of what the challenges are. Here, six knights are lined up and ready to compete in multiple challenges such as jousting, flag grabbing, spear throwing, grabbing the flag while on horseback, grabbing rings while on horseback – all for the ultimate prize. We’ve now come to the exciting beginning of the tournament.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |