MEG Meeting

2014 September 25

In Attendance

Giancarlo, Valkura, Annisa, Guillaume, Stephen, Katelyn, Bernard, Kerij-e, Rapheal, Anne Mary, Juliana

Event recap

Emprise work party #2-

Painted lots of foam jousting tips and finished up some other items.

September Crown-

We learned what it actually takes to cross the border with horses. It was not that difficult, once we had all of the information and got all of the proper paperwork together, but it was quite expensive. The event went well, and the Championship ran according to plan and schedule. The Crown and a good number of spectators stayed to watch the whole thing, which is a first. More experienced Equestrian involvement in the site layout would have helped, as the RV parking along two sides of the arena was a noise and distraction problem. Canadian riders and horses got to participate, everyone learned a lot. 14 riders signed up. 7 competed, and Duncan Taddio is the new Champion. Several Tir Righ people authorized or made progress on their marshal training.

September MEG practice at Reber-

Useful as always to be there a week before the event. Dropped off a lot of equipment, did some jousting, tested the sheep for the challenge course, looked at barn options. Next year consider pre-spraying barn for flies.

Emprise of the Black Lion XIII-

Best one yet. Jousting at the start of the day went very well, the Queen joined the Judges and enjoyed the tournament, and we even were able to finish the day with dancing. Gate total: 243 adults, 15 youth, 24 children. Really lovely infield, new judge platform was great, musicians were wonderful, so many happy people. Family tent was good. Many lovely recognitions, including Guild members.

Some pre-event challenges between the baronies regarding scheduling and feelings of ownership. Court schedule, tent locations, possibility of baronial championships on Sunday. Perhaps anticipating this with more and clearer communication would help in the future. More help with set-up and break-down of infield tents would be good. Porte de l’Eau had a conflicting meeting. Sunday practice left some mess. Some miscommunication between Reber and boarders meant that Guillaume had to make an arena use deal with lesson lady. Needed more porta-potties. Parking needed all the sandwich board signs to maintain space and access for horse trailers- ours and the boarders’.

Guillaume had follow-up meeting with Reber’s manager, Mike. Reber is happy with us. New contract format for future years will be more expensive, and a la carte rather than “whole facility”. Can probably still afford to use the site if we only rent infield (and track) and arenas. Look for other options as well- define needs (good footing, long space, room for tents- stalls are nice).

Food truck was happy, though we needed her to be faster- the long wait in the sun was hard, and some people didn’t get food. Add a second food vendor, perhaps Dante’s Dogs or something like that.

Shared feedback forms received so far. Encourage more people to submit feedback- we really do read it!

Ideas for Emprise XIV- Date: September 18-20. Keep raising that bar! Anne Mary has ideas to improve judge booth. Put the café in the infield for better visibility and accessibility. Crosswalk management. Parking manager and signage. Assign scoring information relay person between tournament field and Lists. Try replacing behord with heavy mounted combat. Make sure Emprise court business gets on the court schedule- perhaps make index cards ahead of time with each piece (prizes, individual game winners, etc), so we can fill in names and hand them the stack. Easy to forget these things at the tired end of the day. Contact boarders before September practice- come play with us, at the practice & on Sunday.

Mounted Patrol open house-

It was fun and informative. Toured barn and facility, watched a demo of training exercises (giant ball, tarp, flares, pistol, snare drum, tennis ball and water bottle throwing, formation riding), chatted with officers, met farrier, ate hot-dogs. Invited them to come to a MEG practice, expressed interest in a de-sensitization clinic.

Upcoming events:

ARC- Southern Oregon, Oct 3-5. Nobody from MEG is planning to attend. Very long trip.

Equineox- Wenatchee, Oct 17-19. Possible MEG attendance. Practice conflicts.

October MEG practice- Maple Valley, Oct 18. Invite Mounted Patrol. What games?

New Ideas:

Day of Tilt style event, Spring 2015- Rapheal is doing research, thinking of asking a non-SCA jouster to come as an instructor.

Holiday Party- It’s the Year of the Horse. Discuss on list to come up with a good date.

Baronial Champion- Rapheal has been invested as Madrone’s first Baronial Equestrian Champion. Guild shared ideas about what the position should be, and also about creating some garments of office. Suggested an ecranche, surcote and caparison. Represent Madrone at events elsewhere.

Building new equipment- more tilt, some lance bases.

Schedule a movie and tack cleaning get-together- discuss on list to come up with a good date.

Filed under:Meetings 2014