Mike Canfor is a passionate horseman and historian, and has combined his love of horses and history. You could say he is either a historical rider or an equine historian. Or both.
Mike started riding at a very early age, and indeed one of his earliest memories is the smell of horses. Fortunate to learn to ride on his own pony, this early imprint was to stay with Mike for the rest of his life. Drifting away from horses by his teens, Mike picked up riding again at about the age of 18, as he knew at that age that he wanted to be a “knight” and time in the saddle, and familiarity with horses is a core skill for the medieval warrior. From the first riding lesson as an adult, he enjoyed riding for the sake of it, and not to just fulfil a specific goal.
Passionate about horses and history, he has also read and studied history prolifically, specifically relating to medieval Europe. In 1998 Mike started re-enacting with well-renowned groups that had accuracy in research and equipment at their core, and from then on it made sense to gravitate towards people that were combining horses and history. They were few and far between, but after spending some time working alongside mounted groups and at events, Mike decided to re-focus on purely horsemanship.
In 2007 Mike was fortunate enough to be able to purchase his first two Lusitano horses, one from Portugal and one already in the UK. Having a strong interest in historical breeds and a deep interest in historical riding the obvious direction was to Iberia. This opened the door to the sport of working equitation, and intensive study of dressage with top Portuguese riders, both in Portugal and the UK. Supported by a local yard with a long heritage of working with Iberian horses, Mike’s riding progressed tenfold.
But in 2015 meeting up with an old friend in Cambridge gave him the opportunity to participate again in a historical event. This was a 15th C joust outside Peterborough Cathedral where Mike was to act as a mounted marshal. Immediately loving it, this reignited his
interest in recreating and practically researching medieval history.
Mike’s goal is to continue the rediscovery of the mounted martial arts of Europe, and to further our knowledge of the medieval horse and historical horsemanship, from the lens of a modern equestrian. Passionate about communicating this to a wider audience, he enjoys enlightening and engaging with diverse and different groups of people.