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.
I started riding at a very early age, and indeed one of my earliest memories is the smell of horses. I was fortunate to learn to ride on my own pony, and this early imprint was to stay with my for the rest of my life. Drifting away from horses by his teens, I picked up riding again at about the age of 18, as I 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, I enjoyed riding for the sake of it, and not to just fulfil a specific goal.
Passionate about horses and history, I also read and studied history prolifically, specifically relating to medieval Europe. In 2001 I 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, I decided to refocus on purely horsemanship.
In 2007 I purchased my 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, I progressed my riding by tenfold.
But in 2015 meeting up with an old friend in Cambridge gave me the opportunity to participate again in a historical event. This was a 15th C joust outside Peterborough Cathedral where I acted as a mounted marshal. I loved it, and it reignited my interest in medieval history.
My goal is to keep alive the mounted martial arts of Europe, and to further our knowledge of the medieval horse and historical horsemanship. I am passionate about communicating this to a wider audience and to enlightening and engaging with many different groups of people.