Equestrian Costume Project

My husband and I play within an organization called the SCA, which stands for Society for Creative Anachronism. It is a world-wide society, which holds events based on the medieval world between 600 AD and 1601AD. It also promotes research into all aspects of that time period, and members work to create a "persona" that might have lived in the time frame they choose...say 1400 Italian or 1500 Elizabethan. But it also includes Greek, Russian, Viking, Turkish, and even Japanese personas. It just depends on what you are interested in.

I joined the SCA back in the early 80s, played for ten years, then bailed out, moved to Oregon (I lived in Southern California), then rejoined about three years ago. Before I left California, I had done mostly the equestrian games, which attempt to recreate the tactics used to practice for war. I'm not going to go into detail about that, but it can include everything from whacking fake heads on poles (behead the enemy) to mounted archery, which is my favorite.

All the costumes my husband and I currently have are ones I made back in the 80s. They still fit, and still look nice, but....I'm tired of them. I want to make us both some new things, starting with equestrian garb. We do mounted archery outside the SCA, but sometimes those folks, depending on the event, also wear some kind of costume, usually of a Mongolian or Turkish origin since that is the birthplace of mounted archery. So, for about the last year I have been trolling the Internet, especially Pinterest, looking for a Turkish costume that would be rider-friendly. I ride an Arabian/saddlebred cross mare, so putting her, or me, in a heavy "warhorse" type costume wouldn't look right.

I figured I would be trolling along, looking at costumes, the right one would pop up, and I'd have a "That's it!" moment. I came close a few times, but when I saw this tunic, the "ding, ding, ding, That's it!" moment struck.

So, here it is, fresh off of Pinterest. I will make modifications to it, like change the color (green, black and gold), shorten it to mid-calf length, and split the back up to about my tail bone to make it more horse-friendly. And it won't be quite as ornate as this tunic, as it needs to be washable. I even have a pattern I made, again back in the 80s, for a very early period Viking coat (I made it for a male friend), which is surprisingly similar in shape and construction—it's not as pinched in at the waist and there are no sleeve gussets. But it won't take much to convert it to this tunic. Then I will make a matching saddle cloth and breast collar for my horse.

It's going to be weird getting back into SCA-type costuming, since the only costuming I have done in the last five years has been pirate garb for when we do pirate reenacting (yes, we do, and have a ton of fun doing it, with a great gang of friends).

So, let the hunt for fabric and trim begin!