There are days when it’s good to be a blogger.
The day I was invited to attend a special behind the scenes tour of the Medieval Times horse ranch and Dallas castle in celebration of their 30th Anniversary was most certainly one of those days.
That’s an event that “my lady” would never decline.
Medieval Times is not just my happy place, it’s my happy palace. It’s my go-to mom escape where chivalry is law of the land and time travel is encouraged – or at least the fantasy of it for a few hours. Nothing resets your mom-patience meter better than an evening where you can eat with your hands, wear a crown, and the men all fall to their feet to treat you like royalty.
So not like home.
The Horses of Medieval Ranch
But spending a day with a hundred+ take your breath away gorgeous horses, getting a private demonstration from a ranch teeming with handsome knights and a highly sought-after behind the scenes tour of the magical Dallas castle is enough to make this mom feel like she’s queen for a day. I mean, even the port-a-potties were ridiculously upscale.
The media tour started with an exclusive visit to the little known Chapel Creek Ranch in Sanger, Texas where 115 Medieval Times pure Spanish horses call home. No lie, as I drove up there were two squires with flags flanking the entrance. As I drove down the dirt road, two more guided me to the parking area with flags of the realm. All that was missing was the trumpets.
Clearly, this was not going to be any old day at the office. (Video below)
This self-sufficient 240 acre ranch is truly a little slice of heaven on earth. With 22 foals in the herd, watching the horses just BE horses would have been enough of a thrill for this city girl in cowboy boots, but the day was young.
We were treated to a catered lunch by legendary Eddie Dean’s BBQ, but the star of the menu was the newly launched vegan stew that the castles now serve. (Delish by the way.) During our meal we were greeted by Jon Spires, a 27 year veteran of Medieval Times. He is also the Vice President and General Manager for the Dallas castle, and he had his original server pants to prove it.
Once seated in the private arena, we were treated to a dressage demonstration by the Director of Equestrian Management (head horse trainer for all the castles), Victor Lara, and Javier Ortiz, the head horse trainer for the Dallas castle. Victor and Javier should be renamed Arthur and Murray because I’ll just say these amazing horses can dance better than I can and we’ll leave it at that. I learned what a capriole is (see my video below for the horses in action).
This is a capriole:
Next up was a live battle demonstration by the knights of Medieval Times. Head knight Crew Wiard is easy on the eyes in a dreamy Hugh Jackman kind of way, and our narrator. Really, he didn’t need to say anything at all. I think the women would have been happy for him to just flex and smile, but since he was talking anyway I learned that the knights train for 50+ hours a week to maintain physical fitness and skill.
I also managed to focus on a few other factoids:
There are 17 knights at the Dallas castle (and adding more), and squires are knights in training waiting for a spot to open. Squires must train at minimum for 6 months but they could be waiting up to 3 years for a knight position to open!
They use real weapons made of titanium and steel – which explains the significant sparks that were flying – and while the battle scenes are choreographed, they are very real combat where injuries can happen had they not been practiced excessively for speed and skill. And we wouldn’t want anything to happen to Crew’s pretty face so I’m okay with his 50 hour training regime.
Leaving the peaceful and very private ranch was something I could do without, but the Castle called and we were scheduled for a behind the scenes tour. Most don’t realize that Medieval Times in the Dallas area (including castle, ranch and corporate) employs more than 200 people, the sheer size of the daily production is impressive. I couldn’t wait to sneak a peak into the secret side of where the magic happens.
King slash Chancellor Sonny Franks greeted us at the castle moat and ushered us into his “home.” We then got to pepper Kyle the Falconer with questions about 8 year-old Athena, one of the regal falcons that perform during the show. I had no idea that falcons only ate raw meat, or that their molting cycle can affect their energy levels, or that they can “imprint” (yes, like Twilight. I asked). But I did have to chuckle that the chicken is served AFTER the falcon demonstrations …. Just in case Athena or one of her friends should go rogue and decide to grab a little carry-out from one of the guests’ plates.
We got to tour the kitchen and again, I couldn’t juggle my camera and my notes fast enough. I can’t seem to serve three people and two dogs in a reasonable amount of time and this kitchen serves 1,000 guests in a mind-boggling 20 minutes. Talk about a dinner rush!
To put it in perspective: that’s 3.5 million pounds of chicken per year and 175,000 gallons of homemade tomato soup from scratch to server 2/5 million guests per year. Each oven can fit up to 1,000 potatoes or ribs at one time. Since the meal is served a la 11th century, there’s no need for silly forks and knives, cutting down on the complexity of the meals and clean-up. Except for the vegans. They’re like your high-maintenance relatives that come to visit. The vegans have to use a spoon. Sigh, I guess even castle life must evolve.
Next we really went behind the proverbial curtain to the backstage area and the horse stalls. The staging area behind the arena is smaller than I imagined – okay, I never really thought about what backstage looked like before this day – but I can only imagine the orchestration it must require during the show with horses, knights, and weapons all flying around.
Aside from the sand and the rows of jousting paraphernalia, the pinnacle of our visit was meeting the true stars of the show. The horses.
My favorite was the one they affectionately call “Puppy.” A beast of a gorgeous black Friesian horse, Puppy is what the chancellor rides in on at the beginning of the show. He got a lot of love from our group, and I suspect he’s no stranger to lots of attention.
Medieval Times horses are trained for 3 years at the ranch to perform one part of the performance (although some have learned many different scenes), and they never perform for more than 6 minutes. The horses love the stables and life in the hustle and bustle of the castle. Javier said many of them are not fans of their vacation time on the ranch because they have to leave their padded stalls, air conditioning and fly-free lifestyle.
Our group lingered long enough to overstay our welcome in the stables. By the time we mustered up the courage to return to the 21st century, the wenches were beginning to arrive for the evening performance.
As I drove away I reflected on the memorable day. I was struck with the beauty and the sophistication of all aspects of the operation, but even more importantly the reoccurring story of how these accomplished professionals began their career with Medieval Times as a server or a stable hand, and have remained and grown with the prestigious company to earn a leadership role. Clearly Medieval Times has an incredible team of people who love this company, they care for their family and offer them opportunities to grow within their fold. That is what makes this company truly special for both the employees and the audience who visit.
Here’s a video of not even half the photos I took from this great day long adventure. Enjoy!
So awesome! What a great time. Additionally, the new format is cool 🙂
Thank you! I love it too. 🙂