Animal Kingdom

ATTRACTIONS Animal Kingdom

Meet the band of horses—and a few birds— that call Medieval Times home

BY ELIZABETH FLORIO

Head horse trainer Felipe Ramirez with Ivan

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rive around to the south-facing side of Sugarloaf Mills mall in Lawrenceville and you can’t miss the 11th-century-style Spanish castle. Some of the most magnificent horses in the world, including athletic quarter horses, colorful palominos, handsome white Andalusians, Mexican Aztecas, and European Friesians, make their home inside its walls, just steps away from Starbucks and a Forever 21.

These noble steeds are the stars of Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, a live-action show offering jousting, royal drama, and utensil-free dining. The horses split their week between the castle’s 22-stall stable and a nearby ranch (its specific location is hush-hush due to the horses’ value). With nine locations around the country and a 240-acre home ranch in Sanger, Texas, Medieval Times is the largest breeder of pure Andalusians in the country.

Atlanta’s equine cast members—all male to avoid distractions—range in age from three to 18. Before getting the okay to perform, each spends a year or more under the tutelage of head trainer Felipe Ramirez. Depending on the breed, they might practice dressage movements or stunts like letting a knight fall off mid-run, but most importantly, they learn how to cope with bright lights and cheering fans. “You can have the perfect horse in practice, but then you ride out in a show

and a little kid’s waving a flag and suddenly they want to go back behind the curtain,” says Jason Jones, head knight at the Lawrenceville castle.

Of course, some animals love the limelight. Toffee, for example, is a friendly Friesian known to mosey out from behind the curtain before the show starts and roll around in the sand or approach people looking for treats. “You’ll hear the crowd going, ‘Aww,’ and you look out from the curtain and go, ‘Oh, Toffee,’” says Jones.

Horses aren’t the only animals in the realm. During one segment of the show, a falcon performs swooping figure eights above the crowd. Usually it’s Echo, a trusty Barbary falcon, but a young Lanner falcon named Sora sometimes fill in. She’s still learning and will occasionally perch in the rafters and refuse to come down. “I’ll have to come back after the show and baby-talk her down” says falconer Denise Nunez. “They really love that, when you talk to them like a little baby.”

Guests have a chance to meet a falcon and a falconer in the lobby (or Hall of Arms) before each show. The birds wear a handmade leather hood on their swiveling heads that looks adorable but, crucially, helps them avoid overstimulation. Kratos, a rescued Eurasian Eagle Owl, resides in a nearby display window, looking permanently grumpy, thanks to her prominent ear tufts.

Then it’s onto the show, held on weekends all year long and more frequently in summer. A sturdy Friesian props up the emcee. The nimble, brown quarter horses escort sword-fighting knights. But the Andalusians are the crowd favorite. They bow, high-step, and parade in formation. They rear up in time with the music. In a dramatic maneuver called the capriole that has roots in medieval warfare, a horse leaps like Superman, lifting all four legs and 1,000 pounds of himself into the air before throwing a kick back. And the crowd goes wild.

Juan Nogales with Irlandes Kratos

By the Numbers

Fun facts about the castle’s non-human residents

3species of animals in the show (horse, falcon, owl)

23 horses in the cast, including Andalusians, Friesians, Aztecas, palominos, and quarter horses

2times a day the horses are showered

201,480

approximate pounds of feed Atlanta’s horses eat in a year

10 percentage of their weight falcons should eat each day to ensure maximum performance

200 maximum speed of a falcon in miles per hour

1066 year William the Conqueror rode an Andalusian horse into the Battle of Hastings

3times Atlanta falconer Chuck Padrick has seen a falcon land on a patron’s table in 13 years