Monday officially concluded the 53rd Steppes Warlord, held in Canton, Texas from May 22nd to May 25th, 2026. It was attended by HRM John Drake, HRM Vittoria Maggiore, and their Excellencies Baron Sean Tabor and Baroness Esmeralda Malaspina.
The event was very busy and had quite a lot going on!
Saturday had the baronial archery championship, rapier championship tournament, combat archery championship, baronial novice archery championship, thrown weapons, First Free Company cut and thrust tournament, Ironwyrm memorial William Tell archery tournament, A&S display, on site lace competition, on site embroidery competition, Bardic compeition, brewing competition, Clan Blue Feather happy hour and cookie bar, Arthurian Themed ball, and the Baron's Hafla.
Sunday had the royal hunter tournament, Steppes Warlord Tournament, King's Hope Chiv contest. Royal Blade tournament, and the Midsummer Knight's dream.
Those recognized include:
Steppes Warlord: Sir Louis le Blaireau
Queen of Love and Beauty: Mistress Colleen O’Kelly
Rapier Champion: HL Andsvar Lorenzoson
Queen of Grace and Honor: HL Nessa Faulkner
Archer: Ian Thornhill Chisholm
Sentinel: Martino Giovanni Arciere
Bardic Competition: Master Robin of Gilwell
Brewing Competition: Hagar of the Foaming Beer
Lady Rowena of the Steppes - Acorn of the Steppes
Domina Aurelia Scaeva - The Boar's Tusk
Maria of the Steppes - Sable Talon of Ansteorra- Rapier
Hrafn Sten - Acorn of the Steppes
Sir Magnus Creppinson - Order of the Oak of the Steppes
Alexandra Lunette Arundel- Sable Thistle of Ansteorra- Silk Banners
Jonathan of York- Sable Thistle of Ansteorra- Kumihimo
Sigmund Úlfsson the Traveler- Order of the Star of Merit
Cornelia Thorpe- Sable Crane of Ansteorra- Marshallate
Mathias Grunwalt- Sable Crane of Ansteorra- Event operations, Field marshalling
Voyszvilk Greycius Vilniszkis- Sable Talon of Ansteorra- Target Archery
Ada of Glaslyn- Award of Arms
Arnóra orðlokarr- Award of Arms
Winebold Everardson- Award of Arms
Andrew Nobody- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Dae Knarrarbringa- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Fearghus Hawthorne- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Gavin Mac Giolla Ruaidh- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Sigwin Rotbart- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Wilhelm Artzt- Sable Sparrow of Ansteorra
Perrin de Beaujeu- Order of the White Scarf of Ansteorra
My Experience:
Saturday-
I arrived around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning after the event. I left straight from work at 8:00a.m., very excited to come to my first Steppes Warlord. After changing into my outfit, I turned away from gate during court, so I went to sit and listen to court for the time being. I couldn't hear most anything they said at morning court.
After court was in recess, I sat with some of the people that I recognized from Glaslyn and Elfsea. I worked on my entry for the on-site embroidery contest for the next... four of five hours. I decided to make a piece with only one color (black) mostly because I was using slightly yellow fabric and I was afraid to clash with it. There was a group of people who ended up joining me at the same table who were also working on their pieces for the embroidery contest. All four were very nice and we just chatted until court began.
At 2:30, there was a Clan Blue Feather Cookie Social. I made two dozen chocolate chip cookies that were very good and sixteen snickerdoodle cookies that were very mediocre. Unfortunately, I was developing a migraine so I couldn't stay long. But I was able to talk with some people about their historical interests as well as receive a nice feather pin! Then I went and rushed to finish my piece so that I could enjoy the rest of my night.
After court, a lot of people left to make or get dinner. I can only assume that a lot of them went to Dairy Palace, which I had heard a lot about before the event. I then went to watch the Bardic Competition, which was thrilling. I had no idea how that would work, but it was a lot of fun to watch! I really enjoyed the stories from Mongolia and the musician who played the lute and ukelele.
Afterwards, I joined Bhann Mhearai at the Newcomer's camp. They tripped over the tent and hurt their knee, but we were able to obtain some ice for it. We played two rounds of Werewolf, In the first one, I was seer and correctly guessed the werewolf... only to be killed the same night and unable to do anything about it. After that, we then played multiple rounds of Cards Against Humanity. Everyone was pretty exhausted, so we called it quits around 11:00p.m. I slept in my car as I don't have a tent... I don't recommend that, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected.
Sunday-
I woke up around 6:30 in the morning and got ready for my shift at the gate. I was one of the first people awake, so it was very peaceful. At 8:00a.m. I began my gate shift and drank some of the most delicious spiced coffee that was left over from the Hafla the night before. After my shift, I helped Mhearai with water bearing as they had hurt their leg. I watched the rapier melee outside until it got too hot to bear and went back inside. Around 12:00, I decided to get lunch at the Dairy Palace to see what all the hulabaloo was about. It was well priced, but not exceptional in taste. Perhaps I will give it another chance next year.
There was only one entry into the King's Hope contest. The boy fought about six or so adult competitors and did really well!
At evening court, a large number of awards were given, including to my friend Winebold! It was quite the busy court. My entry for the Embroidery contest received "Suzanna's Favorite". My prize was a nice pair of scissors (ironic since I completely forgot to bring mine) and some gold and silver metallic thread. With this win, I'm officially no longer and Embroidery Novice despite only starting seven months ago. After court, most everyone left to avoid the huge storm that was supposed to be rolling. Despite the heavy clouds, I could see a beautiful rainbow over Canton as I left the event.
I was very happy with the event, and I had a lot of fun! There won't be an event in the area until August. That might be for the best because I don't deal with the heat well. Thankfully, there are some indoor practice locations for fighter practice throughout the summer.
Hello everyone! I've decided to make this blog, mostly to use as a journal of events that I attend, as well as to keep track of my progress on projects and art!
My name is Ravenild and I hail from the Kingdom of Ansteorra. I am still relatively new to the society and still learning a lot of things! My interests are food, jewelry, embroidery, garb, archery, and rapier. I also dabble in brewing and making cordials, though I'm definitely inexperienced at that!
Feel free to message me or comment any time! I'm currently writing up my post on Steppes Warlord 53 at the moment.
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