Meet your new EHC Web Content Manager, Carolyn Willekes!

Lecturer, Mount Royal University, Departments of General Education and Humanities; PhD & MA in Greek and Roman Studies, University of Calgary; BA (honours) in Classical Studies and Classical Languages, University of Guelph

What got you in to history? Horse history? I never thought I would end up a historian as I was convinced the biological sciences (in some form) were my calling; but I despised taking mathematics classes, so that put an end to that! I discovered a passion for ethnography and anthropology after visiting the Canadian Museum of Civilization during my final year of high school. From there I stumbled into Classics during the first year of my undergraduate degree and fell in love with ancient history and archaeology! I’ve ridden horses my entire life, but never planned on studying horse history (I didn’t think I could), but it happened almost by accident when I started my MA on Alexander the Great. My supervisor wasn’t keen on my research topic, so he suggested I study Macedonian cavalry since I was a horse person. This catapulted me into the world of horse history and experimental archaeology as I began to explore the ways in which we are able to persuade a prey animal to take us into battle! My fascination with horse history has continued to grow ever since that fateful first meeting in grad school. I wrote my MA on equine aspects of the Macedonian cavalry, and then completed my PhD which focused on identifying ancient horse types and how their physical and behavioural characteristics influenced their use in combat. In the course of my academic career I have been able to travel around the world (Greece, Mongolia, Turkey, Spain, Kyrgyzstan) to ride native horse types and study local horse husbandry practices and traditions. I’ve also found myself training horses for mounted combat, jousting, and mounted archery while continuing to compete in more ‘traditional’ disciplines (primarily hunters and jumpers). For many years I had the pleasure of working with the Akhal Teke breed, and it soon became clear why these horses were so prized in the ancient and medieval worlds.

Who is your favorite historical horse?
It’s a bit of a cliche, but it has to be Bucephalus. Not just because he was Alexander’s horse, but also on account of the legacy and mythologies his name has created. The Bucephalus Breyer model holds a place of nerdy pride in my office, and his name is included in the title of my first book!

What are you working on now? At the moment my work has shifted away from the battlefield to the realm of sport/competition. My most recent article, ‘Breeding Success: The Creation of the Racehorse in Antiquity,’ was published in the journal Mouseion in 2019. This article explores the practice of racehorse breeding in the classical world by using a comparative analysis with the modern racing industry. I am currently working on a project that explores the ‘feminization’ of the Greek hippodrome. The current major ‘work in progress’ project will look at the role of ‘indigenous’ horse sports in different horse cultures, both ancient and modern. I am interested in exploring how the introduction of the species to a region leads to the establishment of a equine sporting tradition, and further, the influence this has on social-cultural elements of the community or region. The idea for this project arose from an article I published in the journal Nomadic Peoples, which looked at the Central Asian and Anatolian sports of Buzkahsi and Cirit.

Anything else you’d like to add? I am involved in two large public education programs. The first through the world renowned show jumping facility, Spruce Meadows, here in Calgary. Since 2009 I have curated and run an exhibit titled ‘Warhorse to Sporthorse’ as part of the Spruce Meadows/Leg Up Foundation School Tours program. In 2019 the program ran for 10 days are close to 50 classes came through my ‘classroom.’ I also head to Houston every February to visit classroom across the city as part of the ‘On the Trail’ outreach program run by Archaeology Now. I introduce students to the history of the cowboy by talking about cowboy cultures around the world. We also have a 2 day pop-up exhibit with interactive stations that includes a Bedouin tent, covered wagon, and Comanche tipi, we are hoping to add a Mongolian ger to the mix as well!