Medieval heavy weapons fighting, high school students throwing an atlatl, bicycle polo matches and much, much more. What do all these unique activities have in common? Buckley Park.
Buckley Park has hosted a variety of events in Durango throughout the years. Located on Main Avenue, residents have taken full advantage of the park’s prime open spaces.
Average residents occasionally will throw a ball with their families, exercise their dogs or simply lounge around to enjoy the fresh air. It’s heavily used in the summer for festivals of all sorts, including music and arts.
But some out-of-the-ordinary groups have experienced the park’s greater potential.
Bicycle polo
The Durango Devo junior girls club members take advantage of the space when they meet for bicycle polo practice. Durango Devo is a junior development cycling program for those with a passion for mountain biking. The junior club expressed an interest in bicycle polo to their coach, Annie Cheeney. She took on the responsibility of supervising leisure practices for the young girls.
Cheeney partakes in bike polo with a group of adult friends, who often meet at the park on weekends for recreation.
She was excited when the young girls became intrigued with the peculiar mountain-biking sport.
She explained that the sport teaches skills such as balance and coordination. Also, it’s a fun activity, she said.
“It’s a really, really good team-building sport,” Cheeney said.
The rules of bicycle polo are the same as they would be for traditional polo, with the exception of riding a bike and not a horse, she said.
She takes pride in seeing young girls participate in and enjoy a sport that is perceived as “burly and extreme,” she said.
Prehistoric hunting method
Chip Johnson, who teaches an outdoor leadership class at Grace Preparatory Academy, often holds his class sessions at Buckley Park. Johnson and his four students throw darts with a wooden device called an atlatl.
The atlatl is a prehistoric hunting weapon once used on every continent except Antarctica, he said.
The students throw darts at a target using the wooden atlatl as part of their outdoor leadership class.
Lords and ladies
Lords and ladies belonging to the Society for Creative Anachronism have reclaimed their shire, Rio de las Animas, and Buckley Park is their heavy-weapons fighting ground.
The nonprofit organization gathers once a month for club meetings and once a week for heavy weapons fighting, said Lady Jacques of Pickering, known in the modern world as Jamie Pickering.
The shire has about 27 members ranging in age from 14 to 80, Pickering said.
Lady Jacques of Pickering serves as the club’s seneschal, or president, and has been an active member for 18 years. During the day, Pickering works as a phlebotomist at the veterans clinic in Durango, and at night, she transforms into her alter ego, a medieval-era nun.
There were difficult times for Shire Rio de las Animas at one point, Pickering said. Durango School District 9-R, which owns the park, wouldn’t allow the society to hold its gatherings for liability reasons. In 2012, when the district agreed to lease the park to the city, the group was thrilled to have its meeting space back, she said.
Lord Gareth Lightborne, known in the modern world as Brian Marshall, is one of the knights who partakes in the weapons fighting. The sword is made out of rattan wood, similar to bamboo but stronger, Marshall said. Additionally, the wood breaks in a way that doesn’t create a sharp edge that could be dangerous for an opponent, he said.
The fighters follow specific safety precautions to minimize injuries and ensure their safety, Marshall said.
He originally joined a different shire in 1989 in Ames, Iowa. By day, Marshall owns Bakers Bridge Veterinary Clinic and treats many local pets.
A mystery man who often practices martial arts with the park trees is a common character well-known among the other park dwellers. Attempts to locate him for an interview were unsuccessful.
The various creative ways residents diversify activities is part of Durango’s outdoor culture. In a place where outside activities are endless, residents take full advantage of available resources and embrace their quirky hobbies.
“It’s an expensive hobby, but it’s a hobby,” Pickering said.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
