Bev is the driving force behind the Warhorse Guild, in the literal sense as well as the figurative. She's the one who makes us all get out there and practice, the one who hasn't let the dream slip away despite frequent setbacks, the one who insists that a mounted performer must be a horseman first and a performer second. She's been riding since childhood, and is as comfortable on horseback as she is on her own feet. More comfortable, actually. Bev has expertise in several forms of riding, including Western Pleasure, Hunter-jumpers and Dressage.

In 2003 Bev founded the Warhorse Guild, along with her husband Brian, to provide a venue where she could continue to joust, a sport she'd already come to enjoy greatly while working with other companies. In those early days of the WG, she led numerous clinics, introducing Northwest riders to the fun and excitement of medieval tourney games. Riders with the aptitude and drive to become actual jousters were hard to come by, and when it came to performances, Bev relied at first on friends and acquaintances who were moonlighting from the well-established troupe The Seattle Knights. In those days the WG performed mostly at horseshows and other equestrian events, venues where jousting was a little-understood oddity, more of a half-time entertainment than a main event. It would be another couple of years before the Warhorse Guild finally acquired the dedicated performers it needed to become a true performance troupe, and began performing in the number-two slot at the Gig Harbor Renaissance & Fantasy Faire.

Bev still performs in jousting shows with Cavallo Equestrian Arts (current holders of the number-one slot at Gig Harbor) as well as with the Warhorse Guild. She loves jousting in all its forms, and never misses a chance to tilt with the SCA's jousting champions.

Gordon was born to an academic family, and showed a strong interest in the study of history from his earliest years. He graduated with a BA from University of the Pacific in 1980, and an MA in Western History from UOP in 1982.

He served as head of the Costume Department for the Living History Centre, Novato CA (producers of the Renaissance Pleasure Faires North and South) in 1984, while also performing the offices of assistant guild master of St. Michael's Guild. As an offshoot of this, in 1984 he, along with Nicholas Worthington and Carl and Elizabeth Ontis, formed the Renaissance Military Society, an organization which is still going strong.

After working as a fundraiser for Friese and Friese, Gordon started working as a "reenactor" extra on various Hollywood films, mostly as a Cavalryman. In 1999 he worked as Assistant Reenactor Coordinator, in charge of the British Cavalry while making the film "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson. In 2000, Gordon produced two independent films, "Firestorm Rising" and "The Keeper."

During this time, Gordon also worked for Sutter's Fort State Historic Park in Sacramento, CA as a historical interpreter, where he was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II of England during an event organized in her honor in 1983.

In 2004, Gordon organized a Renaissance Cavalry Symposium, bringing in some 40 students from throughout California. From this evolved the School of the Renaissance Soldier, a full-immersion seminar designed to teach the basics of 16th Century soldiering, both horse and foote, to those interested in portraying such personages in Renaissance Faires, reenactments or other events. The SORS is now in its fourth term.

After moving to Washington State, Gordon and his wife soon became involved in the Warhorse Guild, where he plans to continue pursuing his lifelong passion for bringing history to life for any and all who share an appreciation of our European past. Gordon, along with his wife Nancy, are in charge of historical accuracy, an aspect of our shows that we take very seriously. Gordon is a skilled rider and jouster, and an integral part of the WG team.

Like each member of the Warhorse Guild, Brian brings a unique and necessary set of abilities to the show. While he doesn't ride a horse, he is a veteran of the well-known family theater troupe The Heavier-Than-Air Players of Auburn, WA, and he brings that stage-acting experience to the arenas where the WG performs.

Brian is an avid fencer and a skilled stage-fighter, with an instinct for theater and a talent for characterization, but his greatest forte is comedic acting. Regardless of his role in each show, whether he is Borgo the simpleton or another character, he will always play the jester, the bungler, the eternal foole.

Brian is a writer, and while everyone contributes to the final script for any show, he and Nancy are the primary scriptwriters. He is also in charge of building the big wooden contraptions necessary for medieval gaming, things like quintains, lists and ring-stanchions. Finally, Brian is an illustrator and graphic artist (his foremost avocation), responsible for the WG's signage, sets and props, advertising, website and overall visual presence.

Robert Odekirk

Robert Odekirk, AKA Rapheal, has been doing medieval re-enactment since 1979, and has been recognized for his abilities in period martial arts and sciences of the medieval era with a Knighthood in the SCA.

After discovering the joys of horseback riding, he began doing competitive medieval equestrian games, including jousting and mounted combat, and has been doing them for the last seven years. He has worked as an extra, a stuntman and a wrangler in three movies shot in the Puget Sound, "The Inquisition," "The Gamers Two: Dorkness Rising," and "The Dark Horse."

He currently resides in Preston, Washington, with his family, two horses, four chickens, a dog, one indoor cat and a colony of six barn cats that he resucued. Five days a week he is an engineer for Philips Oral Health Care.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather a skid in broadside, arriving thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'wow, that was a hell of a ride!'"

Paul began his performing career with the well-known theatrical group, The Seattle Knights. A three year tour with the Knights introduced him to the Washington Renaissance faires, as well as to a great group of hardworking entertainers.

During his time with the Seattle Knights, Paul discovered within himself a talent for performing, and afterward he found he wanted to continue to entertain, but in a new venue. He and his wife decided to build a small acting group of their own, to entertain whenever and wherever possible. The short-lived "RingCon" Lord of the Rings Convention gave them an opportunity to introduce their group, Unicorn Tales (www.unicornphobia.com). Since they debuted at RingCon, this four-member group began by doing short plays on the Lord of the Rings theme, which included a bit of swordfighting. These shows were intended for younger members of the audience, but included bits for older folks and turned out to be fun for all ages.

Unicorn Tales still performs here and there as their schedules allow, but you will always find them at the Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival (www.celticarts.org) every year in July. The group has expanded its membership, and extended its subject matter to include tales of the Norse gods and heroes. They have successfully entertained games-goers for 5 years, and along with their friends, the Shire of Midhaven (www.midhaven.org) – a fine group that also belong to the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)- they have become an institution at this popular yearly event.

Paul has also become an integral part of the Washington Renaissance and Fantasy Faire (www.washingtonrenfaire.com), appearing every year in August as Master of Ceremonies/Master of the Joust. Here he is allowed center stage as he introduces the jousting shows, and with a bellowing voice, viking armor and axes to boot, he welcomes the crowds, judges the games and adds his own unflagging energy and unique style of entertainment to the faire's most popular event.

At the 2007 faire, Paul agreed to perform with the Warhorse Guild in the show we were doing there. He ended up with a dauntingly demanding role, which, in addition to his other duties as Master of the Joust, left him doing four shows each day. The schedule nearly cooked his brain, but somehow he pulled through and looked good doing it. We enjoyed working with him so much, we invited him to become a member of the Warhorse Guild, and he accepted.

Mistress Frye, rescued from spinsterhood by her knight (well, gentleman,
anyway) in shining armor, Gordon Frye, serves as chief cook and bottle-washer, and tailor to the Guild. When the need arises, she helps keep the horses fed by performing in the band's lowbrow amateur theatricals, where she can be seen in such roles as "Squire Bob" and the "Queen of Aragon."

Nancy has been performing in one way or another all her life. Graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Drama (mostly Costume Design) in 1988, she went to work immediately in the Drama Dept. costume shop, then concurrently for Taproot Theatre as a light board op, Stage Manager, and Costume Designer. In the Fall of '88 she hired on at the Seattle Opera costume shop, simultaneously taking small costuming jobs in some of Seattle's many small theaters.

After a year of teaching English in Japan, she returned to the USA in '90 and discovered the world of historical re-enactment, starting with a large Civil War group (NCWA) in California, and a smaller late 19th century group (Shadows of the Past) based at that time in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Through friends in these organizations, she met her future husband (their first conversation was had in the driver's seat of a horse-drawn passenger wagon), whose reputation as a cavalryman had preceded him. Her theatrical horizons expanded to film work when she began accompanying him on his various film jobs, all on location in such exotic settings as Texas and South Carolina. As of today, Mrs. Frye has worked in film and television not only as an actor, but also wrangler, armorer, background cavalry artist, stunt performer, and producer. Needless to say, 16th century cavalry, jousting and medieval theater is a natural development.

Phil Smith

Phil has several years of experience at medieval stagefighting, riding and jousting with other performance groups. His skill and experience at performing are an asset to the WG, and we're happy to have him on board. He's shown here as "Ivan" the terrible Eastern European knight who shoots a Mongol bow from horseback.