Female Jouster, Sarah Hay, Wins "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament 2012"

The "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament" was held this past weekend in Australia as part of the "Royal Bathurst Show". The tournament was the first official tournament of the newly formed Professional Jousting League (PJL) and was hosted by Full Tilt Jousting led by Rod Walker (the coach of the black team from "Full Metal Jousting"). It served both as an international jousting tournament and as the Australian national championship tournament. Female jouster Sarah Hay won both aspects of the tournament.

Sarah Hay is an experienced horsewoman who lives on a farm in the outskirts of Sydney where she looks after a team of eleven horses. She has participated in a variety of equestrian activities, but has lately decided to focus on jousting and mounted archery. Sarah, who is only 5'6" tall and 140 lbs, has been competing in international jousting tournaments for two years.

Sarah Hay at Gniew Castle Tournament(photos by Siri Bjolseth)

During the "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament", Sarah was competing against men and women from both the United States and Australia. One of her competitors was FMJ assistant coach for the black team, American Jeremy Oneail, who "has won over a dozen tournaments in six different countries. Since learning how to joust, Jeremy has competed and placed in more overseas jousting competitions that any other American jouster."

The list of competitors who participated in this year's "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament" included: Andrew McKinnon (Australia), Fiona Williams (Australia), Jeremy Oneail (USA), Katrina Kruse (Australia), Phillip Oliver (Australia), Robbie Hubbard (USA), Sarah Hay (Australia) and possibly a few others.

From left to right: Fiona Williams, Robbie "Breaksalot" Hubbard, Andrew McKinnon, Jeremy Oneail and Sarah Hay(Photo by Rod Walker)

The winners for this dual tournament were as follows:

Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament:
1st place -- Sarah Hay
2nd place -- Robbie Hubbard
3rd place -- Jeremy Oneail

Australian Championship Jousting Tournament:
1st place -- Sarah Hay
2nd place -- Phil Oliver
3rd place -- Andrew McKinnon

This was not the first jousting tournament that Sarah has won(she has won at least six others), and probably won't be the last. At her next tournament during the weekend of May 11 - 13, she will be one of twelve women competing in "Lysts on the Lake" which takes place in Taylor, Texas, USA. She will be facing a total of 45 competitors from 6 different countries.

This will be the largest tournament that she has ever competed in -- as it will be the largest competitive jousting tournament held in modern times according to the International Jousting League. With so many women competing, and the distinct possibility of a woman winning this and/or other upcoming tournaments, it seems like competitive jousting, which was previously perceived as a purely masculine sport, may be changing to include a few more feminine faces.

(photo from the Macarthur Chronicle)

AJ Satterfield video "Knights"

AJ Satterfield has put together another video from "some extra footage" with which he was "just playing around".

Wyvern Oaks Talks about Training to Joust

The author of the Wyvern Oaks blog recently posted an article about her husband training for the upcoming competitive jousting tournament "Lysts on the Lake". She talks a bit about training a less experienced horse to joust and why jousting on an experienced 14.2 hand horse doesn't work very well when your opponents are riding 18 hand drafts.

Wyvern Oaks: How not to wear a flymask (and... jousting!)

"Now, on to the jousting part. Since hubby built a quintain at Wyvern Oaks, he's been out practicing on it almost daily - good thing too, since it's only two weeks till Lysts on the Lake, the big jousting competition. He's been working on getting Saga to run straight, keeping his rein hand low, and turning his body to target his opponent. The basic idea is to drop your lance into place and then let your opponent run into it, as opposed to trying to reach over and hit your opponent. It's hard to do from the back of a moving horse, especially one like Saga who is new to the sport. There's a lot going on, and it happens very, very quickly." read more

Tall horse vs. short horse on the lyst field(photo by AzulOx)

"Horse & Man" writes about the horses of "Full Metal Jousting"

"Horse & Man" is a blog about "exploring the bond between equines and their people." Someone on Facebook recently linked to this blog, and it turns out that the author has written several posts about the horses used in "Full Metal Jousting". Her first article, posted on March 27, was about the show in general:

Horse & Man: FULL METAL JOUSTING… Have you seen this show?

"Have you seen this show?

OMG.

Hubby and I sat down to watch it… and he was GRIPPED from the first scene.

Now, what guy is gripped when he watches a show about horses?… Yup, well, this show isn’t really about the horses. It is about men who try to smack each other off of BIG horses by using even bigger sticks while wearing a thousand pounds of armor with cool logos.

They look like MONSTER ENERGY DRINK CANS sitting on top of horses.

OK, so it isn’t really my kind of show… BUT…

The horses are gorgeous...." read more

In her second article, posted on April 11, she shares information about the FMJ horse, Gulliver:

Horse & Man: MEET GULLIVER: One of the Full Metal Jousting horses!

"After I wrote the blogpost about the new, very dynamic show on the History Channel, FULL METAL JOUSTING (here is the link to that post), the former owner of a few of the warhorses featured on that show contacted me!

What luck!

I had mentioned in that FULL METAL JACKET blogpost that the show would be even greater fun if the horses were featured more. I was saying how engaging it would be if we knew more about the equine partners!

Well… not only did the previous owner (her name is Rachelle) of a few of the horses contact me, but the wife of the Head Jouster, Shane Adams, also contacted me! Unfortunately, she could not grant an interview right away because the producers of the show wanted to look over my questions first (figures…), but I still hope to hear some ‘behind the scenes’ horse talk from her.

But today, I feel very fortunate to give you a glimpse of Gulliver in a fabulous report by his Rachelle, who loved him." read more

Gulliver from Full Metal Jousting ridden sidesaddle by previous owner Rachelle
(photo from Horse & Man)

In her third article, posted on April 24, the author of Horse & Man shares information about the FMJ horses Jefferson, Harlan and Reginald:

Horse & Man: MORE FULL METAL JOUSTING HORSES! Meet: Jefferson, Harlan and Reginald.

"Earlier, I wrote about FULL METAL JOUSTING, a series on the History Channel.

Then, I was lucky enough to hear from the previous owner of 4 of the jousting horses featured on the show!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Gulliver (linked here).

Today, I will give you insider background into Jefferson, Harlan and Reginald thanks to their previous owner, Rachelle!" read more

Harlan from Full Metal Jousting and some of his herd mates(photo from Horse & Man)

I've added the RSS feed for "Horse & Man" to the list of "Blogs that deal with jousting(at least sometimes)". Hopefully, the author will be able to interview Shane Adams' wife and learn more about the horses used in "Full Metal Jousting".

Charlie Andrews at the Four Winds Faire: The Terror of the Tilt Becomes the Jester of the Joust

So what happens when Charlie Andrews of the Knights of Mayhem is at a renaissance faire, but is NOT competing in a tournament, NOR is he putting on an educational demonstration? It turns out that Charlie Andrews can be quite the clown. Perhaps he was inspired by the fact that John MacNeille, the Master of Ceremonies for the Four Winds Faire twice daily joust was dressed in a traditional jester's outfit.

Jester John MacNeille with some of the jousters at Four Winds Faire

Whatever the reason, Charlie decided that he would play Lady Isabella's (aka Bobbie Patterson's) squire during Saturday's jousting. He squeezed into one of her squire's tabards...

Squire Charlie Andrews with Lady Isabella (photo used with permission)

...and followed her around the field fanning her with a lady-like little folding fan.

Squire Charlie Andrews fans Lady Isabella

Squire Charlie's ministrations may have helped, Lady Isabella certainly did well tilting at rings.

Lady Isabella on Apollo spears the tilt ring

And although he spent most of the tournament playing the Fool, when ordered by his Lady to take his turn tilting at rings, Squire Charlie did not fool around.

Squire Charlie Andrews on Jaeger carries off the tilt ring

Charlie was such a dedicated squire that when it was his Lady's turn to tilt against the quintain, he cantered beside her the length of the lyst, continuously fanning her to keep her cool and comfortable.

Squire Charlie continues to fan Lady Isabella as she canters down the lyst field

Later, at his Lady's request, Squire Charlie struck the quintain a mighty blow.

Squire Charlie achieves 7 ½ rotations of the quintain

However, when it came time for the Cut and Thrust, Squire Charlie could no longer resist playing the jester in the joust. Instead of slicing the apple with his sword, he dismounted and fed it to his horse, Jaegermeister.

Charlie grabs the apple from the post...

...and feeds it to his horse, Jaegermeister

During the second joust of the day, Squire Charlie got so distracted watching Joseph McClain tilt at rings, that he forgot to use the pretty pink parasol to protect his Lady from the sun and instead used it to shade himself.

Squire Charlie gets distracted from his duties

Throughout the two days of the faire, Charlie's clowning around seemed to inspire others to similarly silly acts of mayhem. Lady Siobhan (aka Siobhan Welch) continuously stole the jester's hat. Lady Siobhan's husband "encouraged" the quintain to rotate a few extra times after she struck it. And the other participants came up with new and unusual ways to perform in the Mounted Skill at Arms games. Even the squires got in on the frivolity, carving scared faces on the fruit used in the Cut and Thrust.

This apple knows what's coming

Which may have led Lady Isabella to attempt the Cut and Thrust using the jester's stick.

Is the little jester head trying to Bite and Chew the fruit?

Off of the lyst field, Charlie was sometimes serious and sometimes silly. When “knighting” a young boy, he explained that being a knight was not all fun and games, that it came with the responsibility of upholding and demonstrating the virtues of chivalry even when they weren't much fun.

Charlie Andrews "knights" a young boy

However, when involved in a contest at the Sherwood Forest Archery booth to see who could shoot the apple off of the head of a dummy...

William Tell Junior

…he may have cheated just a little.

The old apple on the end of the arrow trick

All this clowning around was apparently exhausting.

Jaeger seems to make a comfortable recliner

Although there was a great deal of silliness during the jousting this past weekend, there was also a great deal of skill demonstrated on the lyst field. More information and pictures of other participants demonstrating their abilities will be forthcoming in a future article.

If You Haul Horses, US Rider Equestrian Roadside Assistance Can Help

People who drive a great deal have AAA for help when their car breaks down. However, if you haul horses, AAA will not do anything for your trailer or your horses. US Rider will.

"The USRider® motor plan outperforms other roadside assistance plans by also covering Horse vans, tow vehicles and trailers carrying Horses." -- from the US Rider website

Here is a link to a post by a blogger who uses the US Rider Motor Plan that tells about her experience with them:

We Are Flying Solo: Why I Keep Forking Out $130 Every Year

To find out more about this equestrian road service plan, check out the US Rider website.

Great Collection of Pictures of European Armour From the 12th to the 17th Century

Many thanks to Shawn Morrow for sharing this link.

A gentleman named Roel Renmans who lives in Belgium and apparently visits many of the European museums, created a Flickr account where he shares his high quality photographs of armour and the depictions of armour found in the museums. He has several collections of albums that focus on the various types of exhibits that are useful for learning about historical armour.

His collection entitled "loricatus loricatus" includes albums of photographs of actual armour from the twelfth through the seventeenth century.

His collection "pinxi loricatus" includes photographs of the depiction of European armour in two dimensional art, from the 12th to the 17th century.

His collection "statua loricatus" includes photographs of the depiction of European armour in three dimensional art, from the 12th to the 18th century.






His albums include not just the pictures of the armour, but also an informative caption for each picture explaining a bit about the armour and stating which museum it is in. For those interested in studying or re-creating historically accurate armour, this is quite a useful resource.

The album "loricatus loricatus" will usually have a picture of the entire set of armour from several angles and then some close ups of specific parts of the armour. The pictures are protected from being downloaded, but here are some links to specific pictures that provide a good example of the kinds of things you'll find in his albums.

ca. 1484 - 'armour for Archduke Sigismund von Tirol' (Lorenz Helmschmid), Augsburg, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Austria

Back view of the armour

Just the upper body armour

Side view of the head and shoulder area

Close up of the left gauntlet

The photographer is also a professional artist and has a website where he shows some of his work, which includes a few interesting drawings of knights in armour. You might want to check it out and help support this gentlemen who has provided such a wealth of useful pictures.

Jousting in the News 4-13-12 through 4-19-12

4-15-12
Carolina Live: MB knight shows off skills in jousting competition (about Josh Knowles of Myrtle Beach, SC won “Full Metal Jousting”, includes video)

4-16-12
CBS Sacremento: The Don Geronimo Show – April 16, 2012 (a local sports radio host mentions how much he loves “Full Metal Jousting”, with audio track)

3-17-12
Total Essex: Medieval spirits high despite poor weather at Hedingham Castle (about renaissance fair that featured a jousting show, includes pictures)

The Press Enterprise: CORONA: Renaissance festival to feature full-contact jousting (renaissance faire features New Riders of the Golden Age jousting troupe, fair amount of information about the troupe)

3-18-12
SC Now: Myrtle Beach man crowned top jouster on reality show (interview with Josh Knowles, winner of “Full Metal Jousting”, includes video)

3-19-12
Market Watch: More Rivalry, More Revelry! New Show At Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Comes To Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Myrtle Beach Medieval Times restaurant launches its new and improved jousting show)

Eddie Rigney: A Small Guy Making a Big Impact in the Jousting Community

Many articles about jousting emphasize the size of the competitors. However, Eddie Rigney would argue that all it takes to joust is a big heart. Eddie Rigney is only 5'6” and 185lbs, yet he practices with and competes against much larger men, such as 6'5”, 260lbs Charlie Andrews, and consistently holds his own.

Greg Boxma, 6'2”, 230lbs(left) and Eddie Rigney, 5'6”, 185lbs(right)
(photo by Pamela Morgan)

“I am the smallest guy out there and one of the hardest hitters. I pride myself on my riding abilities. If you can become an extension of your horse you can transfer his size and power through you. I want people to understand this. If this type of jousting is going to grow I want everyone to understand size does not matter.” – Eddie Rigney

Eddie Rigney's interest in jousting began when he applied to compete on the show “Full Metal Jousting”. On the day he was sent home from the FMJ Mississippi training camp, he saw Charlie Andrew's tv show “Knights of Mayhem”. Still angry at being told he couldn't joust, Eddie immediately sent a message to Charlie asking for the training he needed in order to prove that he could indeed joust.

"He [Charlie] called me back that evening. And here I am. Turns out, I'm Charlie's 'Mini me,' our personalities mirror each other. And that really is a good thing. He has become my mentor and my Brother.”

Eddie's only prior experience with jousting consisted of three ½ day sessions in armor while trying out for “Full Metal Jousting”. He met Charlie Andrews for the first time on February 6, 2012, squired for him until March 3, then began intense jousting training. On April 1, 2012, he competed against Charlie Andrews and the other Knights of Mayhem in the "Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament", where, despite his relative inexperience, Eddie managed to earn second place in his first competitive jousting tournament.

Eddie defeated every competitor he jousted against until he had to face Charlie in the semi-finals. Since this was a double elimination tournament, and he won his subsequent match, he made it to the finals where he faced Charlie for the second time. Both matches between Eddie and Charlie were exciting ones, and in the final match between the two, there was actually a double unhorsing.

Charlie Andrews(left) and Eddie Rigney(right) at Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament(photo by Zhi Zhu)

This was the only time that Charlie was unhorsed during the tournament. However, this was not the only time that Eddie unhorsed Charlie; they had unhorsed one another just the week before during a demonstration joust. One of Eddie's proudest moments came during that demonstration.

Eddie Rigney(left) and Charlie Andrews(right) at Sherwood Forest Faire(photo by Pamela Morgan)

“Charlie came over after the last pass and told me Great Job and I was landing some big hits...
My proudest moment!” -- Eddie Rigney

You may notice that Eddie wears pink favors on his saddle and his arm. He wears them in honor of his mother and others who are fighting breast cancer.
(photo by Pamela Morgan)

So, how did Eddie become so proficient at jousting in such a short time? He credits his 36 years of experience as a working cowboy and rodeo competitor. He basically lives in the saddle. In fact, during most of this interview, he was texting his answers to the questions while riding. Though not as dangerous as texting while driving, Eddie did admit that at one point during the interview, he was thrown from the horse he was riding because he was paying more attention to his texting than to his horse.

Eddie plans to use his experience in promoting professional rodeo to help Charlie Andrews develop competitive jousting into a mainstream sport.

"We just need all jousters to support each other regardless of differences. We need to support the sport in order to make it grow...."

He also wants to make sure that everyone who wants to joust gets the chance to give it a try. He hopes that others will see him as an example that one doesn't have to be extremely tall and muscular in order to joust, that people of all different physical types can compete in jousting.

"I just don't want potential knights to think size is the most important thing and not try because they "think" they are too small.
All it takes is a big heart!” – Eddie Rigney

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Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament 2012

Full Tilt holds jousting tournaments in Australia each year. You may recognize the leader of Full Tilt, Rod Walker, as the coach of the black joust team on the tv show "Full Metal Jousting".

Left to right: Rod Walker, Shane Adams, Ripper Moore

Full Tilt is known world wide for hosting "The St Georges Day Jousting Tournament", considered one of the best jousting tournaments around. However, this year, the name has been changed to "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament" and it will be held in a new location as part of the "Royal Bathurst Show", April 27 - 29, 2012.

The "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament" is affiliated with the International Jousting League and will be the first tournament affiliated with the newly formed Professional Jousting League.

Below are listed some of the jousters that have confirmed that they will be competing at the "Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament". Several other jousters may participate, but they have not yet been confirmed.

Jeremy Oneail (USA)
Robbie Hubbard (USA)
Phillip Oliver -- the Grey Rabbit (Australia)
Fiona Williams -- the Red & Gold Unicorn (Australia)
Andrew McKinnon -- the Silver Wolf (Australia)
Sarah Hay (Australia)
Katrina Kruse (Australia)

On Left:Fiona Williams jousts Phillip Oliver (photo from Full Tilt)



Promotional video for Full Tilt:

Is Chivalry Still Important in the Sport of Jousting?

Chivalry Today is an educational program that, among other things, creates a monthly audio interview show that explores the history, literature and philosophy of the code of chivalry from the middle ages to the twenty-first century.

In this month's podcast, host Scott Farrell interviews Steve Hemphill and Scott Wilson. Steve Hemphill is the creator of "Lysts on the Lake", the largest competitive jousting tournament in the world according to the International Jousting League. Scott Wilson is the owner and armorer of Darkwood Armory. Steve and Scott worked together to create the "Chivalric Martial Arts International" symposium (which leads up to "Lysts on the Lake"), where anyone can learn the basics of, or improve their skills in both foot and mounted combat, including jousting.

Members of the Chivalric Fighting Arts Association at "Lysts on the Lake"(photo by AzulOx)

From the Chivalry Today website:

"Recently the martial arts of medieval Europe have been undergoing nothing short of a Renaissance – moving away from the theatrical pomp and play-acting of scripted jousting shows, and staged sword-fight displays, and toward the more serious study and practice of real, authentic combat on horseback and foot, with lances, swords, and other realistic weapons.
....

But for someone of “knightly spirit” in the 21st century, getting a solid grounding in all of these martial arts is difficult. After all, few of us have a castle courtyard where we can go for private lessons with our masters of horse and sword.

But, on May 8th through the 13th, if you’re in the vicinity of Austin, Texas, you can have the next best thing – because that’s when both of these styles of medieval chivalric sports are going to come together in Taylor, Texas at the East Williamson County Event Center, and the Taylor Rodeo Association Arena as spectators, students, and competitors come for the Chivalric Martial Arts International convention, and the Lysts On The Lake jousting tournament.
....

Scott[the host] is joined by Steve Hemphill and Scott Wilson, organizers of the event, to discuss how the ideals of chivalry are viewed by the participants in these events."

To read the Chivalry Today introduction in its entirety and listen to the podcast interview, follow this link to Podcast 60: Chivalry Makes the Lyst.

During the interview with Steve Hemphill, Scott Farrell asks about the "Lysts on the Lake" Award of Honour, and if the competitors at "Lysts on the Lake 2011" did actually exhibit the virtues of chivalry during the tournament. Steve suggests that his wife, Dawn, who was the Lady of Honour in 2011 and will be again this year, would be the better person to ask about how the winner of the Award of Honour is chosen. However, he does believe that the lack of trash-talking, the mutual assistance among the competitors and the general feeling of camaraderie throughout the event may have contributed to its astonishing popularity among those who participated last year and those who plan to participate this year.

Scott Wilson, while talking about competing in the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) that will be taught during the CMAI symposium, emphasized that although competitors are doing their best to win the match, they do not have a "win at all costs" attitude. Because of the danger inherent in the sport, competitors must exercise a certain amount of care for their opponents while doing their best to defeat them. According to Scott, simply participating honorably in these sports is more important than winning them.

Both Steve and Scott mention that historically, people did not participate in tournaments with the sole intention of winning them. Existing records that describe Medieval and Renaissance tournaments frequently don't even mention who won. They do mention those competitors who did something remarkable. Winning the tournament wasn't as important as winning renown. Similarly, "Lysts on the Lake", with its Award of Honour, emphasizes the idea that winning the physical parts of the competition isn't as important as demonstrating chivalry -- or in modern terms, good sportsmanship -- while competing.

Because of the Award of Honour and all that it implies, chivalry is apparently still an important part of the sport of jousting. At least during "Lysts on the Lake".

Andre Renier and Matt Daniel Clasp Hands after their joust(photo by AzulOx)

Jousting in the News 4-1-12 Through 4-12-12

Lots of articles about the premiere of “Full Metal Jousting” on Canada's History Television.

4-2-12
Winnipeg Free Press: TV's 'Full Metal Jousting' marks renaissance of extreme Middle Ages sport (discusses FMJ, lots of quotes from Shane Adams)

4-3-12
Grantland: A Chat With a Full Metal Jousting Semi-Finalist About 'The Most Dangerous Sport in History' (a rather positive review of FMJ with an interview of Matt Hiltman. Personal note: I like the fact that he emphasizes the importance of the horses.)

4-4-12
Huffington Post: 'Full Metal Jousting' Host Shane Adams: 'It's The Next Extreme Sport' (interview with Shane Adams of FMJ, includes FMJ trailer)

Toronto.com: Full Metal Jousting Debuts on History Television (about premiere of FMJ in Canada, includes video of Shane Adams)

The Chronicle Herald: Living the dream of being knight in shining armour (about Canada premiere of FMJ, lots of quotes from Shane Adams)

Winnipeg Free Press: Dinner served in a toilet, then a rousing joust (discusses the Canadian premiere of FMJ, and a food show called “World's Weirdest Restaurants”)

Winnipeg Free Press: TV Tips For Wednesday, April 4 (very brief article that recommends watching FMJ)

Winnipeg Free Press: Today on tv (very briefly mentions FMJ)

4-5-12
The Globe and Mail: TV: Five shows worth watching tonight (briefly mentions FMJ)

Lakes Mail: Joust in time for a change (very, very brief interview with jouster Simon Turner)

About My Area UK: Easter Weekend Spectacular At Sewerby Hall And Gardens (about event which features a jousting demonstration)

4-6-12
The Record: Full Metal Jousting marks renaissance of extreme sport (yet another article about FMJ on Canada TV, much of the same info)

4-9-12
Market Watch: Shane Adams From the Series Full Metal Jousting on HISTORY Will Burst Onto the Scene at the Midwest Horse Fair (about the Midwest Horse Fair where Shane Adams and the Knights of Valour will be giving jousting demonstrations)

4-11-12
Times of Malta: Medieval Mdina Returns This Weekend (about a festival in the medieval city of Mdina that includes jousting)

Neon Tommy: Medieval Meets Modern In World Of California Jousting (about the jousting school run by James Zoppe and The American Jousting Alliance, includes video)

4-13-12
Toro Magazine: Full Metal Jousting (another article about FMJ, featuring an interview with Shane Adams)

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Video -- How to Mount a Horse in Armour and Other Chivalric Problems

This is a video of a Metropolitan Museum of Art lecture from 2010, by Dirk H. Breiding, assistant curator of the Department of Arms and Armor. It is not a video filled with action shots of knights jousting and fighting in armor. However, if you are interested in the true history of jousting and the arms and armor used for it, you might find this video interesting.

How to Mount a Horse in Armour(video by the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Dirk H. Breiding really lays into the misconceptions propagated by television shows and movies about knights and their armor. He even criticizes other museums that do not properly deal with historic arms and armor. However, there is a fair amount of dry humor that academics and the academically minded might appreciate.

The video includes still pictures and video clips that were used in conjunction with the lecture, including some nice pictures and video of Dr. Tobias Capwell in his custom made historically accurate armor. The only video of actual jousting comes 37 minutes into the lecture. Later in the lecture, there are some fascinating old videos from the twenties showing the flexibility of some of the articulated armor in the Met's collection.

It is a very long video(48 minutes), and it may be a bit dry at times, but it is well worth watching.

Promotional Video for the Society of Tilt and Lance Cavalry

New promotional video for the Society of Tilt and Lance Cavalry (STALC). STALC is a jousting troupe based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They were founded and are led by Radar Goddard, who in addition to being a jouster, is an EMT and a firefighter. She also rescues horses, many of whom become equestrian members of STALC.

This video was created for STALC by Shawn Morrow of Compu-Knights

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Female Knight Virginia Hankins Performs at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire

Although not a competitive jousting event, The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in southern california does feature jousting as part of its entertainment. Virginia Hankins will be performing this year as the first female knight hired by the faire in its 50 year history.

Virginia Hankins is the actress and stuntwoman who played Joan of Arc against William the Conquerer on Spike TV's hit show Deadliest Warrior Season 3. There are rumours that a certain princess in the movie "Brave" was inspired by Virginia's life. Whether or not that is true, the similarities are uncanny.

"Virginia is is a genuine all-American female fighter, archery stunt coordinator, mounted weapons trainer, jouster, female motorcycle rider, and professional lady knight..." -- photo and text from the Virginia Hankins website

The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire is taking place Saturdays and Sundays, 10am - 7pm, April 7 - May 20.

Knights Joust in the Wild West as Part of EarlyAct FirstKnight Convention

On Saturday, April 21, 2012, knights in shining armour will invade the wild west. EarlyAct FirstKnight, an educational organization that encourages school children to become noble, service-oriented people, will be holding its third annual convention in conjunction with the Boerne Wild West Day at Enchanted Springs Ranch. As part of the convention, knights/jousters Dr. Randall Parr, Cass Garcia, Amber Parr and Steve Hemphill will perform a “Tournament of Champions” in the main street of the Old West Town that is regularly used as a movie set for westerns.

In addition to being jousters, Dr. Randall Parr and Cass Garcia are actual modern day Knights Templar. Amber Parr is Randall's wife and serves as an example that chivalry – and the ability to joust – are not limited to the male gender. Steve Hemphill is one of the highest ranked competitive jousters in the US and is the producer of "Lysts on the Lake", the largest competitive jousting tournament in the world.

Dr. Randall Parr and the Knights of the Guild created EarlyAct FirstKnight (EAFK) to teach children in grades K – 8 the virtues of compassion, confidence, discipline, friendliness, honesty, perseverance, respect, responsibility, service and tolerance. EAFK uses actual jousters/knights to entertain, educate and reward the children who participate in their program.

Bourne Wild West Day is organized by the Rotary Club of Boerne and provides a day for families to enjoy enriching entertainment and history, full of stagecoach rides, gunfights and numerous exhibitions of valor, skill and bravery displayed by professional performers. There will also be live music and a Texas Hold'em poker tournament.

Links to more information about EAFK and the Boerne Wild West Day:

EarlyAct FirstKnight

Bourne Wild West Day

Royal Armouries Video of 15th Century Jousting Armour

Many thanks to John Farthing of the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts Middle Tennessee chapter for leading me to this video.

From the information provided by Royal Armouries:

"A German/Austrian Stechzeug, an armour created specifically for the Joust of Peace. By the late 15th century jousting had become a highly dangerous and specialised sport. Special armours were created in order to keep the jouster safe. This armour is usually on display in the Tournament Gallery at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. This video was created by History™ for the exhibition "Dressed to Kill", which was a joint exhibition between Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Armouries, in the year of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accension to the English throne."

To see more videos from the Royal Armouries, check out the Royal Armouries YouTube Channel

Video of the Knights of Mayhem at the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament

AJ Satterfield has created yet another great video of Charlie Andrews and the Knights of Mayhem. This video features the Knights of Mayhem competing at the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament held April 1, 2012 in McDade, TX.

You may notice the pink favors on the arm and saddle of one of the competitors. That is jouster Fast Eddie Rigney who wears pink in support of his mother and others battling breast cancer. He came in second overall in the tournament despite being a relative newcomer to the sport of jousting.

AJ Productions Facebook page

Jouster Phillip Leitch of “Full Metal Jousting” to Appear at Medieval Mayhem in Tasmania

Medieval Mayhem is a family-friendly fun day with all manner of medieval activities and entertainments. It is organized and run by the Huon Valley branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism. The event will take place in Geeveston, Tasmania on Saturday, April 21 from 10am till 4pm. Admission is free.

According to the Medieval Mayhem blog:

"Phillip Leitch, jouster and master horseman, idol of millions, darling of medievalists on seven continents and close personal friend to royalty, will be putting on his show at Medieval Mayhem. Astride his mighty steed Valiant, he will show the skills that won him his place as a coach on Full Metal Jousting, and when everyone is thoroughly gobsmacked he’ll even pose for photos and sign autographs. What more could you ask? "

Phillip Leitch on Valiant

For more information about this event, check out the Medieval Mayhem facebook page.
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"Knights of Mayhem" Inspires Medievalist to Research Lance Construction

Will McLean has been involved in medieval recreation since 1975. He is co-author of the book, "Daily Life in Chaucer's England", and he has written and illustrated several articles on the medieval tournament. He also keeps a blog, "A Commonplace Book", where he writes articles about whatever he is interested in at the time.

While watching the National Geographic tv show "Knights of Mayhem", he was inspired to do some research into how lances were constructed prior to the 1600's. The resulting article, though not comprehensive, still has information that may be useful or at least interesting to those involved in contemporary competitive jousting.

A Commonplace Book: Lance Construction by Will Mclean


16th century lance (photo by rosequinner)


Placard for 16th century lance (photo by rosequinner)

Charlie Andrews and the Knights of Mayhem to Joust at Four Winds Faire

Four Winds Faire is home to Texas' oldest and longest running jousting tournament. The first tournament was held in 1994 and the eight weeks long 2012 tournament is going on now. The grand finale of the tournament will be held the final weekend of the Four Winds Faire on April 21 & 22.

The tournament includes a Mounted Skill-at-Arms (gaming) competition in addition to the usual jousting. At the end of the tournament, the five best jousters will win a spot on the State Joust Team representing Texas at the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival Jousting Tournament in Estes Park, CO which attracts 20,000 spectators and has a prize purse of $20,000.

Champion jouster, Charlie Andrews, and the Knights of Mayhem, from the National Geographic tv show, will be participating in the jousts at Four Winds Faire the weekends of April 6,7,8 and 13,14,15. However, they are not currently planning to compete in the tournament finale.


Some of the jousters who are planning to compete are Dusty Martel, Steve Martel, Bobbie Patterson, Joseph McClain, John Young, Federico Serna, Dustin Stephens, Jerry Gordon, Robert Welch, Siobhan Welch, Kelly Hicks and Thom Barnett. Other jousters, such as Nikki Fourtzialas, the head of the International Jousting Association - USA, may also make an appearance.

The tournament is open and anyone with proper training and equipment is welcome to come and joust. However, arrangements need to be made with Dustin Stephens a couple of days before arrival in order for participation to be assured.

Because the various participants practice different kinds of jousting, a variety of jousting styles will be used throughout the tournament, including Shield Tag, Ecranche and Grande Guard. Participants will be matched against those who practice the same style of jousting and/or those whose styles are compatible with their own.

Each day's joust usually begins with a parade to the tournament field signaling the start of that day's competition at 1pm. The next competition usually begins at 5pm. However, depending on the number of competitors, the competition times may begin earlier.

Admission to the jousting tournament is included when you purchase a ticket to Four Winds Faire.

Charlie Andrews Wins the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 2012

Charlie Andrews and the Knights of Mayhem were the featured competitors in this year's jousting tournament at Sherwood Forest Faire. There were six competitors overall, Greg Boxma, Eddie Rigney, DJ Coburger, Joe Ambrosius, Jason Armstrong and, of course, Charlie Andrews. The competition was held as a double elimination tournament, which means that each competitor had to lose two matches before being eliminated from the tournament. (To see a simple summary of the tournament matches and the order in which competitors were eliminated, skip to the bottom of this post.)

Each match, except for the final one, consisted of four passes. The final match consisted of five passes. However, if the score was tied after four(or five) passes, the match would continue until there was a clear winner. In each pass, a touch within the red target area of the Gridded Grande Guard was worth 3 points. A touch within the target area with a lance break was worth 5 points. A touch within the target area with an unhorsing was worth 10 points. A touch anywhere other than within the target area did not earn any points regardless of whether the lance broke or the opponent was unhorsed. Strikes directly to the head or below the waist were penalized 5 points.

The King of Arms for this tournament was Steve Hemphill, a highly ranked jouster in the International Jousting League and the producer of Lysts on the Lake, the largest competitive jousting tournament in the world. As King of Arms, it was Steve's responsibility to make sure that the competition was scored accurately and that all the rules of the tournament were followed. He was helped in this endeavor by scoring judges Tiffany Geissendorf and Dawn Hemphill, and assistant scoring judges William Brunson and Becca Johnson. To give the jousters and horses the rest breaks needed to cool down and re-hydrate, the tournament was broken down into three sessions. The first session began at 12:30pm, the second at 3:30pm and the third at 6pm.

1st Jousting Session 12:30pm

1:1 In the first session, the first match was between Greg Boxma and Eddie Rigney.

Greg Boxma, at 22 years of age, is one of the youngest competitive jousters in the world. Greg began his apprenticeship with Charlie Andrews and the Knights of Mayhem in 2008, and has competed in the Estes Park jousting tournament for the past three years. He rode two different horses during the competition, Tinkerbell and Jaeger. For this match, he was riding Tinkerbell, Steve Hemphill's Frisian/Percheron mare.

Eddie Rigney, known as Fast Eddie, was the least experienced competitor in this tournament with only one month of squiring experience and one month of joust training under his belt. Also, he was competing with a broken hand which had been injured during the previous week's jousting. Around his arm and on his saddle, he sported pink favors in honor of his mother and others who are fighting breast cancer. Throughout the tournament, he rode jouster Robert Welch's Belgian mare, Daisy.

After four passes, Eddie had beaten Greg, 11 - 3. Eddie advanced to the second jousting session. Since this was a double elimination tournament, Greg was not eliminated, but he did suffer one loss and now had to compete later in the same session against whoever lost the second match of the tournament.

Eddie Rigney(left) and Greg Boxma(right) joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

1:2 The second match of the first session was between DJ Coburger and Joe Ambrosius.

Experienced jouster DJ Coburger rode Chaos, a Shire mare, throughout the tournament.

Joe Ambrosius was featured in the National Geographic tv show, “Knights of Mayhem”. Joe joined up with Charlie Andrews and the Knights of Mayhem in January of 2011 and has since competed in a number of different jousting tournaments. Joe sports a signature blue mohawk on his helm, and rode Thor, Charlie's Paint/Belgian gelding throughout the competition.

DJ outscored Joe 10 – 8. DJ had made it to the second jousting session, and Joe was now slated to compete against Greg later on in the current session.

DJ Coburger(on left) and Joe Ambrosius(on right) joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

1:3 The third match of the first session was between Charlie Andrews and Jason Armstrong.

Charlie Andrews is the leader of the Knights of Mayhem as featured on the National Geographic tv show. Charlie has competed in numerous tournaments and won most of them. Like Eddie, Charlie was also competing with a broken hand. Charlie wore yellow feathers and a pink rose on his helm and a purple and yellow favor on his arm. He rode his Belgian gelding, Jaegermeister – Jaeger for short – throughout the competition.

Jason Armstrong is another member of the Knights of Mayhem. At 5' 8", he is not as large as most other jousters. However, he says that despite the risks, there is no feeling like jousting. Jason wore a blue, green and white favor on his arm and rode three different horses during the competition, Daisy, Thor and Jaeger. For this match, he rode the Belgian mare Daisy.

Charlie beat Jason 14 – 6. Charlie advanced to the second jousting session, and Jason now had to face the winner of the match between Greg and Joe.

Jason Armstrong(left) and Charlie Andrews(right) joust (photo by Zhi Zhu)

1:4 The fourth match of the first session was between the competitors who lost in the first two matches, Greg Boxma on Jaeger and Joe Ambrosius on Thor. Despite the fact that Greg managed to unhorse Joe, Joe outscored Greg, 20 - 15. This was Greg's second loss, and he was eliminated from the tournament.

Greg Boxma(left) unhorses Joe Ambrosius(right) (photo by Zhi Zhu)

Click on thumbnails below to embiggen and see whole sequence.


(photos by Zhi Zhu)

1:5 After a short break to allow Joe to rest and re-hydrate, the fifth and final match of the first session was between Joe Ambrosius on Thor, who still had one loss, and Jason Armstrong on Daisy, who also had one loss. After four passes, Jason beat Joe, 6 - 3. This was Joe's second loss, and he was eliminated from the tournament. Jason advanced to the second jousting session.

Jason Armstrong(left) and Joe Ambrosius(right) joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

2nd Jousting Session 3:30pm

2:1 The first match of the second session was between the two competitors who won the first two matches of the first session, Eddie Rigney on Daisy and DJ Coburger on Chaos. Eddie beat DJ, 13 – 11. This was DJ's first loss which slotted him into the next match against Jason who had made it through the first jousting session with one loss.

Eddie Rigney(left) and DJ Coburger(right) joust
(photo by Zhi Zhu)




2:2 After a brief break, the two competitors with one loss each faced off in the second match of the second session, Jason Armstrong on Thor and DJ Coburger on Chaos. Jason outscored DJ, 14 – 10. This was DJ's second loss, and he was eliminated from the competition.

DJ Coburger(left) and Jason Armstrong(right) joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

2:3 The third match of the second session was between the remaining two competitors with no losses, Charlie Andrews riding Jaeger and Eddie Rigney riding Daisy. Charlie beat Eddie, 18 – 8. Since this was Eddie's first loss, he was NOT eliminated from the competition. He did however, have to face Jason, who still only had one loss, in the next match.

Charlie Andrews(left) and Eddie Rigney(right) joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

2:4 After another brief break, the forth match of the competition saw Eddie Rigney on Daisy unhorse Jason Armstrong on Thor. After being un-horsed, Jason switched to Jaeger as his mount. Ultimately, Eddie beat Jason, 20 – 6. This was Jason's second loss, and he was eliminated from the competition.

Eddie Rigney(left) unhorses Jason Armstrong(right) (photo by Zhi Zhu)

Click on thumbnails to embiggen and see entire sequence.


(photos by Zhi Zhu)

This left Eddie, the least experienced jouster in the competition to face Charlie, the most experienced jouster in the competition – and Eddie's trainer – in the final match.

3rd Jousting Session 6:00pm

3:1 In the third jousting session, the one unbeaten competitor, Charlie Andrews, and the remaining competitor with one loss, Eddie Rigney, faced off.

Charlie Andrews(left) and Eddie Rigney(right)(photos by Zhi Zhu)

Both competitors had broken their hands the week before, yet both had made it to the final match. Since Charlie had no losses and this was a double elimination tournament, in order for Eddie to win, he would have to beat Charlie two matches in a row.

The match between Charlie and Eddie was an exciting one. Both competitors did extremely well, and there was even a double un-horsing during one pass.

Charlie Andrews(left) and Eddie Rigney(right) unhorse one another(photo by Zhi Zhu)

Click to embiggen and see entire sequence.


(photos by Zhi Zhu)

However, after five passes, Charlie had beaten Eddie 28 – 21. This was Eddie's second loss, and he was eliminated from the competition, leaving Charlie Andrews the undefeated winner of the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament.

Charlie Andrews wins joust(photo by Zhi Zhu)

In the spirit of fun and entertainment, Charlie and Eddie did make several more passes against each other, however, these extra passes had no bearing on the competition.

Eddie Rigney and Charlie Andrews cross lances joust for fun(photo by Zhi Zhu)

Simple Summary of Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament, April 1, 2012

1st Jousting Session 12:30pm

1:1 Eddie Rigney on Daisy beats Greg Boxma on Tinkerbell, 11 - 3. Greg's 1st loss

1:2 DJ Coburger on Chaos beats Joe Ambrosius on Thor, 10 - 8. Joe's 1st loss

1:3 Charlie Andrews on Jaeger beats Jason Armstrong on Daisy, 14 - 6. Jason's 1st loss

1:4 Joe Ambrosius on Thor beats Greg Boxma on Jaeger, 20 - 15. Greg's 2nd loss; Greg is eliminated

1:5 Jason Armstrong on Daisy beats Joe Ambrosius on Thor, 6 - 3. Joe's 2nd loss; Joe is eliminated

2nd Jousting Session 3:30pm

2:1 Eddie Rigney on Daisy beats DJ Coburger on Chaos, 13 - 11. DJ's 1st loss

2:2 Jason Armstrong on Thor beats DJ Coburger on Chaos, 14 - 10. DJ's 2nd loss; DJ is eliminated

2:3 Charlie Andrews on Jaeger beats Eddie Rigney on Daisy, 18 - 8. Eddie's 1st loss

2:4 Eddie Rigney on Daisy beats Jason Armstrong on Thor/Jaeger, 20 - 6. Jason's 2nd loss; Jason is eliminated

3rd Jousting Session 6:00pm

3:1 Charlie Andrews on Jaeger beats Eddie Rigney on Daisy, 28 - 21. Eddie's 2nd loss; Eddie is eliminated

Charlie Andrews wins!