The Mounted Melees at the "Times & Epochs 2013" Jousting Tournament

As mentioned in the previous article, there were a series of three Mounted Melees that formed part of the "Times & Epochs 2013" International Jousting Tournament. The first melee was a Crest Melee in which everyone fought individually. The last jouster with a crest that was unbroken and still firmly attached to his helmet was the winner. The seven jousters who competed in the Crest Melee, in the order in which they were eliminated, were: Petter Ellingsen, Andrey "Morgan" Kamin, Alexei "Budimir" Malinin, Arne Koets, Yuri "Humphrey de Bohun" Bogunov and Dmitry "Dusheyron" Petukhov. Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov never allowed anyone to strike off his crest and therefore was the winner of the Crest Melee.

(video by The Jousting Life)

The next melee was a Banner Melee where one team member carried a banner and the other team members had to defend him, though the banner carrier could also defend himself in whatever way he could think of. The first team whose banner hit the ground lost. One team consisted of Arne Koets, Petter Ellingsen and Yuri Bogunov with banner carrier Paul Kalinkov. The other team consisted of jousters from the troupe Cavalry Brotherhood and included Budimir Malinin and Morgan Kamin with banner carrier Dusheyron Petukhov.

During the Banner Melee, Morgan Kamin was actually grappled off of his horse by Petter Ellingsen(perfectly legal according to the Russian rules). It appears in the video at approximately the 1:30 mark. Despite the odds against them now being four against two, the Cavalry Brotherhood team decided to continue to fight. Unfortunately -- though it did even the odds up a bit to three against two -- at about that same time, Arne Koets' left stirrup broke so that he had to withdraw from the Banner Melee and was unable to compete in the final melee. Paul Kalinkov actually lost the Banner melee for himself and his teammates when he used his team's banner to hit Budimir Malinin on the head, breaking the banner pole and allowing the banner to fall to the ground.

(video by The Jousting Life)

The last and most grueling melee was a type of Elimination Melee fought in teams of three. Basically the jousters fought till they couldn't fight any more. They would raise their right hand above their head to signal that they wished to withdraw from the melee. Also, if they fell or were pulled out of their saddle, they were eliminated. The Cavalry Brotherhood again formed one team with Budimir Malinin, Morgan Kamin and Dusheyron Petukhov. The other team included Petter Ellingsen, Paul Kalinkov and Yuri Bogunov.

Yuri "Humphrey" Bogunov was nearly pulled out of the saddle by Morgan Kamin at 5:08, but managed to escape though he lost his feather crest. Despite being double teamed by Budimir and Dusheyron, Paul Kalinkov resisted being pulled from his saddle at the 5:24 mark. A couple of minutes later Dusheyron Petukhov withdrew from the melee right before Petter Ellingsen raised his right hand to signal his withdrawal in order to avoid being pulled out of his saddle by Budimir Malinin. Unfortunately for Budimir, Petter's teammate Paul Kalinkov was right behind him to pull Budimir out of his saddle, eliminating Budimir. With both Dusheyron and Budimir out of the melee, Morgan was left alone facing the pair of teammates Paul and Humphrey. Morgan was given the choice to continue fighting against the odds or to concede the fight. He, quite reasonably and honourably, chose to concede.

(video by The Jousting Life)

There are more pictures and videos yet to come from the "Times & Epochs 2013" International Jousting Tournament.

Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov Wins the Times & Epochs 2013 Jousting Tournament

Sunday, June 23, 2013 was the last day of the first "Times & Epochs" international jousting tournament. Thirty-four year old, Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov of Minsk, Belarus earned the most points throughout the tournament and was named the Grand Champion. Despite a busy schedule, Paul made time to be interviewed between the noon Challenge Jousts and the evening Mounted Melees. At the time of this interview, he had not yet won the tournament.

(video by The Jousting Life)

As mentioned, at noon, the jousters had a chance to challenge each other to compete in the tilt. Competitors had the choice to accept or decline each challenge, though I do not believe that anyone declined. They also had the choice to allow head shots or not.

Here are the scores for the Challenge Jousts:

Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov -- 59
Petter Ellingsen -- 53
Arne Koets -- 50
Andrey "Morgan" Kamin -- 29 points
Dmitry "Dusheyron" Petukhov -- 19
Yuri "Humphrey de Bohun" Bogunov -- 18
Alexei "Budimir" Malinin -- 16
Joram van Essen -- did not compete due to injury
Dmitry "Dietmar" Savchenko -- did not compete due to injury

At 5pm, there were a series of Mounted Melees. The first melee was a Crest Melee in which it was every man for himself. The last jouster with a crest still on his helmet was the winner. The next melee was a Banner Melee where one team member carried a banner and the other team members had to defend him. The first team whose banner hit the ground lost. The last and most grueling melee was an Elimination Melee, basically the jousters fought till they couldn't fight any more. They would raise their right hand above their head to signal that they wished to leave the melee. Also, if they were pulled out of their saddle, they were eliminated.

After the last Mounted Melee, the Head Marshall, other judges and Court of Ladies conferred to decide upon the winners of the individual competitions and determine the Grand Champion. Deciding upon the winners of the individual competitions was somewhat subjective. They took the points scored into consideration, but decided the winner based on whom everyone believed should have won, whether or not he actually had the most points. In some cases, they did choose the jouster with the most points. In other cases, they did not.

Here is a list of the winners of the individual competitions:

Mounted Skill at Arms(MSA) -- Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov
Jousting(predetermined matches) -- Andrey "Morgan" Kamin
Challenge Jousts -- Arne Koets
Combined Melee -- Petter Ellingsen

The determination of the Grand Champion of the jousting tournament was based solely on the amount of points earned throughout the competition. Here are the final scores and number of lances broken for all the competitors:

Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov -- 158, 7 lances broken
Andrey "Morgan" Kamin -- 113, 6 lances broken
Arne Koets -- 106, 6 lances broken
Petter Ellingsen -- 98, 2 lances broken
Dmitry "Dusheyron" Petukhov -- 70, 2 lances broken
Joram van Essen -- 53, 4 lances broken, withdrew from competition due to injury
Alexei "Budimir" Malinin -- 52, 2 lances broken
Yuri "Humphrey de Bohun" Bogunov -- 39, 1 lance broken
Dmitry "Dietmar" Savchenko -- 33, 1 lance broken, withdrew from competition due to injury

There will be more information, pictures and videos posted about the "Times & Epochs" jousting tournament in future articles.

Many thanks to Daria Isaeva of Ratabor Show who arranged for me to attend "Times & Epochs 2013". Thanks also to Alyona Rebrova, also of Ratabor Show, who seemed to always be there when I needed help with something, and to Sergey "Tankred" Vislenev who was gracious enough to answer all my questions about the scoring and the points earned by each competitor. (If I spelled any of your names incorrectly, I sincerely apologize and hope you send me the correct spelling.)

Mounted Skill at Arms & the First Round of Jousting at Times & Epochs 2013

Earlier today, Saturday, June 22, 2013 was the first round of equestrian martial arts for the jousters who came to compete in the Times & Epochs jousting tournament. At Noon, all the jousters demonstrated their abilities in various aspects of Mounted Skill at Arms(MSA). At this time, the scores for MSA are still being calculated and cannot be included in this article, but one of the more dramatic and romantic moments came near the end of the MSA competition when Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov succeeded in lifting a scarf off the ground with his lance and presenting it to a Lady, presumably his Lady, in the audience.

Paul Kalinkov succeeds at lifting the scarf and in wooing his Lady (video by The Jousting Life)

Later in the day, at 5pm, the tilting competition began(tilting is a more specific term for jousting).

The jousters, their squires and ground crew enter the arena(video by The Jousting Life)

There were a few problems with timing, and a few complete misses, but there were also some magnificent hits and lance breaks.

(video by The Jousting Life)

Unfortunately, fairly early on in the tilting, Dmitry "Dietmar" Savchenko was injured when he was hit in the leg with a lance. Although, it was not a life-threatening injury, he was unable to continue competing.

At the end of the tilting, the scores were as follows:

Andrey "Morgan" Kamin -- 40 points
Joram van Essen -- 32
Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov -- 26
Dmitry "Dusheyron" Petukhov -- 24
Arne Koets -- 22
Petter Ellingsen -- 20
Alexsey "Budimir" Malinin -- 18
Yuri "Humphrey de Bohun" Bogunov -- 12
Dmitry "Dietmar" Savchenko -- did not receive any points due to injury

Andrey "Morgan" Kamin(photo by The Jousting Life)

On Sunday, there will be a mounted melee and more tilting. After the end of the competition tomorrow, the scores from the MSA, the tilting, the melee and the Court of the Ladies will be added together to determine the Champion of the tournament. There will also be other prizes for specific aspects of the tournament.

Opening Ceremony for "Times & Epochs" History Festival 2013

Today was the official opening of the "Times & Epochs" history festival for 2013. To signal the official start of the event, there was a rather elaborate ceremony similar to the opening ceremonies for the Olympic games, but not nearly so spectacular. Among other things, each of the jousters was introduced to the audience and got a chance to ride their horses around and show off a little. Petter Ellingsen of Norway got an exceptionally large cheer when he cued his horse to rear very high.

Here is some video of the introduction of the jousters during the opening ceremony:

Intrducing the jousters during the Opening Ceremony of "Times & Epochs 2013"
(video by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)

I apologize for the shakiness and generally poor quality of the video. I just bought this camera specifically for this event and am still not proficient with it.

Getting Ready for the "Times & Epochs" Jousting Tournament in Moscow, Russia

The jousting tournament which will occur as part of the "Times & Epochs" history festival Starts tomorrow, Friday, June 21 and lasts through Sunday, June 23. The European jousters arrived in Moscow several days ago and have had a chance to meet and practice with the horses that they will be riding.

The European jousters for the Tournament are:

Arne Koets
Arne is a 32 year old jouster from Buckeburg, Germany. He is a very highly regarded competitive jouster who is probably best known for organizing the prestigious "Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel". That tournament inspired the organizers of the "Times & Epochs" festival to include a jousting tournament as part of their event. His coat of arms is a black cage on a silver field, a gold griffin with red tongue, claws and eyes.

Joram van Essen
Joram is a 38 year old jouster from Benshkhop, Netherlands. Not only is he a respected jouster, he also creates hand made reconstructions of historically accurate jousting saddles. His company is called Historic Saddles, and his saddles were used by most of the competitors in the prestigious "Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel", which he also happened to win. His coat of arms is a silver chevron and three golden towers on a red field.

Petter Ellingsen
Petter is a 38 year old from Oslo, Norway. Petter has participated in over 350 shows and competitions worldwide. He has won tournament championships in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and he was one of the participants in the so very prestigious "Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel". For the "Times & Epochs" jousting tournament, he will be competing in brand new set of armour created by Lillund Jenszen, one of the world's best armourers. His coat of arms is a gold reared lion with a silver sword in his paws on a blue field.

The Russian jousters for the tournament are:

Alexei "Budimir" Malinin
Alexei is a 29 year old from St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexei is considered a pleasant conversationalist, a true companion in a fierce fight and a cheerful companion in more friendly endeavors. He is generally a favorite with female fans, so it will be interesting to see how the Court of Ladies at the "Times & Epochs" jousting tournament reacts to him. His coat of arms is a white swan facing left on a red field.

Andrey "Morgan" Kamin
Andrey is a 25 year old from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the head of the "Cavalry Brotherhood" and is one of the favorites to win this tournament. He has won a number of victories in his hometown as well as winning a tournament in the Ukraine. His coat of arms is a standing black bear facing left with red claws, holding an axe on a silver field.

Dmitry "Dusheyron" Petukhov
Dusheyron is a 25 year old from St. Petersburg, Russia. Dusheyron is the captain of the "Cavalry Brotherhood" -- one of the oldest and largest horse clubs in Russia. When the brotherhood was asked to participate in the jousting tournament, it became clear that the usual teammates would have to compete against one another. Dusheyron's coat of arms is two upright gold axes facing opposite on a blue field with white diagonal stripes on the upper right side.

Dmitry "Dietmar" Savchenko
Dietmar is a 30 year old from Moscow, Russia. Dietmar is the curator and direct organizer of the "Times & Epochs" jousting tournament. He has repeatedly won jousting competitions in Russia and is one of the prominent activists in the development of medieval equestrian martial arts. Dietmar is an expert on both military history and horse-riding history. His coat of arms is three gold crosses on a blue field.

Pavel "Paul" Kalinkov
Pavel is a 34 year old from Minsk, Belarus. He is the founder and permanent head of the "Gold Spur" club in Minsk. Pavel owns his own stable and will be riding his faithful fighting companion, Grace. He will also be wearing a new set of armour created especially for this and future tournaments. His coat of arms is a golden spur on a split field of blue and red.

Yury "Humphrey de Bohun" Bogonov
Yury is a 28 year old from Moscow, Russia. Yury is one of the least experienced competitors in the tournament, but is already a very skilled fighter. He is also invariably a crowd favorite because his smile never leaves his face whether he is winning or losing. Yury is a member of the group "Ratabor" which is the main organizer of the "Times & Epochs" festival. His coat of arms is a blue field with three diagonal white stripes on it. The central stripe bears three red roses.

While the jousters have been practicing with their horses, the workers for the festival have been busy setting up the tilt yard and lyst field for the tournament.

The tilt for the tournament (photo by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)


The lyst field for the tournament (photo by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)

You can find out more about "Times & Epochs" on their website and their Facebook page.

Random Pic: Fire Knight

Andreas Wenzel makes a fiery entrance during last year's "Arundel Castle International Jousting Tournament".

Andreas Wenzel with Karen Clark and a fire-breathing Ben van Koert(photo by Jim Moore)

According to Andreas, this was the:
"Entrance of the Holy Roman Empire at Arundel Castle. That cloud of fire was actually about 20 mtrs in front of me. Imagine 'Sonne' playing as soundtrack, and Ben fire-breathing with the bass drum. That man is a daemon." – Andreas Wenzel

This year's "Arundel Castle International Jousting Tournament" will be occurring July 23 - 28, 2013, at Arundel Castle which is 4 miles north of Littlehampton and the south coast, and midway between Chichester and Worthing on the A27.

David Young Wins the "Knights of Mayhem Ultimate Jousting Event"

Riding the horse Arturius, David Young, an equine surgeon from Turlock, California, USA, was the overall winner, as well as winning each round, at the "Knights of Mayhem Ultimate Jousting Event" which took place May 30 – June 2, 2013, at Patriot's Ranch in Florahome, Florida. David Young has been riding most of his life. He began training to joust in 2005, and has competed in several tournaments since then.

David Young on Arturius (photo by Suzanne DeMink)

The tournament was produced by Charlie Andrews of the Knights of Mayhem in cooperation with Patriot's Ranch. Charlie Andrews did several training sessions before the competition and also acted as Master of Ceremonies during the competition.

David Young on Arturius breaks lances with Charlie Andrews on Jaegermeister
(photo by Suzanne DeMink)

There were a total of twelve participants at the jousting event from California, New York, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Utah and Ontario, Canada. Jeff Wasson from New York, won second place.

Jeff Wasson on Lady Chaos (photo by Suzanne DeMink)

Scott Wilson from Mississippi, earned third place.

Scott Wilson on Tanner (photo by Suzanne DeMink)

Nikki Fourtzialas from Massachesetts, finished fourth.

Nikki Fourtzialas on Arturius breaks her lance against Charlie Andrews
(photo by Suzanne DeMink)

Steve Hemphill from Texas, riding his Friesian/Percheron mare Tinkerbelle, finished in fifth place.

Steve Hemphill on Tinkerbelle breaks lances with Scarlett Coverdale on Jaegermeister
(photo by Suzanne DeMink)

Tied for sixth place were Scarlett Coverdale from New York and Jordan Heron from Ontario.

Scarlett Coverdale on Arturius (photo by Suzanne DeMink)


Jordon Heron on Thor breaks his lance against James Johnson
(photo by Suzanne DeMink)

And in her very first tournament, Elizabeth Jones from Colorado managed to complete the tournament and earn eighth place.

Elizabeth Jones on Duke breaks lances with Charlie Andrews
(photo by Suzanne DeMink)

Other participants at the event were Andre Renier, James Johnson, Steve Weaver and, of course, Charlie Andrews.

Many thanks to Suzanne DeMink for providing the information and pictures for this article.

Jeffrey Hedgecock Wins the "Tournois de la Lance D'Argent 2013"

Article provided by Gwen Nowrick of WorldJoust:

Jeffrey Hedgecock was the winner of the "Tournois de la Lance D'Argent" in Neauphle-le-Chateau near Paris, France this weekend. Riding the Arab mare 'Sybelle', Jeff triumphed over the 13 other competitors in the tournament. In addition to running his own passes, Jeff rode for Canadian competitor Marc Hamel, was forced to retire from the competition due to injuries sustained at the Tournament of King John III in Poland the previous weekend.

As the winner of the tournament Jeff was awarded a new, rotating trophy created this year for the tournament.

Prize for the "Tournois de la Lance D'Argent" (photo provided by Gwen Nowrick)

The sword and carved stone base were made on site by craftsmen over the weekend. It is a rotating trophy which will stay on display in France, to be won by someone new each year. Jeffrey is the first winner.

The jousting trophy depicting a silver lance was forged by the blacksmith at Castle Gniew in Poland. This trophy will return with Jeff to his home in California as a memento and reminder of a memorable European tour with great friends.

Jousting trophy for the "Tournois de la Lance D'Argent" (photo provided by Gwen Nowrick)

Jeffrey Hedgecock is a member of the Order of the Crescent. He is the master armourer at Historic Arms and Armour, and the principal instructor at WorldJoust Tournaments' Knight School.