Press release from the jousting troupe Rohan Tallit:
Weather didn't stop the competing mounts at the Finnish Championship. The Finnish National Championship for jousting and mounted skill at arms was held on March 28 at the Rohan Stables in rainy spring weather. The competition was organized by the Historical Riding association of Finland.
Jose Bernardes(left) and Anu Nuotio (right) joust during the Finnish National Championship 2015
(photo by Marjo Lunden)
Class 2 Mounted Skill at Arms - Hunting
Ivan Lopez - Horse Brasil - 26 p
Jaakko Nuotio - Horse Fere - 24,5 p
Anu Nuotio - Horse Gitan muisto - 23,25 p
Jose Bernardes - Horse Alecto - 15,25 p
Ivan Lopez spears the beast during the Hunting MSA competition (photo by Marjo Lunden)
Class 3 Mounted Skill at Arms - War
Jaakko Nuotio - Horse Fere - 29,5 p
Anu Nuotio - Horse Gitan muisto - 18,75 p
Jose Bernardes - Horse Alecto - 16,25 p
Ivan Lopez - Horse Brasil - na
Anu Nuotio jumps the "dead bodies" during the War MSA competition
(photo by Marjo Lunden)
Class 5 Jousting
Jaakko Nuotio - Horse Fere - 12 p
Anu Nuotio - Horse Alecto - 6 p
Jose Bernardes - Horse Gitan Muisto - 3 p
Jaakko Nuotio (left) jousts his wife Anu Nuotio (right) during the jousting competition at the Finnish National Championships 2015 (photo by Marjo Lunden)
The national champion in 2015 is Jaakko Nuotio with total score of 66 points.
National silver goes to Anu Nuotio with total score of 48 points.
The bronze medalist is Jose Bernardes with total score of 34,5 points.
Andy Deane on the jousting horse Ted during the Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament 2014
(photo from Royal Armouries Tournaments)
Andy has been riding horses since the age of four and began jousting in 1993. In 1995, he joined the Royal Armouries jousting team in Leeds, and spent several years as the captain of the team. He has jousted against many of the best jousters in the world, and in July of 2014, he won the Individual Championship at the prestigious Arundel International Tournament. He has traveled across Europe, Asia, Canada and the USA performing and teaching the medieval martial skills a knight would have needed to compete in tournament or survive in battle.
Recently, as part of the promotions for the upcoming Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament(aka the Leeds Easter Jousting Tournament), Royal Armouries released a humorous video, featuring the 50 yo, 84 kg (185 lbs ), 178 cm tall (5' 10") Andy Deane as the former Queen's Champion determined to reclaim the championship that he lost to Mark Caple in 2014 "by any means necessary".
How to Train a Knight (video by Royal Armouries)
When asked, Andy kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the video and the Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament 2015 which will take place April 3 - 6 in Leeds.
Who came up with the idea for the video?
Marketing came up with it after they caught wind of my own personal trial. This year was one of those big birthdays that some people mark. Some men when they reach fifty might buy a sports car or a powerful motorbike. They might bungee jump off a bridge or swim with sharks. I wanted to challenge myself to something extraordinary in armour, and so I came up with the ‘50/50/50 Challenge’: A fifty minute ‘Cardio Vascular’ workout, wearing more than 50 lbs of armour on the day of my fiftieth birthday (March 19th).
I was persuaded to allow local media to come along so that the workout could be used to bring attention to our upcoming annual Easter tournament[aka the Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament].
EPIC VIDEO - Champion jouster in Leeds takes on gruelling exercise challenge wearing fifty pounds of medieval body armour! - brought to you by On The Aire - local news that matters to you.
Posted by MADE in Leeds on Friday, March 20, 2015
Champion jouster in Leeds takes on gruelling exercise challenge wearing fifty pounds of medieval body armour! (video by MADE in Leeds)
The idea of a man in medieval armour working out in a modern gym got people excited, and they then asked me if I would do a proper (fun) workout film to promote the tournament and the newly opened gym. I was interested to see exactly what could be achieved, so I said yes… and so began a nine hour ordeal in armour which was way way worse than my initial challenge to myself!!
...and how hard did they have to work to persuade you to do it?
Really hard!! Initially, I didn't want to do it at all. Like most people, I hate appearing to be foolish. I also hate denigrating my role at the museum or indeed the courage of real medieval warriors, who for them, when they put on armour, it was often a life or death situation.
But on the other side of the coin, my work also includes myth busting. So if I could show what an old broken, (overweight) man in armour could do, … maybe people would really start to believe that the fighting knight from history was an immensely athletic martial artist! Rather than the armour limiting the man, it worked in natural harmony with him as he carried out his intentions.
What was the most fun part of making the video?
Taking the armour off at the end!!
Andy Deane in 'soft kit', historical clothing he wears at tournaments when he is not wearing armour. This photo was taken on the first day of the Arundel International Tournament 2014. (photo by ARW Photography)
What was the hardest part of making the video?
The sparring. The film only last a few minutes, but anyone who has been involved in filming knows that it can take days to get those few minutes, and the section with the sparring was a real lung buster and really hurt.
Actually, thinking about it, it was pulling and pushing the sled. This was because I had a bit of a malfunction with the armour. When I agreed to do the filming, I decided to keep the weight to about 60 lbs, so decided not to put the extremities of the armour on (i.e. helmet, gauntlets, sabatons and mail shirt). I’m stupid but not suicidal!! But this meant that as I pulled the weighted sled towards me, the corners of the pauldrons[shoulder armour] sliced into my neck. The eagle eyed will notice that, in the video, in some shots I have a cravat on, and in others I don’t. (The cravat went on after I started bleeding!)
How many times have you competed in the Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament?
This year will be my fourteenth crack at Championship.
Besides winning the Queen's Jubilee Horn Tournament in 2013, have you won or placed well any other times?
I've won it twice, in 2011 and 2013. The Queen's Jubilee Horn Trophy was idea of the founder of all the tournaments at the Royal Armouries Museum, and I would say the father of the modern revival of historical jousting, Mr. John Waller.
In Britain and the commonwealth, 2002 was the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and as part of the national celebrations, the museum commissioned a trophy (made by John) for the winner of the inaugural individual championship. Although the trophy will always reside in the museum, each year’s winner has his name and jousting colours added to the trophy on a gilded shield, and every year since, jousters from around the world have been invited to compete for the honour of being added to Her Majesty's Trophy.
A young lady carries the Queen's Golden Jubilee Horn during the 2013 tournament (photo from Royal Armouries Tournements)
I have competed in all of the tournaments since 2002 (although I might have missed one through injury), and I came second, third, fourth and even fifth... A lot!! But when you have the likes of Arne Koets, Joram van Essen, Dr. Tobias Capwell, Steve Mallet and Dominic Sewell coming screaming down from the other end of the tilt on a fiery steed, there is no shame in coming second or third sometimes!
What would you like to say to Mark Caple who won the tournament last year?
Well done, you are a worthy champion, and I wish you and Destrier (the fantastic tournament re-enactment group) all the best. I hope I get another chance soon, to bash up that stunning armour of yours!
What are you most looking forward to about this year's tournament?
Lots of things, a Club Melee has been introduced for the first time.
When one of the Royal Armouries team jousters at the Leeds Castle Grand Tournament 2014 was injured, Andy Deane was invited to take his place in the mounted melee. Here Andy(left) fights against Mark Caple(right). (photo by Richard Pearn)
A team representing Poland is coming jousting for the first time. And as I’m fifty and this is my twentieth season of jousting at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, I’m looking forward to this being my last! I need to hang up my spurs and put my horse out to grass!!
The jousting community will be sad to see you go, but you have certainly earned your retirement. Thanks for answering my questions, and best of luck with all your future endeavors!
Jouster Andy Deane (photo by Stephen Moss/PhotoSM)
The Los Angeles Times, one of the larger newspapers in the USA, interviewed jouster and museum curator Dr. Tobias Capwell about his part in the burial procession for the recently discovered remains of Richard III. Toby Capwell(as he is known to the jousting community) and another jouster – Dominic Sewell – wore their knightly armour and rode their jousting horses as they escorted the vehicle carrying Richard III's remains to their final resting place.
Dominic Sewell(left) and Toby Capwell(right) lead Richard III's burial procession towards Leicester Cathedral(photo by Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency)
The article does not mention Toby's jousting endeavors, instead focusing on his work as a museum curator at The Wallace Collection and his historical knowledge of King Richard III. However, it is well worth reading for anyone interested in Toby, his work or Richard III.
England's King Richard III was killed twice: first by his challenger, Henry Tudor, at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and again, in posthumous reputation, by Tudor historians and by Shakespeare, who portrayed the last English king to die in battle as a "bunch-backed toad" and accused him of murdering his young nephews in the Tower of London to become king. Richard's skeleton was, astonishingly, discovered in 2012 and identified through DNA. It is being reburied in Leicester, England, this week with far more pomp than 530 years ago, when it was dumped into a soon-forgotten grave that was eventually covered with a parking lot. One of the two knights escorting the king on his last journey is Tobias Capwell, born in Petaluma and now a top British medieval military historian — a California Yankee in King Richard's court.
You and your colleague, in full medieval armor, escorted the king's coffin in the reburial procession, even on the same bridge where a horse carrying the king's body had crossed. What a moment for a historian.
There was an extraordinary sense of occasion. I think the most moving moment was when we stood on either side of the cathedral doors and the pallbearers brought the coffin right past us.
....
In what has become a much anticipated climax to the Sherwood Forest Faire season, instead of the usual jousting show, there will be a competitive jousting tournament on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 - 29, the final weekend of the 2015 faire.
Charlie Andrews(far left) and Mark Desmond(center) unhorse each other during the Mid-Faire Jousting Tournament at Sherwood Forest Faire 2015(photo by GRHook Photo)
George Appling, the owner of Sherwood Forest Faire(who also plays the part of King Richard the Lionhearted within the drama of the faire), first decided to hold a competitive jousting tournament the final weekend of the faire back in 2011.
"The Knights of Mayhem television show was being filmed in Sherwood Forest and everyone involved thought a tournament would be quite the fitting climax.... We had the Knights of Mayhem doing the joust every weekend at Sherwood Forest Faire 2011. A tournament with more knights seemed like an obvious closer to such a great season of jousting." -- George Appling
This will be the second competitive jousting tournament at Sherwood Forest during the 2015 season; a Mid-Faire Competitive Jousting Tournament was held February 28 - March 1, 2015. When asked why he decided to hold two competitive jousting tournaments this season, Mr. Appling replied:
"Two reasons really: First, we always have more jousters interested than we have time in a day. There were some jousters who wanted to qualify, so we wanted to create a qualifying competition. Second, we love the tournament and wanted to see it twice!"
A total of nine competitors from five different jousting organizations competed in the mid-faire tournament, and although two competitors were disqualified early on, it was nevertheless a spectacular event with several single unhorsings and two double unhorsings.
David Schade(left) breaks his lance against Robbie Hubbard(right) during the Mid-Faire Jousting Tournament at Sherwood Forest Faire 2015 (photo by GRHook Photo)
The Final Weekend Jousting Tournament should be equally spectacular since many of the same jousters will be returning to compete. Charlie Andrews, leader of the Knights of Mayhem, will again be competing, and his troupe member Brian Stephenson will be there for the first time this season. Other jousters who will be returning to compete include Eddie Rigney of the Knights of Valour, Dustin Stephens of the Knights of Four Winds, and Joshua Warren, of Sherwood Forest Faire's own Sherwood Knights Academy. David Schade will, of course, be returning to defend his title, while Samuel Keucker, another member of the New Riders of the Golden Age, will be competing at Sherwood Forest for the the first time this season. However, the final list of competitors is still subject to change.
2015 Sherwood Forest Faire Mid-Faire Jousting Tournament (video by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)
If you are hungry either before or after the tournament, make a pilgrimage over to the Jerusalem Cafe (which is behind the water wheel next to the jousting arena) for some restaurant quality middle-eastern fare. I don't usually talk about faire food, but the chicken schawarma and hummus were so delicious, and the service so delightful, that I just had to share the news about this wonderful cafe.
A short video produced by the Finnish jousting troupe Rohan Tallit on how to properly perform mounted skill at arms in their troupe and at their tournaments. The demonstration is performed by Jaakko Nuotio, one of the leaders of Rohan Tallit.
Jaako Nuotio of the jousting troupe Rohan Tallit (photo by Sipo Foto)
While there is no international standard set of rules for jousting, mounted melee and/or mounted skill at arms, the techniques demonstrated in this video are widely accepted within the jousting community, however, they only specifically apply to those who will be participating in Rohan Tallit's tournaments. Overall, it is a very nicely done informative video, and since the information is presented completely visually, there is no language barrier to learning the techniques.
The jousting troupe Rohan Tallit will be hosting the Finnish National Championships in jousting and mounted skill at arms on March 28 - 29 at the Rohan Stables, Västanfjärdintie 911, 25830 Västanfjärd, Finland. For more information about this tournament, check out the March 2015 posts on the Rohan Tallit Facebook page. For more information about the jousting troupe, check out the Rohan Tallit website.
Russian jouster/tournament organizer Dmitry Savchenko and his wife Marina Savchenko
at the Christmas Tournament in Khrabrovo 2015 (photo by Andrew Boykov)
The Tournament of St George will include seven jousters from four different countries: From Canada, Steve R. Gagnon; from Germany, Arne Koets(who was born in the Netherlands, but lives in Germany); from Norway, Ivar Mauritz-Hansen; and from Russia, Alexei Malinin, Sergey Zhuravlev, Victor Ruchkin and Yuri Bogunov.
The tournament will involve competitions in solid lance jousting, mounted melee and ground fighting with the poleaxe.
Tournament organizer Steve Hemphill leads the charge of several of the jousters who competed in
the original Lysts on the Lake 2011 jousting tournament at Castleton (photo by AzulOx)
The Lysts on the Lake tournaments are open to all qualified equestrian competitors (check the Rules Page for details). Participants can choose to compete in either the overall tournament(which consists of three competitions: jousting, 'la Chasse' [a type of mounted skill at arms course] and mounted melee) or they may choose to compete in either or both of the la Chasse and mounted melee competitions.
There will also be two foot combat competitions. There will be a Deed of Arms consisting of combat with the knightly weapons of sword, axe and spear in accordance with the rules of the Dekovan Concord, and a Blossfechten Tournament which recreates the medieval judicial duel where two opponents fight with matching weapons.
Anyone who does not wish to compete, but who would like to participate in other ways, can register to volunteer as ground crew.
This year's Lysts on the Lake will be held April 24 - 26, 2015, in Austin, Texas, USA, and this year the event will return to the site where it first took place in 2011, the lovely lands of Castleton.
Lysts on the Lake 2015 Returns (video by a'Plaisance)
You can learn more about the Lysts on the Lakes competitive jousting tournaments by checking out the Lysts on the Lake Facebook page.
For the past several years, Sherwood Forest Faire in Paige, Texas, USA, has substituted an actual competitive jousting tournament in place of their usual jousting show during the last weekend of the faire. However this year, Sherwood Forest Faire is hosting two competitive jousting tournaments during its run, one during the fourth weekend(mid-faire) and one during the eighth and final weekend.
David Schade jousts Robbie Hubbard during the mid-faire jousting tournament at
Sherwood Forest Faire 2015 (photo by GRHook Photo)
Sherwood's Mid-faire Jousting Tournament was held this past weekend, February 28 - March 1. Eight competitors from five different jousting organizations took to the list field, and after two days of competition, David Schade, leader of the New Riders of the Golden Age, was the winner of the tournament. David rode the jousting horse Abraham, a six year old Percheron gelding, throughout the tournament.
David Schade on the jousting horse Abraham, Tournament Winners, Mid-faire Jousting Tournament at Sherwood Forest Faire 2015 (photo by GRHook Photo)
The tournament consisted of six sessions of jousting: a qualifying session(noon Saturday), four sessions of jousting competition(Saturday, 2pm & 4pm and Sunday, Noon & 2pm), and a Finals session(Sunday, 4pm). The qualifying session was used to examine the horsemanship, jousting skill and general safety of those wishing to compete in the tournament. The sessions of jousting competition included three to four matches between pairs of qualified competitors. The Finals session was to feature the top two jousters from the previous four competitive sessions in an extended final match to determine the tournament winner.
Points within each match were awarded in the following fashion: a solid hit against a legal target(above the waist, below the head) earned 1 point, a lance broken against a legal target earned 5 points, and unhorsing your opponent by striking him in a legal target area earned 10 points. The jouster with the highest number of points after four passes won the match. If the points were tied after four passes, additional passes were run until there was a winner.
Once each match was over, the points earned during the match were irrelevant, and only the number of matches won was used to determine the ranking of the jousters.
The list of jousters who competed in Sherwood's Mid-faire Jousting Tournament included:
From the New Riders of the Golden Age (the home team):
David Schade, leader of the troupe, colors red & gold, stage name "Sir William"
Mark Desmond, colors blue, black & silver, stage name "Sir Marcus"
Harry Bouchard, colors red, green & silver, stage name "Sir Henry Darling"
Left: Mark Desmond on the Brabant mare jousting horse Daisy (photo by GRHook Photo)
Right: Harry Bouchard on the Percheron gelding jousting horse Marcus (photo by GRHook Photo)
From the Knights of Mayhem:
Charlie Andrews, leader of the troupe, sporting yellow feathers on his helm, stage name "Prince Kyllem Awl"
Robbie Hubbard, sporting various borrowed colors, stage name "Sir Michael"
Left: Robbie Hubbard on the Percheron jousting horse Arthur (photo by GRHook Photo)
Right: Charlie Andrews on the Belgian jousting horse Jaegermeister (photo by GRHook Photo)
From the faire's own Sherwood Knights Academy:
Joshua Warren, colors red, black & white, stage name "Lord Arcadia"
Joshua Warren on the Percheron jousting horse Mercy (photo by GRHook Photo)
From the Knights of Valour:
Eddie Rigney, colors pink & white, nickname "The Hitman"
Eddie Rigney on the Percheron jousting horse Skull Crusher
(photo by The Jousting Life)
Dustin Stephens on the Belgian jousting horse Sampson
(photo by GRHook Photo)
Although many of the jousters used stage names during the tournament, the competition was real.
Unfortunately, the Four Winds jouster Dustin Stephens was disqualified during the first day of competition for being unable to get the horse he was riding to consistently canter the length of the tilt. Horses do have minds of their own and can sometimes decide that they just don't feel like jousting at the moment.
The remaining jousters gave the audience quite a few thrills and spills throughout the tournament. On the first day of competition, Mark Desmond and Charlie Andrews managed to unhorse each another, not once, but twice. During their first match together, they were both competing for ranking points, and in their second pass, they had a dramatic double unhorsing. (Both the first and second pass are shown in the video below)
Jousting - 1st Session, Double Unhorsing, Mark Desmond & Charlie Andrews, Sherwood Forest Faire (video by The Jousting Life)
After they came off their horses, both jousters still had one foot caught in the stirrup, as you can see in the still photo below:
Mark Desmond(left) and Charlie Andrews(right) with their feet caught in their stirrups
(photo by Pamela Morgan Photography)
If you watch the video closely, you can see that Charlie was actually dragged along the ground by his horse Jaegermeister, which, according to Charlie, was absolutely terrifying. For a few seconds, he seriously thought he was going to die. Fortunately, Jaegermeister was stopped fairly quickly, and neither Charlie nor Mark was seriously hurt. Both were ready to continue jousting within a couple of minutes, and after completing their fourth pass, Charlie had won the match.
When they faced each other again during the next session of jousting, only Mark was competing for ranking points. Charlie had enthusiastically agreed to take the place of disqualified jouster Dustin Stephens in order for Mark to have someone to joust against. During the fourth pass of the match, Charlie and Mark again unhorsed one another. There is video of the second double unhorsing on The Jousting Life's YouTube channel. However, photographer Gary R. Hook of GRHook Photo was kind enough to share this spectacular sequence of photos documenting the pair's second double unhorsing. (Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.)
This time, since Mark was in the lead coming into the fourth pass, he was the winner of the match.
Mark Desmond on the jousting horse Daisy (photo by GRHook Photo)
There were also several single unhorsings during the tournament. Sherwood's own Joshua Warren was unhorsed by Charlie Andrews late in the first day, and then again by David Schade early in the second day of competition. In the video below, you can see that Joshua was having trouble with his horse and had swung his lance far to the side. However David could not see that Joshua was having trouble and hit him solidly in the grand guard, unhorsing him.
Jousting - 3rd Session, 1st Match, David Schade unhorses Joshua Warren at Sherwood Forest Faire 2015 (video by The Jousting Life)
It is an accepted practice that a jouster can swing his lance far off target to indicate that he is having trouble and is asking for a mercy pass (i.e. not to be hit). However, it is understood that due to the extremely limited visibility through a jousting helm, the opposing jouster cannot always see that the first jouster has asked for a mercy pass. Therefore it is also understood that asking for a mercy pass does not always mean that you will receive it. Just one of the reasons that, despite taking every reasonable precaution, jousting is still a dangerous sport.
After the second unhorsing, during which he landed badly on his face, Joshua chose to withdraw from the competition due to injury.
The second day of joust competition saw Harry Bouchard unhorsed three times during the same session. He was unhorsed twice by Charlie Andrews during the four passes of their match, and was later unhorsed a third time during his match against Robbie Hubbard. When asked how he felt about being unhorsed three times, Harry responded:
"I don't mind at all. I will eat as much dirt as it takes until I get better."
His persistence paid off. In the next session of jousting, Harry managed to win his match against Eddie Rigney.
Harry Bouchard unhorsed, 2015 Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 1
(video by The Jousting Life)
Going into the Finals, David Schade was clearly the top competitor so far, having won all of his matches. However, who the second jouster in the finals should be was not clear. Mark Desmond and Charlie Andrews had earned the same number of ranking points, both having won all but one of their matches. Therefore, it was decided to hold two matches during the Finals. The first match would consist of four passes between Mark and Charlie to see which of them could earn the right to face David in the final extended match(six passes) which would determine the tournament winner.
During the first pass of the first match, Charlie managed to unhorse Mark, putting Charlie in the lead, both in terms of the match and in terms of unhorsings between the two of them. Although Mark managed to resist another near unhorsing during their second pass and to break his lance against Charlie during the fourth pass, it was not enough to overcome Charlie's initial lead. Charlie won the match, putting Mark in third place, and earning Charlie the right to face David Schade in the final match.
Jousting - Finals, Mark Desmond unhorsed by Charlie Andrews, 1st Pass, Sherwood Forest Faire
(video by The Jousting Life)
Charlie and David had actually faced each other once before during the tournament, and David had won that match 16 to 12. The weather, which had been freezing cold all day, turned wet during the Finals, when rain began to fall. The conditions were truly miserable. However, both jousters were still eager to try their mettle against one another one last time. And after six cold, wet passes, and with a score of 18 - 13, David Schade won the match, and by doing so, won the tournament – much to his surprise.
Jousting - Finals, David Schade & Charlie Andrews, 6th Pass, Sherwood Forest Faire
(video by The Jousting Life)
Jouster and tournament organizer Steve Hemphill is best known for the series of Lysts on the Lake competitive jousting tournaments that his company a'Plaisance organizes. However, he also is an experienced video producer and has recently published a new video that attempts to answer the question,"What is Jousting?"
Steve Hemphill on his jousting horse Tinkerbell during the first Lysts on the Lake competitive jousting tournament in 2011 (photo by Christopher Vaughn Strever)
