Sarah Hay Wins Grail of Chivalry at Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015

This is not the first time that Australian jouster Sarah Hay has won a jousting tournament, she has actually won several national and international tournaments around the world. However, it is the first time that she or any woman has won the tournament championship Grail of Chivalry prize at the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament.

Throughout the tournament, Sarah's equestrian partner was the appendix (quarter horse/thoroughbred) gelding PJ. PJ belongs to tournament organizer and leader of the Order of the Boar jousting troupe, Callum Forbes. PJ has been ridden in the Harcourt Park Jousting Tournament since 2005, and this is the second time that PJ has carried a rider to the overall championship of the tournament.

Sarah Hay riding the appendix gelding PJ during the Grail of Chivalry joust at 
Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015 (photo by ATPhoto)

There are actually quite a few women who compete in jousting, and as in most equestrian sports, there is no distinction between male and female competitors. However, Sarah is probably the most active woman in the sport of jousting. She regularly competes in tournaments not only in her home country of Australia and its neighbor New Zealand, but also in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France and Poland) and North America (Canada and USA).

Sarah Hay during the awards ceremony at Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by Gene Alcock)

Jousting tournaments usually include several competitions based on various skills within the overall tournament. The number and style of these competitions can vary from tournament to tournament. During the previous Harcourt Park Jousting Tournament, which was held in 2013, there were three competitions: jousting, mounted melee and mounted skill at arms(MSA). Sarah won the jousting competition, but did not do as well in the other competitions and so ended up earning second place overall. However, this year, due to her consistent achievements across all four of the competitions that made up the 2015 tournament (jousting, mounted melee, MSA, armour), she earned the title of tournament champion.

Sarah Hay(left) breaks not just the frangible tip of her lance, but the solid base of the lance all the way down to her hand in a strike against Andrew McKinnon(right) during the jousting competition at Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by Gene Alcock)

Left: Sarah Hay seems to be enjoying herself as she fights Rhiannon Forbes during the mounted melee at Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by Gene Alcock)

Right: Sarah Hay, riding the appendix gelding PJ, takes aim at the rings during the MSA competition at Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by ATPhoto)








Left: Sarah Hay wears her 14th century jousting armour and carries her personalized ecranche (jousting shield) while appendix gelding PJ wears a chamfron (face armour) in one of Sarah's heraldic colors and a caparison displaying Sarah's coat of arms during Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by Katherine McWade)






As for the winners of the four competitions that were included in the overall tournament:

The jousting competition was won by Gunnar Cederberg of Sweden, who also earned second place in the overall tournament. Quite an accomplishment considering this was his first time competing at Harcourt Park.

Gunnar Cederberg(left) jousts L Dale Walter(right) at Harcourt Park 2015 (photo by ATPhoto)

The mounted melee competition was won by Australian jouster Andrew McKinnon who was riding the Order of the Boar's well-known Charlie Warhorse.

Andrew McKinnon riding Charlie Warhorse during Harcourt Park 2015
(photo by ATPhoto)

The mounted skill at arms competition was won by New Zealand's own John King. This was John's second time winning the MSA competition at Harcourt Park, since he also won it during the previous 2013 tournament.

John King tilting at the rings during the MSA competition at Harcourt Park 2015
(photo by ATPhoto)

Since this year's tournament was designed around a 14th century joust, there was also an armour competition based on the quality of the 14th century jousting armour worn by the competitors. Aspects considered in the competition included the overall look of the armour and accessories, the workmanship of its construction and its historical accuracy. Australian jousters Sarah Hay and Rod Walker tied for first place.

Rod Walker walks the list field in his 14th century armour during Harcourt Park 2015
(photo by ATPhoto)

Rod was featured in a previous article about Harcourt Park because of the photo documentation he shared of the creation of his 14th century kit. Unfortunately, the armour competition was the only competition that Rod was able to participate in during Harcourt Park 2015. He was badly injured during a pre-tournament practice, and though he was able to attend the tournament, he was not well enough to ride in it. This is not the first time that Rod has been injured at Harcourt Park. During the previous tournament in 2013, Rod injured his knee during the jousting and again during the mounted melee. After the second injury, he wisely chose to withdraw from the 2013 tournament.

Since Rod was unable to compete, New Zealand jouster John King's son, Glen King stepped up and rode in Rod's place in the joust. This was Glen's very first jousting tournament, and according to tournament organizer Callum Forbes, Glen did "really well", managing to tie with Sarah Hay for second place in the mounted skill at arms competition.

Glen King competing in his first jousting tournament at Harcourt Park 2015
(photo by ATPhoto)

Other jousters who competed in this year's tournament included Anders Fernstedt of Sweden, Vikki Subritzky of New Zealand and L Dale Walter of USA.

After the tournament, organizer Callum Forbes stated that this was to be the last Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament. The event will continue, but under a new name, Harcourt Park Festival of History, which will include not only the medieval time period, but also other historical periods as well. Of course, the Grail of Chivalry Jousting Tournament will remain a featured part of the festival.

Callum Forbes, tournament organizer of the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015 (photo by ATPhoto)

Many thanks to Gene Alcock, Katherine McWade and professional photographer Andrew Turner of ATPhoto for allowing the use of their photos. You can find out more about Andrew's work on the ATPhoto Facebook page, and you can see and purchase photos from both the 2015 and 2013 Harcourt Park events on his ATPhoto website.

Related articles:
Fourteenth Century Style Jousting at the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015

Canadian Dale Gienow Wins New Zealand's Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament

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

Informative Video of the 2013 Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament

Video from Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament

Articles about Harcourt Park Jousting Tournament from other news sources:
Radio New Zealand News: "Medieval merriment comes to Upper Hutt"

The Dominion Post: "Medieval Merriment in Upper Hutt"

The Dominion Post: "Jousters at the Ready to Do Battle"

The Dominion Post: "Jousting Tournament Returns to Harcourt Park"

Quondam is Looking for Few Good Jousters to Compete in Their Tournament

Quondam, a medieval festival held at the castle of 't Hooghuys in Berlaar, Belgium, is looking for a few good jousters to participate in their annual competitive jousting tournament. The tournament will be held May 16 - 17 and will consist of four teams of two jousters each competing in both the joust and mounted skill at arms. Jousters from any country are welcome to apply to the tournament, however, only eight jousters will be chosen to compete.

The four teams will represent the four territories of 15th century Burgundy: County of Flanders(yellow), Duchy of Limburg(white), Duchy of Brabant(black) and Duchy of Burgundy(blue). The participating jousters and tournament organizers will work together to choose the team pairings. Team banners and armbands in the team colors will be provided by the tournament organizers. The tournament organizers will also provide the equipment necessary for the joust, including frangible lances and a solid wooden tilt 1.6 meters high and 35 meters long.

Team coats of arms(images provided by Quondam)

To be considered for the competition, jousters must have their own full set of plate armour(any time period), a trained jousting horse and a medieval tent(or tents) large enough for themselves and their squires to live in during the tournament. A travel stipend of 250 Euros will be provided to each jouster to help cover the cost of transportation to and from the tournament.

Once at the tournament, a paddock, hay and water will be provided for the horses, and food will be provided for each jouster and a maximum of two squires. On Saturday night, jousters and squires will be invited to take part in a historic banquet held within the inner court of the castle.

More information about the event can be found on the Quondam website, Facebook page or this pdf document. You can also email Quondam with any questions. If you are interested in participating, you must fill out the registration form before March 31.

Two Competitive Jousting Tournaments to be Held at Sherwood Forest Faire 2015

For the past several years, during the last weekend of the eight weekend long event, Sherwood Forest Faire has replaced their usual jousting show (performed by the New Riders of the Golden Age) with an actual competitive jousting tournament. This year, two of the eight weekends will include competitive jousting tournaments as part of the entertainment.

Jousters Eddie Rigney and James Johnson unhorse each other during the Sherwood Jousting Tournament 2014 (photo by The Jousting Life)

The first competitive joust will take place during the 4th weekend of the faire, February 28 - March 1, and the season finale Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament will take place, as usual, on the last weekend of the faire, March 28 - 29. Last year's tournament was won by the leader of the New Riders of the Golden Age, David Schade. It will be exciting to see who wins this year's tournaments.

David Schade unhorses Joshua Warren during the Sherwood Jousting Tournament 2014
(video by The Jousting Life)

This year's competitions will again include jousters from David Schade's New Riders of the Golden Age (the faire's home troupe) as well as jousters from Charlie Andrews' jousting troupe, Knights of Mayhem. You may remember Charlie and his troupe from the National Geographic tv series Knights of Mayhem.

Charlie Andrews(left) and David Schade(right) break their lances against one another during the final match at the Sherwood Jousting Tournament 2014 (video by The Jousting Life)

In addition, there will be several free-lance jousters – jousters unaffiliated with a specific troupe – participating in the competition, including Joshua Warren who teaches at the faire's own Sherwood Knights Academy.

Joshua Warren during the Sherwood Jousting Tournament 2014
(photo by Pamela Morgan Photography)

The faire takes place at 1883 Old Hwy 20, McDade TX 78650, USA (see directions). You can find out more about the faire on the Sherwood Forest Faire website and Facebook page.

Playlist of videos from the Sherwood Jousting Tournament 2014
(video by The Jousting Life)

Related articles:
The Sherwood Joust 2014: After Words

David Schade Wins Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 2014

First Day of the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 2014

Sherwood Forest Faire To Host a Competitive Jousting Tournament

Charlie Andrews Wins the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 2012

The Jousting Life's Third Anniversary

The Jousting Life website was officially launched on February 12, 2012. Today is The Jousting Life's third anniversary.

During that first February back in 2012, The Jousting Life website received a total of 697 pageviews. Now, the website can get that many pageviews in a single day, and it's continuing to grow. To the jousters, tournament organizers, photographers, videographers and all the others who share with me the information, photos and videos that I use to create articles for The Jousting Life, and to all of you who read those articles and share them with your friends:

THANK YOU!

Without all of you, The Jousting Life could not be what it is today.

To celebrate this anniversary, I thought I'd share a picture from the first joust I ever photographed back in 2008.

Steve Hemphill on Lucky(left) jousts Dave Wise on Booker(right) during Lysts at Castleton 2008 (photo by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)

And a photo from the first jousting tournament I reported on for The Jousting Life in 2012.

Charlie Andrews(left) and Eddie Rigney(right) unhorse each other during the Sherwood Forest Faire Jousting Tournament 2012 (photo by Zhi Zhu/The Jousting Life)

Hopefully, I will be able to report on many more jousting tournaments in the years to come.

Fourteenth Century Style Jousting at the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015

During the weekend of February 21 - 22, the 8th Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament will take place in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. The tournament, which is organized and hosted by Callum Forbes and the Order of the Boar,  was first held in 2003 and has grown bigger and better with each iteration. Currently, the tournament is held every other year, and the most recent Harcourt Park joust, which was held in 2013, was won by Canadian jouster Dale Gienow.

Dale Gienow(left) jousts Simon Tennant during Harcourt Park 2013 (photo by ATPhoto)

This year's tournament will feature the usual jousting competition for the Grail of Chivalry, which includes Mounted Skill at Arms(MSA) and Mounted Melee competitions in addition to the actual Jousting. Other old favorites will also be part of the overall event, including a Medieval Battle Display and an individual Medieval Martial Arts competition involving dagger, sword & small shield, and longsword. Due to its successful launch during Harcourt Park 2013, there will again be a Junior Sword Fighting competition featuring the Order of the Boar's Knight School students in association with the Upper Hutt Martial Arts Academy.

Harcourt Park Jousting Tournament tv ad (video by Callum Forbes)

However, this year's Harcourt Park Tournament will differ from previous events in several ways: For the first time, professional medieval harpists Wryd Medieval Music from Australia will be providing music for the event. The popular Medieval Archery Competitions and Displays will now have their own dedicated archery range where even more archery events will be held, including 'have a go' public participation. And Armoured Foot Combat, which has been a popular display in the past, will now be an actual competition as Harcourt Park hosts the inaugural Pacific Cup which features full contact armoured combat.

One of the most dramatic changes from previous Harcourt Park tournaments is that the joust will now be done in strict 14th century style.

Jouster Rod Walker of Australia jousts against the quintain in his new 14th century armour
(photo by Michelle Walker)

According to tournament organizer Callum Forbes:

"All the jousters will be wearing only 14th century armour and costume for this event. Previously this event, like many others, was open to the wider medieval period (e.g. late 13th century through to the 16th century). This created an anachronism, as historically this never happened, but, in the interests of being inclusive to all, I decided to allow this.

"However, in recent years we have seen the development of period specific events (e.g. mostly 15th Century ‘historical jousts’), and there are now enough of these events worldwide to cater for people who do later period jousting. So, I feel the time is now right to limit my own events to an earlier period. For this year’s jousting, only armour and costume that was used from the period 1350 to 1400 is allowed in the joust.

"Note, this is for the joust only. Other foot and equestrian based events still allow the wider range of armour and costume to be worn." – Callum Forbes

Callum Forbes is not only a tournament organizer, he is also a competitive jouster. However, he does not compete in the Harcourt Park joust for a couple of reasons. First, because it is highly impractical for overseas jousters to bring their own horses, he generously loans his jousting horses to be ridden by the visiting jousters.  And second, he is simply too busy running the tournament each year to be able to compete as well.

Callum Forbes (photo by Stacey Baker)

When asked what led him to focus on the 14th century style of jousting for Harcourt Park 2015, Callum responded:

"I have always loved the 14th century and have always wanted to run my events as 14th century ones, and now is the right time to narrow our event’s focus. There are a lot of very good jousters out there who joust exclusively in 14th century armour and costume who are now excluded from many events which were previously ‘open’ but are now limited to 15th or 16th century armours. I wanted to balance the scales a bit and give the 14th century guys and girls a place of their own to play.

"All the big events that I run in New Zealand from now on will be 14th Century ones, and my goal is to make New Zealand the home of the 14th Century joust!" – Callum Forbes

Jousters from around the world have either dusted off or created new sets of 14th century style armour and clothing in order to compete in this year's Harcourt Park joust. Jouster and armourer Rod Walker of Full Tilt, also known from the tv show Full Metal Jousting, has done a great job of creating photo documentation (with commentary alongside certain photographs) of his process of research and development for his new 14th Century kit. A couple of photographs of the finished armour and accessories are shown below.  To see the complete set of photographs and commentary, check out Rod's "14thC Harness and Clothing" photo album.

Rod Walker displays his new 14th century armour and accoutrements both standing and mounted (photos by Michelle Walker)

In addition to Rod Walker(who has competed in all but one Harcourt Park Tournament), other jousters who will be competing this year are:

• Gunnar Cederberg from Sweden, who will be competing at Harcourt Park for the first time
• Anders Fernstedt from Sweden, who will be competing at Harcourt Park for the FIFTH time
• Sarah Hay from Australia
• John King of New Zealand
• Andrew McKinnon from Australia
• Vikki Subritzky of New Zealand
• L Dale Walter from the USA, who will be competing at Harcourt Park for the first time

However, one person that Callum was hoping would someday joust in one of his tournaments will not be there. This year's Grail of Chivalry joust will be dedicated to the memory of Callum's friend, Paul Kirk.

"Paul Kirk was one of the major players in the New Zealand medieval re-enactment scene from the mid 90’s, and he trained with Order of the Boar for a number of years in the mid 2000’s with the intention of becoming a jouster. Unfortunately, a change in employment circumstances forced him to relocate elsewhere in New Zealand. However, before this happened he was able to compete in the mounted skill-at arms at Harcourt Park 2005.

"In the year prior to his death, he was travelling regularly four hours a weekend to train with the Order of the Boar’s foot combat team that studies Western Martial Arts – particularly Fiore. He was planning to resume his joust training with us as well, with the intention to joust at our next big international event in early 2016.

"Paul was a larger than life character whose purpose in life was to help others. He was also involved with martial arts, motor bikes and the Church. He was a highly fit individual who was struck down by a sudden brain aneurysm that killed him instantly. He was 41 years old, with two young daughters, a step-son and a fiancé. After his death, his help for others continued as he was also an organ donor. This enabled medical staff to save three lives using body parts donated by Paul." -- Callum Forbes

Paul Kirk (photo provided by Callum Forbes)

The Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament will be held February 21 - 22 in Harcourt Park off of Akatarawa Road, Upper Hutt, New Zealand 5018 (See map). For more information, check out the Order of the Boar website and the tournament's Facebook page. Buying your tickets in advance through Event Finder is recommended since it is faster and cheaper than buying your tickets at the gate.

Related articles:
Canadian Dale Gienow Wins New Zealand's “Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament”

Testing Spiral Cut Pine Lance Tips for the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015

A New Kind of Frangible Lance Tip: Spiral Cut Pine Tips

Informative Video of the 2013 "Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament"

Video from "Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament"

Testing Spiral Cut Pine Lance Tips for the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015

Part of the preparation for any tournament using frangible lances (i.e. lances that have a re-usable base and a tip that is designed to break upon sufficient impact then be replaced easily) is making sure that you have the proper strength tips for what you want to do. Here is video of several members of the Order of the Boar jousting troupe testing several different strengths of spiral cut pine tips to decide which will be used at the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015.

Preparing for Harcourt Park January 2015 (video by Callum Forbes)

The spiraling is cut deeper on some tips and not as deep on others creating tips that require weaker or stronger impacts in order to break. To learn more about spiral cut lance tips, click on the link to read the article written about them by Callum Forbes, the producer of the Harcourt Park Tournament.

Andrew McKinnon from Australia takes a hit at Harcourt Park 2013 showing the spiral cut pine tip fragmentation in action (photo by Andrew Turner/ATPhoto)

Callum Forbes, who is also the leader of the Order of the Boar, describes what is happening in the video:

"Testing the pine lance tips yesterday for the Harcourt Park 2015 World Invitational Jousting Tournament. The shock quintain gives great feedback and the strong tips were the best in terms of perceived impact. Unfortunately the best hit of the test – Monty and I using a strong tip – wasn't recorded, but I think the both the public and the jousters will be happy with these tips. They will break much harder in the joust as the impact force will at least be doubled because of the added force of the incoming horse and rider. 

It is always a tricky balance. The public wants to see big breaks.... Jousters want to feel the hits. I want to get the sweet spot that gives big breaks and satisfies the jousters. So these pine tips are the best of both worlds so far." – Callum Forbes

You can find more information about the joust on the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament 2015 Facebook page or the page for the tournament on the Order of the Boar website. Tickets for the tournament are already for sale online through Event Finder.

Related articles:
A New Kind of Frangible Lance Tip: Spiral Cut Pine Tips

Canadian Dale Gienow Wins New Zealand's “Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament”

Informative Video of the 2013 "Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament"

Video from "Harcourt Park 2013 World Invitational Jousting Tournament"

Joust For Fun: Stick Horse

While waiting for the jousting season to really get going, here's a random picture of Australian jouster Andrew McKinnon riding a stick horse:

Jouster Andrew McKinnon riding a stick horse (photo by Bronwyn Elliot)

Any ideas for a clever caption? Share them in the comments.

UPDATE 3:00pm: According to Andrew McKinnon:

"I am riding the mighty Splinters out of Woody, currently standing at stud. For those interested we have frozen sawdust available."