The Jousters of St Hallvard's Tournament

St Hallvard's Tournament will be taking place this weekend, May 23 - 25, on the grounds of the historic Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway. It was organized by Petter Ellingsen of the jousting troupe Ridderhest and will be a featured part of the Oslo Middelalder Festival. The participants will compete in both the mounted melee and the joust. The jousting will be done with tapered solid lances with steel coronels, like those used in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel. This means that the skill and armour requirements for the jousters are higher than at many other tournaments.

There will be ten jousters from three different countries competing for the championship of the tournament.

Alix van Zijl of the Netherlands

Alix van Zijl on Torero(photo by Katla Menada)

Alix van Zijl is a veterinarian who runs a practice employing four other vets. She's been riding horses since childhood and has competed in dressage. In 2003, she began training in historical riding with Joram van Essen and Arne Koets. In 2009, she ordered a custom made museum quality Milanese Armour, and in 2010, she competed in her first public joust. She is currently a board member of the historical riding group Stichting HEI. She fought in the mounted melee at the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in 2012, and became the first woman in Europe to compete in a joust using tapered solid lances with steel coronels during the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg, Denmark in 2013. Alix rides her own Andalusian stallion, Torero. She bought him in Spain when he was four years old and has trained him herself according to the baroque principles taught at the Hofreitschule in Buckeburg, Germany.

Andrew McKinnon of Australia

Andrew McKinnon(photo from Arundel International Tournament)

Andrew McKinnon had never ridden a horse before turning 40. Yet when he discovered that real jousting still exists, he began training with Rod Walker and less than three years later competed in his first joust. Since then Andrew has competed successfully in jousts in Australia, New Zealand and France. He first competed with tapered solid lances at the Blacktown Medieval Faire in Sydney, Australia. Andrew is currently organizing the Tournament of St Ives which will take place in northern Sydney in 2014, and will feature jousting with tapered solid lances. Andrew's armour is an Italian spring steel harness circa 1460-1470 made by fellow Australian jouster Luke Binks. When not jousting, Andrew works on developing his dressage skills and playing the blues. He also owns a communications company with his wife Andrea, and has three strapping sons.

Arne Koets of the Netherlands

Arne Koets on Maximillian(photo by IsisSturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Though of Norwegian descent, Arne Koets currently lives in Germany. He has been interested in military history for as long as he can remember and is one of the founding members of Stichting HEI. He began riding in 2001 and participated in his first joust in 2002. He has since participated in over 750 jousts in fifteen countries on three separate continents. In 2010, he won the Ironfest Joust, the first international jousting tournament to use solid tapered lances with steel coronels in modern times. In 2012, he organized and competed in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel. When not jousting, he studies and teaches the historical dressage necessary for mounted combat.

Bertus Brokamp of the Netherlands

Bertus Brokamp(photo by Isis Sturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Bertus first became involved in medieval martial arts in 2001. He later joined forces with Stichting HEI and began learning how to ride in 2004. He started out working as ground crew for the mounted members of the group, then in 2007, he participated in his first joust and also became a member of the board. That same year he received his Master of Science degree by writing a thesis on landweren, the late medieval defense lines in the Netherlands and Holy Roman Empire. In 2011, Bertus became the proud owner of the Andalusian stallion, Talento. After some intensive training, Talento was ridden by Wouter Nicolai in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in 2012. Since then, Talento has continued to carry jousters into the tilt and has been trained in classical dressage. Bertus broke his first tapered solid lance in 2013, during the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg, Denmark.

Ivar Mauritz-Hansen of Norway

Ivar Mauritz-Hansen(photo by Renate Skeie)

Ivar has participated in many demonstrations and competitions in Norway and northern Europe, both on foot and on horseback. He started out training in Olympic style fencing when he was nine years old. Through the years since, he has learned to fight with the epee, longsword and pole axe on the ground, and now competes with a lance on horseback. He began riding in 2006 and broke his first lance in 2008.

Joram van Essen of the Netherlands

Joram van Essen at the Times & Epochs joust in Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov)

Joram van Essen was born in New Zealand, but moved to the Netherlands in 1999 to pursue his passion for historical european martial and equestrian arts. He was a founding member of Stichting HEI which was started in 2000 to promote historical education and authentic historical re-creation in the Netherlands. He has competed in numerous jousts around the world, including the prestigious international jousts at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, England, at the Times & Epochs international joust in Moscow, Russia and at Nyborg Slott in Denmark. In 2012, he was tournament champion of the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel, considered one of the most historically accurate jousts of modern times. Joram’s philosophy is that jousting is an Art, which requires training, dedication and team work between horse and rider.

Luke Binks of Australia

Luke Binks at Blacktown Medieval Faire(photo by Garry Davenport)

Luke Binks has had a lifelong passion for knights and the chivalric culture of the middle ages. Not satisfied with what he could learn from books, in 2002, Luke began making armour, learning to fight and to ride horses. The following year, Luke competed in his first international joust. Since that time, Luke has competed in jousts in aproximately a dozen countries around the world, including tournaments in Australia, Europe and North America. He has also spent time living and working on all three of the above mentioned continents, in search of like minded people, the ultimate pass with a lance and the skilled clash of a sword.

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell of Norway

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell at Tonsberg Medieval Festival 2013(photo by Espen WinPics)

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell, aka Pelle, owns and runs Trollspeilet with his wife Hanne. Trollspeilet is a company which offers riding instruction all over Norway and further abroad. Hanne also writes a blog about their work. Pelle and Hanne have two children. Pelle has participated in jousting tournaments in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France as well as in his home country of Norway. In 2012, he was tournament champion at the Tournament of St Olav in Trondheim, Norway. Pelle recently retired his best tournament horse, Hugo, and many people are curiously waiting to see how well he will do with a new and inexperienced horse in 2014.

Petter Ellingsen of Norway

Petter Ellingsen at the Times & Epochs joust in Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov)

Petter Ellingsen began riding in 1998 with the sole purpose of learning to joust. He has striven to accurately recreate the way medieval knights rode. Eleven years ago, Petter began jousting internationally and has since jousted in thirteen different countries around the world. He has participated in more than 400 shows, tournaments and events. In 2012, he competed in the acclaimed Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in Germany. in 2013, he jousted in front of over 200,000 people at the Times & Epochs jousting tournament in Moscow, Russia. Petter runs his own company, Ridderhest, which trains and supplies horses for video productions and live events. Recently, his horses were featured in a reality tv series called "The Last Viking". He also happens to be the organizer of this tournament.

Wouter Nicolai of the Netherlands

Wouter Nicolai at Arundel 2013(photo by Richard Pearn)

As a member of Stichting HEI, the premier Dutch display team for medieval mounted soldiery, Wouter is one of the Netherlands’ top historical jousters and is a highly active international competitor. In 2013, he competed in the White Bear tournament at Nyborg Slott in Denmark, in the Arundel International Tournament in England, and the Tournament of the Phoenix in the USA(at which he was named Most Chivalrous). His occupation as a professional jouster at the well-known Archeon Museum Park enables him to constantly hone his skills with horse, lance and sword. Wouter is also active in researching and reconstructing historical horse equipment, such as medieval and roman saddles.

Related articles:
Promotional Video for St. Hallvard's Jousting Tournament

There are numerous articles about The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel, several of which feature interviews with jousters who will be competing in St Hallvard's Tournament

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

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

Historical Jousting Tournament in Nyborg Slot in Denmark

Historical Jousting Tournament at Nyborg Slot in Denmark

On July 6 & 7, 2013, at the historical castle of Nyborg Slot in Denmark, a group of accomplished international jousters who belong to or are associated with the Foundation Historical Education Initiative(HEI) recreated an historical jousting tournament as part of the annual Danehof Market. This was the second year that a jousting tournament was included as part of the event, and hopefully jousting will continue to play a part in this annual festival.

Click on pictures to embiggen.

Panoramic shot of the Nyborg Slot Lyst Field created by combining 8 separate shots
(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

The jousters who participated included the famous organizer of "The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel", Arne Koets, as well as several of the jousters who participated in Sankt Wendel -- Joram van Essen, Alix van Zijl, Wouter Nicolai, Andreas Wenzel -- and one other jouster, Bertus Brokamp. The Nyborg Slot tournament consisted of two sessions of jousting and two sessions of mounted melee, one session of each for each day. Although scores were kept and the winner of each session was announced, no overall score was kept and there was no overall champion.

According to Arne Koets,"the winning was unimportant to all of us," and the jousting at Nyborg Slot was "more of an actual tournament then a modern competition." When asked to expand upon that statement, Arne responded:

"We did the most historically accurate jousting and tournament we could muster. This also means that the rules represented the sentiments of the period and were not geared towards a modern competition. The participants rode their best to score points (based on Tiptoft* rules and others) but the prowess was judged by a lady in the end." -- Arne Koets

Arne Koets(left) jousts Wouter Nicolai(right)(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

In keeping with this historical authenticity, all of the jousting was done with tapered solid lances with steel coronels and vamplates. The lances are made from young pine trees which naturally taper from base to tip. When the trees are the right height and diameter, they are cut down, the branches are removed, they are cut to the exact length needed and some minimal shaping is done, thus creating the most historically accurate solid lances according to what is currently known about 15th and 16th century jousting.

Preparing the lances for the joust(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

All of the jousters had practiced using these tapered solid lances, though for Alix van Zijl, Wouter Nicolai and Bertus Brokamp, it was the first time they had used them in competition. And as far as anyone knows, Alix is the first female jouster to use solid tapered lances in competition. Before this tournament, Alix had jousted using both balsa and poplar tipped frangible lances. When asked about the differences between frangible lances and tapered solid lances, she replied:

"Jousting with solid lances is a lot different, for one thing, they are a lot heavier than the usual balsa tipped ones. I had to train specifically to gain the strength to handle them safely. The lances are also very differently balanced because of the sharp steel coronel at the end and the grappers and vamplates around the grip. That makes it imperative to use an arret, and that changes a lot in, for example, couching the lance and aiming. We all trained a lot in getting it right.

The solid lances have so much possibility of doing damage that safety goes first, and that again makes jousting difficult. You really don't want to hit low, ever. And combined in all of this is that the hits are harder than I ever had, including a balsa tipped ferrule hit on a non-protected area on my arm. Even with a good armour, I am still bruised." -- Alix van Zijl

Alix van Zijl(left) breaks lances with Joram van Essen(right)(photos by Hanno van Harten)

When asked if she planned on continuing to joust with tapered solid lances, she replied:

"Am I planning on continuing jousting with solids? Hell yeah!!!" -- Alix van Zijl

When asked how the melees at Nyborg Slot compared to the melees at Sankt Wendel, Alix replied:

"The melees are more than fun! This group (and the 2012 group of Nyborg as well) is so intent on doing it right, keeping the horses in a canter, trying to hit each other, seeing the fun in ambushes and good maneuvers. We use a more robust system compared with Sankt Wendel, where the Marshall decides if the jouster has been hit often enough." -- Alix van Zijl

Joram van Essen, Andreas Wenzel, Wouter Nicolai and Alix van Zijl during a Nyborg 2013 melee
(photo by Majbritt Merstrand)

It certainly seems as if these jousters are intent on "doing it right". When asked about his beliefs and feelings in regard to the competitive aspect of competitive jousting, Arne Koets replied:

"My personal interest in jousting and tournaments is that of martial art and experimental research. I want to understand it, like an eastern martial artist tries to learn to reach the next dan. One can do martial arts competitively, but it should not detract from its core artistic character. Sometimes losing well is better then winning badly." -- Arne Koets

Arne Koets on his horse Maximillian (photo by Isis Sturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Martyn Smith had this to say about the tournament at Nyborg Slot:

“Up until this weekend at Nyborg I was convinced that it was impossible to get anywhere near re-creating an authentic 15th century joust & melee. I was wrong.... As marshal of the joust, it was for a fleeting moment like being back in the 1470's. What these guys have put together should inspire all of us into jousting/historical representation/living history or whatever you chose to name it!” -- Martyn Smith

Joram van Essen breaks his lance against Bertus Brokamp
(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

When asked how they felt about the Nyborg Slot tournament overall, Arne replied:

"It was an inspiring event. The newer jousters amongst us gave very good account of themselves, showing tremendous improvement over last year and dealing with some new and hard to use equipment. The hits were hard and spectacular, the jousters were professional. The melees were hard and interesting, ridden with great skill. The atmosphere was hard working but friendly and relaxed.

The event was again well organized as always, and the ground crew was plentiful and made up of long standing friends who knew their jobs well. The lances worked out great, and we were very happy to have the vamplates which showed repeated impacts. The clubs were great too, and we broke many."

And Alix stated:

"Slot Nyborg has provided us with a magnificent opportunity to show authentic 15th century jousting. We thank them!"

Alix van Zijl waiting to joust (photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

You can find out more about Nyborg Slot on their Facebook page as well as on the following websites:
Nyborg: Danmarks Riges Hjerte
&
Nyborg Slot

You can find out more about Stichting HEI, the jousting group that produced the tournament, on their website.

You can see more pictures from the Nyborg Slot 2013 jousting tournament in the TJL Facebook page album, "Nyborg Slot 2013".


*Tiptoft rules are based on an historical set of jousting rules from a primary source. Though some gaps in the rules were filled in based on remarks from the manuscripts translated in Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia by Noel Fallows.

Photographer Oliver Dunsch: My Day in Sankt Wendel

Today's guest writer is photographer Oliver Dunsch. He attended "The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel", took lots of pictures and wrote up this article about his experiences.

My Day in Sankt Wendel
by
Oliver Dunsch

My friend from childhood days – and still my best buddy in the world – Dirk Breiding came up with the idea of going to "Das große Turnier von Sankt Wendel" ("The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel") to do a story about arms, armor, knights and real jousting. We already spent quite a few weekends together on similar events, and I do know quite a bit about the middle ages, armor and effigies. But this one was told to be different, to be unique, THE first REAL tournament since 1512! So he sent me the link to the YouTube promo video from Ben van Koert and I was thrilled from the very beginning.

video by Ben van Koert/Kaos Historical Media

That was months ago. In the meantime he figured out that he would be unable to attend, so my goal was reporting from the event, one whole day, taking as many pictures as I could.

Jousting arena at "The Grand Tournament of St. Wendel"
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Still being fascinated by the trailer I got up early Sunday morning, at 4:30 am, September 2nd. I wanted to catch the scene during sunrise with no people around. The weather was perfect, not too cold, a bit foggy which gave the scene a mystic touch.

Morning at "The Grand Tournament of St. Wendel"(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

There were campfires still smoldering and the remains of a "Saufgelage" (drunken revelry) on huge tables. With a bit of imagination you could think of what happened the days before.

Smoldering campfire(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

A huge pile of broken lances with names on were telling stories from the Friday and Saturday jousts.

Broken lances(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

And then, with the sun, people began to crawl out of their tents, all wearing beautifully manufactured clothing, examples of true craftsmanship. That was the first time I was sure I wanted to wear something matching on my next photo-job during a similar event.

Morning discussion about armour(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Even though it was obvious that I did not belong to the middle age crowd, everyone was friendly, gave me the feeling of being part of the family. And that continued for the rest of the day.

Squires and knights preparing for the final day, beautiful horses being fed and groomed.

Preparing the horses(photos by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

And many more helpers doing a fabulous job to not create a fiction, but to live real history.

Blacksmith at "The Grand Tournament of St. Wendel"
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Or even real life, with real virtue, with real honor and true comradeship, placed in the scenery of the middle ages.

Left - Max Knegjens carries the banner for Luke Binks
Right - Andreij Pfeiffer-Perkuhn helps Andreas Wenzel to mount
(photos by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Probably to have the audience believe even more in what they were privileged to watch and be part of.

Black powder guns(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

I got more and more involved in what everyone was working for and what everyone truly believed: A passion with the potential of making a better human being of every single participant and every single visitor.

The whole program was very interesting, was fantastic and every single part was performed with pride and professionalism: from the hunting scenes

Arne Koets and Joram van Essen demonstrate falconry
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

to the armor-plating demonstrations,

left - Andreij Pfeiffer-Perkuhn helps Andreas Wenzel with his armour
right - Dominic Sewell is helped with his armour
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

from the cannons to the swordfights, from the joust to the melée.

Lances with coronels ready for jousting(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Toby Capwell, Arne Koets, Andreas Wenzel, Wouter Nicolai and Luke Binks enter the field for the melee(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

Per Estein Prøis- Røhjell, Dominic Sewell, Petter Ellingsen, Alix van Zijl and Joram van Essen wait for the start of the melee(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

And these two events, the joust and the melée, were the main events, the reason for everyone to come to St. Wendel. To find what we nowadays would call the world champion of jousting.

Per Estein Prøis- Røhjell jousts Petter Ellingsen(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

The mounted melee at "The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel"
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

At the end of the last day, after the last melée, it was obvious that not only the one with the most points won that beautiful sword, but also the one every other competitor thought would be a worthy owner of that fantastic prize – Joram van Essen – and that to me made all the difference.

Joram van Essen during the mounted melee(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

There was neither jealousy nor envy, but I am sure there now is the need for another tournament next year, to give all these brave knights the chance to win the world's most important tournament.

Joram van Essen holds the tournament prize sword
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

This year, the success is the prize everyone carries home. The success of a great event I had the privilege to be part of.

I had great people by my side, like Andreij Pfeiffer-Perkuhn, Andreas Wenzel and last but not least my friend Tobias Capwell.

Dr. Tobias Capwell at "The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel"
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

I came to take great pictures, and I learned a lot about the jousting nowadays. Thanks again guys, thanks to everyone I am now friends with on Facebook! See you next year and at every single comparable event. I got infected.

People who helped create "The Grand Tournament of St. Wendel"
(photo by Oliver Dunsch Photography)

To see more of Oliver's pictures from Sankt Wendel, follow this link.
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An Interview with Alix van Zijl: Competitor at "The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel"

Alix van Zijl was one of the competitors at “The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel”. It is interesting, though not significant, that she was the only female competitor.

Alix van Zijl(photo from Facebook)

In jousting, as in many equestrian sports, competitors are not separated by gender, and both male and female participants must meet the same requirements. For that, and other reasons, the organizers of "The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel"(GTSW) chose not bring attention to the fact that one of the participants was female.

Alix was kind enough to answer a few questions about her experiences during the GTSW.

How did you become involved with “The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel”?

Alix: I've known Arne Koets for a long time, and he asked if I could supply two jousting horses for Sankt Wendel, and if I I wouldn’t mind bringing my armour along as a spare rider. In the end, there were two people who couldn't make it for the melee, so I could join.

Tell me the name of and a little about your history/relationship with the horse you rode in the GTSW.

Alix: The horse I rode is a 5-year old Andalusian stallion, called Torero. I bought him a year ago in Spain. He is a very willing horse, and very sensitive, which makes him a charm to ride in the melee. You just have to think what you want, and he'll do it for you. In the joust, he goes straight as an arrow and as fast as well.

Alix van Zijl on Torero(photo by Hanno van Harten)

Please describe the person, place or thing that made the biggest impression on you when you first arrived at/during the days leading up to the GTSW.

Alix: I was really impressed by the whole group, how much people still want to learn, even though they are in the top 10 already. Most impressed I was with Petter Ellingsen, who had to change horses on the (very early) morning of the first show day.

Petter Ellingsen(photo by Oliver Dunsch)

He did a wonderful job, adjusting fast to the horse, and growing in the joust itself, ending with a spectacular double hit with Per Estein on the last day.

Please describe one or two of your favorite non competition related moments during the time you were in Sankt Wendel.

Alix: Well…meet Arto Fama, and you’ll know enough about the joking around.

Arto Fama(left) and Max Knegjens(right)(photo by Hanno van Harten)

Please describe one or two of your favorite moments during the competition of “The Grand tournament of Sankt Wendel”.

Alix: I was more than impressed by the riding of Joram van Essen during the last melee. I know his horse Zogo very well, and I know he is a bit “stug” as we say it in Dutch, a bit unflexible. The fact that he succeeded to do as an example: flying canter lead changes, not once but regularly, is impressive.

Alix van Zijl(left) and Joram van Essen(right) ride together during the final melee at "The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel"(photo by Wendy Van Harten-de Bruin)

And my ears are still ringing from the blows I got on the second day. Without a doubt, I was out. So much fun!

What was it like to be the only female in the competition?

Alix: It is an honour to be part of a group with such high standards. The fact that I am a female doesn't really count with these guys, which suits me very well. In a way it doesn’t matter, as long as one is safe and does a good job, has the right attitude and has a good armour, one is welcome. That is the way it should be. I do my best to be strong enough to handle the lances and the weapons just for the horses' and riders' sake alone.

Left to right, Wouter Nicolai, Per Estein Prois-Rohjell, Alix van Zijl, Andreas Wenzel, Joram van Essen, Wolfgang Krischke, Arne Koets, Toby Capwell, Petter Ellingsen, Dominic Sewell and Luke Binks(photo by Hanno van Harten)

Why did you compete in the melee, but not in the joust?

Alix: For the joust with solids I am not ready, yet. My armour needs a grand bascinet, not an armet[types of helmets], and the arret[lance rest] wasn’t even attached, yet. My horse and I can present a good target during the joust, but for lowering the lance safely… I need this winter to get ready and safe. If Arne would have lacked a jouster, I wouldn’t have minded to be a target, but hitting others… No, not yet.

How did you feel about keeping your gender hidden from the audience?

Alix: I didn’t really mind. I don’t like the attention if it’s just about my being a woman… If it’s about my skill that is a different thing altogether.

Arne Koets was chosen by the Ladies Jury as the “Winner of the Prize for Highest Bravery”. Why do you think he was chosen?

Alix: Arne won that title with good reason. He was bothered by hurting Joram, and showed it this way. It is the way he jousts/fights/plays.

Arne Koets(photo by Rozemarijn Keuning)

Andreas Wenzel won the “Joust of the Squires”. What would you like to say about his performance during the tournament?

Alix: It is impressive what Andreas could do together with his horse. Sigi is not an easy horse, and Andreas just did it – the joust, the melee – as if he had been working with that horse for years, and I know for a fact that he hasn’t.

Andreas Wenzel on the Spanish stallion Sigismund(photo by Oliver Dunsch)

Even though he was injured and unable to complete the competition, Joram van Essen still won the overall tournament, in part due to other competitors contributing to his score. Arne Koets gave Joram enough of his own points to put Joram in first place ahead of Arne. Please explain how and why that happened and what part you played in this point exchange.

Alix: Joram won with thanks to Arne and Petter, but I think it was very well deserved. His horse was very good during the joust, well trained. He hit regularly and safely.

Joram van Essen jousts on his Murgese stallion Zogo(photo from the GTSW website)

And during the melee he fought well too, with the last melee as a beautiful example how good.

What would you like to say about/to the squires, ground crew and/or others who helped you during your participation in the GTSW.

Alix: The ground crew did a marvelous job. And as I was grooming as well, I know how short an hour is to change from jousting gear on a horse to melee gear. That was honestly amazing!

Alix rests between acting as both competitor and ground crew
(photo by Hanno van Harten)

What would you like to say about/to Arne Koets and the other organizers of the GTSW?

Alix: It is great that this tournament came to be! It was very well organized, not just the joust itself, but everything around it as well.

What would you like to say about your overall experience at the GTSW?

Alix: Againagainagain!

Alix van Zijl(photo by Hanno van Harten)