Rope Myers Wins the “Taking the Reins: Full Metal Jousting Armored All-Star Challenge”

This past weekend eight jousters from the reality tv show “Full Metal Jousting” had the chance to compete against each other again as a part of the event “Taking the Reins”. This event, which took place at the Alliance Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, featured a variety of equine activities including the “Full Metal Jousting Armored All-Star Challenge” jousting tournament.

Jousting at the Full Metal Jousting Armored All-Star Challenge
(photo by Paul Reese/Taking the Reins)

The jousters and the horses who participated in the tournament were:

James Fairclough on Harland
Joe McKinley on Jefferson
John Stikes on Phantom
Josh Avery on Cheval
Josh Knowles on Jake
Matt Hiltman on Jill
Nathan Klassen on Derby
Rope Myers on Billy

It was an exciting tournament that included several unhorsings.

Josh Knowles is unhorsed by Rope Myers(photo by Paul Reese/Taking the Reins)

And Rope Myers received a nasty cut on his chin.

Rope Myers smiles as he displays the gash on his chin(photo by James Fairclough)

Trainer Ripper Moore commented on Myers' injury:

"When I raised his bevor, the blood that had pooled there poured over the top of the helm. Then of course I had to close it again. Not comfortable, and this was only halfway through the evening. Way to cowboy up, Rope!" -- Ripper Moore

The tournament also included a timed “Gauntlet Race” that was a type of Mounted Skill at Arms course.

Joe McKinley tilts against the quintain as part of the Gauntlet Race
(photo by Paul Reese/Taking the Reins)

Rope Myers ended up winning the jousting portion of the tournament and was awarded a trophy and a check for $10,000. Matt Hiltman earned second place($5000), Josh Knowles came in third($3000) and James Fairclough, fourth($1000).

Rope Myers(center) with Rhonda Reese(left) and Troy Brick-Margelofsky(right)(photo by Paul Reese/Taking the Reins)

In addition to placing fourth in jousting, James Fairclough also won $1000 for winning the Gauntlet Race.

James Fairclough(right) with Jill Schroeter(left)(photo by Paul Reese/Taking the Reins)

You can see more pictures from the tournament in the Taking the Reins Facebook photo albums.


Many thanks to "Taking the Reins", Paul Reese and James Fairclough for providing information and pictures.

Jousting in the News: 6-1-12 through 6-21-12

*** recommended articles

6-2-12
Adelaide Now: Aussie jouster booted off reality TV show (article about Landon Morris being kicked off “Full Metal Jousting”, includes video)

Your Houston News: Bear Branch hosts Tournament of Champions (EAFK performs at Bear Branch Elementary)

6-4-12
Lancashire Telegraph: Gallery: Great Harwood show hailed a success with record attendance (county fair that included “stunt jousting”)

6-5-12
This is Leicestershire: Show serves up monster fun (county fair where the Knights of Middle England performed a jousting show)

6-7-12
Lutterworth Mail: Knights will do battle (The Knights of Nottingham perform a jousting show at Rockingham Castle Medieval Fair)

Ottawa Sun: Valley News & Notes, June 7 (brief mention of jousters performing at Medieval Festival)

Your Local Guardian: Hundreds take to the streets in four-day jubilee celebration (Knights of the Damned jousting team perform at a local celebration of the Queen's Jubilee)

6-8-12
Florissant Patch: Renaissance Faire Offers a Trip Back In Time (mentions the risks of theatrical jousting)

Renaissance Faire jousting(photo from article)

6-9-12
This Is Kent: What are you up to this weekend? Take a look at 10 things to do in Kent (mentions jousting tournament at Leeds Castle)

6-10-12
Lehigh Valley Live: Sunsational: The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire offers entertainment for all ages (mentions jousting will be part of the entertainment)

6-11-12
Idaho Press Tribune: Ye Olde Renaissance Faire is this weekend at Eagle Island State Park (mentions performances by the Academia de Cavalaria’s Mounted Military School and Jousting Troupe)

6-12-12
East London Advertiser: Eltham Palace to host medieval jousting tournament (announcement for an English Heritage jousting event at Eltham Palace)

Jouster at Eltham Palace(photo from article)

6-13-12
Manly Daily: Joust great, world's best knocked off (article about Andrew McKinnon and five jousters from the US beating the European jousters in the French tournament Les Medievales de Neauphle Le Chateau)

Australian jouster Andrew McKinnon (photo from article)

6-14-12
Northwest Star: Turning back the clock at Curry Show (jousting at Cloncurry show features Rod Walker and Sarah Hay)

PJ Star: Jousting holds court at Olde English Faire (Shane Adams and the Knights of Valour perform at the Olde English Faire)

6-15-12
The Columbia Star: A Step into Kingstree’s Past, Part 5: Jousting, Lancing, Tilting (an interesting, but questionable, article about the history of jousting and jousting in America)

6-16-12
WHSV.com: Joust Club Continues Tradition (actually about little kids tilting at rings, includes video)

PJ Star: Olde English Faire Gives Visitors a Taste of Life in the Days of Yore (jousting at a Medieval faire)

James Fairclough and Rob Combe joust (photo by Zach Nelson)

6-17-12
Blogs PJ Star: Medieval history holds court at Wildlife Prairie State Park (photos of Olde English Faire mentioned in previous article)

Boise Weekly: Catch One More Day of Ye Olde Renaissance Faire (the Academia de Cavalaria Mounted Military School and Jousting Troupe performs at renn faire)

The Academia de Cavalaria Mounted Military School and Jousting Troup (photo by Tabitha Bower)

6-18-12
Northwest Star: Jousting battle sticks with crowd (Rod Walker and Sarah Hay joust at Cloncurry and District show, includes pictures)

Jouster Sarah Hay(photo by Brad Thompson)

6-20-12
***Maxim: Modern Jousting (article about Rod Walker of Full Tilt Jousting troupe)

The Sydney Morning Herald: Wednesday, June 20 - PAY TV (brief article about “Full Metal Jousting” tv show)

Red Team Member from "Full Metal Jousting" (photo from article)

6-21-12
Midhurst and Petworth Observer: VOTE: Alright on the knight as jousts get green light (some of the legal issues involved in putting on a renn faire)

The Australian: Dangers of old (brief article about FMJ tv show)

***Simcoe Reformer: Simcoe man killed in crash was world-class jouster, artist (article about James Merrilees, a jouster who was killed in a truck crash)

James Merrilees
The jousting community mourns the loss of one of its own.

"His great personality and readiness to find joy and humour, as well as his strength and steadiness as a competitor, leaves us much diminished with his loss." -- Radar Goddard, fellow jouster

.

Chat Live with Rod Walker of "Full Metal Jousting"

If you live in Australia, A&E tv has set up a chance for you to chat live with Rod Walker, the coach for the black team on "Full Metal Jousting".

Click on the image above to be taken to the chat site.

"Join us for an exclusive live chat with Black Team Aussie coach Rod Walker. Rod will be online after the show on Wednesday May 30 at 9.30pm (AEST) to answer all your questions about the show, jousting and anything else you want to know! So stop by and join in on the conversation."

For those of you who don't live in Australia, It's not clear whether or not you will be allowed onto the chat, but AEST (the New South Wales/Sydney area) is UTC+10. Here is a link to a time zone converter, so that you can tell when 9:30pm AEST is where you live.

The current time in Sydney Australia is:

Rod Walker of "Full Metal Jousting" Wins Blacktown Medieval Fayre Jousting Tournament

On May 19 & 20, the Full Tilt Joust Team hosted the jousting tournament at the annual Blacktown Medieval Fayre. Rod Walker, from the tv show "Full Metal Jousting", won first place in the jousting portion of the tournament with a total of 70 out of a possible 75 points. Phillip Oliver, the gray rabbit, earned second place with 55 points. And Sarah Hay, the current Australian National Jousting Champion, came in third with 53 points. (Admittedly, she may be suffering a bit from jet lag since she competed in "Lysts on the Lake" in Taylor, Texas, USA just the week before.)

Sarah Hay jousts Rod Walker at Blacktown Medieval Fayre 2012(photo by Ross Schultz)

Other jousters in the tournament were Sasha Buchmann (43 points), Andrew McKinnon (29 points) and Phillip Leitch (18 points).

Phillip Oliver jousts Andrew McKinnon at Blacktown Medieval Fayre 2012(photo by Karin Bridle)

In the Mounted Skill at Arms division, Andrew McKinnon won first place. Sarah Hay earned second place. Phillip Oliver and Nicole Denton tied for third. And Linda Dicmanis finished fourth.

The viewers at the Blacktown Medieval Fair jousting tournament also got to vote on their favorite competitor and horse. Shadow, a 14.3 hand Percheron x Australian Stock Horse mare, was chosen as the favorite horse. Rod Walker was chosen as the favorite knight.

Rod Walker on Shadow at Blacktown Medieval Fayre 2012(photo by Ross Schultz)

A short video of a jousting pass with Andrew McKinnon and Sasha Buchmann:

Video by mozebasic

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

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

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

"Have you seen this show?

OMG.

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

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

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

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

The horses are gorgeous...." read more

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

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

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

What luck!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full Tilt International Jousting Tournament 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Promotional video for Full Tilt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

.

Jousting in the News 2-14-12 through 2-20-12

News articles related to jousting that were published between Feb 14, 2012 and Feb 20, 2012. Mostly related to the new History tv show "Full Metal Jousting".

2-14-12
Delaware Online: 'Full Metal Jousting' brings extreme sport into History's present (review of FMJ)

Full Metal Jousting: Red vs Black (Photo by unknown)

TV Geek Army: Full Metal Jousting, "The Ultimate Extreme Sport": medieval mayhem (yet another review of FMJ)

2-15-12
Houston Press: Reality Bites: “Full Metal Jousting” (another review of FMJ)

2-17-12
USA Today: Video: I try on an 85-pound suit of armor! (A girl gets her dream of trying on the FMJ armor)

Whitney Matheson tries on the FMJ armor (Photo by Robert Deutsch)

ShootOnline.com: ZipCam Makes History With Cable Camera System (talks about new camera technology used to film “Full Metal Jousting”)

IndyStyle.tv: Full Metal Jousting (another short review of FMJ)

2-18-12
Herald-Mail: 'Joust' another day in the seed business (story about Maryland man who regrets giving up jousting back in 1965 in order to run his family's seed business)

2-20-12
3News: Jousting hits the small screen with new reality show (New Zealand review of FMJ)