Many thanks to Magnus Andersen of Skånska Björnen Riddare for providing the following text and most of the images about Rikstornering 2014. Additional images were provided by Pella P.hoto and Måns Thuresson Photography.
Written by Magnus Andersen
At the end of May, the 15th official Swedish Championship Jousting Tournament,
Rikstornering 2014, was held at
Hovdala Castle in the south of Sweden. This year there were about 35 mounted knights that participated in the two day competition.
The jousters who competed at Rikstornering 2014(photo by Pella P.hoto)
It was the third year that the tournament was held at Hovdala Castle. At the same event, there were also a variety of reenactment groups as well as a medieval market. The number of visitors was more than the previous years. Not yet summarized, but probably about 13000 - 15000 during the two days. And the spectators were fantastic, active and shouting high. During the two days, each about 8 hours of competitions, there was fantastic support from the spectators.
There were knights from six different groups anticipating the championship: Arboga Raedarius,
Infensus, Nordic Knights, Silverfalken,
Skånska Björnens Riddare and
Torneamentum. The tournament consisted of three different competitions: Mounted Skill at Arms (Swedish version) and Swedish Mounted Tournament – where you ride from both sides at the same time – which was performed as both an individual and as a team competition. Additional prizes were also awarded to the Best Youth (age 18-23), the Best Herald, the Most Chivalrous Jouster and the Most Handsome Jouster with Horse.
The competition was coordinated by
Svenska Riddarsällskaps Samarbetsgrupp (the Swedish Jousting League). Hovdala Castle is also the place the group Skånska Björnens Riddare uses as a base for training and gathering. New for this year was a new area for the competition and for the camp where the tents were located. After the second day of the championship, a banquet was arranged at the Castle, where the most important thing at the tournament was confirmed: the spirit of good comradeship and chivalry!
The Mounted Skill at Arms competition:
The Swedish Championship Jousting Tournament focuses more on riding skills than on traditional tilting, and since we started to do competitions in Mounted Skills at Arms, a couple of years ago, it has been a great success. The Swedish version of Mounted Skills at Arms is riding a course as fast as possible while hitting all the targets with different weapons (lance, spear and sword). It is maximum speed and gallop all the way. If you miss a target you receive a penalty of 10 seconds.
The first day was a qualification round, and finals were held the next day. The second day starts without any benefits or points from the qualification round. This competition was more demanding and longer than last year, and no one managed to have a clear round. Even though the first three places were won by Torneamentum, it was very close, and they were followed by knights from other teams. In the finals, it was five knights from Torneamentum, four from Skånska Björnens riddare and three from Arboga Raedarius.
The winner was Kristian Utas (Riddare Bagge/Knight of the Ram) from Torneamentum with 182,8 seconds.
The Knight of the Ram, Kristian Utas, wins Mounted Skill at Arms at Rikstornering 2014
(photo by Pella P.hoto)
Second and third place also went to jousters from Torneamentum:
2nd place – Mattias Utas (Riddare Tjelvar) with 184,5 seconds.
3rd place – Timmy Hoas (Knight of Time/Tidernas Riddare) with 210,1 seconds.
During
Falsterbo Horse show (one of the largest horse shows in Europe) there will also be a competition in Mounted Skills at Arms with six knights. It will take place the 9th of July in Falsterbo.
The Swedish Mounted Tournament:
Swedish Mounted Tournament consists of six different parts where pairs of jousters ride with a variety of weapons aiming for different targets. The first day was a qualification round with finals held the second day, starting from zero again. In the finals it was five knights from Torneamentum, three from Arboga Raedarius, two from Skånska Björnen and one each from Infensus and Silverfalken.
The results for the individual competition:
A jouster from Torneamentum again won first place, Anders Larsson (Kunskapens Riddare/the Knight of Knowledge) from Torneamentum, who had a clear round at 90 points.
There were two knights with the same points (79), so second place was shared by Kurt Nilsson (Garanas af Nattavaara) from Arboga Raedarius and Erik Graneskog (Spjuthök/ Knight of the Spear and the Hawk) from Skånska Björnens Riddare.
The results for the team competition:
The winning team was Torneamentum (284 points)
Tourneamentum, the winning team for Rikstornering 2014(photo by Pella P.hoto)
In second place was the first team from Arboga Raedarius (240 points). At third place was the team from Skånska Björnens Riddare (225 points). In total, there were six teams with four knights in each.
Other awards:
The Best Youth was Timmy Hoas(Knight of Time/Tidernas Riddare) from Torneamentum.
The Best Herald was Daniel Norr, from the group Arboga Raedarius.
The Most Handsome Knight with Horse(visitors’ choice) was Gustav Norman(Sir Wilhelm Erövrare) from Arboga Raedarius.
The Most Chivalrous Knight was Lorentz Hoas(Riddaren av Tvenne Pilar/the Knight of Two Arrows) from Torneamentum.
Torneamentum is the most well known jousting group in Sweden. They have won most of the Swedish Championship Jousting Tournaments, respect, however they have to fight hard for it.
But next year…
Magnus Andersen of Skånska Björnens Riddare, the author of this post(photo by Pella P.hoto)
You can see more photos and read a bit more about the tournament at the
Pella P.hoto blog
Related articles:
New Promotional Video for "Rikstornering 2013" at Hovdala Slott in Sweden
Rikstornering 2013: The 14th Official Swedish Championship Jousting Tournament
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