Les pas d'armes du Papegault Takes Place This Weekend in Quebec

A new jousting tournament is starting this weekend in Quebec, Canada.  Here is the information that they have posted about it:

Les pas d'armes du Papegault is a new jousting event which will be welcoming 13 competitors from all over Quebec on the wonderful site of "Le Duché de Bicolline" in St-Mathieu-du-Parc Quebec, Canada. There will be over 130 re-enactors on the site with all kind of demonstration: foot combat, live steel, camp life... etc. This event will be held on June 7th and 8th, 2014.

The price list for June 7th and 8th is;
-Free for children under 8 years old
-8$ for children between 8 to 16 years old
-12$ for 17 years old and up
-30$ for family for day (2 adult and 2 children)
-40$ for family for weekend (2 adult and 2 children)
For reservations in advance call (819) 532-1755
or
e-mail at info@bicolline.org

teaser pas d'armes from Eric Dubé on Vimeo.

For more information, check out the event's Facebook page or the Duché de Bicolline website.

(from Les pas d'armes du Papegault)

Jouster and Armourer Jeffrey Wasson Demonstrates Armour Making at The Met

Jeffrey Wasson of Wasson Artistry is a highly respected armourer as well as an excellent jouster. His wife, Stacy Wasson, who you will see in the videos, is also a very good jouster. I had the pleasure of meeting both of them while covering the Grand Tournament of St Charles which took place as part of the Festival of the Horse and Drum in 2013.

Dressing in Steel: Part One(video from Metropolitan Museum of Art)


Dressing in Steel: Part Two(video from Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Related articles:
The Jousting Horses of "The Grand Tournament of St Charles"

Mounted Skill at Arms at the Festival of the Horse and Drum

Andre Renier Wins "The Grand Tournament of St Charles"

Teaser for the Upcoming Video of the St Hallvard's Tournament

A little taste of the video that is to come from Ben van Koert/Kaos Historical Media of the St Hallvard's Jousting Tournament which took place May 23 - 25, as part of the Oslo Middelalderfestival. The tournament was held on the grounds of the historic Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway.:

Teaset St Hallvard's Tournament(video by Ben van Koert/Kaos Historical Media)

"After three days of vigorous jousting and melee combat, St. Hallvards tournament is over. We documented the entire event, stay tuned for some awesome images!" -- Ben van Koert
(photo by Ben van Koert/Kaos Historical Media

Joram van Essen and Luke Binks break both their lances during a jousting pass(photo by Ben van Koert/Kaos Historical Media

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

The Jousters of St Hallvard's Tournament

Random Pic: Practicing for St Hallvard's

New Video of "The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel"

Rampant Silliness: Mini Jousting

Admittedly, this has nothing to do with actual competitive jousting, but it was too funny not to share.

Though, if you have horses, or participate in any form of historical reenactment, one of the things to consider when buying a car or truck is... Can it haul all of my stuff? What kind of activities do you participate in? And what vehicle have you found to fit your needs?

Pictures Showing the Process of Creating a Historical Saddle

Jezz Smith, a jouster from New Zealand, also makes saddles based on historical designs. Here are a series of pictures, taken by him, showing the process of making a historical saddle. Jezz Smith's saddles are very similar to the saddles made by Joram van Essen and Wouter Nicolai that were discussed in the two part article, "Re-Creating Medieval and Renaissance Saddles" written by Arne Koets.

There are actually two different saddles shown in various stages of creation. However, the saddles are similar enough that, for the purpose of displaying the process of making a historical saddle, it doesn't matter that pictures from the making of two different saddles are used.

The template for the side bars of the saddle. The side bars are the part of the saddle that actually rests on the sides of the horse.(photo by Jezz Smith)

The laminating frame is used to create the curves necessary for the saddle to fit the horse's back.(photo by Jezz Smith)

A side view of the laminating frame(photo by Jezz Smith)

The side bar is clamped(and screwed when you run out of clamps) to the laminating frame. The screw holes will be filled in later.(photo by Jezz Smith)

Four layers of 3mm plywood glued with polycarbonate laminating glue(photo by Jezz Smith)

You can see where extra blocking can be added to the laminating frame to alter it to fit different horses.(photo by Jezz Smith)

From top to bottom: The pieces used to create the cantle(back), pommel(front) and side bars of the saddle(photo by Jezz Smith)

The pieces are temporarily glued together for a fitting(photo by Jezz Smith)

Another view of the pieces clamped and glued together(photo by Jezz Smith)

Checking to make sure the saddle fits the horse(photo by Jezz Smith)

Rear view of the saddle on the horse(photo by Jezz Smith)

Side view of the saddle on the horse(photo by Jezz Smith)

Checking to see if the saddle fits the rider,Simon Paul Tennant. According to Jezz, the cantle needed to be moved forward about an inch.(photo by Jezz Smith)

After adjusting the cantle, the pommel and cantle are permanently glued into place, and the pieces making up the seat are added(photo by Jezz Smith)

A top view of the seat pieces glued into place(photo by Jezz Smith)

After the glue dries, the seat pieces are sanded into a smooth shape, and strap placement is checked(photo by Jezz Smith)

The saddle is covered in black resin(photo by Jezz Smith)

Another view of the black resin covered saddle(photo by Jezz Smith)

According to Jezz and others who use this style of saddle, padding for the seat is not necessary, though the seat and other parts of the saddle can be covered in leather. Decoration can also be added to suit the owner of the saddle.

Related articles:
Re-Creating Medieval and Renaissance Saddles: Part One

Re-Creating Medieval and Renaissance Saddles: Part Two

An Interview with Joram van Essen: Grand Champion of "The Grand Tournament in Sankt Wendel"