From: jmellby@iluvatar.dseg.ti.com (John R. Mellby)
Subject: Professional Jousting
Organization: TI-DSEG Spring Creek
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 14:04:10 GMT

I read with interest the recent discussions of jousting.
I decided to solicit an informed response from a friend who
has been working with jousters for some time now.  If you
want to respond, I can forward messages, or you might try
lwilliams@skidro.dseg.ti.com

-----------------------------------------------------------
Date:    Mon, 28 Sep 92 08:10:01 CDT
To:      john@tilde.csc.ti.com
cc:      LWILLIAMS@tilde.csc.ti.com

From:    lwilliams@skidro (Joustress)
Subject: Reply to SCA-ers on jousting

Return-Path: lwilliams@skidro
Return-Path: <lwilliams@skidro>



I don't generally have access to this net, but my friend John Mellby was kind 
enough to pass on some of the jousting discussion that's been going on here, 
knowing it would be of interest to me, and has agreed to post any reply I care 
to make.

For about the last nine years, I have been associated with the New Riders of 
the Golden Age (NRGA), a professional, touring jousting troupe which performs 
at Renaissance faires, horse shows, state fairs, and other events.  This is one
 
of only two major jousting troupes on the Renaissance circuit, the other being 
the Hanlon-Lees Action Theatre (HLAT). 

The couple who own the NRGA are good friends of mine, and I have worked for 
them as a groom, horse exerciser & trainer, and on the ground crew of a LOT of 
jousts.  Last year I also made my debut as a jouster; my opponent and I were 
among the first women ever to perform a fully-armored, full-contact joust.  (We
haven't found any record of others since 1405.)  So, I have a pretty good 
insider's view of how the troupe works.

The NRGA performs a re-creation of a Renaissance joust (16th century).  The 
knights wear full steel plate armor, and they use heavy horses (Belgians and 
Percherons; these breeds are directly descended from warhorses of the period.) 
 
The HLAT has a very different show - they do a mediaeval joust, using chain 
mail and partial plate and riding light horses.  These two "schools" of 
jousting have a lot of significant differences.  The Renaissance style is more 
physically strenuous but the mediaeval is riskier, as the riders have less 
protection.

Jousting in the NRGA is NOT staged.  The riders really are trying to hit and, 
if possible, unhorse each other.  They use two basic styles of jousting - one 
with shields and one without, where they aim directly for the breastplate.  
There are usually six to nine lance passes per show, which are followed by a 
mounted swordfight which is roughly choreographed (a general outline, but not 
blow-by-blow), and then a ground combat which is entirely choreographed.  The 
mediaeval jousting of the HLAT is entirely staged, though they're still hitting
pretty hard.

Taking a fall in full armor is not particularly dangerous.  The riders are 
taught how to fall correctly, and the armor provides ample protection against 
broken bones.  The helm, gorget, and breast & back plates fit together to 
prevent "whiplash" injuries - or broken necks.  I have taken falls myself - 
both staged (in the swordfight) and unstaged (unhorsed on a lance pass) - and 
can vouch for it not being painful, just knocking the wind out of me a bit.  In
the decade the troupe has been operating, no one has ever suffered anything 
worse than bruises in a fall.  Being trampled by the horse is very unlikely; 
you fall out to the side of your own horse, who continues to move forward and 
away from you, and your opponent's horse has already passed and is long gone.  
The ground crew are in more danger of getting stepped on, and come to regard 
their toes as expendable.

Jousting is not especially safe, but neither is it terrifically dangerous.  The
leader of the troupe puts it about on a par with high-school football, and I 
would say that's about right.  In its history of several thousand jousts the 
troupe has had only one life-threatening injury, and that was due to a freak 
accident.  (The guy recovered.)  There have been a few broken bones - one 
collarbone, a couple of wrists, a few fingers & toes, and stress fractures to 
the hand, plus a couple of dislocated ankles.  Also, a lot of heat exhaustion. 
Any equestrian sport is dangerous, and this represents a better record than 
most.  It's safer for the horses; no horse has ever sustained an injury other 
than a strained muscle or minor scratch - they do much more damage to 
themselves being stupid out in the pasture than in a human-guided event under 
saddle.

The troupe has a few - usually about five - full-time jousters who work the 
entire season; for these, it has some fairly minimal insurance provisions.  In 
addition, there are a dozen or so part-time jousters - people like me who have 
"real jobs" and don't go on the road, just performing at our home faires.  
These people are responsible for their own insurance. 

There are about 18 working horses in the troupe.  The chief prefers to buy a 
green-broken horse (i.e., one with basic saddle training) and teach it the 
additional skills needed for jousting.  This generally takes about three 
months before the horse is ready to start performing, though it can very 
considerably depending on the aptitude of the individual horse.  Then it takes 
most of a season of actual performance before the horse can really be 
categorized as "finished" - a solid, dependable jousting mount.  

Training the riders is actually much more difficult.  Horsemanship is THE 
single most critical skill in successful jousting, and it doesn't just happen. 
If you don't have a good "seat", there is no way you're going to stay in the 
saddle when someone hits you with a big stick at full canter.  In addition, 
these horses weigh between 1600 and 2000 pounds, and they get very excited 
during shows; controlling them takes a fair amount of skill.  I lease my 
Belgian gelding, Antonio, from the troupe (he lives with me when he's not 
jousting), and I worked with him exclusively for six months before I felt I 
could handle him during a joust.  Admittedly, he's one of the most difficult 
horses in the troupe, but even the more docile ones are no picnic.  Several 
jousters have failed to qualify for the troupe because they simply could not 
get the hang of managing a horse under the difficult conditions of jousting.

Those of you who dwelt on the expense of this sport are emphatically correct.  
A good jousting troupe is by far the most expensive act any Renfaire is likely 
to hire and there are ample reasons for that, most of them large, furry, and 
four-legged.  Neither the NRGA nor the HLAT make a lot of profit; their 
contract fees are big, but the overhead eats them right up.  The individual 
jousters don't get paid much more than it takes to get by, and the full-time 
ones usually do craft work to supplement their meagre income.

So, jousting would probably not be too practical for the SCA - not unless 
you've got some people who have an awful lot of time and money to throw 
around.  I enjoyed it and look forward to doing it again, but it took months of
hard work to get to the point where I could do it competently and safely; it's 
not just something you wake up one day and go out and do.  If anyone has any 
questions, I'd be glad to answer them if I can coerce John into relaying them 
to me.

	- Lisa Williams, aka Lady Elizabeth Flynn, for the NRGA