World Invitational Joust 2008- Tournament of the Phoenix

Geoffrey the Younger · Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:44 am

Two Sox is great horse. We did manage to pull it together on Sunday. Yes he does have this narcoleptic thing going on -- We would go do a match and then come back to stand under the banner and I would see his head drop lower and lower and feel his body start to sway! -- so I'd give him a nudge with my spurs and wiggle the reigns to let him know I was there and sometimes I'd circle him around my banner. I had a fear he would just fall over with me on him. You would think after the adrenaline of riding down the list he would be pretty alert but he would go right back to being drowsy.

I would ride him again -- he was a great horse! Thanks Bill.

I think there were 3 pollaxes that got broken hafts.

Thank you Jeff, Gwen and Luke --- It was a great event and I was honoured to be a part of it.

--Jeff Wasson

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:05 pm

MORE PICTURES!

lorenzo2 · Post by **lorenzo2** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:44 pm

Great collection of pics, thanks!

Jeffrey Hedgecock · Post by **Jeffrey Hedgecock** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:16 pm

We're working on it, folks. We're still shell-shocked and reeling from the labor of it and the experience, so I hope you be patient with us.

For my part, between running the event and jousting in it, I feel like I've been run over by a truck.

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:20 pm

I cannot imagine why....

You've made a wonderful thing Jeff.
One of the reasons I scour around and get as much media as i can posted up right afterwards is so you don't have to worry about it. Get some rest if you can.

David Teague · Post by **David Teague** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:00 pm

Jeffrey Hedgecock wrote:We're working on it, folks. We're still shell-shocked and reeling from the labor of it and the experience, so I hope you be patient with us.

For my part, between running the event and jousting in it, I feel like I've been run over by a truck.

Hello Jeffrey,

I think what you and Gwen (and now Luke) have pulled off here in the US is Effin' A W E S O M E!

I hope your weekend gate covered the event and that from now on you'll have some deep pocket sponsors starting to line up for future events.

Pictures are nice, but the one thing I've been waiting on is...

the event scores.

Get some rest, then let us know.

Cheers,

DT

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:30 pm

Oh yeah, results! Doh.

Venans powdered the Tenans something like 48 to 12. Jeff H and Jeff W had some horse problems on Saturday that made their scores pretty low. Fred took a pounding that made him score low as well, but he walked away with the chivalry prize at the end of the weekend.

Funny thing about this is that 'winning' doesn't seem to be very important. While the Venans are happy they won, noone is either gloating about winning or whining about losing. Everyone is talking about individual moments and the winner/losers don't really seem to care.

Another reason to love these guys. The honour of competing is where it's at for them, not the final outcome.

Gwen

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:21 am

Funny thing about this is that 'winning' doesn't seem to be very important. While the Venans are happy they won, noone is either gloating about winning or whining about losing. Everyone is talking about individual moments and the winner/losers don't really seem to care.

Another reason to love these guys. The honour of competing is where it's at for them, not the final outcome.

Gwen

That's one of the aspects I love about this.

I am very competitive, I love to excel, and I love to win, but I don't like "beating" people. Never have. Most people don't seem to know the difference.

It's wonderful to see competitors fight so hard and yet praise one another regardless of the outcome.

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:46 pm

Couple more pics of the WMA stuff, & some dork.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60329133@N00/

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:14 pm

I'm back from England now and still going through photos. There are literally thousands, and I'll be posting some as soon as possible.

The next joust event is the American Sword of Chivalry 2009, May 9 & 10 2009. Arne Koets is the defending champion, and there will be 5 competitors seeking to take the sword from him. We are adding a preview on May 8 which will be one session of skill at arms and 6 courses of jousting. More on this event as it becomes available.

Long term, the World Invitational Joust 2009 will be held October 24 & 25, with a preview day on October 23. This will be a teams event, with Luke Bink's team of Petter Ellingsen and Graham Nixon holding the field as the Tenans. Jeff Hedgecock will be captain of the Venans team. Jeff is withholding the names of his teammates for the moment. I know who they are, and trust me, you're going to want to see this event. This is going to be some absolutely insane jousting.

Gwen

Hibernicus · Post by **Hibernicus** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:09 pm

If I may interject...

I've mauled my way through ALL the photos and OO-toob vids and flickers and such... days later....

Something seems to be missing.. ...now not to take away anything from how EXTRAODINARILY spectacular this all is...

but.....
--- Where are the Romans?

Sean/Sheridan/Hibernicus

ps. You guys continue to out do; set, as always, a brilliant example of the possibilities!

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:36 pm

Little bit South of center.

No,no. Don't thank me, I'm here to help, really.

It was good seeing Scythius, when will you make one of these you spicmic?

LeeC · Post by **LeeC** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:47 pm

Glad you're back safe Gwen.

Black Swan Designs wrote: This is going to be some absolutely insane jousting.

Gwen

What do you call the jousting at last one??? That was definetly the most intense jousting I have seen to date. I was afraid you'd run out of lances, and I could hardly believe the guys could use thier hands at the end of Sunday.

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:44 pm

Hehehe.

Lessee......Romans. We draw a big home school crowd, and there was a request for more 'living history' stuff. Jeff, Luke and I are kicking around the possibility of inviting some of the better groups around to set up living history camps. Quality of presentation would be key, so Romans would definitely be one of the camps we would consider inviting. We even have a very cool area we could put the camps.

The jousting at the TOTP was spectacular, wasn't it? I can't help but think that it's the way it 'should' be- clean, hard, competitive and everyone walks away with injuries they can recover from. Jeff had a busted lip and a sore jaw from Graham Nixon's wicked shots, Fred was covered with bruises, and the other guys had their fair share. Enough injury to point out that this is a dangerous sport and the deficiencies in the armour but not enough to send anyone to hospital.

Without any disrespect to anyone, it should be realized that some of our competitors are considered 'B' string jousters. They've been playing in the minor leagues of jousting, and this was their opportunity to step up to the majors. Jeff [Hedgecock] and Luke both went through this stage, and now they're both playing in the majors. Same for some of these guys. They've proven themselves in their advancement test, and they'll be invited to the top rank events in Europe next year.

When I say the jousting will be 'insane' at next year's TotP, I'm saying all the participants will be A grade jousters, and that's going to step up the level of competition comessurately. This sport is not for the faint of heart, either on the field, or in the stands.

We're currently waiting for confirmation from one of our invitees who has a HUGE fan base here in the US, but who has never competed here. If he accepts the invitation, it will be on a par with signing David Beckham, and I'm not exaggerating. We shall see.

Oh, and as far as hand injuries, we tested Jeff's new grapper design and it was da bomb. It allowed those insane hits you saw, but protected everyone's hands. Another key piece of equipment sorted!

Gwen

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:50 am

Gwen,

Thanks for announcing the dates for the jousts in 2009. I came down for the Tournament of the Phoenix and had a great time! I found that the trip was inexpensive enough that I'll be bringing my wife and boy down to the next one.

The addition of other accurate living history camps would probably be a good addition, though what you had arranged in November was nice as well.

Great job, thanks for taking on such a considerable pile of work to make these jousts happen. As I looked around the place, I got a glimpse into the huge effort you and Jeff have put out to make this happen....WOW!

The ToTP was great! Thanks!

Alan

Eamonn MacCampbell · Post by **Eamonn MacCampbell** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:00 pm

Alan wrote:Gwen,

Thanks for announcing the dates for the jousts in 2009. I came down for the Tournament of the Phoenix and had a great time! I found that the trip was inexpensive enough that I'll be bringing my wife and boy down to the next one.

Alan

Your Grace,....Need a peasant to carry your things....

Jeffrey Hedgecock · Post by **Jeffrey Hedgecock** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:01 pm

Alan wrote:Gwen,

Thanks for announcing the dates for the jousts in 2009. I came down for the Tournament of the Phoenix and had a great time! I found that the trip was inexpensive enough that I'll be bringing my wife and boy down to the next one.

The addition of other accurate living history camps would probably be a good addition, though what you had arranged in November was nice as well.

Great job, thanks for taking on such a considerable pile of work to make these jousts happen. As I looked around the place, I got a glimpse into the huge effort you and Jeff have put out to make this happen....WOW!

The ToTP was great! Thanks!

Alan

We're really glad you had a good time, and thanks for your kind words!

I think Luke also deserves credit for the organizing the event. He's become a valuable member of the team.

We look forward to next season!

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:42 pm

Kind of an afterthought, but I just put the leftover pint glasses on the website

'Tournament of the Phoenix' commemorative pint glass

[img]http://www.historicenterprises.com/imag ... _large.jpg[/img]

We also have a few of the event T shirts left-

'Tournament of the Phoenix' T shirt

[img]http://www.historicenterprises.com/imag ... _large.jpg[/img]

Sherry at Renaissance Design did the rockin' design, and it was printed with love (or a lot of swearing, hard to know with him sometimes

) by Mike (Sir Bennan).

Gwen

Rod Walker · Post by **Rod Walker** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:56 am

Black Swan Designs wrote:
Without any disrespect to anyone, it should be realized that some of our competitors are considered 'B' string jousters. They've been playing in the minor leagues of jousting, and this was their opportunity to step up to the majors. Jeff [Hedgecock] and Luke both went through this stage, and now they're both playing in the majors. Same for some of these guys. They've proven themselves in their advancement test, and they'll be invited to the top rank events in Europe next year.

You are kidding aren't you?

Jonny Deuteronomy · Post by **Jonny Deuteronomy** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:40 am

Rod Walker wrote:
Black Swan Designs wrote:
Without any disrespect to anyone, it should be realized that some of our competitors are considered 'B' string jousters. They've been playing in the minor leagues of jousting, and this was their opportunity to step up to the majors. Jeff [Hedgecock] and Luke both went through this stage, and now they're both playing in the majors. Same for some of these guys. They've proven themselves in their advancement test, and they'll be invited to the top rank events in Europe next year.

You are kidding aren't you?

The Majors...?!?
ROTFLMFAO

This is the funniest thing I have read lately.
Thanks for the lawls.

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:43 am

Oh, yeah, the bump on this post reminded me- it looks like we'll have a professional DVD of the event available by Christmas. We're meeting next week with the folks who did this YouTube spot Tournament of the Phoenix, and who are working on the video.

Rod Walker · Post by **Rod Walker** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:10 pm

Looks like they have all three Trystan,

Self dillusionment, self denial and self praise.

Gwen is right though, there were two A Grade jousters there, Graham and Petter

Black Swan Designs · Post by **Black Swan Designs** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:22 pm

Yeah, those guys rock, don't they? They were so fantastic we've invited them to compete in the October 2009 Tournament.

Tough competitors and real gentlemen, it's hard to find nicer guys than Petter and Graham. It was a pleasure to have them at the November event, and we look forward to having them back.

Gwen