About Jousting

Historically speaking, jousting began as a tool for training medieval armored cavalry. It evolved into a full-blown sport by the late middle ages. While many nuances and details of the sport are not commonly known, its spirit remains. Much like training in martial arts, the repeated exposure to oncoming danger helps to mold a rider (and the horse) into a formidable opponent on the battlefield.

Modern jousting can be divided into four groups:

• Theatrical jousting, which is choreographed and pre-planned;
• Frangible jousting, the format that most closely resembles the spirit and intention of the original jousters, all while maintaining the integrity of a safe environment for our equine partners;
• Historical reenactment, where every effort is made to reproduce all the elements of a period joust, including the armor, equipment, the tack, and the horses that are ridden;
• Renaissance festival performances, which is arguably a modern interpretation but in no way reflects the overall skill set of an actual renaissance knight.

The most commonly-practiced form of jousting, originating in Europe and thought to represent best the pageantry and spectacle of knights in tournament would be frangible jousting, and this is the style that Combatant’s Keep chooses to model.

Our personal approach has been to try to emulate the skill sets of those warriors who have jousted before us– horsemanship, equestrian martial arts, chivalry, and sportsmanship with the kind of attention to detail learned in the world of living history and education – all while presenting a dynamic and engaging performance for the audience. In addition to our skills on the field, we employ knowledge and experience gained in the world of professional theater. We endeavor to blend all these elements together into a fast-paced, dynamic experience for the audience that is visually accurate and entertaining for our audience.

Contact us today to book your next event!

Meet the Players