What a beautiful site for a Faire and Tournament! There are pathways cut through the hardwood forest complete with a lake that is the backdrop for the Tourney field. Now this is an authentic looking site.
Although this tourney was small as tourneys go (five horses and three competitors) it was large in heart. The support we got made all of us performers feel good. The Knights from east Texas, Dustin Stephens and Jerry Gordon, jousted well and accurately. Chris Fort heralded our shows on horseback, adding to the realistic atmosphere. "Shaggy" aka Richard Vogel, a perfomrer from Dustin's Four Winds Renaissance Faire, came into his own as a kind of high strung over confident squire. He was a lot of fun to work with.
Our Judges were new to scoring jousting matches, but their lack of experience did not keep them from scoring matches correctly. There were several additional courses run to determine a winner, after several matches ended in ties. We presented skill-at-arms competitions, choreographed jousting and tournament jousting. On one of our tournament matches, Jerry Gordon and myself hit lances tip to tip, resulting in Jerry's lance breaking. A vary rare occurrence for sure.
The King Arthur's Faire is situated halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. No more than 50 miles from either city, this Faire has great potential. With the local interest in jousting being sparked by Chris Fort and the interest and drive in a real jousting tournament being fortified by Faire Owners, David and Gale Timmons, this Tournament and Faire should grow and prosper.
James Zoppe
Founder and Director
American Jousting Alliance