All language subtitles for Knight.Life.2025.eng

Hey we're doing this. Let's
line up. It's gettin' time.

My name is Dave Schade.

I've been a professional
jouster for 25 years

and I've been the general
manager of the New Riders

of the Golden Age for
about 22 of those years.

I've been a horseman as
long as I've been jousting.

So everything I learned about
horses came from jousting.

I'm a giant nerd. I, you know,
enjoy Doug Fairbanks movies

and fight choreography
and Three Musketeers

and all, you know,
all things history.

I saw this team perform at
a renaissance festival in

Florida, was enamored by the
fact that they jousted for

real, which my nerd self
was squealing with delight.

Some years later I
was working a show

in Ohio as a character.

They were jousting there
and one thing led to another

and I started working
for that company.

I am an anomaly in our company.

Most people that train
take about a year

before they're joust ready.

I was jousting in
five and a half weeks.

I don't know if that's
because I was too stupid

to know any better if
the company was desperate

or maybe I had just enough
talent not to kill anybody.

Did you guys put the horses
back in their homes?

Oh yeah.

Thank you.

So you've been living the
horse life for a long time.

Yeah, yeah I have. When
I started, you know,

as a reenactment nerd and, and
of course I saw real jousting

'cause the first time I
started riding

it just made sense.

And I became superbly interested
in the technical acumen

about how to ride a horse well.

And then all of a
sudden it switched.

It was about the horses as much

as it was about doing the
shows and the joust and,

and all that kind of stuff.

So, you know, I never touched
horses before in my life

until I turned 21 and
joined this company.

So everything I started
to learn was from here.

And thankfully I got very lucky

'cause the guy that runs
this company is a very

knowledgeable horse-person.

So, because of him,
it allowed me to go

to other really
talented trainers and
not embarrass myself

and have them take me on.

So I really got a lot of, lot
of good influences in my life

as far as the people I've

gotten to train
under over the years.

Do some jogging, now,
going to your right

That's probably the best
departure I've ever seen

you do on that horse...

So yeah, I'd get off

Just a really nice
lift and roll into it.

She was very quiet

because you were also
directing her

letting her know
where to travel to.

It's training people to
ride horses if they just wanna

learn how to ride
a horse, you know,

you're just trying to
build their confidence.

You're trying to help them
develop a communicative

skillset with that horse

uh, the confidence to
be that horse's leader

when you're adding the layer
of jousting, they need to have

that ability with the
horses to begin with.

But then now you
have to add armor,

confidence in the armor.

When you're wearing a helmet,
you have to deal with the fact

that your breathing
is severely limited,

your vision is severely limited

and you are now dealing
with more feel than sight.

So they have to kind of
go through that crucible.

And then the next crucible is
somebody actually is coming

to hit you with something
and they have to

kind of, figure
out can they navigate that?

How do they feel about
it? That sort of thing.

Introducing to the new
kids, to the wonderful world

of stupidity that
we exist within.

You know, they've
been practicing

you know, learning how to aim,

learning how to work
their horse in the list.

They've hit the hard quintain,
which provides a little bit

of resistance, get an idea of

what it's like crashing
into something else.

They've passed each other
without making contact.

Today we're gonna line them up
and let 'em get contact now.

I'm armoring up my horse
just as a precaution,

you know,

they've been fairly steady, but

because they're
new, the possibility

for mistakes, on
their end, is greater.

So I'm just putting armor
on my horse so that way,

you know, we-we wear it...

It-it's definitely
a nice addition.

It's a showpiece, but
functional as well.

So this way she's got at
least the minimum amount

of protection of the just
in case scenario, you know,

'cause there there
are so many variables.

That was my first
unhorsing, first couple

of live passes and uh...

loud, full of sand...

A little bit like being in a
small car wreck, but not bad.

The lance impact doesn't hurt.

Yeah?

Hitting the ground hurts.

The lance impact
is not that bad.

We do the best we can to
mitigate all of them and,

and make this as reasonably
safe as possible.

But the second you start
getting too relaxed

and too comfortable

is the second that, you know,

an unnecessary
accident can occur.

Doing this without an
audience or a live show

takes the pressure
of the show off.

So each pass that occurs,
we can talk to 'em,

"Hey, you're doing
this, you're doing that.

Do this, do that."

Or if it looks like it's getting
unsafe "okay, we're done".

Workin' on it

So much stan.

Yeah!

Your ego's talking

That's right.

My ego needs to pick on
everybody smaller than me

and brand new to feel
like I'm awesome.

Jesus! Its practice,
Hannah! it's just practice!

Now that you've
crossed this bridge

you've earned a Friday to

not have to armor
up, if you so choose.

Go get out of your stuff.

Thank you.

And those two are
like, "what in the hell?"

For me...

I just have a
history with theater

and like I always loved
stage combat and more rough

and tumble parts of performance.

When I worked with haunts,
like haunted houses,

I got up on stilts, I did
the stuff on the wires.

So I'm a bit of an
adrenaline junkie.

I love animals and the thing
that actually inspired me

to do it was a completely
different joust company

I had never seen a joust
was about 32 years old.

And I finally got a
day off at this vendor

that I was working with at the

Muskogee Renaissance Festival.

And I saw a woman joust

and as a trans woman myself,
suddenly everything clicked.

Like as a kid I always
dreamed about being a knight

and shining armor, but
riding horses always seemed

like an impossibility.

Armor is expensive,
et cetera, et cetera.

Uh huh

But then I saw this woman
do it, she was amazing

and that was just a
theatrical company.

No slight to them at all. But
like this is full contact,

so it's a different
game, you know.

My name is Jessica Van Richten.

I am a - a trans woman

and to the joust company

I suppose I am now nearing
the end of my training,

but a jouster in training.

I spent the last nine months

or so of the calendar year
with a two month break

for the holidays, learning how
to ride horses and wear armor

and become an idiot that falls
off their horse sometimes.

I wanted to be a knight in
shining arbor since I was

very, very small.

And I bent my will

and did everything in my
power toward learning how

to ride horses or saving up
to learn how to ride horses

and saving up for
armor for like a year.

And I figured I was
gonna be doing that

for a couple more years when
I ran into this joust company,

New Riders of the Golden Age
and met Dave specifically.

And I told him that's
what I was doing.

I was working for a vendor

and I was like, I'm saving up
so I can learn to ride horses

and buy my own armor.

And he's looked me
dead in the eyes

and said, well
just come with me.

I'll teach you everything.
I'm certain Dave will tell me

when the training is done

and I feel I've got, you know,
a good ways to go yet as far

as making sure I can make it
all the way through the show

with everything that we do.

But I've learned how
to do the actual sport,

which is very exciting
and I've got my own armor.

And the real reason
that I do it is just,

it's fulfilling a
lifelong childhood dream

that I never thought was
even a possibility until all

of the cards kind of
fell in the right place.

Psychologically, the biggest
challenge would be I've spent

the last 12 years happily
domesticated in love, living

with my, my now wife.

So like life partner. And
we have a 7-year-old child.

And the biggest challenge I
would say is being undoing my

domestication and learning
to live on the road

because life on the road
is a very different thing.

I had a new relationship
and that was jousting

because it takes up so
much of your time leaving.

And the lifestyle change
has been the hardest part.

Physically I would
say simply my cardio

and endurance while
wearing the armor I need

to do some laps
while wearing it.

A realization of what
I've been working toward

and seeing photos
and videos of it.

I've-it's again, the
realization of it sinking in.

I did this, I put
my mind to something

and reached for something

that I thought was
impossible most of my life.

So what all does it
take to, to be a knight?

A severe lack of intelligence.

You know, you, like, you...

I-uh

you can do it if you want to,

you know, you, you just
have to be willing to go

through the fire that
it is to get there.

And then be okay with the
fact that you're about

to get your a-- you know,
somebody coming at you

trying to take your head off.

You know, if, if
you can manage that

and you're okay with it, then
you'll-you'll be just fine.

That's really the bottom
line of it is if you want it,

you have to be willing
to get after it

and you have to be
okay with the physical

punishment that comes with it.

You know, if you can do that,
you-you-can-you can do this.

I've had my back go out a
couple times, but that's

'cause I'm a lot older and my
body's durability is starting

to, starting to
reduce significantly.

It-lately, like every year

like last year I
broke my knu--my uh...

my hand. The year before that

I wrenched my back. The year
before that I wrenched my back

and then cracked a rib.

What is termed as full
contact where the intention is

to either break your lance
or drop your opponent.

It's a combat sport. You're
gonna come with bumps

and bruises and aching
muscles and body soreness

and you know, sometimes
you get a nasty injury

where you know you're
gonna pay for it.

So Kelly is the owner of
the company,

of the joust team.

He started in 1980 at the
Minnesota Renaissance Festival

where he would show up

and do the horse races
that they had there

'cause there was no
jousting at the time.

And him and another
gentleman by the name

of Christopher Poor got together

and decided to, you know, try
to create a joust reenactment.

So Kelly and him formed that up,

started jousting,
like theatrically.

And then they decided
somewhere along the line like,

let's try to figure out
how to do this for real.

Eventually Kelly and Chris
parted ways

and Kelly kept going

and figured out how to joust

and he's figured out a way
to do it relatively safely

as compared to any
other contact sport.

Easy!

Hey, hey, hey

Sam, you okay?

Your saddle completely
titled sideways

I'm recognizing the durability
in my body is starting

to significantly reduce.

So you have a metal knuckle?

Yeah, it's a piece of
metal that goes from the,

this knuckle all the way across

And it bends?

No, doesn't bend.

But the doctor set
it up so that way it-

it-it I can pinch.
So if you look...

Oh, that, that finger stuck.

Yeah, it's-it's permanently
bent.

It's my hook.

When I started, I
lived in a tent.

I had to, you know,

figure out how to live
very minimally, make sure

that my tent wouldn't flood

or that I would be warm
enough in my tents, you know,

and then I had to have
my own vehicle to be able

to pack all my stuff up
and go from show to show.

There are a lot of interesting
hardships that come

with living a transient
and minimalist lifestyle.

It's just one of those things

where you're sacrificing a
lot to do this, this art form.

William! William! Willam!

Villiany was afoot
in Sherwood Forest

and now we see how little
brother Johnny would rule

in our stead,

allowing dishonorable
knights such as Gal

and Guy to rule the field,
Get them out of our sight!

George Appling is the owner
of the Sherwood Forest Faire,

probably one of the
most enthusiastic,

faire owners I've ever seen
who was on his own cast.

He absolutely loves
medieval history

and participating in it.

He's the very definition
of a cosplayer.

He loves dressing up and
being in medieval outfits.

He's very passionate
about the faire,

which is really
enjoyable to work for.

This is a, his name is Boris

he's a 20-year-old
Percheron gelding.

Okay. Okay.

Yeah. 20 years old.
He stands 18.2 hands
high. - He's a big boy

which he is a very tall,
weighs about 1,850 pounds.

So Sadie is a 21-year-old
Percheron mare.

She has been here since
2010.

Wow.

So a long time.

He's been here since 2014.

She got here in I think 2017.

Welcome!

We are Richard, Richard, the
Lionheart king of the English.

And we are throwing a little
party here in Sherwood Forest.

We call it Sherwood
Forest Faire.

The year is 1190 and I
will be departing on Holy

Crusade this afternoon.

Now I'm leaving my mother,
Eleanor of Aquitaine

to keep an eye on my
little brother Johnny.

"God
save the queen!"

And may God save you all!

Our dear son, king Richard had
hoped be here this day

to witness the tournament

Tis I...

Robin Hood!

And rumor has that there's
some outlaw Robin Hood who's

somehow making sure
the law is followed.

But I'm sure Prince John
won't make any bad decisions.

So if you were here
with me at the faire,

you would see over
50 different shows

music, jousting, falconry,
comedy, juggling,

all sorts of things.

You would see Skoda Bon Reve.

And we have 170 artisans

making things with their hands,

from hand-blown glass
to leather boots

to jewelry, hats,
swords, knives, armor,

everything you can think of.

Wooden mugs, pewter mugs.

It's the largest marketplace

of artisanship you can find
in central Nottingham...

Texas.

This was a record setting season

and we set an attendance
record every single weekend in

our eight weekend run.

And, and you could feel it. It
was, the energy was so high.

Yeah. And there were
just people. Every,

every stage was full,
every bar was full.

It was great. We're over
130,000 this season.

People would write "Sherwood
is this small faire".

And I would correct them and
say, "we are not a small faire,

we are decidedly medium" but
I think we may be big now

The horse I sit upon is
the Magnificent Glinda

and believe you me,
small might be...

what an incredible
joust it was today.

Now my friends

I think we'll have to generate

a little bit more...

*"We now present you with

the keys to the kingdom"*

The Knights of the
Grail is a 501C3

nonprofit organization.

And we are here almost every
weekend of the year except

for August because people really

shouldn't be here in August.

And we do equine therapy for
active duty military, veterans

and first responders.

Our special hook is
we do joust games.

So we have veterans on the
horse at a cantor throwing a

spear, hitting the
quintain with a lance

and chopping up those vicious,
vicious French cabbages.

Bor-ious, the
glorious, 20 years old.

I've been a-a horseman for
a good 11 or 12 years now.

Um-and I- One of my best
friends was a marine

veteran with PTSD.

He was our horse master
for several years

and he really wanted to
bring in more veterans

to put on the horses because
there's a famous saying

by Winston Churchill which
is,

"There's something about the

outside of a horse that is
good for the inside of a man."

And we find that to be true.

There are several veterans here

who say this program
is keeping them alive.

Oh, the Knights of the Grail.

So yeah, I've been employed
as their head trainer

to help get their horses to
have good behavior patterns,

but also be safe for, for
people that want to come.

And pretty much equine therapy
sounds big and fantastic,

but it's really just about

being in the presence of horses.

Just by being with them,
petting them, interacting.

Multiple studies have shown
things like reduced blood

pressure, reduced anxiety,
reduced PTSD triggering.

So there's a lot of
benefit that way.

So the program that we have
is dedicated around that idea

where if a veteran
would like to come

and just pet a horse on the
head, they get to do that.

If they wanna learn more about
how to work with a horse,

we have a ground program
where they learn how

to work the horses
from the ground.

We have a saddle program

where they can learn
different levels of riding.

And so again, it's mainly
just to create an environment

that they can come, interact

with horses in the
way that they choose.

Also be around other
veterans, you know,

to help each other
back and forth just by,

by being a positive
presence for each other.

But again, just creating
that space to allow them

to have a moment of
positivity within a world

that maybe causes
them a lot of anxiety

and a lot of frustrations.

My name's Rob Paul.

I'm a volunteer for an

organization called
Knights of the Grail.

Through that organization,
I-I got to meet Dave

and since I've been brought
in kind of as his apprentice

for horse training and so
that's, that's why, that's

where I get my interaction
with the joust company from.

I was in the Army, I was
a field artillery officer,

did three deployments, two
to Afghanistan, one to Iraq.

I was in for about, I
was in for 17 years.

I don't know what else
you wanna know about that.

So I, I do have PTSD, I have,
I have pretty severe PTSD

because of the
issues that I have

with my PTSD,
anxiety, depression.

I have, I've had severe
anger issues in the

past that I'm still working on.

Being with a horses
really helps to center me

because I can't take those
emotions in with the horse.

The mo- the horse will
just feed off of that.

And so being able to
work with the horses

and find a calm center for
myself

so that I can then go work

with the horses
has really helped.

Uh-I've been able to
transfer that from just

horses into my daily life.

And being able to function

even
when I'm having high anxiety

or even when my
depression's really bad,

it really does help me
to function and focus.

It's a safe environment for
me to be in with my PTSD

because there's
no way in hell I'd

ever hurt one of those horses.

Dave has honestly had a
huge impact in my life.

He has provi- He's,
he has become one

of my very good friends.

Someone I can really trust

and turn to on my hardest
days he's been there

and just been someone
I could lean on

and rely on who was there
for me to support me

and let me know that
everything's gonna get better.

He's an amazing coach
for me.

Um, very patient.

I-I-I love the way he interacts

with me when he's teaching me
how to interact with a horse.

He's just become

a very important
person in my life

over the last 10 months and I
really hope that-that-

that through the course
of this documentary,

other people could see
him the way that I do.

He's-he's a pretty amazing
human being

and I'm very proud and
honored to call him my friend.

So those terms are good. I
like the frame that she kept.

You know, I'm not worried
about the perfection

of her body movement right now.

She's at least trying to work
with you and not just tense up

and, and start with her fight.

Right. So same thing,

whenever you're ready you're
gonna encourage her to do

that, right?

If she's there, then
you just invite her

forward just a little...

Yes!

Now same thing when you're ready

to jog little reminders,
get her back to the bridle.

Right. Little encourage-

Yes! yes!

We'll clean out the bottom
of their foot

'cause they get a lot

of bacteria in there.

There could be a
rock or a nail in

there that would make 'em lame.

So you just wanna make
sure those are clean.

How long have you been
with the joust company?

About 10 years.

I started when I was 16 back
in New York for a summer job

and then a couple years later
came on the road with them,

worked my way up the
ladder from there.

I'm Shelby Wimler,

I'm kind of just a road manager,

take care of the horses

and make
sure they're all well kept

and help train them
and train the knights

and squire, stuff like that.

I-I've been with 'em pretty
much outta high school.

It was my first summer job

and um... kept coming
back each summer

and once I was outta high
school I just decided

to go on the road with 'em
and see a few new places.

I don't know, the horses
were really the big draw.

I was grew up a horse
lover, horse girl

and these guys are
just so magnificent.

To have my foot in the door

with them was a really
nice opportunity.

They're so talented
and well-trained.

You don't see a lot
with the draft horses.

A lot of 'em are
just trail horses

but these guys move really well

and I like the way that
we've got 'em trained.

I jousted once

when I was training a horse

I wanted to be

the first one that
jousted on her

so they kind

of put a suit of armor together

and I got to the point
where she was ready

to do a lance pass

and of course I got knocked
off and hit the ground.

But she did exactly what
she was supposed to do.

Hi, I am Taylor Maine.

I've been with the troop
for about six months now.

Training up to be a jouster.

Been coming to ren faire
since I was little.

I've kind of seen these
guys for years now

and this is my first time
being part of the tournament

and I get to marshal for
it, which is super exciting.

Like any of these people here,

I don't think everybody
realizes how much

of like an extreme
personality type they are.

Like I'm sure they do,

but like they think, oh Dave's
so much different than me.

And really they're, they're
all just the same kind

of explosive sort of a-a-

a maximized type of character.

I mean he's the
best jouster here,

probably the best jouster in
if not the country than like

one of the top 10 in the world.

It's also like he's
been doing it 20 years

and there's not like
ma- there's not like

thousands of jousters out there.

There's probably no more than
a thousand jousters worldwide.

Probably less than that,
probably like in the hundreds.

But he is, of those,
one of the best.

Everybody else I've seen on the

horse, I've seen
fall at some point.

I have not seen Dave fall yet,
which is also why I'm excited

for this weekend

I'm Caitlin Alexander.

I'm from Sterling, New York

and I'm considered,
like, a squire.

I've been squiring
for the company

for 10 years now.

I love the people, everyone
here.

They have a really
great community sense.

I love the horses.

The horses are amazing

but really I just come
back for the people.

So I train all the new people
on the ground to show them

how the show works,

how to put armor on the guys,

how to take armor, saddles,

bridles off the
horses after the show.

Basically I do all the
background behind the scenes,

prep the show so it works
smoothly for the Knights.

My favorite horse is Abraham.

I just love his
whole personality.

Um- he was actually the first
horse I took lessons on

Dave like he's out there every
day during the week, riding

and he puts in like a 100
percent into the shows.

Even though I'm super hot days
when you're just like bone-

tired, you just don't
want to do anything.

He's still there.

Like this is his
passion, this is his love

and that's what makes
him such a great jouster.

Even though he said he is
gonna retire, I don't know

how many different times,

but I know he will
still continue-

will be continuing this
like no matter how long.

How about we just like

Come on!

What?

Keep it up smart ass, see
where it gets you with me.

You know, when
I started working

with horses it just made
sense and I enjoyed it

and I was hungry to
learn from whoever-

whoever was willing to teach me.

When I got to Florida to meet
Kelly for the first time,

who is the owner of the company,

um- he would do
horse competitions

and when I watched videotape
of that I was like wow, I want

that level of proficiency

and it just drove me to
try to accomplish that.

So it's one of those things

that you didn't
actively think about.

It just, it was inspiring
and it just kept me going.

You know, you gotta guide
'em through the crucible

of the same thing that you
guide the riders through.

There's a lot of
anxiety, there's things

breaking over their heads.

They got sword
swinging, there's a lot

of noise, there's
a lot of audience.

So there's, there's a lot
of layers to that as well.

Like, and some horses
do better with it

and other horses don't
and some will never do it.

You know, dealing with a young
one right now that you know,

he's not sure about everything.

Where I had a horse the same
age, you know, last year

where she was like,
had moments of anxiety

but then, oh I got this
figured out very quickly

and didn't make a
big deal about it.

So every horse is
different, you know.

We'll come out we'll say like
just a quick little whatever,

but then it's on the
marshalls to go ahead

and say now that all the
champions have been, you know,

introduced, it's now time
to begin this tournament.

Thereby knights I ask you now
turn to the left and proceed.

You know, and what
ideally I would like

to have happen is everybody
turns left at the same time

and just jogs down the rail.

Arm themselves

I am Liam Mooney,
I am a squire.

It is a spectacle, it's a
performance, it's you know,

a competition and a
performance at the same time.

'cause it's legit, you
know, they get out there

and it's, it's real.

They wanna win. They want to
unhorse their opponent and

but it's also a performance

so it's like everyone's
on the same side.

You know, we're all looking
out for each other here.

No one's ever trying
to hurt anybody else,

but we're still trying to win.

So it has that
friendly competition

that gives it like
an extra layer

of both comradery and enjoyment.

We all, everybody

knight, squire, manager

in the morning do

horse feed and scoop and clean

and everything in the morning
and then again at night.

And we do training and riding
during the actual faire time.

Most of the day is
spent doing horse rides.

We give horse rides to
get some extra income

and enthusiasm about what we do.

But I'm so excited and
I'm excited for the crowd

that it'll bring and just,

I mean, I'm here

because I love the joust

so seeing it like doubled

or almost tripled here

with the tournament
is freaking exciting.

So my name is Sydney Froemke.

I use they them pronouns

In the show I am
Dame Eleanor Hawkins,

the Raven of Kent.

I started working
with them in 2015.

So about eight years.

I started working in Minnesota.

That's where they picked me up

and I didn't come on
the road until 2019

and then took a
break with Covid.

Eleanor!
Eleanor! Eleanor!

One of the biggest
challenges is just being able

to operate in the armor
when it's really hot out.

'cause it's like
an easy-bake oven.

It gets very warm

and you only have

to be out there for a
certain amount of time.

But you are active for the time

that you are out there
and you're in the sun.

There's no shade,
there's no mercy.

And you can run outta
breath very quickly.

And in the beginning I did,
I was like gasping at the end

of the show when they
pulled my helmet off.

Bandaid here, that's
where the pinch was.

This is just the edge
of the armor digging in.

So it's worse
under the bandage?

- Yes.
- Oh is it?

It looks like a-a-

Oh it looks like a shark bite.

An actual bite.
Yeah, right there.

Ouch.

Oh I'm very excited
to be riding Titan.

Titan is the tallest
horse that we have.

He is super sweet.

He's blind in one eye

but that doesn't really
affect him at all.

Sometimes he runs into things
but he doesn't even care.

That's one of the reasons
why I'm on him as a newbie.

I'm looking forward
to just seeing how I,

I guess I measure up
to all of these guys

that I've watched just for years

That's right my friends,

I am your hero,

your fabled champion,

the most handsome
knight in all the realm

with the finest, tone-est
buttocks out there.

Sir Christopher!

Hey! You guys made it!

You're in the wrong crowd!

Well come over here!

I am Thomas Buckley

but my character name is
Sir Christopher Hatton.

Initially I inquired
about jousting

because I wanted to learn how

to ride a horse when
I was starting to look

to build my resume, especially
my stunt performance resume.

I was interested in jousting
for the horse riding aspect

of it so that I could have more

hands-on experience riding

horses, falling from
horses, whether that be real

or stunt work

and give myself a
little bit of an edge

as a performer out there.

And really just
largely the experience.

So jousting in for me in
particular has been a-

a focus in the
physical stunt work.

The toughest part of jousting

for me is staying on the horse.

I'm already a very
light individual

who hasn't fully grasped
mastering the seat of the steed,

which makes me an easy
individual to face-off against.

It's exhilarating

and if you're in the right
mindset it can be the the

world's best thing.

And then at other times
it can be the the most

terrible thing.

It all depends on how
I'm really going into it.

I'd like to say I've leaning
into it very positively

and excited to see
what, what mayhem

and carnage is going to come.

You know, the great
thing about that show

is I didn't break a single lance

so now I don't have to
make any for the next show.

So long as there's
breath in my body

victory shall be ours

I've had a few random injuries,

I have pulled my rotator cuff

or kind of hurt it in a sense
that put me out for some time.

But I have broken
my left toe twice,

oddly enough from this sport.

Arguably, I don't know why,

I think it's because I
put so much pressure in

that left stirrup and then
getting on horse the sudden

release of that pressure
has probably led to some

of those fractures in the,
in the bone within the toe.

Or maybe I've hit
everything on the way down

with my left foot.

I've known Dave since 2014
when I was on cast at the

Sterling Renaissance Festival.

He was the fight
choreographer at that faire

and that is when I
initially first met him.

And when I speak
of how much pain

and torture that has been
delivered onto my visage

and persona, both physically,
emotionally, mentally,

I am now in fear of my
life at this very moment

for having uttered these
words in his presence.

And that's without drugs and
alcohol that's on pure air.

A lance pass
happens so quickly.

So you have to really zone in

so dramatically on
every lance pass.

It's a high energy sport.

But to put out a great
performance with the horse,

which includes even say the
sword fighting on horseback,

the entrances

and all the maneuvers that
come with riding a horse

and focusing on that.

To do that on four
different horses

with maybe only like
10 minutes of prep time

before a half hour show
in the armor 140 pounds.

To have that like skill

and ability is
definitely impressive.

I am the sweet old lady
horse that is Anna.

And Anna is the mother of two

of the other horses in
this company that is Titan

and Thor, no matter what
the results are for me,

even if I get unhorsed, if I
get hurt, if I feel like her

and I are lance
passes are good, solid

and acceptable, I'll be happy.

And that's, that's
been my biggest desire
at this tournament

is just to revisit an
old partnership that

wasn't always on the best foot.

Who's next?

Silas

Hi, my name is Silas Holtz

and I am being interviewed
for what I believe is

to be a documentary about
certain aspects of jousting

pertaining to the
company I work with

and the employee David Schade.

Dave is one of the best
jousters in the country.

So I grew up on a small
farm in upstate New York.

I went to college for acting,

mostly like straight
acting for the stage.

From there I got into
stage combat, I trained

with the Society of
American Fight Directors

and then I started
training with a bunch

of other fight directors
here and there.

I got cast at the Sterling
Renaissance Festival as one

of their in-house actors.

And I had a rough
and tumble existence

and so it kind of appealed
to both of those sides to me.

It offered me a
challenge to do it.

I didn't have many attachments
so I was able to just kind

of give up everything and
it was a grand adventure.

I trained for...

let's say probably
almost, almost six months,

I think before I was
put in my first show.

Different guys would get in
at different times, you know,

I wasn't talented at it at all.

So the reason I made it was

because I just wanted
to do it very badly.

But I had very little natural
talent I had to really learn.

But luckily there was a lot
of veteran, especially Dave.

They're very giving with
their time and advice.

So I've been jousting
for about 16 years.

Helmet hit yet the
helmet's, my helmet's really

close, it's really tight.

So it must have, it must have
seeded and then moved up.

The toughest part of
jousting it doesn't pay great

but then there's all the
fun that comes with it.

I think the toughest part

that people don't really
think about is that you have

to be okay with just being
uncomfortable for months

and months and months.

You know, you're always
healing a little bit,

you're often sleeping and
like a tent or trailer,

but it's hard to really imagine

and conceptualize being just,

just never being quite
comfortable for, you know,

nine months in a row.

My name is Andrew Hoffman

and I'm a jouster with New
Riders...

of the Golden Age.

Gotta get all the
way down to the nubs

I am riding Indigo.

He's a little
hard-sided sometimes,

but he's a damn
fine jousting horse.

He runs very straight,
very reliably as long

as I'm actively riding him.

It was the ability of the travel

be around horses

primarily my goal,
professionally speaking, is

to be with horses and my
goal personally speaking is

to travel and have
fun and jousting is

how I could do both
of those things.

Only way to do it on the road.

Other that would be in a rodeo.

I think I had started
training in 2017.

I wanna say it took
me about nine months,

roughly could have
gotten in faster.

But realistically speaking
it, I didn't know how

to ride a horse at all
before I joined this company.

I'd been on horses
my entire life

and never learned
how to ride properly

before jousting and horses.

I would say I was with
a carriage company

that my family owned
and operated for
about 12 or so years,

since the early 2000's.

Ever since I was a
kid we'd been going

to renaissance
festivals as well.

So it's just where
horses and horses

and festivals met is where
I found into jousting you have

to cultivate the
relationship with the horse

and you they have to be part
of the conversation as well.

And oftentimes when I had
been with horses growing up,

they weren't really allowed
to be part of the conversation

'cause they were just used as
tractors, tools, implements

to get whatever
job we needed done

and performing with them in
a show they have to be part

of the conversation 'cause
they have loud voices

and they will be heard
if they need to be heard.

So it was definitely
humbling myself to be able

to ride the horse and you know,

comfortably
communicate with them.

And to be entirely frank, the
skill level is a little skewed

between the, between
the jousters here.

Like Dave's been doing this
for like almost 30 years

so it's kind of hard
to stand up against,

the amount of time he's put in.

The first time I met Dave
would've been in 2003,

I was eight years old, I
think it was in Louisiana.

And I was attending one
of the jousts there.

Once he actually picked
me outta the crowd

put me in the middle

of the field and said,
"Alright, stand right here

and I'm gonna go over
here and I'm gonna run at

you and jump this
horse over you."

And I stood there and he went
and he started running at me

and then he stopped right in
front of me and he's just like,

"Get the hell outta here kid.

I'm not gonna actually
jump a horse over you."

Dave is a titan on the field
and he's a damn fine jouster

I would venture to call him one

of the best jousters in America.

And this is a very fun job
and and a fun experience

and sometimes I,
it's kind of hard

to not feel like a rock star.

It's an exciting thing.
We're gonna go out there

and joust in front
of a whole crowd

of people and it's
gonna be amazing.

I always get bruises up in here

'cause the armor is
constantly biting me.

It's just mostly just bruises.

I've never broken anything yet
is there is always a-a risk

that we take doing this.

Almost every one of us has one

of these right here on
the top of your knuckle.

We always, it always gets split

'cause that's where the
band plate hits in the hand.

But that's where we learn

to start patting our
gauntlets a little better.

So it's, as long as
everyone pads themselves

and takes care of
their body properly,

injuries can be mitigated.

My name's Sam Kuecker.

Go by the name
Sir Jacob Samuels.

And I'm a knight.

Been doing it for about
11 years, I suppose.

As soon as I got out of high
school, I joined the military.

I was in the Air
Force for six years.

The only reason I
got into jousting was

'cause I knew a guy from the
military who started jousting

and he called me up and asked
me if I wanted to do it.

So, and I was like, sure,

I don't got anything
better to do.

I kind of grew up around horses,

but I never really rode horses.

So I guess it was
just the experience,

me and Dave get along really
well during the show.

'cause if somebody
flubs up on something,

we can usually pick up on it.

You know, we, we can
tell if the other

person's struggling
with something.

So we kind of, you know, fill
in for the other person, like

during a ground fight
or something like that.

Earlier on in my career I
screwed up my wrist a lot.

Soon as I got a new gauntlet
fixed, a lot of that.

I haven't had anything serious.

If it fits right, your armor
will protect you very well.

The, the more times
you hit the ground,

the the slower time
gets for you it seems.

So you can think about
what you have to do.

You know, don't stick
your arms out, you know,

kind of try to tuck 'em in.

This is the most talking
you'll ever hear me talk about.

I don't do the whole
talking out there on the

joust field or anything.

I am like the reigning champion.

So there's probably a little
more pressure on me from

everybody else to
try to beat me.

I think they're all
gonna be gunning for me.

So the owner of the faire
has put up a $1000 dollar purse

for the the winner to take home.

She says to me on
the phone the other day

like we're talking

and she's like, "You're
gonna win, right?"

I'm like, I don't know,
we'll see what happens.

"No, you are going to win. Your
daughter wants you to win."

I'm like, Damn it. I'm like

Eye on the prize.

Thanks hun. -You're welcome.

Love you. -Love you too.

Yeah, the prize is important

but it's not the
ultimate important.

The ultimate
important is gonna be

what does the audience
take away from it?

You know, are they
laughing and smiling

and having a great time or
are they sitting here going,

why are those guys arguing
about points for 10 minutes?

What's going on? I
don't understand. Right.

And the weird thing is, is
even though I've jousted

with all these guys, I'm a
little in my head about this.

Like, I'm like, it's
a tournament weekend.

You know, like you want
to go out there and

and be the guy everybody says
you are, you know, as far

as being the most experienced
or the big killer on the field

and this and that, you know,

but like anybody else,
you know, one match you,

you can lose focus

and then maybe you're not
that guy and that's okay.

There's nothing wrong with
that. But still, like,

it's hard not to get that
performance anxiety where like,

man, I really wanna go out
there and kill it this weekend.

I wanna show everybody
what we can do

and how good we really are.

You know? And not even
like, like the whole team.

I, I want everybody
to do good and,

and really have good
matches, you know

There's something about
the combative arts

that you gain respect for people
that give you a good fight.

Like our tournament's gone
in-house the last couple years

for various reasons.

Glad to host one of the
best jousting tournaments

anyone will ever see.

There's two kinds of jousting,
there's theatrical jousting

and there's
competitive jousting.

The jousting here at Sherwood

Forest Faire is
always competitive.

And so on a regular faire
day there may be, you know,

three knights jousting.

But on the tournament day
there, there are six to eight

and it's a round
robin tournament

and they're just lance shards
flying all over the place.

Bodies flying all
over the place.

We had a double unhorsing.

It's kinda watching a train
wreck, you're just waiting

for the smash and the knight
flying outta the saddle.

It's a- it's quite
something to watch.

"Christopher!
Christopher! Christopher!"

The hour
is indeed on us.

We've all gathered in mass
around this sandy arena.

We have four competitors
who are just blood thirsty

to take home the
championship belt.

That championship title
that is the master

of the list this
day are just eager

to rip forth from their saddles

and destroy their
opponents this day.

So who is ready for
a penultimate match

of our jousting tournament?!

We have
one new champion

and that champion this day,

the overall
championship of the list

is that man of the
green, of the black

the bear of northumber

Give it up for
Sir Jacob Samuels!

My friends what say you
for their valiant effort?

Hip Hip!

hooray!

Awww it's
always good to keep the good

sportsmanlike conduct this day.

Now for those of
you who have a mind,

these knights are going

to be walking amongst
you with helmets

and pens to answer any

and all questions you
may have for them.

This was an awesome
jousting tournament.

Thanks for everybody
that came out

and thank you to
your wonderful jousts

and they're wonderful horses.

We'll see you next
time at Sherwood Forest

jousting tournament.

How do you feel, man?

I don't know,

I guess I'm glad it's over

I guess, uh, glad I

glad I beat David
again,

that's always great.

Well congratulations man.

Thank you.

It was a hell of a show.

Yeah, I'm glad we really,

we really started smacking
each other on that last show.

So...

You rat bastard

That was awesome. Good job.

I know all I can think of
is, man, if I didn't miss

that second pass, we'd

probably still be
out there right now.

That was good job.
That was awesome.

I still hate you but good job.

I know already I wanted to win,

like I remember feeling
that, but I like,

but not at the detriment of Sam.

Like, because when I joust Sam

I have a great time

like him and I always have
banger matches usually

and he's fun.

Like I consider
him a friend and,

and I love having him around.

So for me it wasn't
like going out there

to say I'm better than you Sam.

It's more of like, I'm not sure,

maybe like something about my

reputation or whatever,
you know what I mean?

But I like, I wasn't going
in there with poison.

I was going in there with
focus of like really wanting

to settle in and, and do what
I know I'm capable of doing.

So when you hear that
word competitive,

like sometimes it could
be a bad thing, right?

Because it, it,

it automatically assumes
an adversarial relationship

but also competitive
just means you're trying

to really hone your
focus to, to win.

You know? But if I
don't win I can be

okay with my performance.

I'm a professional
squire, Sir Daniel.

Around this time last
year I suffered a pretty

severe concussion.

I was actually knocked out
completely on this very field.

I went up against Sir
William Dudley, David Shade

and on our very last pass
we both connected with a lot

of force and I just came
right out of the saddle

and landed right on
the side of my head.

Had no reaction time
to even really roll

or try to move myself.

I just went straight down

I hit Tom, cleared
him out of the saddle

and he hit the ground,

which is something
he does quite a bit.

But in this particular
instance,

the way he hit

a piece of the helmet
somet- how got exposed

and hit him behind the
ear actually left a small-

small opening there.

And I mean it knocked
him clean out.

He was on the field
for a few minutes

before he came to

they put him on a
backboard to make sure

that, you know, he was okay.

But he had a severe concussion.

He was stuck on repeat.

He had no clue what happened.

And he kept asking
what happened over

and over and over again.

But then he started cussing
me out a little bit,

which is normal for him.

So we're like, all
right, he'll be fine.

Yeah, that was terrifying
'cause I thought I killed him

or that I irrevocably
wrecked his life.

So thankfully that
wasn't the case.

Thankfully he was okay
but ugh, that was a-

that was a big experience.

And I like Tom a lot

he's lucky I admit
that on camera.

A little scary for me just

to wake up in an ambulance
staring at the guy

who unhorsed me and
his crying child.

You know, the funniest
thing about that too,

is the first thing I do
remember when I came to is Dave

he's sitting there
he is, got his crying

six year old in his arms and I
looked at him and said

eat- [horse snorts] Dave

and then the paramedic closed
the doors and drove off.

Unfortunately that's
the reality of the job

and of the the sport.

It's just, you never
know when something

like that's gonna happen.

I don't remember
anything about the past

or the contact at all.

So that's a good two-ish seconds

of memory

that's just something
I'll never get back.

You know, it's
something I would never

wanna go through again.

I don't wish it on anybody.
I've taken it slow.

I have yet to get back in saddle

and it's been about a year,

but I'm looking to
do that next weekend

within this company.

I've done just about every
role that is ever needed

between ground crew, um

and ground crew can be squiring,

it can be picking up the,

the debris on the field.

For this tournament,

I've elected to be a judge
at the other end at one end

that way so I can
help the marshal score

being in the ground crew.

Truth be told, it makes me
feel like a kid that's locked

inside while the rest of
the class is out on recess

and it, you know, it sucks

'cause you're just sitting
like I want to have fun too.

Eager to get back into it

because I do enjoy
performing in the armor.

I enjoy riding in the
armor, the sport's just one

of those once in a lifetime
exhilarating sports that

when you get the
opportunity to do it

and compete in it, why
would you ever say no?

Before jousting, I
was an elite softball

player for 15 years.

So I grew up rough and tumble.

I did a lot of sports.
I did hockey, skated

and I did soccer for fun.

So I'm super athletic.

I also was a dance
teacher and instructor.

I danced 10 to 12 times a week.

So many hours in the studio

and it's definitely
helped with riding.

And to have this experience
almost a year later

to be competing in the finals
against like Silas, Dave

and Sam has been crazy.

I honestly am still
kind of speechless

that I even made it here
beginning of the weekend.

I didn't think I'd get here.

It has been a confidence
booster for me

'cause I struggled over the
last year with a bunch of stuff

and jousting and riding

and trying to make it all
come into one cohesive gel.

And this tournament kind
of solidified it for me

that I am capable

of doing this extremely
stupid and dangerous sport.

Yeah, I didn't join the company,

the intention of jousting ever.

I honestly just joined

'cause I wanted to
work with the horses

and then Dave one
day looked at me

and he's like, are you
training the joust?

And I just said, yes, I
wanna be jousting as long

as my body is able to handle it.

So you're relatively new?

Yes, today was my second day
ever jousting.

It's awesome.

I've been, you know,
looking forward to it,

and then it's here
and it's crazy

and everyone's like

what- did it feel
like you expected?

you know, breaking a
lance or getting unhorsed.

I'm like, I didn't really
know what to expect.

It's, you can't simulate

or really think about what

that's gonna feel
like until it happens.

Kind of crazy having
my first jousting

show be the tournament.

It's got--

Trial by fire a little bit

and so far I'm not so singed.

I've also had training
from Shelby and Kelly

and you know, Silas and Syd

and you know

they'll all give their
two cents when they can.

And it's awesome
having so many voices

but then having Dave be like
chief coach

He really knows

how to speak to you
in horse language

in a way that you
can understand it.

And how do you feel
about Dave's planned

retirement after today?

It's a bummer, but I'm
kind of glad my first overlaps

with his last and you know,
we'll miss him on the road,

but it'll always be new riders.

My wife, I met at a
show in upstate New York

because her family
had a booth there

and she used to work that
booth when she was younger.

So because she
understood the lifestyle

that is the
renaissance festival,

you know, we, we connected

and, and thankfully
we're still together.

Do you wanna be on camera?
Is that what you're saying?

You wanna tell everybody
how awesome your dad is?

My little girl loves faires.

Like, she loves
the fantasy of it.

Like some of my
favorite pictures

of her in a fairy
costume cheering me on.

Like, how cool is that?

You know, that, that my
little girl gets to see

that and enjoy that.

But then, you know, like,
I, I have to make a choice.

Am I gonna be home this weekend

or am I gonna go be
there for the joust team

to keep 'em going because I
love this thing, you know,

like I make that choice
like, you know, get kind

of a financial slap
in the face, you know?

And then I go home

and then I have a
disappointed little girl.

I have a-a-a- a wife
that misses me

you know?

And, and I miss her.

Like I would love for her

to go with me to
all these venues,

but the company can't afford
to fly both of us out.

Like I love going
places with my wife.

Like, and when I can't
take her with me, it sucks.

All this risk,
all this emotion,

all this danger. Is it worth it?

That's the question, isn't it?

I've spent so many
years doing it

that the bad things avoided
me in a lot of ways.

So I never thought
about it as old.

I got older and I, I
have a family that I love

and my daughter who
I wanna see grow up.

When you all of a sudden start
having something to lose,

then your mindset
changes a little bit.

You lose that shell
of immortality

that you create when you're
going into a combat situation.

For me it was worth
it. I enjoyed my career

and I enjoyed my time.

I will not say last time to do
this tournament at Sherwood,

you know, but definitely
not traveling anymore.

So I don't know, I don't
know what the future holds.

I don't want to say absolute,

but I definitely
know that, you know,

I'm in twilight right now.

It's a, it's a exploration
process at this moment.

Like I still very much have
the artist mindset

where I want to be
doing a job that

I'm very passionate about.

So like right now I love
coaching martial arts

and I'm focusing on that,

but I also gotta focus
on paying the bills.

So I have to take a
job to just do that.

I've been chasing
background acting a little

bit to explore that.

You know, maybe if I meet the
right people I can break into

to doing some, you know,
stunt work with the horses

or wrangling or something
along those lines.

So like I won't
ever put a finality

to anything just at this moment.

I know I need a very
long break from it.

I wanna miss it again. If
I ever decide to armor up,

you know, and if I
don't miss it then,

then it's, then I'm done.

You know? And I definitely
right now I don't miss it.

I put my armor on again. I
was like yeah so it's time.

It's just time. Well the
tournament over the weekend is

pretty much where six to
eight knights get together.

They compete to, you know,

claim the title a champion
towards the end of it.

So there's six shows that we do

and every rider
joust in those shows

and they'll compete
for wins and losses.

So after we do five shows,
everybody will have jousted,

everybody and then you
tally who's got the

best win loss record.

If there is a clear one

and two, then they move on to
the, the championship match.

My lords, my ladies

I am Sir Arundell

And it is with great pleasure
and honor that I greet

each and every one
of you with good day!

and we're gathered here
to watch this spectacle

of a tournament joust

We have brought forth
six knight combatants

that will compete
against one another.

Your knight has the
strength to shatter a lance

that will earn them five points

And if your knight
has the skill tenacity

and fortitude to take a lance

and rip some of off
the back of a horse,

that earns them 10 points.

Sir William Dudley!

Like I really wanted to win.

Like that was one
of those ones where

like I could just feel it
through my bones of like,

I did not wanna lose.

I mean if I would've lost
it would've been fine.

'cause I was having a
great match with Sam

and he's looking good
dude and great jouster.

But I definitely wanted to
win. Definitely, definitely.

And it's weird trying to keep
that energy in such a way

of like, not letting
it be toxic you know,

that it overrides your, your,
your ability to be comrades

with your, your partners

and you know, just
make good judgements

that are fair and
right for everybody.

You know, instead of something
that could be, be selfish

to get you over
the top, you know.

The victor of the jousting
tournament Sir William Dudley

I've been doing this 25

years and it's been great

and to finish up with this
guy over here is fantastic

because he's, every
bit, you know, as equal

to me, that was just
one of those matches

where he missed one

and I didn't, you know, so

I couldn't have a great
match without a guy like him.

Woo. That was nerve wracking.

There was a weird
calm about that show,

which made me really anxious.

I'm glad that everybody's
safe and they got through it

and they're both champions
and they both know it.

So it was a good, it was a
good job. They did a good job.

You're passionate
about the joust

and you're passionate about
a lot of other things,

so it'll be nice to see 'em,
let those other pieces grow

and, you know, maybe be a
little bit safer for a while.

That'd be nice. Less
bumps and bruises.

Like, I do like to heal people,

but you know, it'd be nice
to take a little break.

What do you think is
next for you?

I'm trying to figure that
out. In the grand scheme

of things, I'm happy.

And it's funny too, when I
told my kid I was gonna stop

jousting, she's like,
"but daddy, why?"

You know, I've done so much
stupid stuff in my life

that the wanderlust
isn't there anymore.

I've done it. Which
is why like, being

with my family is nice because
I'm not sitting there going,

but I need to do so much more.

I haven't done, I've done a lot

and I love everything
that I've done.

There's certainly the missing
of experiencing locations,

but the headache of the
lifestyle, I won't lie.

It's nice having a
house that's my own

and everything works
in it properly.

I'll figure it
out as I go along.

I know what I wanna be
doing, which is things

that I'm passionate about
and that's my focus.

And ideally it'll
bring me to success.

And success doesn't have
to be anything amazing.

It just means that, you know,
my family and I are good.

We're able to enjoy our life
the way that we would like to.

That'll do, that'll
do, that'll do.

Everyone. Tighter.
Tighter together.

Act like you know each other.

Yeah, yeah. Act like
you all like each other.

Alright! Here we go!

On three. Big smile.
1, 2, 3! There we go.

Everyone say "Knight Life"

Knight Life!