On Sunday the 21, Luke and Jeff took the horses out for a morning hack. They returned about midday and began finishing up projects for the event.

At 1 PM I noticed smoke over the north side of town.

By 9PM, Ramona was under general evacuation orders.

By 5AM Monday morning, Luke, Jeff and I had loaded the horses and cats and headed to a refugee camp in Lakeside.

We spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and most of Thursday at the camp.

We called Dominic on Monday afternoon to telld him things weren't looking good, and we might have to cancel. He replied 'Mate, I'm coming to either shovel up the ashes of your house or to joust in your tournament, but I'm not staying home.'

Dominic and Nicola arrived at the camp Tuesday evening.

Rt. 67 opens and we finally headed north to Poway on Wednesday afternoon, as Jeff picks Jezz up at LAX.

Later that afternoon polo friend Jennifer Bogess offers to let us stay at her house, as Ramona is still quarantined. Astonishingly, Jenny and husband Scott welcome Jeff, Gwen, Luke, Dominic, Nicola, Arne, Jezz, Thomas and Leslie, as well as our Labrador Emma and 2 cats into their home.

We spend Thursday night practicing horses and setting up. Horses which had been tried and prepped for jousting had suffered smoke inhalation and were no longer available, so we were trying to find polo horses who could do the job.

Friday was spent setting up and trying to sort horses. No vendors or exhibitors show up, so we have no idea what will happen on Saturday.

Saturday morning we still don't have a horse for Fred, and it looks as though he may not be able to joust. Just as we are about to give up, I suggest using Bill's horse Sox. Sox has jousted before, but not for a long time. It's worth a try though, so Fred tries Sox and it seems he remembers how to joust with no problems.

A few vendors show up and are scattered around the site to make it look less empty.

The gates open and the crowd is only 1/3 of what we had hoped for. Local evacuations, active fire fronts, hot spots, concern about air quality, a threat of rain and a lack of media coverage (pre-empted by the fire) keep people in their homes.

Even so, the event is a complete success. People talk to the knights, kids participate in games, or watch the lure coursing, or have their face painted, drink beer, eat sandwiches and listen to live music. The jousting itself was a bit rough, but all the knights took their spills and mishaps with good grace. Everyone has a fantastic time in spite of the disaster surrounding us! I'm still getting thank you notes, and people are promising to come to the next event on April 26-27.

This was the worst of times, this was the best of times. The worst, as the world was crashing in flames around us. The best of times because adversity pulled everyone together into a unit which would not take no for an answer. Everyone from the polo kids who groomed and tacked the horses to the people selling beer and those running the games had complete faith in the event and a compelling desire to make it happen no matter what.

Jeff and I owe a debt of gratitude to our friends and competitors for their faith in us and our event, and their unbelievable hard work

Special thanks go to Luke for his calm and cheerful disposition while living in a truck in an evacuation camp for 3 days. There were times when Jeff was nearly in a frenzy, and Luke just never lost his cool or stopped smiling.

Thanks for my brother Dominic, who never lost faith, and was determined to stand by us regardless.

Thanks to Jezz for being able to keep his good humour, jousting on a polo pony who really didn't want to joust. We promise to get you a good horse next time mate!

Thanks to Fred for his perseverance, and his willingness to bow out if a suitable horse could not be found on such short notice.

We couldn't have done it without you guys, and your willingness to do whatever it took saved the day.

Thanks to the rest of the crew who braved fire and rain to come out- Thomas from England, Stan, Rachael and Tammy from PA, Michael and Micah from New York, Brittany, and the members of PVRA who pitched in to make the event happen. Thanks to everyone for making the first Royal Armouries sanctioned joust a sucess. Next time should be a piece of cake.

Gwen and Jeff

-------------------
Henry helps Luke arm up:

Luke on Petrus, Lady of Honour Brittany Banning on Iceman:

Jeffrey Hedgecock, host of the joust, enters the tiltyard on Leopold. This was Leo's first big event and this is just about the point at which the crowd cheering scared him and he reversed.

Scoring judges Micah Nelson and Michael Carroll:

Dominic Sewell enters the tiltyard:

Lady of Honour Brittany Banning:

Our panel of judges (L-R)- Marshal Richard Cross, Guest Judge Arne Koets and Lady of Honour Brittany Banning:

Henry carries Luke's helmet off the field:

Jezz enjoys the skill at arms display:

Petrus:

More photos here:
Photos by Chuck Berridge

Photos by various photographers

Even if you missed the World Invitational Joust, you can still get an awesome cool T shirt as a memento of the event-

Get 'em while you can, as this was a limited run and once they are gone there won't be any more!

World Invitational Joust 2007

--------------------

If you're interested in seeing more photos from our farby fake historical tournaments, find them on our Historical Jousting Forum

What camera do you use Gwen? I'm impressed with the clarity of the action

--------------------