It's medieval madness in rural Alberta as jousters take aim at glory
Pigeon Lake Medieval Madness hosts international jousting tournament
While most tourists like Darrell Bossley are in Canada this time of year on a cross-country jaunt, this Australian is in Alberta on a different crusade: jousting.
Leaning against the railing of the outdoor arena at Lakedell Agricultural Centre in the hamlet of Westerose, Alta., his steed gently nibbling away at a black tunic, a wry smile creeps across his face when asked why, at age 66, he chose to pick up the sport of jousting.
Bossley, or Sir Darrell as he is known in jousting circles, is 79 now and, as he says, creeping up on 80.
"I can't walk real good anymore … so I sit on a horse," he chuckles.
Bossley was among a handful of jousters entertaining crowds Saturday at the Pigeon Lake Medieval Madness international jousting tournament, about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.
The retired blacksmith and self-professed lover of adrenalin sports, has a history around horses. He began in rodeos when he was 14 before later competing in dressage and endurance riding. Then there was some horseback cattle mustering and a smattering of buffalo hunting.
He's also a horse breeder. In particular Friesians, long regarded as the war horse of choice for medieval knights.
"Anything you can do with horses, that's me. I've been a professional horseman all my life," he said.
"It's all I've ever done.
"As soon as I had one go at [jousting], I was loving it."
As far as he knows, he's the oldest competitive jouster doing the rounds and perhaps the oldest jouster in history. He's been hunting around for someone of the same age actively competing and he says the next oldest was a person in their late 60s.
The origin story
Bossley had never heard of competitive jousting until he met a person on the Australian island state of Tasmania while he was travelling.
Over a coffee, he spotted a knight's helmet on a table in the living room of his new acquaintance.
"I said, 'what is that? A pot plant?'" he recalls.
"He said, 'no it's a 15th century helm.'"
The conversation then turned to jousting.
After a lengthy discussion, Bossley was put in touch with Rod Walker, who's regarded as at the vanguard of authentic medieval jousting in Australia.
After Bossley watched Walker compete, he immediately returned home and started fashioning lances. He also built a quintain, which is essentially a training aid for jousting.
He's been hooked ever since.
Next generation
With the crowd cheering in the background, Bossley contemplates the next generation of jousters.
The prospect of younger people taking the reins of the sport and galloping off into the future excites him.
"I would love to see more people get into the sport. It's a great sport, and what young person doesn't want to get dressed up in a tin suit and be a knight," he said.
"I just love it. When I grow up, I might be different. But I am still a kid who likes to get dressed up," he winks, his horse still nibbling away at his tunic.
Quebec's Audrey Langlois is one of the fresh faces of the next generation.
Her first introduction to the medieval world was through fantasy authors like Tamora Pierce, whose classic book Alanna: The First Adventure, focuses on a heroine who becomes a knight.
As she grew up, she found a real-life medieval adventure with a group who focused on swordplay. And then she discovered the joys of jousting close to eight years ago.
"I knew I had to get into it," she said.
"I started jousting and it was absolute adrenalin and amazing."
Langlois remembers the first time she donned her full plate armour, chain mail and helm.
"You are completely in your own world. You can barely hear anything. You can feel your heart and then you are looking down ... and all you see is your opponent and then it is just go," she said.
"I get so tunnel-vision focused … I am not thinking about work while I'm here, everything just melts away. It's a little oasis in my mind."
On the jousting circuit, Langlois says she is routinely the only female competitor and one of only a handful around the world.
"It's very much male-dominated," she said.
"It was a little intimidating to get into, but I've become one of the boys. There is such camaraderie within the medieval community."
