(no subject)
sorry for the long post. i am too lazy to use a cut.
okay. i'm back from the tournament.
it was made up of two events that were each repeated both days.
the points were totaled on the last day, and the knight with the highest points
was the tournament champion.
on the first day, i was having a lot of trouble with my horse. i don't know if it was me, him, or both.
a lot of people told me that he was crazy and unridable. in fact, a bunch of people laughed at me when
i told them who i was riding. apparently another knight had fucked that horse up something fierce.
anyway...i got to games, and made an ok score.
here's how the games went...
first event are the rings. there are four rings that are each 3" that are suspended at head height (while mounted).
the idea is that you spear them with your lance, two in one direction, then two coming back. each ring counts for a total of 1.5 points,
with a maximum possible score of six points. i only scored 9 points for both days on that one. i kept missing the last ring. oh well.
next was the spear. the idea is that you run down the inside on a rail and toss a short spear at a 3" target on a bail of hay seven feet away.
i'm not sure how the points were scored on this one. i was talking to someone when they announced it. oops.
anyway, i didn't do too well on it. i actually broke a spear in the target though.
then there was the quintain. it is a shield on a post with a counterweight. when you hit the shield, it spins. number of spins to the nearest 1/4=the number of points scored.
there is no maximum high score, but nobody ever gets more than five or maaaaaaayyyyyyyybe six. somehow i scored a 5 3/4 both times. i don't know how.
next were the saracan( fucked if i know how to spell that) heads. the idea is that there are two heads of cabbage on the rail. you ride down and chop or stab them with a sword as you ride past. if you touch one and knock it off the rail, you get one point. chopping it in two, and having both pieces fall is worth two points. spearing it and carrying it to the end of the rail is worth three points. two cabbages...maximum total of six points.
now, i had never done this, and had no idea how it worked. i was told to bring a sharp sword. i didn't know i had to do anything but chop, so i brought this wavy sword.
i got there and saw all these long straight swords and was like...'shit'. so...i chopped the first day and got 4 points. the second day i said 'fuck it' and speared. got both cabbages on there at the same time...6 points. perfect score. yay!
now the tilt...the full contact, dangerous part.
as i said, my horse was giving me some trouble. that was an understatement. he went fucking nuts. i was encased in armor that didn't fit, so i was blind and deaf. all i could do was yell and pop the reins to try and make him listen. somehow, i won the first match. we accidentally hit lance to lance, which is a perfect score. i still have no idea how i won it. i was going against the 2001 world champion. maybe he let me win. i don't know.
next was roland. his name is justly feared in the competition. he showed me why. while my horse was making a mess of me, so was roland. he was like a sledgehammer.
he fucked me well and truely up on that first day.
second day... i went against zeigler. a really good guy. really nice, and a hell of a knight. my horse was cooperating, but his wasn't. good thing too. if his was, i wouldn't have won.
roland again. this time i saw him coming. he still won, but i made a good account of myself i thought.
i ended up taking reserve champion. second place next to roland. not too bad for my first time, and with a crazy horse.
i didn't make it to the top three in games. there was some really good competition there. i can't wait for next time. it's in iowa city in september.