ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 13, 1996 TAG: 9610140084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BIG ISLAND
ONCE YOU'VE MANAGED to spear three small rings in a row while astride a galloping horse, it's hard not to make a habit of trying again.
The Sedalia Center's annual country fair had a medieval twang Saturday.
Among the usual crafts, line dancing and homemade Brunswick stew at the sixth annual fair at the arts center, "knights" and "maidens" paraded on horses around a grassy field with lances tucked under their arms or resting on their shoulders - ready to joust their way to "the crown."
Except the crown was a brass-plated trophy. And the competitors didn't knock each other off their horses. The only contact between them was an occasional handshake or high five.
No one was vying for the favor of the maiden of choice, either. The maidens were competitors - something medieval men in armor probably would have protested.
While friends and family sat in lawn chairs and picked at sugar-covered funnel cakes, the jousters marched out to names such as Knight of Ponderosa and Maiden of Maplewood. Instead of tilting at one another as in days of yore, their targets were three small rings hanging 61/2 feet from the ground on steel poles. The object was to spear all three while galloping on a horse.
One small detail: Even the largest rings - for the novice jousters - were only about 13/4 inches wide. For the professional jousters - the most skilled competitors - they weren't much larger than a Lifesaver candy.
And all but the novices had to clear the 80-yard track in less than eight seconds.
That's how it goes in the modern sport of medieval jousting, which has a surprisingly long history in Virginia, according to participants in Saturday's tournament.
And it's not easy, for horse or rider.
Jousters must have a steady hand and a steady horse, said Douglas Eubank, a 44-year veteran of the sport.
It takes about three years of training for a horse to be ready for professional-level competition, Eubank said. "You have to train your horse to be calm and run a steady speed," he said.
The Eubanks are jousting pioneers in Central Virginia. Eubank's brother, Jimmy, started jousting in 1949. He's 58.
The Eubank brothers' father helped start the Amherst Jousting Association in 1947. And Jimmy Eubank has heard stories of his grandfather jousting before the Civil War.
As far as anyone could recall, Saturday's tournament in Big Island was the first jousting event held in Western Virginia - at least as an organized sport.
But the sport itself has been in America since the 17th century.
It's the state sport in Maryland. It was a favorite pastime for Lord Baltimore, according to jousting historians at the fair Saturday.
The sport has a large following in the eastern half of Virginia. Jousting associations also have been formed in West Virginia and as far south as South Carolina.
But jousting's popularity has been sporadic, Jimmy Eubank said. The Amherst jousters once boasted 60 riders, but later dropped to about 20. Today, there are 30 to 35 jousters, Eubank said.
"It's picked back up in the last few years," he said.
The sport is a family affair for many. Both Eubank brothers are past state jousting champions. And both are in the Virginia Jousting Hall of Fame.
Several families were competing together Saturday.
Tony Campbell, also known as Knight of Ponderosa 4 and a member of the Amherst Jousting Association, defeated his two brothers in the professional group. Then the 25-year jousting veteran coached his two daughters and nephew at the novice level.
Jessica Campbell, 7, was the youngest of the 20 riders in the tournament. Her father held the reins, trotting Jessica's horse along the track while she tried to spear the 13/4-inch rings. The more difficult the level of competition, the smaller the rings and the faster a jouster must ride.
"One thing about the sport is the whole family can ride if they want to," Jimmy Eubank said.
Jousting season runs roughly from April to October, with dozens of tournaments around the region.
Many of those at the Sedalia Center's tournament will head to Leesburg today for the national jousting championships. Some were talking about the tough Maryland riders they'll have to face.
"They've got some sharp riders," said jouster George Christian, a member of a Buckingham County jousting association and winner of the semi-professional group Saturday.
Christian couldn't really say why he started jousting.
"It's addictive," he said. Once you spear your first ring, you start believing you can do it the next time, he said.
For 7-year-old Jessica Campbell, the reason to joust is much more simple.
"It's fun," she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Mona Banton of Buckingham Countyby CNBcompetes in the amateur class of the jousting tournament at the
Sedalia Center in Big Island on Saturday. color.
S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER