Living Life At Full Tilt! We meet a professional jouster
Full body armour, a 10ft lance and a horse – it’s all part of the day job for female jouster Nicky Willis
At speeds of up to 30mph, with armour weighing over 20kg and wielding a 12ft lance, the art of jousting demands strength, agility, skilled equestrianism – and a huge amount of bravery! Since the 10th century tourneys have been an all-male domain, but a new dimension to the sport has arrived in recent years, with talented females such as the highly skilled English Heritage jouster Nicky Willis.
“I have always had an absolute passion for horses, but when I was younger I never found a job that pressed all the buttons for me,” says Nicky. “I worked as a painter and decorator for eight years until one day, a friend of mine contacted me about an advert they had spotted in a horse magazine for a television channel that wanted to recreate a chariot race for a programme. I applied and was selected for it. I was sent to Spain to learn how to chariot race and the stunt man who taught me there actually offered me a job! So I went on to work for him doing stunt work. He also did jousting, so that initially sparked my interest.
“I then went to work for a business supplying horses for jousting and historical reenactment events here and abroad. I was training horses to joust and, frustratingly, found myself at events telling various men how to ride them best to joust – only for them to question my knowledge because I didn’t competitively joust myself. So I became a member of The International Jousting League and started competing in 2010.
“Six years later English Heritage gave me the opportunity to be the first woman to joust at tourneys held in some of their wonderful historic locations. Jousting in the gardens of an amazing castle is a very special experience, you just can’t beat it. Kenilworth
“Jousting in the gardens of an amazing castle is a very special experience”
Castle is my local venue – a seriously atmospheric and really beautiful place.
“There are many women jousters around the world now, trying to compete in tournaments. A lot of that comes down to your contacts as much as your level of capability – you need to be assured that everyone you are competing against is suitably skilled and therefore safe. These are proper tourneys; the jousting is not just for show. It is dangerous and I’ve had several injuries but that’s just part of the sport. But you can’t go out there thinking you might get hurt. My armour is bespoke, it has to be made to measure and of a certain quality and so it’s expensive. Mine has cost £7,500 so far.
“Everyone goes out to win, it is all-out competition. There’s no messing about; it’s not a sport you can choreograph anyway. Before a joust, competitors try to psych each other out, with nose-to nose intimidation just like boxers
“Yes, we’re competitive, but backstage it’s a big jousting family, a way of life”
do before they go in the ring. But on the long tournaments, which can go on for a week, you are living with these people. While on the field you’re competitive, but backstage and on a daily basis it’s a big jousting family. It can be a whole way of life, if you are lucky enough.
“I still also do a lot of film work with horses. It is a totally different facet of my work and I can be as busy as I want to be with both sides of my working life. I still enjoy spending downtime with my horses, going hacking or schooling and allowing them to just enjoy time in the field.
“My horses are individuals and they’re all allowed to be themselves. But you can’t beat the adrenaline of a joust. It clears my head and gives me such a buzz, although you do have to try and channel and control that because while some horses will thrive on what they sense from you, with others it can work against you if you wire them up too much. A really good jousting horse can be so into it themselves that sometimes you end up fighting their adrenaline too! You have to hold them back until the right time to go down the tilt.
“The crowd reaction at tournaments is always good. At the English Heritage events there is a ‘meet the knight’ beforehand so that allows me to sign flags and meet people on a one-to-one basis. It actually makes the competition much more realistic for people to watch, as they have met the real person underneath the armour – it’s not just a tin can charging down the tilt on the back of a horse!”