History Articles »

Jousting For The Pleasure Of The Sport

From the full force, full contact medieval joust to the discipline and grit of the early 20th century New Zealand Mounted Rifles, The Order of the Boar is New Zealand’s own cavalry re-enactment group.


Two knights of old from the Order Of The Boar battle it out on the jousting field in a scene right out of the 14th century.  Photo: © 2007 Geoff Sloan (Image Supplied)

In 2007 the organisers of the Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka Aerodrome (Blenheim, New Zealand) decided to once again bring a display to the show that few people had seen previously. Thus, as well as presenting the World War One Knights Of The Sky with their flying machines from the period of 1914-1918, they also brought a troop of Medieval Knights Of Old to the show!

The Order of the Boar is a non-profit group that specialises in recreating various aspects of history emphasising the role of the horse and rider. They portray their activities at public displays throughout New Zealand in support of community events and charitable fund raisers.

While the group has a particular emphasis on the medieval period (second half of the 14th century (1350 - 1400 AD), particularly Jousting, they also portray the role of the horse in military history. So in addition to the medieval period, they also portray 16th Century Anglo/Scottish Border Reivers and First World War New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

The group pays particular attention to horse welfare while also portraying the activities as historically accurate as possible.


The Order Of The Boar also undertakes other demonstrations of horse back martial arts—in this case the disembowlment of watermelons. No horses were harmed in the making of this display ... but several watermelons were seen to have had a bad day!   Photo: © 2007 Geoff Sloan (Image Supplied)


In 2007 the Order Of The Boar brought their medieval reenactment and jousting exhibition to the Classic Fighters 2007 (airshow).

In medieval times there were many forms of jousting which all had their own specialised rules and items of armour and weaponry. The predominant forms were the Joust of War where sharp weapons were used, and the Joust of Peace where blunt weapons were used. The Order of the Boar joust represents the Joust of Peace.

The group is well known both locally and internationally as one of the pioneers in rediscovering the art of medieval jousting and its development as a modern sport both in New Zealand and around the world.

See the group's website at: www.jousting.co.nz.


Share This Story :

More Stories and Video Clips:

  • New Zealand Valentine Tanks Fought In The Pacific During WW2

  • An Old Version Of 'Amazing Grace' Played On The Waterloo Battlefield


There's More Exclusive Content On Historical Machines TV

HMTV is our advert-free streaming video channel which features an awesome array of video and long form documentary material which is not available elsewhere. Sign up for a free trial and enjoy the significant and varied range of material we have on offer...

HMTV Free Trial  

Please consider subscribing to HMTV, or buy us a drink to support our historical (story and film) preservation endeavours.

Comment Form is loading comments...