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MAITLAND
MERCURY
17 Mar, 2010 08:38 AM - Thrill of the Battle
This knight is preparing to take part in the biggest battle of
his life.
In less than four months, Bolwarra's Justin Holland will travel
to Poland to participate in the Battle of Grunwald re-enactment,
taking place 600 years after the original encounter.
The battle, one of the most famous in Medieval Europe, saw the
Kingdom of Poland win freedom from the Teutonic Order near the
village of Grunwald in 1410.
The re-enactment on July 15 is set to attract some 10,000 participants
and 100,000 spectators and Holland will be in the thick of it.
"It is expected to be huge," he said.
"It is the most famous battle in Poland - it is like their
Bastille Day."
But before Holland begins gallivanting across the globe, he will
don his medieval dress to compete in the Australian jousting circuit.
First will be his fifth appearance at the St George's Day International
Jousting Tournament in Lithgow in April.
It will be the biggest version of the annual event to date.
This will be followed in early July with Winterfest in Sydney,
before Holland travels to Caloundra, Queensland, for the largest
medieval event in Australia - the Abbey Tournament.
"It is great to be able to compete here and not have to go
overseas," Holland said. "And, at the more established
events like St George's and the Abbey the crowd gets right in
behind us and cheers and bellows ... it is just like a game of
football."
The medieval pursuit presents its own set of challenges. Two riders
on horseback, dressed in knight's armour, charge toward each other
at full tilt ready to strike their opponent with an outstretched
lance in hand.
"There is a bit of nervousness," Holland said.
"You know you are going to get hit, it just depends on how
hard and where.
"Then you slow up, do a mental count checking all your fingers
and toes, dust yourself off and go again.
"It is a huge adrenalin rush."
Holland said the most difficult part of the process was often
limited vision.
"Depending on what helmet you use you can lose a fair bit
of your peripheral vision and sometimes you can't even see the
head of the horse you are riding," he said.
"All you can see is your opponent coming at you. This can
be hard because you are trying to concentrate and keep your own
horse straight and worrying about being hit while trying to hit
them at the same time."
Holland, 41, became involved in jousting in 1996 to combine his
two loves - horse riding and history.
His 15 years of competing have involved frequent overseas travel.
In January he was part of the largest Australian team to date,
which defeated New Zealand at Lake Taupo, New Zealand in the Great
Lakes Tournament.
The next overseas jaunt will involve three events in Poland, including
the Battle of Grunwald re-enactment.
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