I went to the Ren Fest on Sunday with Andy and Amy Grant. We went to the gaming joust, where the knights rode past some rings and lanced the rings. Then they threw spears into some hay with bullseyes painted on them. Then, strangely, the knights geared up for the joust. We were surprised because the gaming joust typically was just that - games and not smashing each other with lances. So anyway, Sir Robert and Dame Jessica battled it out. On the first pass, they both broke lances. On the second pass, Sir Robert broke his lance and Dame Jessica was unhorsed. I was pretty pumped. I had never seen that happen before and I've been to the Ren Fest many tymes. Dame Jessica got up and back on the horse for another pass. Sir Robert broke another lance on her and she fell off again. This tyme, she did not get back up.

It was very strange. Everyone got quiet and didn't know what to do. We were supposed to cheer for Sir Robert for winning, but Dame Jessica was obviously hurt and cheering for that didn't seem right. They didn't announce a winner or even proceed with the winning "throw candy into the crowd" deal. Everyone just kind of slowly dissipated, feeling weird.

I wonder if they've run into that before. I mean, with the number of jousts they do and the danger level involved, someone has to have been injured before. Even the announcer didn't seem to know what to do. He just kept saying, "This is real, people."

In conclusion, awkward.