Jousting Is Maryland’s Official State Sport. 6 Things Marylanders Learn When They Finally See a Tournament
Say “jousting,” and you probably picture two armored riders charging straight at each other.
It’s Maryland’s official state sport, and a tournament may not look like what you’re picturing.
Here’s what Marylanders learn when they finally see a jousting tournament.
1. Rings, Not Combat
Jousting tournaments in Maryland are ring tournaments, so the target is a suspended ring and not another rider.
If you’re picturing a collision, a 2019 report on a church tournament in Cordova noted there’s no combat.
A rider charges a horse at full gallop through an 80-yard course.
That’s 240 feet.
In timed classes, the rider you’re watching has 8 seconds to finish the course with a long, fine-tipped lance.
The rings hang 6 feet 9 inches above the ground.
2. Nine Rings for a Perfect Score
A perfect score in ring jousting is nine rings, according to the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association.
If you’re keeping score, each rider makes three regulation rides at three rings apiece, trying to spear the rings and present them to the judges.
The catch?
A rider who misses one ring can score no more than eight.
At a tournament in Queen Anne in May 2025, each arch held a metal harness ring wrapped with white cord, according to the Cambridge Spy.
How Small Jousting Rings Get
Jousting riders at higher skill levels use smaller rings.
Ring diameters run from one-quarter inch to nearly two inches.
The Maryland Jousting Tournament Riding Rules recognize five levels of skill.
Leadline and Novice riders use rings with an inside diameter of one and three-quarter inches, and they aren’t timed.
When riders tie, the size of the rings is reduced until there’s a winner.
Tie-off rides, used to break ties, can use rings as small as a quarter inch, the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association says.
3. Knights, Maids, and Chosen Titles
At a jousting tournament, men ride as Knights and women ride as Maids.
If you’re wondering who rides, the Maryland Manual says men, women and children compete equally, with skill and horsemanship determining the class.
Riders also register under a title they choose, such as Maid of Dragon’s Lair or Knight of Darkness.
At that same Queen Anne tournament, riders competed as Knight of the Little Woods or Maid of Rabbit Hill Road.
A call such as Charge Sir Knight or Charge Fair Maid starts each ride down the track.
Jousters wear brightly colored sashes to symbolize the custom of knights carrying tokens for good luck.
At the 2019 Cordova tournament, the joust began with a parade of young people in medieval dress carrying a banner.
The winner gets a trophy.
The same rider also crowns a King or Queen of Love and Beauty with a floral wreath, according to the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
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4. Homemade Gear, Trained Horses
The arches, hanging rings and lances you see at a jousting tournament are all homemade, according to the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
Lances average between five and seven feet in length.
The heaviest weigh 15 pounds.
The lances at that 2025 Queen Anne tournament were handmade and steel-tipped.
At the 2019 Cordova tournament, horses had to be trained not to spook at the clang of the rings near their heads.
5. Church Grounds and County Fairs
By the early twentieth century, Maryland's jousting tournaments were fundraisers for civic and church associations.
The tournament at St. Joseph's Church in Cordova was in its 151st year in 2019.
As of 2019, the Cordova event had been continuous except for 1918.
The 2019 event also had a bake sale, a $1 raffle and a feast of country ham and barbecued chicken.
Bring your appetite.
The St. Mary's County Fair in Leonardtown listed a jousting tournament alongside pig races and a heavyweight horse pull on its 2024 schedule.
6. Clubs Behind the Season
If you're looking for a tournament, the Maryland Manual says jousting competitions are held from May through October.
The Maryland Jousting Tournament Association has sponsored the annual state championship since 1950, and the 2027 edition is listed for October at the Tuckahoe Equestrian Center in Queen Anne.
Want something sooner?
The Amateur Jousting Club of Maryland is based at Jerusalem Mill Village in Harford County.
Other groups include the Eastern Shore Jousting Association, the Tynewydd Riding Club in Saint Leonard and the Western Maryland Jousting Club.
The Eastern Shore association has about 28 member families and hosts nine tournaments from May to September, the Cambridge Spy reported in 2025.
Colonial Roots and State Law
If you trace jousting tournaments back far enough, you reach early colonial times.
Most historians agree the tradition came to Maryland from England in the 1600s, the Maryland Center for History and Culture says.
Tournaments started to take place regularly in the state in the mid-1800s.
They became more popular after the Civil War as a way to raise money.
Farmers joined in.
The General Assembly made jousting the state sport in 1962.
Delegate Henry J. Fowler of St. Mary's County introduced the House bill behind that designation, the Cambridge Spy reported.
The law took effect on June 1, 1962, which, the Maryland Manual says, made Maryland the first state to adopt an official sport.
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