The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
QUEEN ANNE – Maryland’s official state sport is coming to Queen Anne as the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association hosts its 2026 State Jousting Championship this Saturday, October 3, at the Tuckahoe Equestrian Center. The tournament begins at 11 a.m., with October 4 as the rain date. Spectators are welcome and admission to the grounds is free.
For local jousters, the championship’s location is particularly appreciated.
“For many years Eastern Shore Jousters have traveled all over the state to the State Championship,” said Joanne Wooters of the Eastern Shore Jousting Association. Past championships have been held at Havre de Grace, Crownsville, and Darlington. Wooters explained that traveling meant a long day for local competitors, “The shore jousters have had to travel 2-plus hours many a year to participate in the Maryland State Championship, getting up at 5 a.m. loading horses, etc.,” Wooters said, “So it is a special treat to have it held in our own backyard.”
The 2026 championship will bring jousters from across Maryland. Competitors will participate in Lead Line, Novice, Amateur, Semi-Professional and Professional classes before the Maryland State Championship Class, which is open to professional jousters and previous state champions. A parade of riders will precede the competition, followed by an acknowledgment of riders who died during the previous year and a “Charge to the Knights.”
The championship is the culmination of a season of jousting tournaments held throughout the state. According to the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association, ring jousting is a test of skill and horsemanship in which riders pass through arches and attempt to spear three dangling rings. Three regulation rides provide the opportunity to capture nine rings, with ring sizes becoming smaller as competition levels increase.
Maryland has recognized jousting as its official state sport since 1962, making it the first state in the nation to adopt an official state sport. The Maryland Jousting Tournament Association, established in 1950, works to maintain standardized rules, encourage sportsmanship and horsemanship, and preserve the traditions surrounding the sport.
The Eastern Shore Jousting Association has its own history at the Tuckahoe Equestrian Center. The organization installed a permanent jousting track at the Equestrian Center around 1995 in memory of Wooters’ grandmother, Katherine “Granny” Lynk. One youth ESJA member later built a permanent judges’ stand with electricity as an Eagle Scout project. The association holds several jousts at the track throughout the year and maintains the track for competition.
Wooters estimates approximately 150 people will attend the state championship this weekend. “Jousting is Maryland's State Sport and it is important to all jousters to keep it alive around the state,” she said, “It is our goal to promote the State Sport of Jousting.”
