Based at Warwick International School of Riding, this family run business is set by the beautiful ruin of Guys Cliffe Castle, a stone's throw from historical Warwick Castle. Janet Martinez owns and runs the riding school, while son Karl Ude-Martinez (who easily passes as a dashing knight), takes care of the jousting side of the business. Karl has the use of the forty horses resident at the 60 acre riding school, which has been running for the past thirty years. The Knights of Middle England has been in business for last two.

"We have been quietly building the business up. I got hooked on jousting at a young age when my mother kindly volunteered me to ride at Warwick Castle with another jousting company!" jokes Karl.

After this spell in the limelight, Karl went onto play professional polo and act in Shakespearian plays and television programmes such as Battlefield Britain, Keeping up Appearances, Casualty and Holby City. Even though he mixes with famous faces, he still prefers to keep his bum firmly in the saddle by performing with the team of six to ten knights at County Shows and medieval reenact¬ments, creating an explosion of colourful displays full of power and prestige.

My day with the Knights of Middle England was just a taster of the activities you can do. The morning was geared up to assess riding abilities and prepare for the afternoon's tournament. After casting an eye over some of the armour I would be wearing later, I went off for an intro¬duction to my trusty steed for the day. My horse `Jamais` (French for Never!), looked grand in all his attire. There were also two other horses ready and waiting for their knights to arrive, one of whom 'Drummer' a big grey, was well suited to the first time rider. Looking after the horses was BHS qualified Assistant Instructor Danny Hope, who has worked for the Martinez family for ten years.

Preparation included riding with our lances down the 'tilt' which is the fence that divides the two knights and where the expression 'full tilt' comes from, playing authentic mounted games and the quintain; a target that spins round on impact - the bigger the whack the better the spin and good aiming practice for later!

Then while our horses had a break Karl and co-knight Paul Ellis Smith demonstrated with excellent skill and acting, a choreographed sword fight. We learnt the moves with the use of plastic pipes, which was much appreciated by Karl's Mother! Later I used the real thing against the infamous Black Knight;
he won hands down!

Refreshments were duly taken, by way of a quick trip to the appropriately named Saxon Mill, nearby. Here we enjoyed splendid food and a beautiful backdrop of the mill pond. It was a struggle to leave, but the thought of getting my own back on the Black Knight soon had me back on my feet. (Little did I know a prank from his own horse would do the job better than I - see picture above!)
The afternoon sun lit up my costume as I cantered into the arena with my matching flag billowing beside me. Adrenaline took the place of nerves, but I was brought back to earth as a gust of wind nearly took me off the back of my horse. I soon swapped the flag for my lance and it was time to take on the Black Knight.

Standing at each end of the tilt, he gave me the nod and it was lances at the ready - and off! I only just managed to break into canter before missing his shield. I had a few seconds to think back to our quintain practice before turning for a second chance. I kicked Jamais into canter and at full tilt I whacked the Knight on his shield, yes I got my own back! A real sense of achievement!
Hmm.... I'm off to find Clive Owen.

The Knights of Middle England are holding a medieval weekend tournament in early September (date tbc). You can get in touch with Karl to book tickets. There are still dates available in June/July/August and September for Medieval Jousting Experience Days and also planned are weapons days where people can discover archery, swords, and quarterstaff fight routines. You can also see the Knights of Middle England at county shows, logon to their website for details, or contact Karl on: 07951 023 881, email: info@knightsofmiddleengland.co.uk www.knightsofmiddleengland.co.uk