Liberty Deaman is a leader in the field of mounted combat. Photo: Riding with Sticks.
The unlikely town of Tarago is fast building a reputation as the jousting capital of NSW.
The fame is not only peculiar due to the town’s tiny size, but also the fact that it’s not in Europe and it’s no longer the 16th century.
To add to the oddity of the situation, Tarago’s self-appointed, yet no less important, order of knights who are leading the jousting revival are headed to the World Horse Archery titles in Tennessee in September, and while jousting won’t be on the cards, they’ll be taking their mounted combat skills to the world stage.
For Liberty Deaman, a key rider for the Australian team and co-owner of Riding With Sticks, a mounted medieval combat school in Tarago, this will be her second time representing Australia in horse archery, the first time being in 2023 at the International Horse Archery Alliance World Championships in Mongolia.
Liberty Deaman competes at the IHAA Championships in Mongolia. Next stop, Tennessee. Photo: Riding with Sticks.
Taking a team of five, Liberty will be joined by two Queensland riders plus two reserves, her husband Rodney and her colleague and former squire Jacquiline-Lee Dominick, casually known as Jay.
The three-day event will see the teams showcase their mounted archery skills across three event tracks where participants will compete for individual titles and a team title in a sport that Liberty said was finally gaining traction after a slow few years.
“The sport is really growing in Australia, which is so great to see,” she said. “This year in Australia we’ve broken all our previous records for competition entries for state and national titles. It’s a massive growth; it’s been quiet for many years.”
Alongside training for the world titles, running a riding school with clinics across the state and coordinating the only horse archery club in NSW, this trio of knights are passionate historical reenactors, and jousting is their core demonstration sport.
“Jousting is a huge commitment of physical strength, mental fortitude, skills and technique,” Liberty told Region.
While medieval jousting was traditionally undertaken by men, Liberty and Jay both highly recommend the sport for women.
“The jousting community is diverse and welcoming; across Australia there is jousting happening a few times a year in four states and we have a fairly even split of men to women.”
For Liberty, mounted combat was something she naturally grew into over the past seven years.
“Having met some horse archers and gone to different events, it escalated to swords and spears, which then turned into lances, which then turned into jousting. It’s very much a progression sport,” Liberty said.
Jacquiline-Lee Dominick, known as Jay, is formidable in her armour. Photo: Riding with Sticks.
For Jay, despite holding a bachelor’s in equine science and being horse obsessed from a young age, she originally had no intention of jousting herself.
“I genuinely love ground crewing; I can read the field, learn the field. I love making it happen and take a lot of pride in making it happen on the ground.”
Jay said a combination of peer pressure from Liberty and owning a suit of armour that she looked fantastic in were the primary reasons she finally took to jousting and became a knight.
It’s a sentiment that Liberty shared.
“We love having people join us on the dark side.”
Just as Liberty and Jay came to the sport via varying channels, Liberty said jousting attracted a crowd with diverse motivations.
“Everyone has their own drive and passion behind it. Some love the strength training; some love the interactions with the public; some love the historical aspect. Some love the craft of making their own armour.”
Riding with Sticks hosts jousting demonstrations and clinics around NSW. Photo: Riding with Sticks.
With the kit required to get started in jousting being expensive and the level of skill and strength needed being high, the sport can be financially and physically unattainable for some. That’s where Liberty recommends that horse archery is a far more accessible sport.
“Horse archery is more financially and skills accessible than jousting,” she said. “People can compete at a walk or a trot; you don’t have to be galloping, so it allows people to advance their skills at their own pace.”
Liberty and her team are self-funding their trip to the States to compete and will be holding a number of fundraising events in the region in the lead up to it. So keep your eyes peeled – you might be able to gift a favor to your own local knight. In this instance though, cash may be more useful than a scarf.
To find out more about the medieval mounted combat sports being taught by Riding with Sticks, head to its website and Facebook page.
For more on horse archery, the 2025 Australian team and fund-raising efforts for the world championships head to the team Facebook page and the Australian Horse Archery Association website.
The World Horse archery titles will be held from 19-21 September, 2025.
