Throughout history, mounted combat has held a certain high esteem. Horses have been used in militaries as far back as 3000-4000 BC. Our history if filled with tales of mounted warfare; the chariots and charioteers in Pharaohs’ army, that thing with Hannibal, elephants and the Alps, mounted Japanese Samurai, horse and camel cavalry in Northern Africa and the Middle East, medieval knights, America’s western expansion, and even the First and Second World Wars. The US military used horses in Afghanistan as recently as 2001, and India has the only remaining active cavalry regiment (Thanks Wikipedia!).

It’s no surprise that at Renaissance Fairs, one of the biggest draws besides turkey legs is the armored jousting. I love a good turkey leg and joust with a pint of mead, but the good honorable knights versus the underhanded cheat-to-win knights do get old. I’ve seen a few other storylines that spiced things up and were far more entertaining. But nothing like what you’re about to see!

Shannon Young brings us a new form of jousting. Horses are far less entertaining than warriors mounted on Tyrannosaurs! (Tyrannosauruses? Tyrannosauri?) As with medieval jousting, the goal is to forcibly remove your opponent from their mount, although in the bout pictured here, I think the two T-Rexes have other intentions.

In addition to the comments on their Flickr page, Shannon was kind enough to answer a few more questions for BrickNerd:

Michael: In the Flickr comments you speak about how this build didn’t live up to your vision. I really appreciate that honesty, in a world that tries to be so curated and “My Best Life” centric. That being said, what did you find rewarding in this build?

Shannon: I guess it was rewarding just to build anything to completion (even if I wasn't totally satisfied with it) at all. Nowadays it seems like whenever I set out to build something I begin hating it halfway through and tend to give up on it. I'm a pretty slow builder, which provides plenty of time for the hate to develop.

Michael: I get that! I have a few projects, LEGO and otherwise, that are languishing due to frustration or not matching my vision or current abilities. I’m glad that you were able to bring this one to completion. In spite of the obvious terror, it’s such a fun build. I want to visit this planet and see some Dino Jousting! Did this spring from any particular point of inspiration for you?

Shannon: I don't remember exactly where the idea came from; I got one T-Rex in whatever set and thought he needed a friend, or a mate, or a nemesis. And they do have those few studs on their backs, inviting you to attach something to them...

Michael: Very true, sometimes one thing just leads to another. I love the cinematic feel of the build/photograph, any advice to guide others on capturing the effect?

Shannon: As far as photography goes, no one needs advice from me—I am terrible at it. I have long resented the fact that to be a "great" builder (at least in the online realm of the hobby where, let’s face it, most of us are spending 99 percent of our time) one must also be a great photographer or at least a good photo editor. I probably took fifty shots, and made liberal use of the crop tool, to get this one that I thought acceptable. But when the background of said shot is pure LEGO, it creates a sense of immersion that the most stunning vignette against some plain background will never provide. You have to have the space, the parts, and the patience to do that, though.

Michael: Well I think you are selling yourself a little short, you have some good pics in your photostream. I completely understand the feeling. I’m an OK photographer and a very entry-level photo editor myself, and I much rather spend the time building than more time in front of the computer. LEGO can be a double hobby of building and photography, and that’s before we talk about sorting and storage! I always like to know what a builder’s favorite piece to use for a detail/greeble, so what’s yours?

Shannon: Well, once upon a time it was definitely the grill tile, I was using them in everything. I mostly dropped out of the hobby around 2012 or so and only within the past few years started buying a bunch of LEGO again. Now there are so many new parts to get used to, with so many possibilities, that I hardly know where to begin. I do have a neo-classic space thing I’m intermittently working on that has a lot of those ingot tiles in it, so let's go with that piece for now.

Michael: Ah, both excellent choices! Anything else you'd like to share?

Shannon: A dangerous invitation for a bitter old malcontent like myself, but I’d better not. Just go on believing that “Everything is Awesome!”

Michael: Thanks Shannon! I hope that Neoclassic space build comes out well and thanks for the insight!

Have you ever been in a joust? Would you ever ride a dinosaur? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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