La. Tournoi set for Oct. 15

The Tournoi will be held Oct. 15 during the Cotton festivities, at the Industrial Park, Ville Platte, which is located directly behind the National Guard building.
Bring lawn chairs, tents, ice chests, and cheer on the competitors. No glass bottles will be allowed.
Every October, 20 riders — 10 from the previous year’s contest and 10 from qualification held each September compete for the Tournoi trophy. The riders spear seven rings, which represent the seven enemies of cotton boll weevil, boll worm, nylon, rayon, silk, flood and drought. Riders must capture these rings with a lance, similar to the knights of the medieval times, as quickly as possible.
Each rider begins the event with a 210-point handicap. After a rider completes three runs on the course, his score is calculated. First, the number of rings he was able to lance subtracted from the 210 point handicap, with each ring worth 10 points. The average time, from the rider’s three runs is calculated, and that number is added to the ring score. The rider with the lowest score is the winner.