Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosalie Purvis.
Hi Rosalie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My jousting story started when I was young. My mom played the Celtic harp for the St. Louis Renaissance Festival, and I would tag along and hang out all day. By the time I was 12, my mom knew I had needed to be kept busy, so she arranged for me to spend time with the knights to keep me out of serious trouble. To this day, we joke about it; as I know it, the phrase used was “She’s 12, she’s big for her age, she’s good with horses, she’s yours”. All of this was true as I had been riding for 4 years and was very tall for my age. I squired (helped out with the joust show), worked pony rides, and generally helped until I went to college. I always thought the Ren Faire chapter of my life had closed at that point, and I was on to new things. And I was right for a few years. I got my engineering degree and moved to California for my first job in Aerospace. That job folded in 2016, and I found myself back home in MO looking for a new job, and I called up Danny Foss -the owner of Equus Nobilis – and told him I was around and asked if he needed a hand on the weekends. Job hunting can be downright rejecting on the weekends because no one replies to emails, and I need a distraction. I helped open the Kansas City Renaissance Festival that year before opening St. Louis. Halfway through the run, I landed a job in OH, but Danny had me do my first joust in a show before I left. I’ve been back every year since and love the growth it has given me as a person and performer.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not! When I was a kid, women were not allowed to be jousters. So I grew up always helping others and just accepted that it would never be for me. Times changed, and I got my chance when I came back after college! I came galloping into absolute silence at the first show I performed in. No cheering, nothing. I finally heard someone say, “it’s a girl,” and the audience slowly had a lukewarm welcome. I was the first female knight performer they had seen, so it was new territory for them. Year after year, as I returned and got better at performing, the crowds just exploded with appreciation, which is really rewarding. Otherwise, It’s a physically demanding performance, and I hired a personal trainer to help me build fitness specific to this job. I spent many nights wondering where I would find the strength to do another day of shows, but no more!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work a couple of jobs, am a full-time Continuous Improvement Coach, and joust. I’ll talk about jousting here. I work for Equus Nobilis, the joust company, as a performer. I perform as a knight, and I also work behind the scenes wearing many different hats. I have trained a couple of our horses over the last few years. I manage our social media and online presence, and merchandise. I also work with establishing relationships with new fairs and festivals. Gosh, I think I’m proud of all of it! Obviously, as a performer, the fact that I’m a woman sets me apart, there are only a few out there, and I’m currently the only one with my company.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The coffee shops and Renaissance Festival, but I may be biased. I least like the traffic, but don’t we all?
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.equusnobilisjousting.com
- Instagram: @equus_nobilis
