Sir Lancelot

The sun began to slowly set in the distance on Sunday evening as groups of family, friends and spectators crowded the dusty infield at The Industrial Park in Ville Platte.
As event organizers were setting up the trophy table, and finalizing the winner’s list, the riders of the 63rd Annual Louisiana Tournoi mingled with the crowd, cracking open a few cans of Bud Light as country music played over the loudspeaker.
In the midst of the crowd stood a young man wearing a skull bandana and Ray Ban sunglasses, who appeared to be unfazed by what just occurred -- in particular what he had just accomplished.
The man was 25-year-old Eric Guillory, and he had just won the annual ancient sporting event known as “Le Tournoi” for a record fifth straight time. Yet, Guillory’s mind in that moment was already thinking about next year’s Tournoi.
“I really wanted to win this fifth title,” Guillory said. “I will enjoy it today but I am already thinking about getting the sixth.”
The annual event that closes out the Louisiana Cotton Festival featured a few laps of history, one terrifying accident and a dramatic final run around the semi-circular quarter-mile dirt track.
Lisa Crane broke ground on that track last year as she became the first woman to ever compete in the Louisiana Tournoi. The co-owner of Uptown Cakes was once again back in the saddle on Sunday, but she wasn’t the only woman to do so. Three of the event’s 16 riders were female -- including Crane’s own daughter Cheyenne Crane.
The mother and daughter both finished in the Top 10 and by doing so automatically qualified for next year’s event.
“They opened it up to women last year and I was the first to run it, that was a big honor,” the elder Crane said. “But to be able to ride in the same event this year with my daughter is an even bigger honor.
“It was all fun and games until she rode wide open around that first turn,” Crane laughed.
The fun was halted briefly when rider Marcus Guillory was involved in an accident with his horse while approaching the Silk ring, the fifth of seven rings, on the track.
“It was pretty bad,” Louisiana Tournoi President Kent Saucier said. “I thought the horse had really rolled on him. He made two or three flips.”
Guillory -- who was given the Sportmanship Award -- was transported to Opelousas General Hospital with a broken collar bone. Neither Guillory nor his horse suffered any other major injuries.
That moment, though, showed just how dangerous it is for the competitors, or knights as they are often referred to, when they attempt to lance as many two-inch diameter metal rings hanging from posts as they can.
“That is my brother from another mother right there,” rider Ryan Haller said of Marcus Guillory. “When I saw the accident my heart skipped a beat for sure. After that happened I went out there and rode for him.”
Haller put together one of the best performances of the day as he lanced 20 rings (tied for first), including all seven on the third and final run of the day. That was good enough for him to finish in second place, behind his close friend Guillory, and one spot ahead of his brother Alex Haller.
“Oh man I am just loving life right now,” Haller said. “Me and Eric are best friends and we were college roommates. We have talked about running against one another and winning it all for years. As a bonus I got to beat my brother too so I am loving it right now.”
After Haller’s final run of seven rings, the pressure was on the defending four-time champion Guillory to step up and lance all seven rings as well.
Guillory though remained cool under the pressure.
“You just worry about yourself,” Guillory said. “You can’t focus on what the other riders did. You have to just focus on yourself and your horse.”
Added Saucier, who is a two-time champion himself, “He is a clutch rider. It came down to the last run, and those other guys got seven rings that last go around. The pressure gets to a lot of riders but not him.”
After Guillory lanced the Boll Weevil ring, the final ring of the run, the champion let out a loud “HELL YEAH!” as he continued to gallop his horse General Lee off the track.
A little while later, Louisiana Tournoi Queen Bethany Thibodeaux presented Guillory with yet another championship trophy and belt buckle. Guillory, who was also awarded for fastest time, asked aloud why the belt buckle he was given had a hog on it instead of a horse (it was simply being used as a stand-in), but Haller chimed in and yelled, “It’s a hog because you hog all the trophies.”
For generations, the Guillory family has dominated the annual tournament.
Eric’s grandfather Winston Guillory won the event three times (1963, 1965, 1971), his uncle Kirt Guillory hoisted the trophy three times (1979, 1986, 2011) and is the only rookie rider to win, his other uncle Keith Guillory won once (2002) and has the most second-place finishes and Eric’s father Kent Guillory won it once (1991) and was the first rider to lance all 21 rings. Eric has lanced all 21 twice.
With five championships under his belt, Guillory now looks to break Mitch Solieau’s all-time record of 10 Tournoi championships, and is already ready to start practicing for next year’s competition.
“I practice harder than anyone else for this event,” said Guillory, who trains on the track at his family’s home. “Every chance I get I practice. My whole family has won it. All the men in the family have rode and won. I have no plans to stop riding and winning anytime soon.”