Our team was in Turkey for the world's largest traditional ground archery event, “The Conquest Cup” (for more information see www.theflyinghun.com – a whole set of articles about the event is available) our host had setup his facility to allow us time to practice our ground work, as well as do a bit of riding.
Our host Enis Yurdakök has been working hard to establish a mounted archery school in the area and has a number of highly talented students. Enis owns a decorative stone cutting operation near his mounted archery school, and ships material all over the world. Which in turn has given him the chance to see more of the world than most, and he has traveled to the US more than once. His passion however, is mounted archery. Just past 60, Enis rides, shoots and trains every day – taking his beautiful horses out into the hills around Balikesir.
In Turkey the most common source of horses for people to own come from former race horses.
So out the gate, they're hotter than most and have an overpowering desire to run nearly all the time. Another thing to note is for the most part, the Turks ride stallions – so the entire mindset in the way they ride, train and utilize their horses is very different from your typical western rider here in the states.
The bond is more akin to an equal partnership, with most wanting a horse than can think on it's own, and work in tandem with the rider.
Other parts of the world, such as Kyrgyzstan, tend to more of a situation of man dominating the will of the animal. We had the opportunity to ride them out near a town called Balikesir in the Marmara District, which is about 3 hours south of Istanbul. After a long flight, a ferry ride and a few misadventures we found ourselves in a beautiful part of Turkish countryside; far from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, Balikesir runs at a far different pace.
Our day began with some ground archery practice, followed by mounted archery. Joined by a half a dozen or so of his students – we ran the horses on a Turkish 3-Shot course, which was also featured at this year's Texas International Archery festival, complete with the iconic yellow and blue round targets.
All in all, Turkey is a horse-lovers dream come true. Beautifully sculpted horses that are a key part of the history, culture and national pride of the country. Everywhere you look, in the artwork, the manuscripts and museums – you'll see the reverence they have for the horse.
Learn more about MA3: www.mountedarchery.org
Left, Rebecca Stacey had an interesting mount, this Arab's legs are amazingly long and muscled, his background a mystery.