We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine March 2018

28 / Sport and Trail Magazine

MA3

MOUNTED ARCHERY: SAY WOW!

By Lauren Woodard

Is there anyone who doesn’t say WOW when the subject of mounted archery is broached?

The vision of galloping on a horse, reins flapping (if you even have them) mane flying as you draw an arrow from your quiver, set it to the bow, draw it back and let it fly to the target. Whoosh – thunk as it hits it’s mark.

Is the dream too far away? Do you think it’s more difficult than you’re capable of? It’s not!

Safety is of course a main concern, but don’t let it stop you from learning how to do this safely. Don’t let fear or overwhelm trick you into avoiding instead of learning and applying training appropriately to do this marvelous sport.

Just think, if you change your perspective and decide to go for it, what would that mean for you and your horse as it applies to your skills and knowledge level? Massive!

Now the fact that it is do-able, doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do.

And we all know people who do things badly and don’t care. You’re not one of those. You know, one of “those” who treat their horse like a tool and don’t care as long as they get what they want however that turns out. Or worse, get mad and blame their lack of skills on the horse.

The blueprint does not tell you how to do less work; it tells you how to do better work. The goal isn’t to make your horse do everything you say, but to build something valuable to your horse so that your horse is a huge value to you in your mounted archery endeavor. You’re not creating a robot for you to enjoy; you’re crafting a legacy.

An assumption of skills without effort is a recipe for

disaster and we’re not about to give you that recipe here.

But there are some things that you can give some thought to as to how you want to get into this exciting game with your horse.

While new venues are popping up all over the country, it can still be a bit tricky to attend one. You can check the MA3 website which is mountedarchery.org for upcoming events and clinics. There is some limited information on equipment as well as recommendations for some of the trainers and there are a few videos.

Scoring in competitions is based on how many targets you hit and where you hit them. On a 90-meter track you’re run time is between 7 and 14 seconds. You don’t get any bonus for going faster, but you do get points deducted for going too slow.

It used to be that you had to be at a canter/lope or gallop for the runs to count, but in order to make it a bit easier for folks to participate; many competitions and groups are adding walk/trot opportunities. It’s pretty interesting to mark your 90 meters and canter your horse and have the run checked by a stopwatch. The size of your horse makes a big difference and you may be shocked at what speeds look like.

There are various options, too for how many targets and what type there is on each course. You may just have one on that 90 meter run, you may have 2, 3 or you may have 5. You may even get to shoot at a Qabac that’s 7-9 meters at the top of a pole that you almost ride under and shoot vertically. And for the advanced, a ball type target pulled by a running horse ahead of you. All these choices depend on your skill level. The targets are around 7 meters off the track, but since your horse is moving, the shooting distance changes instant by instant.

The great news is that these competitions aren’t judged by a person (read subjective). It’s you and your horse against your skills and time. You hit the targets within the time frame or you don’t. No one’s responsibility but your own- including your horse.

It’s all you, baby.

Now, I’m going to give you some of my personal advice because you won’t find this info anywhere else. Not everyone wants to go out and buy expensive, and yes that word is relative but that’s why I’m writing this here, equipment for something they don’t know if they really want to pursue or not or at what rate and level. So, the great news is that you can set yourself up quite nicely for about $150.

My recommendations are mine and for good reason – they work for me and the people I work with better (or as well as and economically) than what’s usually recommended.

Ali-bow has a nice little 25# bow (yes, you can get all the other weights, too) - The Crimean Tatar Bow, comes in 4 colors and if you order the string from them, too (please ask that the string is 12 strands or it won’t fit your arrow nocks well). Anyway you can get one with a string for around $100. Canyon Cappola, who is here in the states, will get you the bow should you wish at [email protected] or you can check out AliBowshop.com online.

I’m not sure why so many people recommend a 35# bow up to 50#. That’s way heavy to pull and wears you out faster so you’re not inclined to shoot as much. And it hurts your thumb. There seems to be some sort of peer pressure/ego thing to bow weight, but I never buy into that stuff. Just get the 25# and enjoy yourself. I have 35#, 30# and three 25# and only use the 25# bows. And all my peeps prefer the 25#, too. Even the guys!

You can get Misayar 12 Pcs 30 Inch Carbon Arrow Fletched 3 Inch Vane with Field Points for Recurve Compound Bow Targeting or Hunting (Pack of 12) from Amazon for $28. These arrows won’t be the ones you’ll use as you get good, but they’re good for learning and you won’t care so much if you break some with errant shots. You’ll want some duct tape to wrap your thumbs for protection or you can get shooting gloves from Ravenswood Leather.

I love the Elkton 15” cube targets, but they are expensive at $120 and well worth it when you’re up for it, but two bales of straw is a better starting target. If you’d like, slide paper plates under the strings for more accuracy shooting.

You can make a hanging quiver to keep your arrows in from a plastic For Sale Sign rolled to a 5” or so tube and covered with fun or colorful duct tape. Cover one end with duck tape and attach a piece of leather or string for a strap. I put a piece of foam rubber in the bottom to keep the arrows from bouncing around and the tips from poking the bottom.

Youtube, of course, provies quite a supply of videos, good, bad and otherwise. The thing about the bad videos is it’s great for showing what NOT to do. The problem is that if you aren’t far enough along in your horsemanship to know they’re bad, you may start doing the wrong thing. So, maybe check in with me every once in a while with an email or call (on my exceptionalhorsemanship.com website).

Study exactly what your body is doing versus what it should be doing. Theory is the horse can't do much if it has to compensate for your imperfections.

With study and practice you’ll discover a magical, mystical encounter with your horse and your horsemanship and the synergy of these interactions, which will give you a whole lot of fun.

We welcome you to join the fun.

These are some of the first questions you’ll then ask yourself and after them, we can move on to more precision in your abilities to analyze and adjust for better results and better questions.

As in:

1)What is my position relative to the horse when I’m shooting my arrows?

2)When, at what point, do I adopt that position?

3)Have I analyzed the response of the horse to this position?

4)What part does balance play or am I pinching with my knees and counting on my stirrups and saddle to keep myself in position?

5)Am I blindly following advice I haven’t challenged?

I’m going to give you some concepts and situations for your consideration relative to these initial questions so that you can apply it to your answers for you and your horse.

Many people are taught to lean into the bow while shooting and of course there are reasons to approach it with these words, but we must, must, must (not a typo) place a high value on the degree to which we lean. Check yourself. How far would you lean if you were standing on the ground? And a lean can be anything from a slight shift of weight in the upper body while dropped into your balanced core, to looking like you’re tilted up on your front foot and… completely out of balance. Would you think it would be a good idea to be out of balance on your horse? And if you didn’t have stirrups, a saddle and pinchy knees, would you be able to maintain that position? If not, could it be correct?

Also for your consideration, if you’re leaning way forward over the horse’s neck when shooting, just where are you going? There’s a good chance that you’re making the horse feel like you’re ahead of her and that she needs to speed up to get up under you. Do you want your horse to speed up? If she thinks this and you don’t say otherwise, you are indeed causing your horse to run faster. If you’re close to flossing your teeth on your horse’s mane, I’d say you’d better straighten up. Don’t get ahead of the horse’s driveline.

If you lean forward and toward the targets i.e. your weight is heavy in that stirrup and your seat bones are also up, out of the saddle and shifted into the lean… shouldn’t your horse, who you’ve hopefully trained to give to pressure, shift or track toward the outside? Might that cause your foot to catch in the track barrier rope or your horse to go off course just doing what your body is telling him to do?

Hmmmmmmm… Aren’t these pretty darned important questions?

And because every great hmmmmmm… deserves a great how (my line) I’ll just start you off with some action steps to get your baseline. To help you challenge assumptions and get yourself straightened out, start on the ground with a shooting stance and see what you tend to do.

1)Are your hips centered over your stance? Are you dropped into your core?

2)Is your stance balanced? Or do you have more weight on the front foot?

3)How much are you leaning in from the hips? Shoulders? Neck and head?

If you’ve seen the recent Bridgestone Tire commercials with the Olympic archery shooters – there isn’t even a hint of leaning. I’ve included this for your consideration.

Now, THINK about sitting on your horse – preferably bareback. But, if you must use a saddle at least drop your stirrups. After all we’re just in your mind here.

1) What CAN you do differently to challenge where you currently are in your position?

Please keep in mind that these are discovery experiments. Don’t get stuck on how you think you were taught or how you’ve “always done it”. Our job is to get you better from here. And what got you here isn’t going to get you to the next level. You need to up your skills, preparation and MINDSET.

Try #1 > something DIFFERENT > get an unexpected reality > get more curious.

Try #2 > something DIFFERENT > get a NEW unexpected reality > get more curious.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

These might be way big different things or it could be as small as a tad less leaning into your bow or cocking your head just bit down the arrow.

Now, go get on your horse and apply what you challenged yourself with while mounted. Don’t get all chompie to shoot and let yourself get off track. Ha! Little mounted archery joke there, particularly if you’re pushing your horse off with that weight imbalance and a heavy leg pushing into his side while your heel kind of digs in as you attempt to keep yourself upright.

Have you come this far to only come this far? I think NOT!

There is nothing to lose. You’re experimenting. You’re on an adventure. Lets go for Exceptional!

Lauren has been teaching and training for over 40 years and is the author of two books that are pure magic for horsemanship – “Curbside Service” and “Balky, Balky, I Ain’t Goin’”. Find out how to be strategic in your best next steps to Exceptional Horsemanship for Mounted Archery by grabbing her “Wouldn’t It Be Great If ____?” Quiz to check your perspective and propel your horsemanship on her exceptionalhorsemanship.com site.

disaster, and we’re not about to give you that recipe. But there are some things that you can consider as to how you want to get into this exciting game with your horse.

While new venues are popping up all over the country, it can still be a bit tricky to attend one. You can check the MA3 website for upcoming events and clinics. There is some limited information on equipment as well as recommendations for trainers and educational videos.

There are also various options for how many targets and what type may be on each course. You may just have one target on that 90 meter run, you may have 2, 3 or you may have 5. You may even get to shoot at a Qabac that’s 7-9 meters at the top of a pole and shoot vertically. And for the advanced, a ball type target pulled by a running horse ahead of you. All these choices depend on your skill level. The targets are around 7 meters off the track, but since your horse is moving, the shooting distance changes instant by instant.

The great news is that these competitions aren’t judged by a person. It’s you and your horse against your skills and time. You hit the targets within the time frame or you don’t. It’s all you, baby.

Now, I’m going to give you some of my personal advice; you won’t find this info anywhere else. Not everyone wants to go out and buy expensive equipment for something they don’t know if they really want to pursue or not, or at what rate and level.

So, the great news is that you can set yourself up quite nicely for about $200.