28 / Sport and Trail Magazine
A
ll too often in the world of mounted archery, the sport overlooks the history. In an activity so rooted in tradition and history as well as what could arguably be a form of warfare that dominated a major chunk of the world, we tend to forget where it all came from. This month we're looking at the Turkish “Tabla” Course – a traditional Turkish course sponsored by our friends at Mamluk Archery. It comes in the form of a “postal match”. A postal match is an informal competition wherein individual clubs or groups can run the course with specific sets of rules and submit scores over a set period of time to compete with other riders from around the world.
Postal Match Spotlight
The Turkish Tabla Course
Story, photos and illustrations by Rob Morton
we're looking at the Turkish “Tabla” Course – a traditional Turkish course sponsored by our friends at Mamluk Archery. It comes in the form of a “postal match”. A postal match is an informal competition wherein individual clubs or groups can run the course with specific sets of rules and submit scores over a set period of time to compete with other riders from around the world.
The course follows a traditional format for warfare. The first shot is approaching your target, the second shot is a back shot (having passed your adversary) and the third is a retreating shot at a further distance.
Postal matches were created by IHAA (The International Horseback Archery Alliance) in 2013, and were a way to introduce inexperienced horseback archers to competitions. The beauty of the postal match is that it allows all levels of riders to compete across the globe – and at the same time, allows for the trying of different or obscure courses that would not normally be available at your standard competition. Generally in the USA, the Hungarian Course, the Korean and the Mamluk 90 are the bar standard – but opening it up to more international style courses is a relatively recent development.
The Turkish Tabla Course was created by Emrah Koç of Mamluk Archery, a mounted archer of note from Turkey. He has participated in a number of world class mounted archery competitions and is a firm believer in the traditional roots of the sport. The course has a number of unique features and is based on a number of historical sources. It is not only a combination of smaller targets setup a very specific way but it also involves the use of traditional Turkish archery equipment, specifically quivers.
In one of our previous articles we discussed the various Ottoman and Turkish style quivers available on the market today – and there are a lot of quality options. The biggest portion of the quiver requirement is that it disallows the “sword”, cross-draw or modern sport quivers that have become the standard for the sport. The main characteristic of the Ottoman quiver is that the arrows point back, rather than forward. This feature allowed the horse archer to swing a sword, use a spear or throw a javelin without worrying about damaging or hitting their remaining arrows. It is an older style of draw, and the debate about quivers and their historical authenticity will be argued for time immemorial; however Ottoman archery from the 16th and 17th centuries is very well documented, so there is little room for debate on what is “acceptable” on a traditional Ottoman course.
bar standard – but opening it up to more international style courses is a relatively recent development.
The Turkish Tabla Course was created by Emrah Koç of Mamluk Archery, a mounted archer of note from Turkey. He has participated in a number of world class mounted archery competitions and is a firm believer in the traditional roots of the sport. The course has a number of unique features and is based on a number of historical sources. It is not only a combination of smaller targets setup a very specific way but it also involves the use of traditional Turkish archery equipment, specifically quivers.
In one of our previous articles we discussed the various Ottoman and Turkish style quivers available on the market today – and there are a lot of quality options. The biggest portion of the quiver requirement is that it disallows the “sword”, cross-draw or modern sport quivers that have become the standard for the sport. The main characteristic of the Ottoman quiver is that the arrows point back, rather than forward. This feature allowed the horse archer to swing a sword, use a spear or throw a javelin without worrying about damaging or hitting their remaining arrows. It is an older style of draw, and the debate about quivers and their historical authenticity will be argued for time immemorial; however Ottoman archery from the 16th and 17th centuries is very well documented, so there is little room for debate on what is “acceptable” on a traditional Ottoman course.