Mounted Archery Lessons
In Akron/Cleveland
“Yeah, I shoot arrows on horseback. No biggie.”
Take a Shot at Mounted Archery Lessons
I’ve partnered with Kelly at Golden J Training to offer archery and horseback riding lessons to anybody interested in giving mounted archery a shot. We create customized training plans based on your skills and comfort level.
Are you an experienced archer but never been on a horse before? No problem! You can work with Kelly to get the foundations of horseback riding — including steering, controling the horses speed, caring for horses, and more.
She’ll also teach you how to de-sensitize the horse to the bow (so the horse doesn’t spook when you’re shooting).
If you’re and intermediate/advanced rider but have never held a bow before, we’ve got you covered!
I’ll work with you to teach you the basics of archery — including how to properly (and safely) hold the bow, draw, aim, and release.
I’ll also work with you to find the right equipment (bow, arrows, finger protection, etc) that fits your needs.
Once you have the basics of both riding and archery, we’ll put them together!
We’ll go over safety precautions to ensure you don’t accidentally injure your horse as well as the rules of the sport.
We’ll also teach you some tips and tricks for hitting the target while on horeseback to help you become a fearsome mounted archer.
What is Mounted Archery?
The sport of mounted archery has been growing, with competitions starting to appear around the globe. The rules and setup often differ depending on where you are in the world, but the general concepts stay the same.
There is typically a designated track that the mounted archer must follow. Along the track, targets are setup on the side at a specified distance from the track. These targets are often setup at various angles so that the archer has to shoot facing forward, sideways, or backwards. Scores are given based on where the archer hits the target with their arrows. Some competitions also award bonus points based on how quickly that clear the track.
Sound cool? Well, it looks even better. Don’t believe me? See for yourself in the video!
Want to give mounted archery a shot? Contact us about trying your hand at mounted archery!
Mounted Archery vs Traditional Archery
Mounted archery differs significantly from what you’re likely used to seeing for hunting or in the Olympics. The main difference – surprise, surprise – is that you’re on horseback! Aside from the horse, the equipment and techniques are also different.
Mounted archers use traditional, recurve bows. They don’t have sights to help aim, pulleys to help make the bow easier to pull, or even a shelf to rest the arrow on! The bows are also much shorter than the modern recurve bows, making them easier to wield while in the saddle.
Given that they’re on horseback and potentially reaching up to speeds of 35 mph, mounted archers don’t have much time to draw the bow, aim, and release. As such, mounted archers rely heavily on speed and instinct when shooting. Many mounted archers use what’s called the thumb draw, meaning they use their thumb to pull the string back (whereas most modern archers use their first three fingers). Right-handed mounted archers also often put the arrow on the right side of the bow (typically if you’re right handed, the arrow goes on the left side of the bow). Both the thumb draw and putting the arrow on the same side that you’re drawing with help mounted archers quickly load and fire their next arrow.
In the pictures below, you can see that I’m not only holding onto the string differently, but also the arrow is on different sides of the bow. My mounted archery bow is also significantly smaller than my more modern recurve bow.
See the difference for yourself! Talk to us about trying out mounted archery!
