A few weeks ago we welcomed back Serena Caballero for another beginner mounted archery clinic. We had a full group and everyone was eager to learn.
Day 1 started off with learning about the various equipment needed- a recurve bow without a shelf, feather fletched arrows, a hip quiver, and bow hand glove. The Mounted Archery Association of the Americas (MA3) has a ton of great information on where to find the equipment you’ll need- mountedarchery.org
Next we learned how to correctly load an arrow and shoot on the ground. Serena worked with each participant in their form and getting everybody comfortable handling the equipment.
Day 2 stated with some warm up drills shooting while walking on foot down the line of targets. Then we got the horses out. Most of the morning was spent desensitizing horses to the bows, arrows, and the sound that they make when shot. This step is very important and should not be rushed. You want your horse to be very comfortable with everything before shooting from his back. Going slow helps keep the horse from becoming too overwhelmed and keeps it enjoyable for him.
In the afternoon we practiced riding around with the equipment to get comfortable holding the bow and wearing a quiver full of arrows while riding. Again it is very important for both the horse and rider to be familiar with everything before shooting off the horse.
We even had a spur of the moment two point contest to see who could stay in their two point position the longest since you shoot in two point position. Nothing like a little competition to keep people motivated!
Then it was time to start shooting off the horses, first at a halt and then at a walk again going slowly to ensure that the horses were completely comfortable with everything.
Day 3 started by working on blind knocking, meaning loading the arrow without looking at it. Efficient loading is vital to being able to hit multiple targets especially when you start going faster!
The rest of the day was spent shooting off the horses and working on blind knocking and hitting multiple targets at a walk. We also practiced front and back shots. It was a fun and informative weekend and we are looking forward to having Serena back in the future.
Interested in learning more about Mounted Archery? Check out the MA3 website- mountedarchery.org for a ton of great information and follow our Dover Horse Archers Facebook page to see all of our future clinics and events- facebook.com/DoverHorseArchers.
