"I have a notebook of the tips from your site and I love them... Bonnie Anderson has been wonderful. All the tips I tried of hers worked the first time. I am now in the riding stage and my horse is awesome. Thank you all very much and keep the training tips coming!!!!!!" Karen Gossard
Fayetteville, NC
About the Author
Bonnie Anderson has a two year degree in Horse Science, has worked at two horse training/breeding facilities, and has had numerous articles
published while raising and training her own horses. She owned a saddle shop for a few years and now has a book published called Horse Tales & Tips. She is also a life time member of the Pony Express Riders of Iowa.
Watch three of the greatest trainers in the world test their skills in this first ever Horse Whisperers competition. IN A WHISPER Equine Documentary
Available now
in DVD
The Horse in
Horse Archery
by Bonnie Anderson
"I highly recommend
this book for those
new to the sport." Meg Beshey
IHAF President
Want to try a new sport? How about mounted archery? Mounted archery isn't new in the traditional sense, since it's been used for mounted warfare and hunting for thousands of years, but horseback archery as a sport is new.
The International Horse Archery Festival is held each year in Fort Dodge, Iowa on the first weekend in September. Riders from all over the world have flown in to attend this unique event. At this year's festival there were horse archery students from Mexico, Canada, Japan, and various parts of the United States (author included).
The festival was started four years ago when the founders, Meg and David Beshey along with Jaap and Kay Koppedrayer sponsored an archery demonstration at the local museum and began discussing a possible horse archery festival. The rest is history with people coming from as far away as China, Japan, Austria, Hungary, Africa, England, Canada, Mongolia, and France. Native Americans are also in attendance each year.
A horse archery course was built at the Webster County Fairgrounds near Fort Dodge. It consists of a 100 yard long track with a three sided target set to the left of the track. The archer rides past the target and shoots as many arrows as they can in under sixteen seconds. The hardest shot is when the archer passes the target and has to turn around in the saddle to shoot at it from behind - this all being done with the horse at a full gallop!
Horseback archery training is offered each year for beginner and advanced students. The student can bring their own horse or the festival will provide one for them. Lukas Novotny is the instructor, and being a skilled horse archer and bow maker, he shows the students how to put the shooting and riding together so they may experience the excitement of horse archery for themselves.
The horses used for mounted archery come from a variety of breeds. At this year's event Quarter, Paint, Halflinger, Poa, Arabian, and mixed breeds were present. A good archery horse should have a nice temperament when around other horses, be easily handled at a full gallop, and not be afraid of the sight and sounds of a rider carrying a bow/quiver and having an arrow fired from its back. Riders are welcome to dress in their native costumes if desired.
The IHAF hopes horseback archery will be chosen as a demonstrative sport for the next Olympics. For more information on the this old tradition made new, go to intlhorsearchery.org or call the Fort Dodge, Iowa Convention/Visitors Bureau. The public is welcome to attend all four days of this event.
Pony Express Riders of Iowa: Each spring the Pony Express Riders of Iowa saddle up for a special occasion. From across Iowa they gather together the local donations from horseback. Then in an old fashioned Pony Express ride, they ride from all corners of the state to converge on Camp Sunnyside, a camp for the disabled near Des Moines. The donations are used to help run the camp. Watching the combined horsemen ride the final miles to the camp brings a lump to ones throat for the Pony Express Riders freely give their time and effort for such a worthy cause. For more information about them contact the Easter Seal Society of Iowa.
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