Mounted Shooting Comes to Lewis County
Apr 16, 2013 (The Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- In a sulfury, smoky arena, the Wild West charged into modern day.
It came in the form of competitive mounted shooting, a relatively new but rapidly growing equine sport.
Locally, mounted shooting is even newer, but is catching at the same swift clip.
The South Sound Mounted Shooters first came together in January and currently have about 15 members. Robin Hartsell, the president and founder of the South Sound Mounted Shooters, is confident the group can grow to 30 by the end of the year.
"People are intrigued by this sport," he said. "It's different." Over the weekend, the SSMS got a boost toward its membership goal with its second mounted shooting clinic. The group had planned to allow 10 participants, SSMS Sponsorship Coordinator Ricki Martin, said. But, due to unanticipated interest, the group created more spots and allowed 26 participants to attend the clinics, held on Saturday and Sunday, at the Triple H Arena outside Chehalis.
Mounted shooting is a sport where little has changed since the days of tumbleweed and false fronts; basic cowboy skills -- horsemanship, accurate shooting -- are required.
Specifically, riders must burst ten balloons with blanks from a single action .45 while navigating a figure-eight course. The competitor who rides the fastest with the fewest missed balloons wins.
Attendees on Saturday hailed from throughout Southwest Washington. Their reasons for attending were varied, and their skill levels ranged from novice to expert.
But under the chaps and cowboy hats ran a common thread: love for horses and an equine-centered life.
"You've got to take the good with the bad. Sometimes you have to get up at 6 a.m. to bust ice," horse trainer Kevin Wagner said Saturday. "Other times it's 75 degrees, you're on a trail ride and there's nothing but you and the horse and God." Or, in the words of attendee and SSMA Operations Officer Debra King: "What do I do outside of riding There isn't anything outside of riding." Robin Hartsell was an unlikely founder of the South Sound Mounted Shooters. Five years ago, Hartsell decided he wanted to break into mounted shooting.
He had no idea how to ride a horse.
"I bought a horse and learned to do it all at once," he said.
A competitive shooter, Hartsell was attracted to mounted shooting, he said, because it seemed scary and exciting and different from other sports.
Hartsell, who works for the Department of Transportation and lives in Olympia, wasn't in with the horse community. He founded the South Sound chapter to get to know other mounted shooters, and, more simply because there wasn't one in the area, he said.
Saturday's clinic included on-the-ground shooting practice, a lecture, a demonstration from experienced riders and, finally, a chance for novices to mount up and give it a shot. It was the second clinic for the club, which will hold its first competitive event this July.
Shooters on Saturday agreed that success in the sport comes down to one trait: confidence.
The rider must be in control -- the alpha horse -- to assuage the animal's fear. The horse needs to know the gunpowder, popping balloons and gunshots are not dangerous.
"Some don't mind right off," Debra King, who owns a small ranch in Yelm, said. "Others are more timid and take a long time to realize the guns aren't going to hurt them. Some never accept it." Chuck Cowan and Theresa Tillotson attended on Saturday in part because they want to start their own chapter -- they own a ranch in Clark County -- and in part to break their off-the-range mustang to the sound of gunfire.
Cherie Neff, of Eatonville, also wanted to get her horse used to the sights and sounds of mounted shooting. But Slick was far from ready, and Johnson said she would be lucky to even sit on the horse by the end of the year.
Horse trainer Kevin Wagner, however, was more optimistic.
"We had a chat, we looked eye to eye," Wagner said. "He knows his day is coming." "Yesterday, I had my hand down his nose to get him used to the smell of gunpowder," Wagner added. "Slick was like 'oh that's what that is.'" Some horses are more naturally suited to competition than others. Quarter horses and certain blood lines are eager to compete from the start. With mixes, or "Heinz 57's," as Wagner calls them, are a toss up.
No matter the predisposition, it takes hours of work -- ground work, saddle time -- and lots of wet blankets to prepare for competition.
That confidence is not confined to the ring.
Working to train the horses and prepare them for competition has improved life for Mandy Biles, the club's business officer.
"It makes me a more conscientious driver; keeps me looking ahead, checking for my straight lines," she said. "All the horses are individual and unique. You have to be able to communicate and figure out what they like to do.
"Working with them goes back to me. It helps me to be happier and better."
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