Mounted archery is the world’s oldest type of horse warfare. The ancient martial art first appeared in the Assyrian army in the seventh century BC. Mongolian leader Genghis Khan and his troops later built the largest continuous empire in the world using mounted archery in the 12th century.
Today, the martial art has become a sport, emerging in the last 20 years.
“It’s the oldest (type of) horseback warfare,” said Carol Queen of the San Juan Mountain Archers. “It’s kind of funny we’re just bringing it back to the U.S.”
“It’s a very traditional sport, trying to bring the traditions and history alive while having fun,” said San Juan Mountain Archers’ Lauren Harwood, 15, noting that a lot of competitors wear costumes and have theme songs. “It takes elements of war tactics, makes them modern and adds a competitive aspect to it.”
This week, 25 mounted archers from seven states converged in Ignacio near Oxford for the Silver Arrow Classic, a national ranking event. The event was hosted by the San Juan Mountain Archers, organized by group’s founders Carol and Ken Queen. It was the third year they put on the event. Mounted Archery has several different governing bodies, but the San Juan Mounted Archers are part of the Mounted Archery Association of Americas.
“Apparently, we’ve done good enough because some of the top archers in the U.S. are here,” Carol said. She said the first day they opened the event to registration it filled up, but a few of the competitors pulled out for various reasons.
Two of the archers competing in the Silver Arrow Classic will represent the USA at the upcoming world championships in Mongolia: Heather Lomax and Chris Heffernan.
Two other competitors, Greg Ogburn and Joey Ogburn of Colorado, are ranked in the top-14 nationally. Greg is No. 2 and Joey is No. 14.
Because Silver Arrow Classic is a national ranking event, it featured all three different disciplines of mounted archery for the competitors. The Tower discipline took place on Friday, the Raid discipline was held on Saturday while the Hunt discipline will be held Sunday.
The three disciplines are similar, but each has unique twists. In all three, however, the competitors ride their horses through a timed straightaway section while letting go of the reins to fire arrows at a few different targets.
The archers use shorter bows so they don’t get in the way while they adjust their body positions while aiming at targets on their horses.
“Most people try to balance themselves while standing in the saddle straps so there’s less movement,” Carol said. “Most shoot when the horse’s feet are all off the ground. It’s definitely a timing thing.”
Each horse also has a different gait, and some days they run fast and sometimes they run slow. Harwood has a good relationship with her horse, Oak, which helps a lot.
“She runs pretty smooth, so it’s pretty easy to drop the reins and just shoot,” she said.
For the Raid on Saturday, the par time was 14 seconds, meaning the competitors and their horses had 14 seconds to run through the course before getting penalized. Hitting targets, meanwhile, scores points so the competitors have to balance speed with accuracy.
“Since you’re using both hands, the horses have to be trained exceptionally well,” Carol said, noting that a lot of the competitors still can guide their horses using their seat and legs.
The sport has grown since San Juan Mountain Archers was created about four years ago. The group has 10 members, and six of them compete. Carol said there were five national ranking events when the group started, and this year, there are over 25. Instructors also go around offering clinics, which has helped broaden the sport.
Harwood, who is from Marble near Hesperus, said her family raises draft horses, so she grew up riding. She competed in gymkhana through 4-H, but later switched to mounted archery.
“Gymkhana didn’t click with me, so I started mounted archery and it just did,” she said. “I like this atmosphere more; if you don’t have an arrow, someone will give you a handful.”
“We all cheer for each other, promote each other and help guide each other. It’s a good family to be around,” Carol said. “Not all of us ride and shoot, but the rest volunteer.” With her and Ken both competing in the competition as well as hosting it, Carol said the volunteers “are the most important part” of making a successful event.
“Next time we have a competition, come see us,” Harwood said. “We like showing the sport to people.”
