Mounted archery takes off in Queensland
THERE is nothing quite like the feeling of loosing an arrow and hitting a target while cantering on horseback, according to Steph Batterham.
Ms Batterham is secretary of the newly-formed Flying Fletches Queensland club and said things were definitely heating up in Australia’s mounted archery scene.
The Flying Fletches originally started in South Australia just three years ago and already the sport has made it past the Queensland border, with a club popping up in the Lockyer Valley.
The group had its first muster last weekend and members are set to show their stuff again at this weekend’s Gatton Heavy Horse Field Day.
Ms Batterham said it was the perfect sport for any horse rider looking to branch out with their skills, but there were some who came along just for the ground archery.
The best part, she said, was using instinctive shooting, which she marvelled was often so much better than standing still and aiming at a target through a sight.
“We use single limb bows that have no sight on them and we do what is called instinctive shooting,” she said.
“It’s a communication your brain makes with what your body is doing.
“I think what still gets me is we play a game where we roll a ball across the paddock and shoot as it rolls and people that instinctively understand how to shoot like that will hit the ball.
“I’m not very good at standing still and hitting a target and I’m actually not very consistent, but I can hit a rolling ball on the ground probably 50% of the time.
“So if you’ve ever tried archery and couldn’t hit a target, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be good once you introduce a moving target.”
Ms Batterham said a huge part of mounted archery was actually training your horse – not just to put up with the sound of a singing bow and the knock of a quiver but also to maintain a trot or canter after the rider drops the reins and nocks an arrow.
She said the most common way of training was by walking alongside the horse to begin with and getting it used to the archer’s sounds.
It was also a good
opportunity for the rider to pick up the necessary archery skills on the ground before they tried it on horseback.
She said this weekend’s
Gatton Heavy Horse Day display would be the perfect chance for people to have a go at ground archery and check out displays of mounted archers going
through their paces.
The event will be held over both days this weekend at the Gatton Showgrounds.
Mounted archery displays will be staged from 3.30–4.30pm on Saturday, and from 9.30–10.30am and 2.30–3.30pm on Sunday.
To find out more about the club, find Flying Fletches Queensland on Facebook.