Latest plot from The Archers? David turns into Genghis Khan...
THIS all started when reading Conn Iggulden’s historical novels about Genghis Khan and his successors. Were it not for a descendant of Genghis having an untimely heart attack, the whole of Europe would most likely have been conquered by the Mongol hordes, so no industrial revolution, no modern world. Fascinating.
Iggulden also achieves the amazing feat of convincing the reader that slaughtering your enemies by the millions is entirely justifiable.
The Mongols razed whole cities and executed all the inhabitants, but on the battlefield they won by training their soldiers from infancy in the art of horseback archery. After years of practice, they were unerringly accurate at full gallop.
The trick is to fire the arrow at the precise moment that the horse is in mid-air, thus giving a stable platform for release. In Mongolia, Korea, Japan and elsewhere, horseback archery is a recognised sport, but you can try your hand at it much closer to home, in Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire.
I’d already bought myself a Mongolian war bow, but when ordering it on Amazon I hadn’t spotted the drop-down box that allows you to choose the draw weight, so I got the heaviest, which is almost impossible to pull. The bows at the Centre of Horseback Combat are much easier, although the technique takes some getting used to. Entirely different from target archery, even experienced bowmen will need to change their habits fast.
When my son Will asked if I’d like to accompany him and his work chums for a day learning to shoot arrows from a moving horse, I jumped at the chance, and was then amazed to discover that the venue was the stables where I had learned to ride back in 1964.
Little had changed, except that this is now no ordinary stables, but the place to learn horseback archery, trick riding, and even get an introduction to professional stunt riding.
The venue is actually the old stables of Gaddesden Manor, where I had filmed the six-part BBC comedy series The Royal Bodyguard with David Jason.
No experience is needed – if you can’t ride, your horse is led at a sedate walk, which gives you plenty of time to prepare for the three targets coming up. But if you’re a bit more experienced and your horse is going at a canter, you’ve got to be quick.
After an introduction and taping up of thumbs, we were told to stand with our legs apart, imagining we were on a horse, and stand side-on to the target.
The main thing to learn is that, apart from one quick glance at the fletching on the arrow to get it the right way up, everything else is done by feel, with your eye kept constantly on the target.
You don’t aim – it has to be more instinctive, like throwing a ball. The shot is taken in one motion – pull and release – and you draw with the thumb, not the fingers. After a while we all got pretty quick, so then it was time to find our mounts.
Out in the field, the track was roped off, so riding without reins wasn’t a problem – the horse was only going to go straight ahead.
To begin with, we walked with a trainer holding the bridle, before – depending on our abilities – the horse was allowed to trot or canter.
If you can rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time, you’ll be a master at this sport.
After a great lunch in the local pub, we carried on through the afternoon. I may have been below the standards of even the weakest three-year-old Mongolian, but at least I had the enormous satisfaction of hitting all three targets at a slow canter.
A great day out, but I hadn’t ridden for at least five years – and a week later I could still barely walk!
For further information visit horsebackcombat.co.uk or call 01442 462715. Half-day courses cost £99 per person.