Aim for the Sky, with cowboy mounted shooting!

Think Annie Oakley. Think Jesse James. Think fun.

Cowboy Mounted Shooting is one of the fastest growing equestrian sports in the nation. With 166 clubs in just about every state in the union, it’s easy to find an event to attend. Jeanne Lewis Gherardi is an equine photographer who captures mounted shooting events. She’s also a cowboy mounted shooting enthusiast and member of the Connecticut Renegades. Jeanne maintains that all you need to do is attend one competition to get hooked.

“Suddenly, you get to be a kid again,” says Jeanne. “It’s so much fun. Everyone cheers each other on, even those who are competing against each other. It just feels like a family. Of course, it’s competitive-there are buckles and money to win-but it’s a healthy competition for all generations.”

In addition to local competitions, the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) organizes several national events, including the CMSA Classic Equine Eastern U.S> Championship held this year in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The sport takes precision, skill, and a healthy affection for speed. In each class, mounted contestants compete in a patterned and timed event using two .45 caliber single action revolvers. Competitors run a pattern of poles at breakneck speed while shooting five rounds of blanks at two sets of colored balloons. Contestants switch guns after the first five for the “rundown”-five additional balloons in a straight line. Now, that’s a lot of fun.

“Riders have to be good,” says Jeanne. “They’re running at high speed while maneuvering their horses through tight patterns. It takes a tremendous amount of skill, balance, and riding talent, but these riders put a lot of training into their horses. I’ve seen novice horses that might not look like they’re going to take to it, but by the end of the season, they’re winning buckles.”

“I’ve been riding all my life, says Coltin Omasta, a high school senior and member of the Northeast Six Shooters, “but in the four years I’ve been competing in Cowboy Mounted Shooting, my riding skills have improved so much.”

Jeanne points out that it’s important to build a strategy. “You’ll see the riders studying their patterns, watching the other riders go, and strategizing before they ride. This sport showcases riding talent because there’s so much going on-riding skill, controlling and working as a partner with your horse, courage, and great coordination and balance.” The average pattern time runs between 20-30 seconds.

Patterns vary from the fairly easy for novices to the intricate, but they all require quick thinking as well as a quick horse. But, even the littlest of competitors can participate. CMSA offers leadline classes for the tots and more exciting classes for older kids.

“One of the best things about it is that the whole family can be involved,” says Coltin. “Last year at regionals, a six year old boy was led by his dad. Then there was a man in his mid-seventies that did really well.”

Cowboy Mounted Shooting has its roots in the pre-1800’s Wild West days and many contestants love to dress the part. The Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association's Website states that if you want to roll “back the clock to the late 1800’s, try to look as authentic to the period as possible by wearing shirts without collars and high-waisted pants with buttons, not zippers, and an old cowboy hat.” Some of the women riders wear old-style full-length dresses and lace-up Victorian style boots, but if that doesn’t appeal to you, no worries-many competitors stick with the modern ranch hand look.

There are simple, but strict, rules about appropriate attire outside of period dress. Contestants must wear long sleeve western shirts, five-pocket jeans with chinks or chaps, western boots, and-you guessed it-a cowboy hat.

The sport draws a variety of breeds. Quarter Horses, bred for athleticism, are in high demand for mounted shooting, but competitors ride all sorts of breeds, including Morgans, Arabians, Tennessee Walkers, and even mules. Temperament is key.

“I think you need to choose a horse that’s easy going, not too fiery,” says Coltin, “but one that is willing and athletic. It takes a whole season for most horses to settle into it.”

“We have one woman who rides an off-the-track Thoroughbred and is doing very well,” says Jeanne. “The sport is open to all breeds of horses. The only real requirement is an athletic mount with a good temperament.” A good horse for mounted shooting will be supple, responsive to speed control and turn commands, have a good stop, and be de-sensitized to gunfire (although some horses do wear earplugs,) and flapping attachments on the saddle. In short, they must act like a partner even in teh midst of commotion. That’s what makes this sport so challenging and rewarding.

To ride like the wind while shooting a .45 caliber revolver on a great horse…now shouldn’t this be on your bucket list?