Frequently Asked Questions

1 

Do I need to know archery to join?

Nope! We teach you all the basics to get started in mounted archery. Even if you have prior experience in ground archery, we recommend starting with our intro clinic, as the equipment and techniques specific to mounted archery may be different than what you have used in the past.

2

Do I need to know how to ride?

Generally speaking, no previous riding experience is required to get started. Everyone starts out with a leader for their horse the first few times while they get used to riding and shooting a bow at the same time. However, we strongly recommend all members take regular riding lessons outside of club practices, as we are not able to provide riding instruction during archery practice time.

3

Is there a minimum age requirement?

Individual children may be able to participate at earlier ages, but generally, we recommend children interested in learning mounted archery are at least eight years old. By this age, most children have enough strength and length in their arms to pull back one of our beginner bows. For children twelve years old and under, we require that they be currently enrolled in regular riding lessons to participate. This is to guarantee that everyone involved understands safe behavior around horses.

4

I'd like to use my horse for mounted archery, but I think they're too spooky!

We start everyone out on one of our experienced archery horses, so you can focus on learning to shoot before training our horse. We are happy to help train your horse for mounted archery. We have worked with dozens of horses to desensitize them to archery, and find that almost all horses can pick it up eventually. We work in short sessions, focusing on keeping the experience stress-free for the horse, so it may take many sessions to get them ready for archery, but we have never found a horse that is truly too spooky for the sport. Some of our best archery horses are the same ones that still spook at the mounting block every day, so your horse may surprise you with what they are able to do!

5

How can I sign up for lessons or practices?

All of our practices and clinics are announced via our mailing list, which you can sign up for at the bottom of the page. We recommend that everyone completes an introductory ground clinic to learn the principles of mounted archery from the ground before trying to shoot while mounted.