Some people ride. Some people shoot. And people in the Creston Valley can now do both, with the Cowboy Mounted Shooters Association of BC.
The organization got started last year, but president Pamela Sabo was inspired about five years ago when she attended a shooting clinic in Carstairs, Alta. She’s been a rider and hunter for decades, so combining the two was a natural progression.
“I’ve been hunting, trapping and fishing my whole life,” said Sabo. “I’ve been riding horses my whole life. We’re just a very outdoorsy family, and firearms have been a part of my life forever, primarily long arms.”
Her husband teaches the Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) program for those wishing to obtain a B.C. hunting licence. Sabo has hunted on horseback, but riding and shooting offered a new horsemanship challenge.
“Your horse has to be able to be trained to the point of being able to be controlled one-handed at different speeds,” she said.
The sport involves riders guiding their horse through one of 60 different patterns, shooting black powder at 10 balloons that are broken by burning embers.
“There are absolutely no projectiles used in the firearms,” said Sabo.
In addition to wearing western or similar dress, riders are required to use a Colt .45-calibre pistol made prior to 1898 (or a replica). The guns are six-shooters, which means they must cock the gun, then shoot and repeat the process as they ride, with a five-second penalty added for each balloon missed in the timed event.
Horsemanship, obviously, is a key factor in training, as are safety procedures.
“Although you’re not using live ammunition, you do have burning embers that can cause a burn,” said Sabo.
And practice applies to the horses as well as the riders — a gunshot is still a gunshot, and the horses have to get used to it. They and the riders wear earplugs, but are trained with progressively louder sounds, starting with caps.
“The horses go through a progression as they get used to it,” said Sabo.
“Your horse is your foundation because you’re not going to get anywhere with a spooky horse.”
Mounted shooting was developed as a sport in the U.S.A. in the early 1990s, and a group in Alberta worked with the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) in the early 2000s to bring it to Canada. There are now clubs in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with the CMSABC being the first and only one approved in B.C. Prior to approval, B.C. residents could register with clubs in other provinces, requiring, among other things, authorization to travel with firearms.
The board of the CMSABC is doing its part to help other clubs in B.C. get started. The board is developing club bylaws and guidelines to make it possible for chapters to be formed, saving costs and eliminating the need for new clubs to be approved by the RCMP.
“We’ll have already been through the stages,” said Sabo.
Four Creston Valley arenas have been approved by the RCMP for the shooters to use as they practice. That practice could help take them farther — because Creston’s club is affiliated with the international Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, competition points can be earned in order to attend regional finals as well as the world finals held in Texas.
“It gives everyone an opportunity to get out and go places,” said Sabo.
The Canadian organizations follow the U.S. organization’s rules, up to the point where they conflict. In the states, for example, children are allowed to shoot when their parents feel they are ready, but have to wait until they’re 18 in Canada.
That gives them a chance to learn to ride the sport’s patterns first, before advancing to the six men’s and women’s levels. Seniors have their own levels, too, which the older riders appreciate.
“What we have right now is a lot of older people tired of competing with younger riders,” said Sabo. “This way, they get to compete against people their own age.”
But no matter their age, all riders can remain brushed up on their skills. The association hosts regular clinics, with upcoming sessions covering one-handed riding, techniques and strategy — key facets of finding success as a mounted shooter.
“Before you add speed, you get accurate,” said Sabo.
For more information on the Cowboy Mounted Shooters Association of BC, visit www.cmsabc.ca or email info@cmsabc.ca.
