ORIGINS
Origins: It has been practiced since the s. IX BC in Central Asia and by most civilizations throughout human history for war and hunting. The most famous horse archers have been the Mongols, Ottomans, Huns, Persians, as well as the Native Americans. It is currently one of the modern sports with the greatest historical legacy, the most practiced and the fastest growing, especially in Poland, Hungary, Scandinavia, Australia, South Africa, Mongolia, Turkey, China, Japan, USA, Canada and now Mexico.
Archery on horseback is an ancient art that has become a modern sport. Mounted archers began to replace charioteers at the end of the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. The Assyrians are widely recognized as the first to take it, when they began to hunt on horseback with a bow. The Scythians were also one of the first people to master the art of mounted warfare, they appear to have spread over a large region north of the Black Sea and their land may well have reached as far as the Caspian Sea. The peoples of the Asian steppes, especially the Mongols under Ghengis Khan, perfected the art of mounted warfare over the centuries. In Japan, meanwhile, from about the 4th century AD, samurai warriors developed their own form of mounted archery, yabusame, using asymmetrical high bows, and still shoot in this traditional manner in Japan today.
Several distinct styles of archery on horseback originating from different parts of the world are part of the modern sport. The Korean-style raid track requires the archer to fire at targets located in a low position just a few meters from the track, while the Hungarian-type turret style has taller targets clustered together that require longer range shots at distances than they are constantly changing, demonstrating skills that would have been necessary. in the past for mounted warfare. The Turkish Qabaq event involves shooting an overhead target with blunt arrows and perhaps the most fun event is the Polish hunting track, which simulates a hunt with a long winding course, shooting targets (often 3D animal targets). ) which may be at different distances on both sides of the runway. Part of the appeal of this fast and exciting sport to us is the freedom it gives our horses. Not only are they ridden contactless, but most of the time they are reinless. Most archery courses on horseback run for more than 90 metres, with targets at regular intervals along the length and of course the horse must be ridden without reins as he needs both hands on the bow. When we need to use the reins, we have taught all our horses to master the neck, so we can easily move them to the beginning of the lead when we have a bow and a handful of arrows to contend with. We train them to follow voice and seat cues through positive reinforcement and to be responsible for maintaining their speed and direction with minimal intervention from the rider.
