A member of the Volcano Ridge Mounted Archers strikes a target during a past event. The mounted archery group will be hosting an open house ceremony at Arrowhead Acres on June 17 to show the public what the group does.
Attendees of Volcano Ridge Mounted Archers’ open house ceremony at Arrowhead Acres on June 17 will have the chance to try their hand at archery games and ground shooting similar to what is seen here in a previous archery event.
Demonstrations harkening back to the Mongolian masters of the Asian steppe or the Hungarian horsemen who carved out their European kingdom with bow and stirrup will be on display this month as Volcano Ridge Mounted Archers will host an open house ceremony event June 17.
The locally-based mounted archery group will show off the ancient martial art through demonstrations from their members. Attendees will also get a chance to try their own hand at shooting in several archery games,
The open house will be at Arrowhead Acres, a Brush Prairie archery range that hosts the Volcano Ridge group.
Officially becoming a nonprofit in 2015, Volcano Ridge was founded with four individuals including Arrowhead Acres owner Gabrielle Massie. She said this would be the first time Arrowhead Acres’ range would be open to the public for such an event, explaining that the importance of community awareness of mounted archery, specifically among youth, made a more public opening day a priority.
Other than the demonstrations by Volcano Ridge members, on-foot archery games are also available for those looking to try their aim themselves. The games won’t be as hardcore as the actual training that Volcano Ridge members undergo though that training does begin on foot before getting to shoot on horseback.
“Primitive” is a word that comes up frequently when discussing mounted archery, likely due to a few distinguishing factors. Mounted archers use a recurve bow more akin to those that would be fashioned during the martial art’s heyday on the battlefield, not the technologically-enhanced compound bows used for on-foot hunting.
Even with an extensive history across the world, Massie said she still encounters people unaware that mounted archery is “still a thing.” Groups like Volcano Ridge are bringing it back as an organized sport, drawing from the past in the way that falls in with how the skill had been used historically.
“Everything that we do simulates hunting or actual war, as far as how we train,” Massie said.
Massie had called mounted archery the “queen of martial arts” due to its reliance on core and upper body strength alongside the concentration and balance required to ride a horse and hit a target.
One of the aspects of mounted archery that Massie brought up was how close the rider and horse need to be in order to be adept at the martial art. Riding reinless in order to shoot requires a trust between animal and rider, one built up through Volcano Ridge’s extensive training, she said.
“This is something that brings you closer to your horse than you really could comprehend because of that trust factor,” Massie said.
Although Volcano Ridge could have gone the for-profit way, Massie said the group was dedicated both to horses and youth. One of the programs the group puts on, the equine second chance program, helps horses picked up by local rescue efforts through rehabilitative care and archery training.
“It’s incredible to watch the freedom that a horse can obtain through this (archery training),” Massie said, comparing it to the more controlled reins and bit setup.
Massie said regardless of one’s interest to do archery themselves, the event will provide a chance to learn and watch.
“There’s no pressure to come ‘do’ — everybody is welcome to come visualize and see,” Massie said. “That is our biggest thing, to spread the knowledge and to spread the awareness of this lost horse art. … And our demo riders are amazing.”
