Cowboy Mounted Shooting (CMS) is one of the fastest growing equine sports in North America, and we are excited to be part of the action. On Sunday October 29th, we loaded up into the truck and headed into Brandon, which is about an hour and forty minute drive from the ranch, to check out the CMS event at the Keystone Center.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting (CMS) is a combination of horsemanship, gun handling and shooting skills and safety is of the utmost priority. Two .45 caliber single action revolvers with special blank ammunition are used to at shoot balloon targets while riding your horse through competition patterns, and there are over 100 patterns! CMS is a timed event with penalties are assessed for missed targets and overturned barrels. As CMS is relatively new to Canada, please visit the Manitoba Mounted Shooting Association website for details regarding requirements to this sport.
I’m not going to lie, guns are not my thing in any way shape or form (neither are balloons, but that’s just between you and me!). Clayton on the other hand is an avid hunter, so this is right up his ally. But we all wanted to watch our Snackbox Dually competing for the first time in a mounted shooting event, so I braved my phobias of guns and balloons, put on the big cowgirl panties and ventured out to the Keystone Center, and I’m sure glad we did.
We were met by Cain and Roberta Quam of Quam Performance Horses (who prepare and show our cutting, and now mounted shooting horses!) and our gorgeous and talented “Snack”. We had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people in both the Manitoba Mounted Shooting Association and the Saskatchewan Mounted Shooting Association. And of course, I would never go to a horse event without my camera. So enjoy some photos that I took. If it appears that I am a little heavy on the photos of Cain, Roberta and the other Saskatchewan shooters, I apologize for not coming fully prepared. I found myself without ample cards to be able to photograph everyone. I will be sure to come better prepared to the next shoot!
Cain, Roberta and their mounted shooting clan (Snackbox Dually included!) will be doing a CMS demo at the Yorkton Harvest Festival on November 7th and 8th. Demos will be held in the afternoon and during the evening rodeo performance. Be sure to head to Yorkton for the Harvest Festival and check out the mounted shooting!
For more information about CMS in our corner of the world, please visit the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, the Manitoba Mounted Shooting Association, and the Saskatchewan Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association.
Time to check into custom made ear plugs!
- The competitors cheering each other on.
- Warming up.
- Roberta Quam on our Snackbox Dually warming up.
- Roberta was shootin’ so hard and fast, she done lost her hat!
- Roberta and Snackbox Dually, riding the pattern.
- Tom and Dually.
- ….more of Gary and Schultz.
- Gary and Schultz on the pattern.
- Dora and Dually.
- Dora and Dually.
- Roberta and Snackbox Dually.
- Gary and Schultz.
- Roberta and Snackbox Dually on balloon replacement duty.
- Dora and Dually.
- Cain and Snackbox Dually….on the rundown.
- Cain and Snackbox Dually showing us how it’s done.
- Cain and Snackbox Dually rounding the corner (I wish I had’ve been at the other end of the arena for this shot!)
- Gals, guns ‘n’ fast horses!
- Tom and Dually.
- Gary and Schultz on the rundown.
- Dora and Dually on the run down.
- Cain and Buckshot….got their game faces on!
- Cain and Buckshot.
- ….getting good at the first pattern.
- …another competitor getting good at the first pattern.
- The Saskatchewan Shooters came to town! Cain and “Buckshot”, Roberta and “Snack”, Gary and “Schultz”, Tom and Dora on “Dually”.
- After a hard day of shooting, even Schultz needs to sit down for a rest!
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