Back to France for more training......

Been busy with horseback archery again during these school holidays, we spent 5 days in France at a young archers youth training camp, with our friends at Domaine de Gauchoux near Limoges.

It was fab. Everyone there is just so laid back about everything. Over here people would have been aghast at such things as dogs running loose and horses left unattached to graze after they'd finished their runs. But there were no issues or injuries. I sometimes wonder if the people who worry too much about safety are more likely to have accidents as they're too uptight and it transmits to the horses? Anyway, Alan le Gall who owns the place was not fazed one bit when after 10 minutes of riding a new horse, Ali asked if she could take the bridle off and ride in a rope headcollar.......

Ditto with me and Saltimbanque, a big horsie who'd never encountered archery before. I offered to do a bit of work with getting him used to it all and Alan just said here he is, off you go and left me to it. Didn't realise until later that no one but Alan rides him as when he arrived 2 years ago he was such a nervous wreck he didn't want anyone making him worse......

We stayed in a yurt, which was so much more warm and comfortable that we thought it's be. Beautifully decorated inside......

And how about this for a view?

Although on the first night, I was awoken to the sound of galloping hooves and was half way out of bed before I realised it couldn't be mine escaping.  Next morning over breakfast I found out a couple of the other coaches had had the same reaction......

Anyway, full report on the archery blog here: http://www.mountedarchery.org.uk/young-archer-training-camp-at-gauchoux/

Distractions......

Haven't posted for a while, as I have been a bit distracted by a new online project, namely a website/blog for our new little horseback archery group, Cotteswold Mounted Archers.

Aliénor has done us a funky logo, and we've even had some t-shirts made, everyone wanted different colours, so now in photos we look like extras from Star Trek.......

As the weather looks to be improving slightly, we might even get to do more archery soon! So I'll be sharing horseback archery posts on the new website too.

Managed to get the horses out a few times recently, lovely hack with Gandalf and Tari yesterday, it wasn't even raining :-)

New Ambitions!

Haven't posted for a while because we haven't done much recently, apart from slog up the hill through the mud in the rain to see the horses every day, thanks to the Great British Winter this year being not very cold but very, very wet. Not that it has bothered the horses at all.......

The only place we've been able to escape the weather is in an indoor school. Sadly not one anywhere near here, but in Berkshire, at the Ambitions Equestrian Centre, where a friend is a regular and where they decided they'd like a little go at horseback archery.

So in the Christmas holidays we wandered over with our kit and got some of the kids on the pony club camp to have a go. Some of them were a bit reluctant, largely because they were scared the bow would break so we had a session on foot first to get them used to the bow and how to shoot it.

A further complication was that none of the horses had so much as seen a bow before, so we spent a fair bit of time introducing them to new sights and sounds too.....

Then there was the biggest hurdle, getting the kids to let go of the reins........distraction is the best way to do this, I find.....

Most of the ponies were great about the whole thing, any of them that were a bit unsure I got Ali to ride as some of the anxiety was coming from the riders....but as the session progressed, they got more confident :-)

A week later, we were back and by the end of this day's work, we had some of the kids shooting from a canter....

And a couple of weeks later, we did a Friday night session for the adults.

Apparently they want us to do more at half term. Better get on with doing my BHAA Coaching qualification then!

British Horseback Archery Championships

So the long-awaited weekend finally arrived. Back in July I decided to bite the bullet and actually take my horses to a competition. Of course it just happened to be a five hour drive away in Cornwall, but that was the venue for this year's competition, so that was where we were going.

Having arranged to hire a lorry for the horses, I got an email on Monday saying it was at the garage with mechanical problems so wouldn't be available after all. Spent most of the rest of the day frantically calling round to get a replacement, and thankfully found one fairly locally.

Crisis averted, we went to fetch it on Friday and I carefully steered around some little lanes back to the yard ready to load up. Luckily there was a large storage compartment in the back since we had to fit in a lot of stuff: saddles, bows, fancy dress outfits, spare hay, the dog.....

The horses went straight in, they seem to prefer a rear-facing lorry and started attacking their hay. We got to watch them on a little monitor in the cab. When the lorry was in reverse gear the monitor changed to show the view out the back, which was just as well given my reversing skills ;-)

The trip down was pretty straightforward, mostly motorway and dual carriageway and we got there in 5 hours. Unloaded the horses, let them into a little paddock for a roll and some grass and went to check out the archery field. This just happened to be next door to the caravan park where we were staying so we checked in there too.

Then it was time to fetch the horses and show them around a bit. G of course too it all in his stride, but Sky was a lot more suspicious of the strange things dotted about.....

But there were no tantrums, so we wandered back up to the yard and turned them out for the night, whilst we retired to the pub.

Next morning we were up and organised bright and early (even got breakfast cooked by our mate Adam who chose to squat on the sofa in the caravan rather than sleep in his tent) getting G kitted out in his fancy dress for the kid's competition. There were only three of them, so we put the boys on G and made Éowyn ride Sky. Doing a few runs at the walk seemed to settle her (Sky) down a bit and she stopped worrying about the sound of the arrows hitting the target. And a fair few of Éowyn's arrows did hit, she even got a 5 on one of her runs, and she came first :-)

By the time they'd finished, some more horses had arrived and the Hungarian competition got underway. As soon as the speed increased, all Sky's calmness went out of the window and she seemed intent on trying to break the land speed record, doing some of her runs in less than 9 seconds, which meant poor Alex didn't get a chance to shoot many arrows. We persuaded Ali to give it a go on Gandalf too. I had no intention of even trying, since I can't hit a target on the ground, let alone one up in the air.......

Then it was back to the yard and Cornish pasties for lunch. In the afternoon was the Aussie Triple competition, which is reserved for those at student grades (more about the grading system here), and for those who haven't even got a student badge yet 'cos they can't hit a  barn door (me). And true to form, I didn't hit a thing. But it was fun though, as you can see I was hating every minute.....

So that was day 1. Rounded off with a trip to the pub, naturally.

Day 2 began much the same (eggs for breakfast again). The morning's competition was the Korean. Given my spectacular performance in the Aussie Triple, I elected to give this a miss and gave Alex the ride on Gandalf so she might stand a chance of scoring something as he doesn't feel the need to gallop full tilt down the track. So Ali got the hooligan pony, who was a bit better, some of the time......

My favourite of the horses there was Dolly, who Adam was riding.

My sort of horsie. Big, brassy, real leg-at-each-corner type. Very opinionated.  Reminded me of a mare I used to own......anyway, she made a real impression thundering down the track. And they came 3rd in the overall competition.

More pasties for lunch, to follow the tea and biscuits some locals had kindly provided for us that morning. Then all that remained was for Ali and Sky to do the Aussie Triple as they hadn't had time the day before. By this time, Missy was getting a tad fed up with running up and down so tried to go even faster, setting off like someone had set fire to her tail, resulting in some choice swearing from Ali (in French, of course!).

She did eventually manage to get a few shots off......

....but we still have a way to go. But generally I was really pleased with the horses this weekend, they took it all in their stride and didn't stress too much about the loooooong journey, loaded perfectly and travelled quietly. It was a lot to ask, really, and they delivered.

After Ali's runs were finished, we packed up and left as I wanted to get back before midnight and in the end, apart from a bit of a queue on the M4 near Bristol, the journey home was very smooth. Nice Renault Master lorry was easy to drive and probably had a better turning circle than my car. If only I could afford one!

We left before the main prize giving, although Éowyn had got her certificate earlier.

On the way back, got a text from Alex to say even I'd got a rosette, as there weren't that many of us doing the Aussie Triple. So it was all worth it then :-)

Now to find more time to practise for the next competition.........

Horse archery course part 2

This week we finally got the chance to do the second half of our horse archery course at the Centre of Horseback Combat in Hemel Hempstead. We did the first half way back in March but this is the first time we've been able to get back there to finish it!

We spent the first part of the morning shooting on foot again whilst the rest of the group got to grips with it, as they were all beginners. Ali and I managed to shoot a fair few of the bits of rubber in the arena behind the targets ;-)

But finally it was time to go and find some horses. Ali rode Carnival, a very clean grey. All the horses were very clean, not at all what we're used to.....She managed to get going in canter pretty quickly and even get some arrows in targets :-)

 

Then it was my turn. I rode Oscar, who is like Gandalf, only cleaner and more grumpy.......I was pleased that I got the hang of nocking and shooting and managed to get 3 arrows off on some of my runs (not the one Ali videoed though) but sadly only one of the arrows ever connected with a target. Ah well, someone's got to come last at the Championship next month ;-)

Archery training for the old, the clumsy and the hopeless.....

Today I watched this video online, made by Frédéric Luneau, one of the best horseback archers in France. The subtitle for those of you who don't speak French is "Training programme for the old, the clumsy and the hopeless" ;-)

Except that Fred is none of these and makes it all look easy. I could probably manage to throw axes at bits of wood, but I can't juggle, and as for the yoga and leaping on to the horse from the ground - no chance!

But riding without a bridle has to be worth a try. So today for the fist time, we did just that. Gandalf was very easy to steer with just a neckstrap, maybe because he's so used to being ridden on a long rein without a "contact". As we were in the little pen, we were restricted to walking, but I intend to try this at a faster pace when I get the chance......even shot an arrow or two :-)

Ali had a go with Sky too, who was predictably a bit unsure to begin with but proved quite receptive after a while.

Some video here......

How to train your medieval warhorse......

I have just rediscovered a book I bought years ago called The Medieval Warhorse by Ann Hyland. Makes interesting reading if you're interested in history generally, but given our latest hobby, some bits were of great interest....

I really liked this picture of a Mamluk horseman, an illustration from a Mamluk manuscript on horsemanship written in the fourteenth century.

Looks like a spotty horse to me :-) The illustrations in the manuscript are beautiful. There's a link to the colour version of this one here.

In The Medieval Warhorse the techniques from various sources are explained. From the above manuscript and other muslim writings, the book's author learns there were "instructions for schooling in the nawerd (a Persian word meaning circle) explaining how to do it in a figure-of-eight pattern which would have entailed a lead change as the rein was changed......this manoeuvrability.....would have been vital for an archer who had to make many changes of direction. A well-trained, balanced horse will switch his leads as he changes direction. If he does not, he ride becomes jerky which would have disrupted the aim. To aim well......a horse needed a low level topline with his head down."  Not just for dressage tests then......

Another item of interest is what they would do with the reins:

"The reins were shortened by means of a knot....to the spare length a folded strap was attached and a very thin thong tied to this, once the rider was mounted, was secured to a ring on the ring finger of the right hand to prevent the reins from leaving his hand while shooting."


I like this picture in the book too, from the 13th century Battle of Bouvines. This was the one where we finally lost hold of Brittany and Normandy, after another disastrous campaign by King John and his allies. You wouldn't associate mounted archers with medieval knights.....

...but then on a recent trip to see the Bayeux Tapestry again, I did notice this bit for the first time:

Then of course there is plenty in the book about the Mongols:

"The Mongol horse was trained so that his rider could shoot a bow in each and every direction while travelling at a flat-out gallop. Training started with the horse at a standstill getting him accustomed to the bow accompanied by much noise; next, movement with the equipment - different angles for shooting, moving the drawn bow around the horse, withdrawing arrows from the quiver etc. "

Might as well get started then.......

Championnat de France 2015 - Day 3

Day 3 and it was even more of an effort to drag ourselves out of the tent at 6 to get going. We decided to pack all the camp stuff away as we needed to head off after Ali's second competition and there was no way I'd be able to do the drive too late in the day without falling asleep......

So it was back to the dustbowl. Was quite amusing that all these people who arrived clean and shiny were now starting to look like, well, people who'd spent 3 days camping and being around sweaty horses......I had rinsed through Ali's riding gear the night before but it wasn't looking too pristine!

We did the usual hanging around and faffing, although Éowyn was quite happy messing around plaiting the horses' manes (apart from Kinna's as she hasn't really got any).

Then it was away back to the monster ménage. We saw some more costumes on the way, and even a few attelages.

 Kinna got bored waiting whilst the kids did some archery warm up on foot and decided she's like to eat Carole's hair .....

The Poney competition on the second day was a bit different. Someone (presumably one of the Important Guys In Charge) had decided that they should do a Hungarian type thing, where instead of targets spaced out along the run on the ground which is what Ali is used to, there were 3 targets higher up, two of which are angled. (More on that here, if anyone's interested). Needless to say, this did not help improve her score, and quite a few of the kids ended up with zero runs. Never mind, all good experience.

Kinna was still pretty lively, all four feet are not meant to be off the ground at a mere canter ;-)

So Ali has the honour of being last at the Championnat. Or 13th out of 13, unlucky for some.......but she had fun, and it was a great experience. Unlike the drive back down to our place in the Dordogne, which was just long, even without any striking agriculteurs this time. Need a rest now!

Championnat de France 2015 - Day 2

So after the usual crap night's sleep in a tent (better than last time because we had an air mattress, but still not ideal as I was sharing with both the kids who are fidgety buggers) I was up at 6 to get sorted for day 1 of the competition. We had breakfast (remembered to bring proper tea bags this time so no thé pas bon for me), rounded up the horses, loaded them and set off back to Lamotte.

Obviously the car park was miles away from the event, and the trailer/lorry park was miles away from that, so it was back to the dust and dangerous cyclists again. It was pretty busy even at 8am and Kinna's teddy bear ears were flicking all over the place taking it all in....

It was also pretty warm already, Éowyn and the dog were running through the sprinklers to cool off!

We arrived back at the monstrous indoor school to find the usual chaos of yelling people, yelling horses, barking dogs and flying arrows just to add to the excitement. One of the Important Guys In Charge (wearing his official gilet to make sure we all knew how important he was) came over and opined that Ali's arrows were "too pointy" so we had to hurriedly scrape the points off on some concrete.

 

Then it was time for a quick warm up as they were in the first "pool" (the way they pronounced the English word made me think they were talking about chickens at first) and they were off. Predictably, Kinns wasn't too keen on going away from her friends into the dark recesses of the manege and did some suitable prancing about and snorting, but eventually deigned to actually go down the run. When it came to the cantering runs, she decided she'd rather gallop, and Ali found the wall at the end coming towards her rather rapidly.......!

But she managed to pull her up without running over any Important Guys In Charge or small children and at least the speed got her some time points. She even managed to get some arrows in the targets, including a 4

Still finished last though by the end of the first day's competition. But then she's had nowhere to practise in the UK (I'm working on that). Johan did better in the second "pool", Kinns had slowed down (a bit) by then.

 

And Carla on Quetsch did pretty well too.

We emerged blinking into the heat of midday and set off to yomp back to the trailer with the horses then go in search of food. Lots of fancy-dress dressage going on, like a quadrille but with various numbers of competitors. Some good costumes on show!

Also, sadly, a lot of gadgets on show, they even allow de Gogues for archery....

After lunch it was back to the nice cool manege for the Club 1 competition. Kinna had to come along and watch her mate Idaa strut his stuff.

Then we decided it was time for ice-creams. By this time Éowyn was flagging so I took her back to the campsite for a shower and a rest. Naturally she crashed in the car on the way back and was then bouncing around all over the place.........luckily they had some games to keep her amused.

 

No meschui this time so once the others were back we went out for a pizza and came home for an early night. Which would have been easier had some of our fellow campers not stayed up late drinking and yelling....even the bloody sheep on the farm were loud. I hate camping!