Cowboy Mounted Shooting®
is one of the nation’s fastest growing equestrian sports. Mounted contestants
compete in this fast action timed event using two .45 caliber single action
revolvers each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition.
Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns. The first half (5 targets) of
a course of fire will vary with each go and requires the horse and rider to
stop, turn, change leads and accelerate rapidly. The second half (5 targets),
called the "run down", is a straight course with targets set at 36
foot intervals.
Typically, a competitor crosses the timing beam at a full gallop and engages
the first pattern of five targets. After a shooter fires the fifth shot, he or
she returns the empty revolver to a holster and proceeds to and turns around a
barrel and then races to the far end of the arena while drawing a second
revolver. At the far end the horse and rider turn another barrel and then engage
the five remaining targets of the run down at full speed.
Scoring is based on elapsed time plus a five second penalty for each target
missed or barrel knocked over. An average course of fire normally takes a
contestant between 30 and 35 seconds to complete.
