Up-coming Mounted Archery Opportunities

May, probably last week end. The Second Lakota Sioux Mounted Archery Gathering at Mission, South Dakota.

Open to the public and steeped in history and beautiful country.

June 9-11 Sixth International Horse Archery Festival (IHAF), Fort Dodge Iowa.

The date has been fixed on the website (www.intlhorsearchery.org) for several months, and horseback archery demonstrations are listed. Krackow Company will be there to support the event. Note the marked change in dates from prior years. Watch the website for unfolding details.

June 13-16 Pat Stoddard Training camp in Libby, Montana.

Pat is a several year veteran of IHAF training, and has gone on to develop his skill to high level, demonstrating at national events such as the Denver Stock Show.

August, dates to follow. Training camp at the Holm Neumann Ranch in Bend, Oregon.

Lukas Novotny will be the trainer. The backdrop is the spectacular Three Sisters mountain peaks.

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July 1-7 Cabela’s First International Outdoor Recreation Exhibition and Competition, Western Pennsylvania

After several years of developmental work this comprehensive outdoor celebration will become a reality. It includes a wide array of activities on land, water, and air spread across the entirety of beautiful western Pennsylvania (see www.odrea.com). For equestrians, there will be endurance rides, trail rides, shoeing and training clinics, and mounted archery.

The huge promotional and financial break-through is that Cabela’s has named the event and has signed on for five years. Cabela’s support will also bring the support of many of their big suppliers such as the makers of Gore-Tex products, PSE, Remington, Nikon, etc.

Krackow Company has been asked to organize the mounted archery events, including demonstrations, a formal competition, and a three-day clinic. Lukas Novotny will be the Director of all three of these segments, assisted by Dana Hotko.

On Saturday, July 1 there will be an opening parade of as many mounted archers as we can gather and in full costume at the Noon hour. Following the opening parade there will be formal demonstrations by a limited few of our most qualified participants, and a repeat demonstration at 3:00 PM. Lukas will post who the demonstrators will be. There will be opportunity in the morning of that first day for informal practice by all participants, regardless of skill level. Costumes will not be standardized but should have a rich and colorful appearance, and should draw on some old historical period to some degree (much room for creativity).

On Sunday, July 2 there will be a formal competition from approximately

10 AM to approximately 4 PM. The rules of the Mounted Archery Association of the Americas will be introduced and followed. Scoring is based on accuracy of shooting and the speed of the horse.

Seminars. On 1^st and the 2^nd we will examine equine selection and training, making and shooting bows for mounted archery, ground work for mounted archers, and historic roots of the Magyars.

During the three days of July 3-5, a training clinic for mounted archers will be conducted and open to the first fifteen registrants. Registrants must have both basic equestrian and archery skills. We will reserve the right to cancel registrants who lack these basic skills. The clinic will have both ground and mounted instruction and exercises.

Miscellaneous. The mounted archery events will be at the Cooper’s Lake site located on IS 79 a few miles south of IS 80 on a large tract of land which accommodates very large gatherings such as Creative Anachronisms which brings in around fifteen thousand campers. Helmets may be worn and decorated to compliment one’s costume. In most cases, participants will need to bring their own horses, but a few rentals may be arranged by advanced planning.

I realize that many questions will not have been answered and that more details will need to follow. This is a preliminary notice in order to get this amazing event on your calendar.