The Equine staff at Houghall Campus hosted a successful ‘Introduction to Horseback Archery’ class on Sunday 16th October at our state-of-the-art Equine Unit, taught by the current British Senior National Champion, Emily Massey.
The event was open to the public who were able to bring their own horses to the 2-hour long session with EDC staff – Caitlin Jamieson, Rachel Williams who brought her horse daisy, and Felicity Evens who brought her pony Misty joining in. Attendees began with practicing shooting with a bow and arrow on foot. Then the horses were carefully brought into the arena to desensitise them to the equipment and the noises. Once the horses were happy and settled, attendees mounted and started shooting the targets from the horses. With Emily's help, attendees were able to shoot at a walk by the end of the day.
Equine Lecturer at Houghall Campus, Felicity Evens, said “Horseback Archery was not something I'd ever thought I'd try, but it was really cool. Emily was great as an instructor, talked us through everything and made sure all horses were happy and safe before letting us shoot from them. It was great fun and can't wait to do it again!”
