ABOUT THE CLUB
WELCOME!
Bay Area Horse Archers is a San Francisco Bay Area club that focuses primarily on learning, playing, growing, and sharing horsemanship skills around the amazing fun sport of horse archery for both adult and young equestrians. Intermediate and advanced equestrians, and all level archers are welcome to join us for practice, training, clinics, competitions, and social gatherings. We are fully insured.
> Students MUST have at least one year of regular riding experience with the ability to post at a trot and ride the canter in 2-point (when achieving canter level) to join the club.
> ALL members must view the required training classes online. Training classes include saddle fitting, healthy hooves, identifying lameness, and more.
> No horses will be accepted under the age of 4 years old.
> No bareback pads with stirrups will be allowed.
We rent space at Bending Brook Farms at 11676 New Ave, Gilroy and currently ONLY offer private lessons and clinics.
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ABOUT ADAM
Adam Sewell was born in England and raised in Africa. He has also lived in Germany, Spain, Ireland, the Caribbean on cruise ships, and in various locations around the U.S. An avid rider since age 4, Adam currently works as a fitness instructor training private in-home clients and specializing in equestrian fitness and has been a personal trainer, tai chi and yoga instructor for over 27 years. He worked in executive protection for celebrities and corporate executives for many years and has also worked as a casino dealer, lifeguard, film production PA, chauffeur, personal assistant, private estate manager, house sitter, petsitter, office manager for an exotic car dealership, and now works as a professional stuntman as a member of Bay Area Stunts. Adam has traveled all over the world to ride horses and has been training in horse archery since 2019 when he joined California Centaurs in Cotati, California under the guidance of Hilary Merrill. He started Bay Area Horse Archers as he was looking for a place closer to home to practice and is the founder of Adam Sewell Specialized Horse Archery Training (A.S.S.H.A.T).....
ABOUT ARIEL
Ariel Conrad was riding horses on her family's horse ranch in Idaho when she was a toddler and that has carried over to her life in the Bay Area. She currently works with an animal rescue center, training dogs for adoption. Ariel also practices horse archery and is Bay Area Horse Archers' club manager, but her real love is flying. She is a flight instructor at Squadron 2, based out of Reid Hillview Airport in San Jose. When not flying, working with rescued dogs, or traveling, she can be found diligently training our archery horses, Spectyr, Brûlée, and the new kid, Piccolo, and our even newer kid, Luna.
ABOUT OUR PHILOSOPHY
HORSEMANSHIP FIRST
"RIDE FIRST - SHOOT SECOND!"
You'll hear those words repeated often in class.
We expect you to become more than a rider, we expect you to become a horseman or horsewoman.
We don't care how well you ride, but you must be in control of your horse at all times.
We don't care how well you shoot.
We care about the mental and physical wellbeing of your horses.
Shut down horse that "does what he's told?" Nope. Anxious horse that "needs to be desensitized?" Nope.
We expect you to work on advancing your knowledge of horses and to learn from them.
We expect you to put their needs first and demonstrate that in class and competitions.
We do not allow our members to use harsh bits or saddles that don't fit properly.
If you hit your horse, you're out. If your horse is uncontrollable, you'll be asked to leave the class.
We expect you to show up on time and develop your skills in a safe and controlled manner.
We expect you to learn from other teachers and constantly study the art of horsemanship.
No, we do not do children's parties!
We expect you to be kind to, and tolerant with others in your class, and have as much fun as you can!
Training sessions start on time. Please arrive early to prepare yourself and your horse.
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"RIDE FIRST - SHOOT SECOND"
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ABOUT THE BASICS
HOW TO GET STARTED
You must be able to ride a horse. WE DO NOT TEACH BEGINNER RIDING LESSONS. Taking riding lessons will be your first step. English riding lessons from an eventing coach will help the best. When shooting off our lesson horses, you MUST be in a 2-point (standing) position. We do not allow seated shooting or boucing in the saddle. If you are a casual western rider, this will be your biggest challenge. In clinics, you can use your own horse and tack as these clinics are designed for beginners. You do not need archery experience. We will teach you everything you need to know from beginner level up to competition level.
OUR LESSON HORSES
Mooney: Mooney is a 17-year old Arabian. He is not a large horse and is not allowed to carry more than 175lb intermediate riders. He is currently our only lesson horse.
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COMPETITIONS
STRAIGHT TRACK -
The Raid or Korean track consists of a 90 meter track with one to five targets on one side of the track. The competitor shoots one arrow at each target and has 14 seconds to canter from start to finish with points awarded for crossing the finish line under the allowed time.
The Tower or Hungarian track consists of a 90 or 110 meter track with a tower of three targets halfway down the track. The competitor can shoot as many arrows at all three targets as possible with points awarded for crossing the finish line under 18 seconds.
The Skirmish track has one target on the start line, one front, one side, and one back shot and an offside shot at the end of the track with a 14 second time limit to canter the 90 meter track.
The Qabaq track has one or more dinner plate size targets on the top of seven meter poles alongside the track with a 14 second time limit. This is particularly challenging as the competitor has to shoot almost directly overhead while riding under the targets.
CROSS COUNTRY TRACK -
The Hunt or Polish track consists of a cross country style track with targets at various distances on both sides. The length of the track varies as do the targets, some of which might be three dimensional animal shaped realistic targets. More advanced clubs are now adding in ambidextrous shooting, jumps and obstacles to develop more horsemanship skills within the community.
MODERN TRACK -
The Modern track combines horsemanship, dressage and ranch riding skills such as jumping, water obstacles, dismounting and remounting, opening and closing gates, stringing the bow while riding and more.
These are the most popular tracks but there are many others and new competitions crop up all the time. Here is a link to a great resource for this information: https://www.mountedarchery.org/courses-score-sheets
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Anybody who has a horse and can ride well enough can participate. Good horsemanship is the most challenging aspect of this sport. As with everything, you take it step by step, learning the basics of shooting on the ground, then apply those principles to sitting on your horse, first at a walk, then at a trot, then at a canter and eventually at a gallop. The old adage "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" applies here too. Riding slowly and shooting accurately beats riding fast and shooting inaccurately every time. Kids can do this too, as long as they can ride well.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
A horse, a bow, arrows, a quiver and a sense of humor.
HOW DO YOU TRAIN YOUR HORSE?
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Controlling your horse:
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Train your horse to keep a slow controlled steady canter down the track. First comes accuracy, then comes speed or as the saying goes: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
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WHAT TACK CAN YOU USE?
You can use most tack but certain tack is not allowed in competitions.
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Saddles: Western saddles do not work particularly well as shooting at a canter should be done from a standing or two-point position as it is hard to shoot accurately when sitting at a canter. Standing is harder to do on a western saddle due to the stirrups being set more forward. Endurance saddles are popular as are dressage saddles.
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Bridles: Short loop reins or reins that are loosely tied to the saddle with a strap or small bungee cord work best. Many people are now switching to bitless bridles and this is also a popular option for horse archers. If you have to snatch up the reins quickly, a bit can really damage a horse's mouth. Going bridle-less or liberty is not yet allowed in competitions but we definitely encourage it in training in the right circumstances.
WHAT BOW SHOULD YOU USE?
Bows for horse archery are known by a few different names like composite bows, horse bows, traditional bows, or Asiatic bows. These are different from regular recurve bows, which, like compound bows are not allowed in horse archery competitions. Asiatic bows do not have a shelf and can be made from wood, fiberglass, and various other materials laminated to make a very powerful bow. These bows tend to be shorter than recurve bows to enable the archer to move the bow from one side of the horse to the other more easily. Unfortunately, most archery shops are unfamiliar with these types of bows so online or local bow company representatives tend to be the only way to buy them. Look for links on the resources page of this site for bow manufacturers and retailers.
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