The cowboy drew his 0.45mm Ruger Vaqueros as he rode towards his target. Once he got in range, a loud bang reverberated. As the balloon popped, he sped to his next target.
Lucas Thiessen of Humboldt was one of six riders demonstrating聽 the sport of cowboy mounted shooting at the Tisdale Rambler Rodeo April 7. The others were his wife Kristy Thiessen, Barbie Harder of Carrot River, Kristen Wiens of Tisdale, Chris Epp of Rosthern and Marissa Epp of Rosthern.
The goal is to shoot all of the balloons, which are placed in an arena in a random order, within the fastest time.
Lucas told the Humboldt Journal he鈥檚 been doing it for three and a half years.
鈥淭his crazy guy named Cain Quom and my dad are good friends and they invited us to try it out one time. He trains and breaks shooting horses,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e did it one time and we were hooked. We went home that day and ordered a set of guns.鈥�
Kristy started the sport after Lucas.
鈥淚 just learned from my husband. I started last year, so this would be starting my second year of shooting. My first shoot was Agribition,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey say it鈥檚 not the first balloon that you hit, it鈥檚 the first balloon that you miss that keeps you coming back for more.鈥�
The sport requires participants use the same type of weapons that would be found in the wild west.
鈥淎 lot of people, when they haven鈥檛 seen it before, wonder if we鈥檙e shooting live rounds or what鈥檚 coming out of there,鈥� Lucas said. 鈥淲e shoot black powder. It鈥檚 coarse grain black powder.鈥�
There鈥檚 no projectile coming out of the gun. It鈥檚 the burning embers of the powder coming out of the gun that pop the balloon. The range is about 17 feet, but, if they鈥檙e feeling lucky, riders could shoot a bit further away from the balloon to go faster 鈥� at the risk of not popping the balloon.
As well, there are competitions that use shotguns and rifles.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my goal to do 鈥� super fun 鈥� but at some point you drop the reins and you just hope your horse runs straight and you somehow shoot this rifle with both hands,鈥� Kristy said.
The horses have to be gun broke to compete. That process begins with a bull whip and as the horse gets used to the sound, they鈥檙e then exposed to successively larger bangs. There鈥檚 also safety equipment for both the rider and the horse.
鈥淲e put horse earplugs in the horses,鈥� Kristy said.
Competitors also have to be dressed up like a wild west cowboy, with a hat, long-sleeved shirt as well as chinks or chaps.
There鈥檚 six levels, beginning at level one. As a competitor wins four of them, they move up to the next level.
While he鈥檚 been active in the sport, Lucas has seen some successes.
鈥淟ast year, I won Canadian finals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my first year of shooting, I went down to Texas for world finals and I won my class, the Men鈥檚 I class.鈥�
To be successful, lots of practising is a must.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an awesome sport,鈥� Lucas said. 鈥淭oo much fun.鈥�
