DISCIPLINE TIR A L'ARC

©Hitesh-Choudhary

About

Horseback archery

Horseback archery consists of 3 events. Depending on the level of the events, the devices vary.

History

Le tir à l’arc à cheval est une technique vieille de plus de 4000 ans et qui est apparue dans les pays asiatiques. A l’origine, elle servait principalement à chasser, à protéger les troupeaux et à se battre. De Gengis Khan aux Indiens des plaines d’Amérique du Nord, les cavaliers archers étaient présents dans le monde entier et perpétuaient la pratique de cette technique millénaire. Cependant, avec l’apparition des armes à feu et des machines, les chevaux et les arcs ont peu à peu disparus. Aujourd’hui, la discipline renaît et compte déjà des milliers de pratiquants à travers le monde.

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Horseback archery

Which are the required skills to practice this discipline ?

For horses

Calm
Balance
Impulsion
Obedience

For riders

Calm
Focus
Ability 

Tests

Tower
Raid
Hunt Track

The horses

All breeds of horses are suitable for horseback archery - however, the horse must be well trained so that it does not become frightened when the rider fires successive bursts of arrows. It must also be used to seeing the bow and arrows in its field of vision, and to riding through the shooting line independently. In competition, ponies and horses are accepted. Equines must be at least four years old to participate.

The Rider

The competitions are open to all riders without age limit. However, a minimum riding level is required, namely Galop 1 or Bronze in France. Riders are invited to wear traditional archery costumes or regulation rider's clothing. Helmets must be worn and riders may attach a traditional headdress if they wish.

Equipment

Bows used must be of the traditional type and without arrow rests. The arrows must respect the rider's reach and may be held in the hand or rest in a leather or fabric quiver. Different targets are used for different events.

Useful site

International Horseback Archery Association

This disciplines includes 3 events

The

TOWER event

©FITE

The target is round and has four colours, from inside to outside : red, yellow, green and black. The closer the shooter is to the centre of the target, the more points they score. The objective of this event is to shoot as many arrows as possible into one or more targets. There may be 3 to 5 targets set up in succession with 10m to 15m between targets, or the targets may be set up in a triangular pattern. The run can be from 30m to 100m long. The runs are run at pace and on the clock - the rider may not carry more than 15 arrows for his runs at pace. There is no limit to the number of arrows in the timed passage.

The

RAID event

©FITE

The targets are square and have four colours, from inside to outside: yellow, black, green and red. The closer the shooter is to the centre of the target, the more points they score. The centre square may have an illustration. The objective of this event is to shoot one arrow per target as quickly as possible. There may be one central target or three side targets. The run can be from 60m to 150m. The rider makes 6 runs. In the first three runs, there is only one target and the rider can only have one arrow which he is not allowed to nock until he has crossed the start line. In the last three rounds, there are three targets and the arrow may be notched before the start of the track.

The

HUNT TRACK event

©FITE

The targets are round and have five colours, from inside to outside: yellow, red, blue, black and white. The closer the shooter is to the centre of the target, the more points they score. The objective of the event is to hit the targets on a course of varied terrain, which includes curves. A target is placed every 30m on a course that can range from 150m to 1500m. The course may also include technical elements.

Technic

Technical datasheets and scoring

Take a look at the figures and print the scoring scheme !

Documents
Find all of the discipline's official documents

FITE provides you with files allowing you to consult the rules and the list of competition officials.

> English version HERE

Roster of judges
> FR/EN version (coming soon)

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