EATON, Ohio – One of the fastest growing equestrian sports across the country is cowboy-mounted shooting.

In this sport, competitors wearing two single action .45 caliber revolvers race against the clock through a variety of course patterns while firing at balloon targets.

“Every state in the country has at least one Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) club and Ohio has four,” said 1st Ohio CMSA President Clayton Lightfield. “It’s a fast-growing sport.”

Lightfield’s CMSA hosted The Cowboy Fall Classic at the Bullen Equestrian Center at the Preble County Fairgrounds in Eaton recently. There were 155 participants at this mounted shooting event, half from other states.

“It’s an adrenaline rush and certainly an addiction,” Lightfield said. “If you love horses and enjoy shooting at target ranges, you’ll love this sport. People ask why it’s so enticing, and I tell them it’s a mixture of things, but mostly it’s a family sport, something for all ages.

“People will quickly discover the friendliness of mounted shooters. If you need a halter, someone will loan you one. Need a saddle? They’ll loan you that, too. They’ll even loan you a horse if you need one. This sport has a real family atmosphere to it.”

The first-ever CMSA was formed in 1994 in Scottsdale, Ariz. There were just 29 contestants at that Festival Of The West event but it quickly spread across the nation, over the banks of the Mississippi River and into Ohio.

On Nov. 6, 1999, 1st Ohio Cowboy Mounted Shooters hosted its first CMSA World Point Qualifier at Miamitown, Ohio. Today, the group’s home is the Preble County Fairgrounds. The 1st Ohio Cowboy Mounted squad traditionally hosts 10 to 12 shoots per year, and the 55 members of this club travel to other clubs across the state and country to compete and support those clubs.

“We have members crossing the nation, competing in shooting events,” Lightfield said. “It gets in the blood. Cowboy mounted shooting is a re-enactment of the old west 1880s.”

There are clothing requirements in this sport. Riders are required to dress western, in traditional western style or in old time style of the late 1800s. Traditional style includes a long sleeve western shirt, five-pocket blue jeans covered by chinks or chaps, western boots and a cowboy hat.

Riders enter a ring that has a course required of each rider. Eight to 10 balloons line the course. There are more than 50 possible patterns to each competition course. A competition may consist of three to six patterns a day.

The riders are scored on time and accuracy. There is a five-second penalty for each missed balloon, a five-second penalty for dropping a gun, a 10-second penalty for not running the course correctly and a 60-second penalty for falling off the horse. Speed is important but accuracy is more important. A typical pattern can be run in 15 to 35 seconds.

As riders approach the balloons, they take aim at each one. Each revolver is loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition. The load will break a balloon up to 15 feet. Live rounds are prohibited at competitions. Scoring is based on the elapsed time plus penalties for each missed balloon or knocked over barrel. This sport requires the ability to control the horse through many turns and speed changes while cocking and firing the revolvers, holstering one when it’s empty, and then drawing the other to complete the course.

The CMSA has a variety of levels of competition, from novice levels to the seasoned professional. There is a men’s division, women’s division, and a senior’s division, with classes 1-6 in each of those divisions. There is also a Wrangler Class for those 11 and under. Four wins in one class elevates a participant to the next class level.

Other clubs in Ohio include the Mid-Ohio Marauders (London), Northern Ohio Outlaws (Wooster) and Ohio Double L (Columbiana).

CMSAs in other states in the Farm World primary readership area include Indiana CMSA (South Whitley), Indiana Mounted Regulators (Otterbein), Kentucky Cowtown Rangers (Williamstown), Custer’s Cowboys (Elsie), Northern Illinois Outlaws (Genoa) and CMSA of Tennessee (Manchester).