Mounted Cowboy Shooting Match

[moose135]

I attended my first mounted cowboy shooting match last week, held at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration on Long Island. The riders go through a set of barrels, while shooting at balloon targets along the course. There was a wide range of experience, from seasoned participants, to several who were riding in their first competition. And it was also obvious that not all the horses were comfortable with guns going off inches from their heads either!

#1
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621856802_qfy62-L.jpg

#2
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621864582_JSvVM-L.jpg

#3
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621869291_F26nA-L.jpg

#4
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621871729_GgAzE-L.jpg

#5
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621863603_Ceuvy-L.jpg

#6
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/621871355_TUm84-L.jpg

Unfortunately, there wasn't really an angle that would give me a decent background (at least where I wasn't just shooting horse's butts all day!), and the competition began at Noon on a bright day, making the lighting conditions a challenge. If they hold another one of these locally, I may have to give it another shot :rofl

[Toshido]

Neat pictures.

#4 looks a bit scary. Looks like you were downrange of the shooter, not a place I would want to be.

[moose135]

Neat pictures.

#4 looks a bit scary. Looks like you were downrange of the shooter, not a place I would want to be.

Thanks! He was the only one to come up that side of the barrels, but they told us before the competition that they don't use real bullets, only blanks with wadding that break the balloons, but that don't have any significant range.

[Wil Davis]

Some interesting stuff there; great expressions (#3 my favourite). In #6 the horse looks great, all his legs tucked in and I'll swear that the darned animal has a grin on its face (perhaps it can see the grimace on its rider's face :D)

#6 & #3 are the winners :thumb

BTW: were they shot as singles or did you use burst-mode? (you don't have to give away your secrets if you don't want to :D)

Nice job, thanks!

- Wil

[InsuredDisaster]

SO I was about to ask, these guys are riding on a bouncing, unstable gun platform, blasting away in all directions?:huh

I think #4 is the winner. It shows what exactly the guys are doing, and it does so with a pretty nice angle. Nice shot.

[Wil Davis]

…snip

I think #4 is the winner. It shows what exactly the guys are doing, and it does so with a pretty nice angle. Nice shot.

You're right…

…but my problem with #4 is what on earth would Clint have thought about the rose-tinted specs?

(…yes, I realize why, so there's no need to explain :D )

- Wil

[InsuredDisaster]

You're right…

…but my problem with #4 is what on earth would Clint have thought about the rose-tinted specs?



- Wil


Targets?

[Wil Davis]

Targets?

Heh heh! :D

[moose135]

Thanks, all!

In #6 the horse looks great, all his legs tucked in and I'll swear that the darned animal has a grin on its face (perhaps it can see the grimace on its rider's face :D) He was actually one of the better riders, gave one of those big "Yeehaw" yells when he started his run, and was quite vocal with his encouragement of his horse during the run. He had some of the fastest times in the rounds I watched.

BTW: were they shot as singles or did you use burst-mode? (you don't have to give away your secrets if you don't want to :D) I think I was in high-speed mode on the 40D, but I try to keep it to 3 or 4 shot bursts. And don't worry, I don't have any secrets (at least photography-wise :D) I've learned a ton from others, I'm always glad to explain how I took a shot.