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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Old West may be a bygone era, but Coloradans are keeping its spirit alive through Cowboy Mounted Shooting. It’s an equestrian sport making a return to the National Western Stock Show after a six-year hiatus.
Verle Hamm and Troy Kerr are two individuals taking part in the event. Both men are passionate about the western life – from old movies to modern rodeos. They’ve taken part in various rodeo events, but said cowboy mounted shooting is one of their favorites.
“I’ve always had an interest in the cowboy way…this was a good way to get to play it out a bit,” Hamm said.
For those unfamiliar with the sport, participants ride horses around a predetermined circuit and shoot balloons. Their score is dependent on how fast they can make it through and how accurate their shooting is. If a balloon doesn’t pop, time is added to the final score.
Hamm shared that the first time he saw a mounted shooting event, he knew he had to get out and try it. Once he did, he fell in love with the sport. “Your heart is going 100 miles an hour…it’s like, ‘Wow! That’s fun! Can I go again? Can I go again?’ It’s exhilarating,” he said.
“Every time my wife and I are watching Westerns, we’ll go, ‘Look at those crazy fools shooting pistols off a running horse,’” Kerr added, “that’s the nostalgia and that’s the thing that’s exciting is you get to do that. You get to try that in real life.”
The pair emphasized that gun safety is a top priority at all mounted shooting events. They only fire blanks, meaning there is no projectile that comes out of the gun. “It is strictly gun powder,” Hamm shared.
“When the gun is fired, it shoots sparks. The sparks will go from about 10 to 20 feet…it’s the burning part that pops the balloon,” Kerr explained. For this reason, any person watching the event in the stands does not have to worry about any stray projectiles coming their way.
Hamm and Kerr stated that training the horse is the hardest aspect of mounted shooting. Kerr said, “the flames can be up to five feet long coming out of the gun. So, it’s like a fire breathing dragon in your hand and you’re telling your horse, ‘Oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.’”
Cowboy mounted shooting returns to stock show
However, once that horse is comfortable and trusts its rider, each man said the experience is incredible.
“When you can trust a horse to do the things that we ask them to do…it’s pretty amazing,” expressed Kerr. The pair said getting to see that trust in person can’t be beat.
“There’s a whole lot of things to explore at the National Western that are great. This just happens to be one of them that’s among the best,” said Hamm.
The last day of Cowboy Mounted Shooting at the 2024 National Western Stock Show is Wednesday, Jan. 10.
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