LITTLE VALLEY — Back to the Cattaraugus County Fair for the second year, The Stagecoach Outriders will showcase their equestrian abilities and shooting skills in a “Cowboy Mounted Shooting” event at the horse show arena on Wednesday, July 31, at 7 p.m.

Range Master Barry Larson, of Mayville, said they are the only Cowboy Mounted Shooting group in the state of New York. He explained that several factors deter other people from starting their own group.

“Weather tends to play against us a little bit,” he said. “There are a lot more clubs down south where they can shoot pretty much year-round. Unless we can find an indoor venue of some kind, it’s kind of hard to shoot through the winter months. There are very few groups in any of the northern eastern states and the further south and west you go, the more you tend to run into.”

Larson said another factor is New York’s firearms laws, which are so restrictive it makes it very difficult. He said most of their shoots are done at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Pittsfield, Pa. The reason for that is, it’s all but impossible for an out-of-state member to legally enter the state of New York with their firearms to compete.

He explained that live ammunition is not used during the Cowboy Mounted Shoot or at any of their other events. He added that the competitors use specially prepared black powder blank ammunition, but the ammunition is not the issue — it’s the firearm itself, as far as the state is concerned.

Larson, also a board member, said The Stagecoach Outriders club was formed in 2009 and members had their first shoots in 2010. He said the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA), the governing national body, was formed in 1993 in California and Arizona and expanded eastward.

For the better part of 10 years, Larson and his wife, Linda, club secretary, have been active in mounted shooting events. He said they informally started out at Bill Frost’s Wild West Show, in Sinclairville, where most of the club members got started and the mounted shooting became part of that show. The Larsons have also been shooting competitively with the Stagecoach Outriders since its inception in 2009.

Larson said there are about 35 members, but not all members shoot. A lot of the memberships are husband and wife or family memberships, where one shoots and the others are part of the crew.

“It’s a very, family-oriented sport with the youngest competitors, six or seven years old, at the matches being in the ‘Wrangler Class,’” he said. “Certainly, they don’t shoot at that age, but they can ride the patterns. When they get to be age 13, they can begin competing with the firearms.”

Larson explained that each firing course setup is predetermined by the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA). The organization provides the clubs with a booklet that includes 62 different patterns. The rules are very specific, as far as the distance between the balloons, but generally each course consists of 10 target balloons — five of one color and five of another color.

“The first five are what’s typically called the ‘random pattern’ and it is setup in such a way that the rider has to rein the horse and turn around barrels and whatnot,” he said. “That is the section that really tests the agility of the horse and the ability of the rider to steer the horse around things — all with one hand.”

Larson said the the last five balloons are usually set up in a straight line called a “rundown.” He said that’s the speed part of it. Once the riders get down to the rundown barrel, they just ride for all they’re worth and shoot those last five targets all in a row.

“About five to seven years ago, folks thought that wasn’t quite challenging enough with two handguns, so they introduced the rifle course,” he said. “In this course, the rider shoots the first five targets with a handgun, while reining the horse around. Then the rider has to get the rifle out of a saddle scabbard, chamber it up and then shoot the last five targets with the rifle. In order to do that, you have to pretty much let the reins go — drop the reins and hope the horse runs in a nice straight line for you.”

Larson said one thing that’s great about this event is there is no breed-specific anything. They have folks who shoot from quarter horses, but there are others who ride walking horses, small draft horses, or even mules when they are shooting mounted.

“Any horse or mule that can tolerate gunfire, reins well and has a little bit of speed is a good animal for this event,” he said.

They recommend the shooters wear ear plugs and they also try to get the horses to wear them. Larson explained the gunfire comes from a .45 caliber firearm, so it’s a pretty significant report.

He said safety is the paramount thing about this sport. Even though riders are shooting blanks (black powder) they are still using real, live firearms. He said some people think it’s nutshells, oatmeal or something else they are shooting out of the guns, but that’s not the case.

The reason riders use the black powder is they want this to be a spectator sport. He said if there is something in the gun that is not going to burn up or dissipate, then it’s possible it might carry 25 feet out to where the spectators are sitting.

“It’s just black powder and what actually breaks the balloons is the burning embers resulting from it,” he said. “Under perfect conditions, the ammunition will break a balloon 100 percent of the time, out to 15 feet and sometimes 25 feet, as long as the rider can negotiate within 15 feet of the target and lines the gun up properly. Atmospheric pressure, humidity and wind will also affect it.”

For most of the members, costuming is every bit as much fun as the shooting. The members dress in period clothing and Larson said the rider also has the option to wear a western-style shirt and jeans.But if jeans are worn, chaps or chinks must be worn over them to make it look more authentic. Also, all the tack and saddles have to be leather.

If the women wear a dress, they don’t have to wear a hat. But, in order to not have to wear a hat, it has to be a real dress, not a split riding skirt, which would count as pants.

For more information about Cowboy Mounted Shooting and the Stagecoach Outriders, contact Linda Larson, club secretary, at nyoutriders@ gmail.com, or online at cowboymountedshooting.com and Facebook.

(This story appeared in the July 25, 2013 edition of The Salamanca Press.)