About Horse Archery

Mounted archery dates back thousands of years, with artifacts depicting the skill of horse archers dating back to 1400BCE in the Middle East, with similarly long histories in India, the Western Steppe and the Far East.

Today, horse archery is a worldwide sport with one of the governing bodies being the IHAA. Under the umbrella of the IHAA, the sport in the UK is overseen by the BHAA. Follow these links for more information about the IHAA and BHAA

The BHAA has developed a rigorous system of coaching and archer qualifications in conjunction with EQL, who work with the BHS. As such, registered coaches also hold first aid qualifications, safeguarding certification, are DBS checked and insured.

Mounted archery is a lot of fun, and involves learning new skills as a rider and for your equine partner. Any type or breed of horse or pony is be suitable and are trained using gradual desensitisation techniques, with the individual horse dictating the pace of training. Horse archery is mostly carried out in straight lines, so not hard on horses physically and the skills learned can really enhance your partnership. Horse archery can be practiced purely for the satisfaction of learning and acquiring new skills, or for competition and/or for progressing through the BHAA system of qualifications and grading.

No special tack is required although a riding hat is mandatory (safety standard PAS015-2011 with a BSI kite mark or equivalent) but some archery equipment may be borrowed until archers are ready to get their own.

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