If you have been following me on social media you will have noticed that I have taken up mounted shooting as a sport, which I do with one of my sons (Max). I do it so he will have the courage to do it, and to be honest it was always on my bucket list. My daughter Emily is also a keen barrel racer and has a lot of talent. Mounted Shooting was also a path into Civil War Cavalry Reenactment and I do that with Alex and Max, my two older sons. We joined the McNeil’s Rangers and have now attended several reenactments, which also included a recent (non-Civil War) cowboy train and bank robbery!
I had brain surgery to remove a tumor in 2020 and 2023, and I have brain cancer. I am a veteran, and a disabled one (not the brain cancer, just wear and tear) I am still able bodied enough but it has brought my mortality into close view, and I want to be able to take Max to the mounted shooting events. The mounted shooting mostly happens with the 1st Virginia CMSA (Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association) in Doswell, VA, and often we have a barrel race that same weekend at another location. We only have one horse trailer so that ends up complicated, often with me towing the camper down to Doswell for Max and I to stay in, my wife (Christie) towing the horse trailer down with the other truck, and then she takes the horse trailer elsewhere for Emily’s barrel racing, leaving us stranded.
Let me tell you a story about my wife, Christie. I haven’t been a competent rider for all that long. It’s basically all Christie’s fault! I wanted to get better at riding so I could take Max to mounted shooting, which led us ultimately to reenactments and joining the McNeill’s Rangers, which Alex really enjoys, doing Civil War Cavalry and Western Reenactments. My daughter is a great rider and competes as a barrel racer, and Christie has been the engine behind all of that.
Despite Christie being a life-long horse rider and one-time mounted Park Ranger (Texas), due to a car accident and suffering from a broken back, Christie is not riding at this time. But despite all that, she is the driving force behind all of our riding efforts. We can still dream of heading out west and doing a horseback camping trip when she is back riding again. It would be useful if we would actually listen to her, given her amazing ability to instruct, but you know how it is with kids listening to mom (or dad listening to mom…)!
I’m at the point where I can pack up the horses and go to a mounted shooting or reenactment event, and mostly not mess it up. But it’s great when she can be there, and saves me calling her and asking for horse advice. It just depends if there is a barrel race that weekend, and given that we only have one horse trailer and often two destinations, it also involves her heroically driving horses to different venues, while I get the glory of running in the mounted shooting events. We have mostly been making it work. She is hugely underappreciated! Thank you to my amazing wife, Christie, who has made all this possible!
We all know that owning horses is a fast way to bankruptcy, but that’s on us! I have developed a massive love of horse riding, I just love it. I’m not asking for help in the day to day maintenance of our horses, feed and vet bills etc. I have come to the realization that for the weekend of the 29-31 August, which is a mounted shooting Doswell event, and at the same time a Lexington Barrel Racing event, that we may not be able to go to either.
The bottom line is that for two of us to attend a mounted shooting event, between entry fees, stall rental, RV site rental, it can approach up to $1000. I paid somewhere around $750 for both of us to enter the previous event, only on the Saturday and Sunday (no Friday event), with no extra events including cavalry. We have started looking to save on the RV site, by taking the horse trailer, mucking out the poop, and putting up cot beds in the back of the trailer in the parking lot (it’s a bumper pull) . But we can’t do that if the trailer is needed at another event. I would love to set up our Civil War tents and put the horses on a picket line, but that isn’t going to fly at main arena such as Doswell!
There are only two more 1st Virginia events at Doswell this year. Beyond that, there is the ability to travel, gain experience at other events, and build points. That is financially well beyond our scope right now.
Max and I share a pair of Ruger Vaquero revolvers, required for these events. We really need another set, because the way the events work, we are both ‘Men’s One’s’ (M1) and are supposed to ride close to each other in the line-up. We always ask if they can put people between us so that we can unload, reload and swap guns between riding. We haven’t even considered attempting the shotgun or rifle events, because we don’t have the equipment. Max needs a decent set of holsters, which are specially made for this sport. He keeps losing a pistol from one of the holsters.
An idea of some costs:
Attendance / Entry Friday to Sunday: $750 – $1000
New set of revolvers: Around $2,000
Holster set / belt: $800
The good news is that we are fully equipped for the cavalry reenactment side, other than collecting more black powder pistols. I am still deficient a shotgun / carbine that would make us all fully equipped to ride out as Confederate Cavalry. I’m borrowing for now. Come to Cedar Creek on the 17 – 19 October to see us reenact! I believe reenacting is important and we should continue to get the youth involved.
Here is Emily, the redhead barrel racer:
You will note that I am riding Hank, the red roan horse, shown with Emily in the photos above. We had to retire him from barrel racing after he broke a splint bone and also had to be treated for Lyme’s. So now he’s mine, and Emily now has Flo, shown above left. Hank is a great horse, a real trooper.
About Emily:
I am a Sophomore in high school and dual-enrolled in Germanna College, taking courses to become a veterinary assistant. I intend to major in Equine Science and Veterinary Medicine. I am currently looking at universities with strong rodeo teams.
I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex type of congenital heart defect (CHD) that is present at birth. I had 2 heart procedures before I turned 6 months old. I have had 2 additional procedures with my last one taking place last rodeo season. Not only do I want to show those with a CHD diagnosis that the only boundaries that you have are the ones YOU put in place, but I also want to continue to advocate and raise awareness for those less fortunate to have access to the care I have had throughout this journey.
If you would like to sponsor us and support our efforts, whether it is for Max as the mounted shooter, or Emily as the barrel racer, please get in touch. We can discuss how we might be able to promote your company through ideas such as stall or trailer banners, wearing your shirts or patches, that sort of thing. [email protected]
Some sponsorship ideas for either:
- Logo Placement
- T-shirts and other apparel
- Vehicle/trailer (wraps, stickers and magnetic signs)
- Specific Races dedicated to you
- Social Media promotion to a growing audience
- Ads on Website
- Reels and Videos with mentions
- Open to additional ideas and discussions
If you want to hepl a little bit, you can always buy my books:
Must Read Tactical and Dystopian Thrillers!
Genuine & Modern military tactics
Books in the series:
‘The Storm Rages: Dragon Rising‘ is available on Amazon as a paperback, kindle and audiobook. It can also be ordered via any place they sell books.
You can find reviews on the Amazon page HERE.
This is the third novel in a trilogy set in a post-collapse and civil war scenario. This third novel is military fiction featuring a civilizational conflict with China.
From the back of the book:
The second American Civil War is over, and the country has united again, but not without huge loss of life. The United States Army is low on numbers, and the civilian population has suffered a massive die-off. Jack Berenger is now part of the newly formed American Military, taking his Air Assault Battalion to war against the Chinese invasion of America! Everything is on the line in this civilizational conflict, including the nuclear missile sites captured by the PLA. Can Jack and the American Military succeed against the Chinese invasion forces? The future of America hangs in the balance!
