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Cowboy mounted shooting (also known as western mounted shooting and mounted shooting) is a competitive equestrian sport. It involves the riding of a horse to negotiate the shooting pattern.  Depending on sponsoring organizations, it can be based on the historical reenactment of historical shooting events held at Wild West Shows in the late 19th century. 

 

Modern events use blank ammunition instead of live rounds, certified to break a target balloon within twenty feet.  In the spirit of the soldier and cowboy, one organization, the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) was created in the mid- 1990s for equestrians and cowboy action shooters to participate in a competitive shooting sport while riding horseback.  The Mounted Shooters of America was formed in 2000.  Mounted shooters may belong to either or both associations. 

 

Mounted shooting requires skill in both horsemanship and shooting that is measured in the form of competitive events and is one of the fastest growing equestrian sports in the nation. The object of the sport is to shoot ten balloon targets while riding through a variety of challenging courses.  All while using specially loaded blank cartridges fired from Old West- style single -action revolvers.

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