Mounted Shooters of America

Cody Clark Saddle winner from the Mississippi Regional match	Click to enlarge
MSA Goes International: MSA Middle East ~ Nino Boueri ~ Jounieh, Lebanon

What is Mounted Shooters of America, (MSA)?
MSA is a national organization dedicated to holding the finest; most exciting mounted shooting competitions in the country. Mounted shooting events are similar to other modern rodeo timed events. Founded in 2001, MSA enjoys a national reputation of integrity, fairness and continuing excitement generated by the enthusiasm of its growing roster of members. This also includes a very special bond that is created during an MSA match. That bond continues beyond the match and shows itself at post-match get-togethers where shooters and their families hang out for pizza, snacks and post match stories or go off to a nearby restaurant to enjoy some quality time together—this collegiality is unique to MSA. The competitors dress in rodeo attire, are mounted on horses of any breed, including mules and ponies, and engage “courses of fire” with two .45 caliber, single action firearms. The ammunition used for these events are “blank’s” filled with black powder. The black powder goes out about 15 feet and pops the balloon targets. No projectile is fired so the event is competitor and spectator friendly.
There are several different courses (stages) run during a Mounted Shooting Match. While some of these courses are designed for speed, others are designed to challenge the horse and rider in their technical abilities. While speed is important, accuracy plays a big part in the final outcome of a match. There are also several ways to get penalties assessed. Missing balloons, knocking over barrels, dropping a gun, or running the course incorrectly can add 5 or more seconds to a run so efforts are made not to incur any penalties.
Competitors are split into 4 divisions: Novice Division for beginning level shooters, Non-Pro, Semi-Pro and Pro Divisions. Your division is based on the number of wins you attain. Shooters in the Non-Pro, Semi-Pro and Pro Divisions are eligible for year -end hi-point prizes. To be eligible for these prizes, the competitor must have at least 500 points by the time the World Championship event is held to qualify for hi-point prizes. The competitor must also attend the World Championship to be awarded any hi-point prizes. Points are based on the number of dollars won. For every dollar you win, you receive one point.
MSA also offers Rifle and Shotgun Classes, where the first five targets are engaged with your handgun, with the last five being addressed with the rifle or shotgun.
The Kennedy Horsemanship Challenge is another competition that we introduced in 2008. It is a timed trail event usually consisting of at least 8 obstacles, one of which is a three-round shooting obstacle. This is a good opportunity to get the competitive arena horse doing something different while in an arena setting. If you are interested in becoming a member, or being part of or starting an MSA Affiliate Club in a specific geographic area, usually near your home, contact MSA at 970.241.0273 or email to find out the exciting benefits and opportunities available if you qualify—there is even a chance for you to make some extra money doing something for which you have a passion, including that special bond you enjoy with your horse.
MSA’s headquarters are located in Colorado . MSA is headed up by Cheryl, a veteran mounted shooter as well as a local and national mounted shooting enthusiast and leader. MSA operates mostly by volunteers with you, the shooter, in mind. Paid positions have never been an integral part of MSA. This generally helps keeps politics out of the equation. Besides the money received from sponsors, affiliate clubs and advertisers for operating, equipment and related expenses, the vast majority of the money MSA receives goes back to you, the competitor-mounted shooter. Feel free to visit our website http://www.newmsa.com and don’t forget to friend us on Facebook (you can even join our MSA Goup), do follow us on Twitter and U Tube.
Come out and play!