MOUNTED ARCHERY A BIG HIT!

Well, what a day 12 lucky Lamerton members had at Duchy College on Friday 20th February 2026 trying out mounted archery! Both members and ponies exceeded all expectations, and everyone did utterly brilliantly.

Lovely Tom from Jurassic Coast Horseback Archers stepped in at very short notice, travelling from Dorset to deliver 4 excellent 90-minute sessions to 3 sets of 4 Lamerton members, plus a session for 4 guests from the Tetcott & South Tetcott and the Mid Devon.

Members started out with dismounted archery skills, quickly getting the hang of handling bow and arrows and perfecting their technique on the ground, before ponies were brought in and familiarised with the arena set-up; the ‘thunk’ of arrows hitting targets; and the look and feel of bows and arrows being used both on the ground and on board.

Then the real fun began, with members quickly learning now to ‘nock’ and release arrows whilst in the saddle and in motion, building up to nocking and shooting 3 arrows at 3 targets in a 30m run, becoming fluid in nocking and shooting on the go in walk, and even in trot!

The progress made by each group in just one 90-minute session was phenomenal, and Coach Tom was bowled over by our members’ riding ability and confidence. He was extremely complimentary of members and ponies, and really enjoyed teaching such a talented bunch. He even said that it wouldn’t take much to form from our membership a very competitive mounted archery team that would go far – how amazing!

What a super day! Congratulations to everyone who took part, and to their brave ponies, all of whom did us proud; and huge thanks again to Tom of Jurassic Coast Horseback Archers, who was simply fantastic.

See the gallery below for more pictures of our archers in action!