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The Blue Sage Arena in Castle Dale will be the backdrop for the Utah’s Mounted Thunder shooting competition this Saturday. The event will begin at 10 a.m., and admission is free to the public.

“This will be a true competition, there is also a category for shotgun and also a category for rifle. There is not as many of us that shoot all three: pistol, rifle and shotgun but some of us do it all”, said Tad Jolley, President Utah’s Mounted Thunder.

Mounted shooting contests started about  25-30 years ago with a group in Arizona that went out in the sage brush and shot at targets with live rounds.

Today they shoot with a .45 caliber blank at 10 balloon targets. They carry two pistols shooting five targets with one pistol and then switch pistols and shoot the other five targets all while riding a horse, and your doing this in about 15-20 seconds.

To be successful in the competitions the participant has to be able to maintain their horse as well as shoot at what is basically a moving target. Being able to control your horse is the key skill in this contest.

“Horsemanship is the biggest part of it. I think if you’re a good horseman, I think we can teach anybody to shoot”, Jolley stated.

This event is family friendly so bring everyone with you. They have a “Buckaroos” group that don’t actually shoot a gun but they ride their own horse and negotiate the course. And a seniors division with one rider in his 70’s.

Jolley wanted to invite everyone out saying,”If you love horses and you love guns, the combination is awesome. You’re going to see fast action and some cool people dressed up like the Old West, it will be on display in the Blue Sage Arena this weekend.”

This is a free event with over 40 shooters participating. Start time is set for 10 a.m. in Castle Dale.

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