Kenny Rasnic, a member of the Missouri Big Irons Mounted Shooters based in Farmington, drove from southern Missouri to attend a competition in Ashland. staring a iBARREL Meet Missouri’s modern-day gunslingers. BY ANDREW BRIDGES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY HARRY KATZ

MISSOURI WAS ONCE home to us and allows the competitor and spec- some of the most notorious gunsling- tator to act and feel as if they were part ers of the Old West. Outlaws like the of the James-Younger Gang or riding James brothers and Younger broth- beside Wyatt Earp to chase down some ers later joined together to become desperados. It’s called Cowboy Mounted one of the most infamous gangs of the Shooting, and it blends horsemanship, West but were born in Missouri. marksmanship, and showmanship into a few hours of gun blazin’ action. Outlaw Johnny Ringo spent time in Cowboy Mounted Shooting is a Missouri before his big gunfi ght at OK trademarked sport that started in 1990 Corral. Hyman G. Neill—also referred in Arizona, but it wasn’t until 2002 that to as Hoodoo Brown—is considered a group of horse enthusiasts brought the baddest of them all in some eyes. the sport to the Show-Me State. And we can’t forget about the legendary Unlike many sports, this competi- Miss Calamity Jane, who was born in tion has more than enough adrenaline- Princeton, Missouri. fueled moments to satiate spectators’ Even future lawman Wyatt Earp settled appetites for action. in Lamar, where he had a few scrapes Something about watching a cowboy with the law, until his wife died. Earp, or cowgirl speeding through a course of course, went on to become one of the with pistols in hand, shooting balloons most legendary sheriffs of all time. with accuracy, and still keeping his or Hollywood has done its best to en- her horse under control makes you thrall Western enthusiasts with mov- want to go out and try it. ies like Tombstone, McClintock, Lone- Is it the smell of burnt gunpowder? some Dove, and many more. And what Is it the crack of thunder followed by kid didn’t play cowboys and Indians a cloud of white smoke billowing from growing up? the barrel of a gun? Or is it the sure Now, there is a new Wild West compe- speed of the human and horse, com- tition that brings the child out in all of panions competing as one?

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ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 46 7/2/15 10:20 PM ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 47 7/2/15 10:20 PM Riders for the Show Me Mounted Shooters and the Missouri Rawhide Mounted Shooters gather for a joint competition in Ashland. Harrisburg resident Travis Smith is currently the state champion in Cowboy Mounted Shooting after he scored the highest at a shoot earlier in 2015.

p Rare Breed v Travis, now the vice president of the Travis Smith has long been fascinat- Show Me Mounted Shooters, has seen “It’s fascinating to think that ed with horses and warfare. He’s traced the sport grow from just a few competi- mounted combat history back hun- tors to a movement. Show Me Mounted all of those secrets to training dreds of years. However, it wasn’t until Shooters now boasts more than fifty 2002 that Travis got the chance to join members, and two new clubs have start- horses that way have been his passion for riding horses and his ed in Missouri since Travis and friends fascination with the war horse when founded their club. Each club is located lost or forgotten in the past he, his wife, and a few others came in a different region of the state, and together to bring the sport of mount- each is responsible for having its own one hundred years in the ed shooting to Missouri and start the competitions, also called shoots. Show Me Mounted Shooters club. “When this started about twenty age of mechanization.”— “I have always been fascinated years ago, you just needed a horse that by the war horse history that spans you could do a collected lope, and you Travis Smith, Show Me back to before the Roman Empire, could win a lot,” he says. “Now, there the technology of the ancient world, is more horsemanship involved, and it Mounted Shooters and how well the horses were bred has gotten more competitive.” and trained for battle,” he says. “It’s As vice president, Travis is involved fascinating to think that all of those in all the big decisions for the club. He secrets to training horses that way is also a certified range master at all have been lost or forgotten in the of the events. Being the range master past one hundred years in the age of means he’s responsible for standing in mechanization.” the arena, ensuring the safety of all the

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ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 48 7/3/15 11:31 AM ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 49 7/3/15 3:32 PM Kingsville resident Jessica Retzke rounds the barrel in an attempt to shoot a balloon. The black powder cartridges create a lot of smoke when fired.

competitors, and enforcing the rules. he and his wife, Laura, go straight to the Live rounds are prohibited at Cowboy Mounted Shooting Along with his many responsibilities barn, which houses their second office, Events. Instead, competitors to the club, he owns and operates two smelting foundry, and branding shop. use these brass cartridges THE RULES loaded with black powder. businesses. There, Travis creates the patterns and In mounted shooting, there are three divisions: men’s, women’s, and seniors’. At his day job, Travis works as a pro- runs the foundry to pour custom brands. Each division has classes that are ranked one through six. Beginners start at fessional farrier, where he is responsi- Laura does the design, makes sales, and class one, and they must get four qualifi ed wins in their class to move up to a ble for trimming horses’ hooves as well runs the website—flying45.com. Katie, higher class. as getting them re-shod. He gets calls their nineteen-year-old daughter, sand Much like the Old West, Cowboy Mounted Shooting uses two .45 caliber sin- from across central Missouri for his casts and finishes all of the brands while gle-action revolvers. A single-action revolver must be cocked each time before farrier services. He shoes horses for the she attends college. fi ring. The guns do not shoot live rounds, only blanks. These blanks can pop a University of Missouri Equine Clinic “Our branding iron business is a balloon up to fi fteen feet away. The riders are scored on time and accuracy. and has had the opportunity to shoe totally family-run business in which There are more than sixty possible patterns for each competition. Each Windfall II, an Olympic medalist. He we create custom freeze brands and competition could consist of three to six randomly selected patterns. The pat- often gets the chance to see firsthand hot brands for customers all over the terns that everyone will ride during the competition are pre-determined be- how different horses react with differ- world.” Laura says. “We deal mostly fore the start of the competition. Each pattern consists of two sets of fi ve bal- ent riders. with ranch and farm owners who are loons, each set a diff erent color. The rider will follow the pattern and shoot the “I get to personally watch a lot of interested in protecting their livestock fi rst set of balloons before engaging the second. Once they shoot the fi rst set, other horses run as well as my own,” and tying together their ranching oper- they holster their fi rst revolver and pull their second revolver for the second

he says, “and I get to find ways to help ations with a distinct symbol that they set. After all the balloons have been shot at, the rider then crosses the fi nish Mounted shooting fans and a horse keep a competitive edge.” can register and use for a logo.” line. There is a fi ve-second penalty for dropping your gun or for each balloon participants come in all shapes and sizes. While Keagan Loeffl er is But Travis doesn’t stop there. When Travis and Laura started their brand- missed. There is a ten-second penalty for not running the course correctly and on the younger side, Jim Gumm is he gets home from a long day of work, ing iron business because they couldn’t a sixty-second penalty for falling off your horse. closer to your average age shooter.

[50] MissouriLife [51] August 2015

ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 50 7/3/15 3:36 PM ML0815_MountedShooting2.indd 51 7/2/15 10:21 PM With a couple of onlookers, Travis Smith rides a tractor and prepares the Ashland Arena in Ashland for a three-day competition of all classes.

shooters. On some occasions, the expe- rienced shooters have even had begin- ners and their horses grow remarkably comfortable with the sport in just one day of practice. “The hardest part is putting it all to- gether,” Laura says. “We practice our shooting on the ground and walking the patterns, and then we get on our horses and run the patterns. But to put it all together and have a smooth, fast, clean run is hard to do.”

Friendly p Competition v Benjiumen “Ben” Denney, a battalion chief for Raytown Fire Department, in every aspect. This sport not only Much like Travis and Laura, Ben also quickly understood that he needed to relies on the relationship between the gives credit to other competitors. He President of the Missouri Rawhide Mounted Shooters, Benjiumen “Ben” Denney competes with a video learn the basics before he started try- rider and horse, but on each rider’s says that most, if not all, would help camera mounted on his hat. Visit missourilife.com to ing to compete in 2009. Now a mem- hand-eye coordination. You have to any stranger learn. see the footage from his shoot. ber of the Missouri Raw Hide Mounted ride your horse, shoot, and manage to These cowboys and cowgirls, along Shooters, Ben says the easiest way to stay within a designated pattern that with their horses, are a special breed— get started is to introduce yourself to you may have never run before. one that overcomes the fear of the find a brand they liked and couldn’t find a the horse has everything to do with the hand in the day-to-day dealings of the people at competitions. “You have to work on consistency speed of the horse and the hammer of company that helped design brands. They success in the arena. The horse and rider family branding iron business. On top “Get in touch with someone that is on riding your horse, become a better the gun to achieve success. finally settled on the Flying 45 logo and have to have a certain kind of bond or of that, she also helps Travis train their doing it, go to a match and introduce rider, and work on your consistency name because it symbolized the caliber of trust that only exists after a lot of hard horses for mounted shooting. Working yourself, and ask questions,” he says. shooting a gun, and then you’ll be- pistols used in mounted shooting and the work and fun times in a saddle. Much of together, they both found that one of “I saw a video of it and did a lot of re- come a better shooter,” Ben says. “The LOCAL GUNSLINGERS speed at which they compete. For now, this bonding comes from the beginning the keys to starting a new horse with search on it. I even went to the world hardest part about this sport is doing it Whether you want to ride and shoot or just watch, Mis- their company brings in a little extra mon- of the horse’s training. shooting is to have them around horses championships in Amarillo, Texas, just enough. The more you do it, the better souri’s cowboy mounted shooting clubs have competi- ey to support their shooting hobby. “The key to training a mounted that are already gun-broke. That way to watch and meet people. Within the you get.” tions throughout the state. Check with your local club. Although the sport is more competi- shooting horse is just the same as any the horse gets used to the sound, sees first few hours of watching the sport, I Since his start, Ben has often come tive than ever, Travis and Laura know other horse, really,” Laura says. “It’s the reaction of the other horses, and knew I wanted to do this.” out a winner in mounted shooting, but CENTRAL MISSOURI that it is still all about family. The mount- all about establishing a bond and trust learns it is okay. Eventually, you have There are currently three different in his eyes, the lifelong friends are the Show Me Mounted Shooters ed shooting accomplishment they’re with the animal and putting in a lot of to take the snap sound to the next level sister clubs in Missouri for mounted true reward for competing. showmemountedshooters.com most proud of is involving both of their riding time. To me, mounted shooting and get on the horse. shooting: Show Me Mounted Shooters, The relationship he has with Tra- 660-841-5351 children in the sport. is all about the bond between the horse “When we start shooting off of them, Missouri Raw Hide Mounted Shoot- vis is one of a kind. They live nearly “I have a seven-year-old boy and a and the rider. You have a gun in one we start with just toy cap guns that ers, and Missouri Big Irons Cowboy a hundred miles away from each other, KANSAS CITY nineteen-year-old daughter that are into hand and reins in the other. If you don’t make a loud snap, and then we prog- Mounted Shooters. Between each of but when they get together, they could Missouri Raw Hide Mounted Shooters the sport,” Travis says. “I get to pass on have a willing partner and your horse ress to half loads which are only half as these clubs, there are competitions be mistaken for brothers. And though missourirawhidemountedshooters.com my love and passion for horses and the doesn’t trust you, then you are not go- loud, then slowly move up to the full nearly every weekend of the warmer they compete against each other, with 816-304-6876 respect of firearms to them, which is ing to do well.” blank cartridge.” Laura says. months across the state. no shortage of jousting, they will al- very rewarding.” Laura not only spends her time rais- The Show Me Mounted Shooters Ask some mounted shooters, and ways put the competition aside to help SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ing two kids, but she also has a full-time club hosts a beginner shooting clinic they’ll tell you that one of the hardest each other. Missouri Big Irons Cowboy Mounted Shooters p Horsin’ Around v job as a secretary at Columbia College at least once a year where all the cur- things to achieve in Cowboy Mounted “No matter if you do good or bad,” mobigirons.net It takes more than just the cowboy or in Columbia, is the treasurer for Show rent members come and share their Shooting is consistency, not just shoot- he says, “you will always have a good 573-701-2849 cowgirl to compete in Mounted Shooting; Me Mounted Shooters, and has her techniques and knowledge with novice ing from the horse but being consistent time with these people.”

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