Valkyrie Mounted Archery

The National Ranking list has been updated and I am sitting at number 10 in the nation!! Woohoo! We have had three competitions with our Bow Creek Mounted Archers club so far this year. We hosted a one day Raid Only National Ranking Competition in February, a one day Tower Only National Ranking Competition in March, and our Barrage at Bow Creek National Ranking and World Record and Ranking Competition in April. I shot well and got Horse Archer 4 scores at each competiton which helped me move up on the ranking list! Come take a lesson and join the fun! 🏹🏇💘

We have had some great training sessions for groups and individuals the last few months.

Emma and Annie, teens from Mercer Island, came for a mini clinic. They rode Munin and Brymer! They both did great and were shooting on the 90m at the walk by days end.

Three youth from right here in Winlock came for a ground archery session. Jacob, Laurelie and AnnaJo braved the cold December weather and did an awesome job!

Bow Creek Mounted Archers club members, Diane, Anna and Anya, from Gig Harbor, came for a ground archery and mounted archery session with the focus of learning to shoot the Tower in preparation for competition! They all worked hard learning a lot and having a great time!!

Cathy, from Silverdale, came and took her first mini clinic. She rode Brymer and shot on the 30m track. She has signed up for another clinic next month!

Jena, a teen from Graham, came and took a mini clinic and rode Munin. They were shooting on the 90m at the trot on their first lesson! She has joined the club and is looking forward to competing!!

Club member Robin came down from Orting and we worked on the barrel horse focusing on timing and accuracy on the Tower track. The following weekend in our National Ranking Tower Only Competition she shot a personal best!! Great job!

It’s been a busy fall since my return from Hungary. I travelled to Tennessee to volunteer at the IHAA World Championships from September 18 - 21. It was great to see some of the world’s best competing live and to enjoy visiting and dining with friends from around the world!

The weekend after Worlds, the Clash of the Clans competition was held at the same venue. The weather was hot and humid just as it had been for the championships. I got to ride a fabulous Gypsy Vanner named Prince. He had carried Chloe Simons to victory in the Junior Division at Worlds, as well First Place in the team competition for France!! He ran perfect speeds for me on all the courses and we ended up in Third Place Overall out of 39 competitors! It was fun to be on the same podium used for Worlds and wave the flag of the country of my birth. 🇨🇦😊

It has been a few weeks since I’ve returned from a fabulous trip to Hungary!! The main event of the trip was participating in a 6 day mounted archery clinic followed by two competition days at the Nemethy Horseback Archery Academy! The instructors were terrific and Christoph Nemethy is a gracious host and delightful tour guide! We had two ground archery sessions and two mounted sessions each day with several cultural tour days interspersed among the training days. The weather was hot and humid so many of the riding sessions started early in the morning and happened later in the evening to beat the heat. I had a great time riding many different horses, improving my archery skills, touring beautiful Budapest on foot and by boat, visiting Vienna and the Spanish Riding School, attending the spectacular Kurultaj festival, enjoying the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, and experiencing all the Hungarian cuisine. It was a wonderful experience and I would go back again anytime! 🏹🏇💘😃

It has been a busy summer with lots of folks taking clinics and lessons. In late June three young gals came for a mini clinic and rode three of my Fjords. Ilya rode Aksel, Missie was on Brymer and Piper paired up with Munin. They all did great!

In July two young fellows from England were in the area visiting family and had booked a mini clinic to give mounted archery a try. Robert and Raphael rode Brymer and Munin and had a great time!

Erin came with her horse, Arty, (and her friend Donna and her horse) for a two day clinic. They rode the trails, Erin did ground archery and we spent time introducing Arty to bows and arrows. By the end of the two days she was shooting off of Arty on the 30 meter track! Goal achieved!!

Yesterday, Lacie came for a mini clinic. She had audited a clinic years ago and had purchased equipment but as life often goes she hadn’t gotten to pursue the sport further. We did a couple of hours of ground archery followed by a reinless riding lesson and then she was shooting in the lane with Brymer!

You can join the fun by booking a lesson or clinic too!!

Hunt at Bow Creek 2025

What a great time was had by all at the 2025 Hunt at Bow Creek National Ranking and World Record and Ranking Competition! The weather was fabulous, the food was fantastic and the post competition daily games for competitors and volunteers were fun, fun, fun!! This year the games followed a family reunion theme and featured a Sack Race, a Three-legged Race, and an Egg and Spoon Race. Saturday night had a second game - Wolf Hunt - out in the woods at dusk! What a hoot that was!!
We had 10 horseback archery competitors participating in the Hunt at Bow Creek ranging from a nine year old doing her very first competition, to a seasoned veteran HA5 coming back from several years off, and everything in between. Everyone rode well and put their horse training needs first resulting in a safe and fun competition with no incidents! The sport track was superbly watered and groomed each day and the 646 M IHAA Hunt track with 14 targets was challenging but included some technical elements that gave everyone a chance to score points.

Thank you to all of our volunteers!

Julie Goebel - Assistant Judge & Track Marshal
Mary Luty - Scorekeeper
Jeff Palensky - Timekeeper
Lance & Waylon Hillenga, Vanessa Palensky - Target Scorers
Allison Stafford, Jim Luty - Line Judges
David Frentress - Track Maintenance

Results:

Junior Division

1st - Kodianne Hillenga on Brymer
2nd - Evie Palensky on Ranger
3rd - Henley Hillenga on Munin

Student Division

1st - Laura McCormack on Jackie
2nd - Elizabeth Luty on Shaya

Open Division and Overall Champions

1st - Ashley Safa on Luna
2nd - Carmen Frentress on Midnight
3rd - Trish Wild on Midnight

Full results can be found at ihaa.eu.

Next weekend we will be hosting the 3rd annual Hunt at Bow Creek - National Ranking and World Record and Ranking - competition here at Windy Acres Ranch, home of Valkyrie Mounted Archery! Competition begins at 9:00 each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 25-27, 2025. Spectators are welcome! Please bring your own lawn chair and beverages but no dogs. Volunteers are always appreciated! Let me know if you would like more information. Thanks! 🏹🏇💘

Several weeks ago I went over to the Spokane area to drop off my mare for breeding at Olivia Farm, Inc.. Aksel came with us so that Solveig Pedersen could do some Masterson Method body work on him and see if there is a reason for his tripping. She assured me that he just needs to work on strengthening his rear end and lifting his shoulders so we now have some exercises to work on. Yay! While I was there Solveig, her kids Elisa and Elliot, and her husband Rogelio all learned to shoot a horse bow!! Two of their ponies, her stallion Viljar and mare Silvia, were perfect as first time archery mounts!! It was lots of fun and everyone did great! 🏹🏇💘

A few weeks ago we held our first National Ranking competition of the year here at Windy Acres Ranch. We had beautiful weather and a great group of competitors! Friday was our practice day and on Saturday we ran the Raid 233 and half of the folks shot the Tabla-4. On Sunday we ran the Tower 90 and the rest of the riders shot the Tabla-4. I rode Aksel and he was running faster than he had at our first competition a few weeks before. He also tripped on the third run of the Raid on day one and we went down with him somersaulting and then getting tangled in the lane rope getting back up. He was a good boy though and stood waiting for help to lead him away from the track. I was a little banged up and my saddle, bow and helmet got some scrapes but I was okay to continue. I zeroed that run for not completing it and took the following run without shooting to make sure both he and I were good to go. Day two we shot the Tower and Tabla and he was again running fast but we managed to stay upright! 🤪 We did not win any of the courses for our division and got two seconds and a third but shot well enough to finish in first place overall and win Champion for the competition!! 😊🏹🏇💘

My first competition of the year was also my first competition with Aksel as my mount this time. We traveled to Arlington, WA to compete at a WFEA One Day competition. We went up several days early to give Aksel time to settle in and get used to all the sights and sounds at the Flying Duchess Ranch and to practice on the Kassai track as he had never been on one of those before. He was a real trooper taking everything in stride and did great in the competition. I shot okay and we finished in 4th place overall. It was a great way to start the competition year and an excellent experience for both of us as we learn to trust one another and become a team. 🏹🏇💘