TIPS FROM THE TOP
PREPARING FOR A PERFECT RUN By Ed Beesley
DON DAY’S “3 Cs” OF MOUNTED SHOOTING Here’s what World Champion Don Day feels you must have to compete consistently and to perform to your capability.
This month’s tips are brought to us courtesy of the CMSA Men’s 2009 World Champion, Don Day. Don has been competing since 2000 and grew up horseback, as he was born and raised on a ranch in Kansas. Don still spends his days involved in ranching and splits his time between Pretty Prairie, Kansas and Iola, Texas. In 2000, Don spotted a flyer advertising a CMSA event not too far away and loaded up his horse and his pair of .44 Magnums (at the match he was loaned a pair of .45s) and went to the match; he did not win, but like the rest of us, he was hooked. I spoke with Don about his accomplishments--especially
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CMSA 2009 World Champion Don Day’s background of a lifetime of ranching, riding, competing in rodeo, and as a mounted shooter for the past decade, has shown him the value of what he calls the “3Cs” of cowboy mounted shooting.
this past year--and he attributed them to his “Three Cs of Cowboy Mounted Shooting.” They are: Confidence, Concentration and Control. While not specifically in the order of importance, Don feels that to be consistent and to perform to your capability you need to master all of them. Confidence: This may sound like a difficult concept for the new shooter to grasp, but there are components of it that can be readily attained. Do you have the confidence that you can make good runs and to learn from and forget about bad runs? What about your ability to draw and shoot each target without slowing down or, heaven forbid, stopping your horse? Don feels it is far more important to run a consistent smooth run without slowing down for a shot; he would rather see a competitor ride past the balloon without engaging it than slow down and potentially start a bad habit for your horse. What about your horse? Do you have the confidence your mount will perform as expected? You should, because if you have done the proper training and practice you need to trust your horse, you can focus on those areas that are your responsibility. Concentration: This is an area that really seems to be a consistent concern with all of the shooters. Last year I was at a major match where several television crews were present and I was asked for an interview. A buddy of mine grabbed me and asked if I came to compete or be on TV, which brought me back into focus as to my priority. Don believes that you need to concentrate on the run and nothing else, not what was said in the alley, what song is playing or what the announcer is saying about you; when you ride into the arena you need to block out everything other than what has to be done. You need to plan out your run but then take one balloon at a time, that way if you end up too wide after a barrel turn, you can still recover and for example, shoot the rundown offhand as opposed to the way you originally planned. I guess his key takeaway was that you need to be very focused, but you do not ever want to panic. Control: Having previously discussed the need for confidence it is important that you need to be in control of the whole shooting experience. At all times you want to be in control of your horse, your guns and yourself. Since we are in agreement that you need to trust your horse there are some situations where that may be a challenge, such as with a borrowed or a green horse. In either case you still need to be in control and make sure the horse does what you want it to do, and not the other way around. Also by being in control of everything involved you can often times, keep a mistake small and never let it get to be a blowup or a major problem. A great tip Don offered was for shooters to ask someone who rode before you to watch your run and offer any suggestions to improve a part of your run. After our discussion I thought for awhile as to the most important of the Three Cs, and I think while all are critical it would be Control to me. As a relatively new rider I believe we first need to make sure we are in control of our horse, our equipment and ourselves in order to stay safe; then we try to win. Don Day agrees! 888-960-0003 | April/May 2010
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