Triple Trouble: Gearing Up For CMSA Eastern Championships in Shelbyville, Tennessee
For those in the mounted shooting world, it’s time for one of the most anticipated events of the year — the Eastern Championships and CMSA Futurity and Derby. Marcella and her crew are headed down and gearing up.
The time has come. Many mounted shooting competitors have packed their trailers and heading down to Tennessee for the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association Eastern National Championship, Futurity, and Derby! As we place our favorite show shirts in our travel bag, clean our guns, and throw 500 horse related items we never use in the trailer, I’d like to give an update on how I prepared for the biggest show of the season and how my horses are doing going into the week.
Getting ready for a show of this caliber, my schedule looks quite different than other weeks. Most of my weekly riding time is actually not allotted to riding time at all. Other activities that strengthen my mental health take the driver seat, giving the horses some much needed downtime. Over the course of the week, I hiked, sewed, and spent time in the massage chair. I also took the time to dissect my performance playlist.
I know I can ride my horse and shoot balloons; what’s most important coming out of this week is that my mental toughness is at its peak going into a tiring competition week. Continuing to shoot patterns and work drills before to the competition leaves room to create doubt, get frustrated, and break confidence. It’s better if I give myself, and my horses, the week to relax and reset. After all, it is a LONG week of riding.
Photo by DeAnn Sloan
Going into Nationals, Funny Bunny B and I have worked very hard to run more efficient lines and gain speed. We have taken the fast time on stages multiple times this summer and have really shown that we deserve to be in the tough Ladies Level 5 class. I’m excited to see where we hold up amongst some of the best shooters in the nation. I would not be half the rider I am today without him as my teammate.
@_gru_crew_ One of my favorite patrernes from the Lake Erie Mounted Vaqueros July Shoot #horses #horsesoftiktok #western #westernstyle #cowgirl #cowgirllifestyle #mountedshooting #singleaction #revolver #ottb #offthetrackthoroughbred ♬ 90s Rap Mashup – Austin Williams
Sunmans Irish Pay has spent the summer with Ezra Yoder of No Reins Performance Horses and is ready to rock and roll. He has obtained the fine tuning needed to be a well-oiled machine and is sure to impress anyone watching the Derby. After finishing third in the non pro division of the Derby his five-year-old year, he is ready to try his luck in the pro division with Ezra.
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Unbridled Fame is more than ready to make her big debut at the CMSA Four-Year-Old Futurity. It seems like just yesterday I was waiting her evacuation from her mother’s womb thinking about how great of a shooting horse I was going to have. Hot Sauce couldn’t be any more like her dam. She’s determined and gives 150%. She has been in training with No Reins Performance Horses for more than a year and is a true testament to what solid training can do for a young, fiery horse. Sired by one of the top ten AQHA barrel racing stallions, Aint Seen Nothin Yet, she’s showcasing how the bloodline will be successful in the sport of mounted shooting.
The horses are healthy, fit and sound; my playlist to get me pumped up before my run is tuned up, and alfalfa hay is loaded on the trailer. It’s time to show up and show out at the CMSA Eastern National Championship. Good luck and safe travels to all my fellow competitors. See you there!
