Top Shots

Top Shots

 

MSA—Taking Mounted Shooting to New Heights

 

Although the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) is the pre-eminent organization in the world of Mounted Shooting, there are several other organizations that promote and produce a competition program that encompasses the use of fast horses, single action pistols and the excitement and thrill of high tuned contests that makes the sport so great.

 

One such organization is Mounted Shooters of America (MSA), now based out of Loma, Colorado and—until just recently–headed by World Champion Mounted Shooter T.C. Thorstenson. The basics are the same. You ride a horse through a set pattern, shooting balloons with a single action pistol carrying blank loads, and you’re timed.

 

But when compared to the larger CMSA however, MSA rules and operations differ in several areas.

 

MSA has three main competition classes—Non-Pro, Semi-Pro and Pro. There are also Senior Classes for age 50 and above.  Outlaws are for kids 11 and under; they don’t shoot. The Lead Line Class is for ages 4-8; the parent, on foot, leads the child through the course.

 

MSA dress requirements are a bit more relaxed than the CMSA—as long as it is Western-style hats and boots with long pants—modern rodeo attire. MSA also allows sponsor logos on clothing and your horse’s tack.

 

Compared to the CMSA’s 50 plus courses, MSA features only 17 competition stages and three patterns for the 20X Eliminator, a popular contest used at all major MSA competitions.

 

MSA payouts are also a bit different.  The group’s rules say that 50% of entry fees will be paid to the class, and all added monies are divided among the classes. Up to 10 places in each class get prize money.

 

So how does the competition differ?  Royce Anderson, Level 6 rider in both groups, puts it this way: “MSA fills a void in mounted shooting—especially for riders who don’t want to take things quite so seriously, or want to try it.”

 

The Man Behind MSA

The man who really grew MSA is T.C. Thorstenson, a longtime Mounted Shooter with CMSA and MSA Championships under his belt. His work with MSA, according to Royce Anderson, is “…just a labor of love, a passion to make it work.”

 

But his path to that point was a bit different. To say the least. Over the years, he’s been (among other things) a rancher, a bartender and bouncer, a coal miner, a pro rodeo rider and a Wild West entertainer.

 

The South Dakota native grew up on a ranch, learning to ride at an early age. By his teens, he’d become a trainer—not just of horses, but of buffalo as well. Thorstenson taught his big shaggy Harvey Wallbanger to perform in front of audiences.

 

But he also put him into some unusual competitions—starting around 1980, when T.C. had moved to Gillette, Wyoming. “I took him into town and raced him against some racehorses. I won something like a hundred bucks. And somebody was there from Miles City, Montana, and wanted to know if I’d take the buffalo there the next month for some racing. I said yes, and I doubled the fee.”

 

It turned into quite the business, as he took his buffalo to races around the nation (and usually won). He also trained him in team roping and steer wrestling.  He rode him in parades and exhibitions. It was his buffalo work that brought Thorstenson to mounted shooting.

 

About 1995, he was hired by SASS to perform (with buffalo) at one of their shoots. The sport was still young; only a couple dozen mounted shooters were in the field. “I decided to ride (in the mounted shooting competition), figuring that it might encourage SASS to hire me again. And I’m riding on a trick horse, and every time I fire the gun he starts bucking. And after two or three good jumps, the bridle breaks. But I finally made it through the pattern.”

 

Thorstenson says that the experience was a thrill, but he was occupied by a lot of other things. He didn’t get back to mounted shooting for another three years. And he didn’t get heavily involved until 1999.

 

But once he committed to the sport, he thrived. In 1999, he was Level 4 Reserve Champion at CMSA Nationals (and eighth overall). He took the 2001 Reserve at CMSA Nationals.  And T.C. won the CMSA Worlds in both 2000 and 2002.

 

But around that time, Thorstenson says he was getting a dissatisfied by the format of CMSA payouts and clothing requirements. He got involved with the Mounted Shooters of America, and soon became president (and principal owner) of the organization.
He led it until just recently (see sidebar).

 

The MSA has clubs and competition throughout the country. They hold their World Championship annually at the Mojave Crossing Event Center in Laughlin, Nevada in their world-class indoor arena. The MSA is a membership organization in which individuals can sign up to compete and receive their quarterly magazine, Mounted Shooter’s World. MSA also has an affiliated clubs program as well as a national points program.

 

For more information visit newmsa.com.

 

SIDE BAR

 

A Change At The Top

 

Colorado Cowgirl Cheryl Yaws’ first mounted shooting experience was pretty typical. “I was on a borrowed horse and trotted the whole course,” she remembers of the 2004 Winter Range ride.  “I was totally terrified and had an absolute blast.”

 

Five years later, the L3 shooter is taking a big step up.  Really big.

 

Just as we were about to send this issue of Western Shooting Horse to the printer, Cheryl announced—on the WSH website—that she is taking the helm at Mounted Shooters of America (MSA).

 

She admits it’s another chance to be totally terrified and have an absolute blast.

 

Cheryl does have some management experience in her real life job as a police officer in Loma, Colorado.  And for the last couple of years, she’s run the MSA club in Colorado.  There’ll be a transition period of six months or so as she gets her feet on the ground.  “They’re not just going to throw me to the wolves, and I appreciate that,” she says.

 

Cheryl takes over from T.C. Thorstenson, the man behind (and the face of) MSA over the last several years.  He’ll stay involved, running the organization’s Arizona shoots for the foreseeable future and serving as MSA’s Goodwill Ambassador.  He’ll also stay on the board—along with his wife Tracee and Barry and Mary Hart, though those folks are expected to phase out of their oversight responsibilities.

 

So what does the new MSA chief want to accomplish?  Initially, Cheryl says she will emphasize keeping the group’s membership informed on what’s going on.  She also wants to encourage cooperation within the sport of mounted shooting: “Each organization—whether it’s MSA or CMSA or SASS—has something to offer.  There are people who are going to have their preferences.  But there’s room for everyone.  I know it sounds a little lame, but can’t we all just get along?  I think we can if we put some effort into it.”

 

Cheryl is also going to reach out to members, delegating tasks whenever possible—something that doesn’t come naturally to her. “I think I have some control issues I need to work on,” she laughs.
 

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