Rules, Saftey & Course Design

Qualifying to Compete

All MA3 competitors or horses new to our competitions must pass the following tests.
1) Riders must be able to show control at the walk, trot, and canter.
2) Demonstrate care and control while making one side shot on the course at the canter.
3) Horses must be calm and manageable at the canter while a rider is making a side shot on the course.

General Rules

The following rules apply to all competition disciplines or events unless otherwise stated.
1)   The competitor’s horse must be in a canter or gallop and remain on course for a score to be taken.
2)   Each competitor will have three passes at each discipline which will determine his or her final score.
3)   Competitors will have equal opportunity to do at least one warm-up run prior to the running of a competition or discipline as dictated by the competition judge.
4)   Bows cannot be compound, or crossbow types, nor have mechanical triggers or sights.   They have to be of traditional style such as Asian, Middle Eastern, or Native American with simple handles and without arrow shelves, shooting windows, or pistol grips.
5)   The Judge’s decision will be final on all scoring and judging matters as they unfold on the course.
6)   Competitors under 18 years of age are required to wear an approved riding helmet.

Code of Conduct

Competitors are to act professionally at all times, mindful that the public, event sponsors, facility management, and staff are deserving of respect.   On the course or off, any competitor acting in an unsafe manner, one that is detrimental to the running of the competition, or one that reflects badly on other competitors, event host, or official may be eliminated from the competition without any monetary refund of the entrance fee.

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The Three Disciplines:

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Standard Hungarian-Type Course

Each competitor will canter down a 90 meter course divided by four drove posts which divide the course into three equal sections.   A three-faced target is placed at the center of the course (45 meters) but seven meters off to the left side of the course.   The competitors will shoot as many arrows as possible at the appropriate target face as designated by his or her position between the posts.   The course must be completed in 16 seconds or less otherwise no score will be recorded or any targets hit during that pass.

The targets and scoring are as follows.   The targets are standard school and recreational 32 inch Styrofoam forms covered with a skirted target face of five colors and are widely available. Scoring of the three targets is according to the difficulty of the shot.
Forward or approach shot:   gold = 6;   red = 5;   blue = 4;   black = 3; white, = 2.
Side shot:   gold = 5;   red = 4;   blue = 3;   black = 2;   white = 1.
Parting or backward shot:   gold = 7;   red = 6:   blue = 5;   black = 4:   white = 3.

In addition, time remaining under the 16 second limit on the stop watch when a run is completed will be added to the points scored (1 second = 1 point).   If no targets are hit during the pass, no “time points” will be awarded.

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Moving Targets

Each competitor will canter the 90 meter course and attempt to shoot at three moving disks.   The throwers (three of them) will stand 4 meters from the center of the course, and 5 meters down-course from each of the three respective drove posts.   For the standardized competition with formally recorded scores, the disks are rolled on the ground.
The course again must be completed in 16 seconds or no score will be recorded regardless of the number of hits.   The self-made 6-ply corrugated cardboard disk target will be 1 foot in diameter and painted and scored as follows:
Red center = 7 points; white outer ring = 5 points.
Bonus points for speed of the horse are exactly the same as in the “Hungarian course” described in the discipline immediately above this one.   A faulty throw can be called by the judge followed by a corrected throw; this will require an additional pass where the competitor shoots at all three throws again, which cancels the total pass which had a faulty throw.

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Alternating Targets – *These rules might be changing soon*

Each competitor will canter down the 90 meter course with 5 targets presented– 3 on the left, and 2 on the right side of the archer. The targets are inspired by the Japanese Yabusame, 1 foot square of breakable material such as cedar shingles, cardboard, or flexible plastic. Left hand targets are positioned 4 meters from the center of the course and with the center of the target being 2 feet (61cm) above ground level.   Right hand targets are 2 meters from the center of the course and with the center of the target being 2 feet (61 cm) above ground level.   All targets are placed 45 degrees to the course.   The sequence of shooting this discipline,   where L = left, and R = right, is L, R, L, R, L.   All arrow points in this discipline must be rubber blunts for safety sake.

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Other

Each competitor is given one warm-up run on the Hungarian course only. Each competitor is scored on three runs of the course for each discipline, for a total of 9 runs in a formal competition.   As stated above in the general rules, the total score for a complete competition is the simple sum of the three discipline scores.

Informal non-standardized demonstrations and competitions may be staged in indoor arenas on shortened courses but none of these scores would be entered in the Association record book because the conditions are totally different and are not comparable to the
standardized course.   On the other hand informal scoring would be possible in order that competitors could see their relative standing for that particular occasion.

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Korean Style Courses

The following mounted archery courses where developed by The International Horseback Archery Federation and have been adopted by MA3 for competition use.
We have added “Approved Variations” that may help competition organizers hold these types of competitions in conjunction with the other approved courses.

All types of competition are performed on a track with an overall length of 160 meters.
The first 110 meters of this track is straight, with the remaining 50 being a sweeping turn to the left, forming a large J. The diameter of the J-turn is roughly 40 meters, with the last 2 meters being straight and parallel to the other side of the track.
Approved Variation: The course is run on a 160 meter straight track.

All competitors will have 2 runs on a course to make up their total score for that course.
Approved Variation: competitors have 3 runs on a course.

Except for Mogu, all targets are square and 1 meter in diameter, divided equally into 5 scoring area with the inner bulls-eye being 20 cm in diameter. The targets are placed 5 meters from the inside track rope.
Scoring is as follows: bulls’ eye = 5 points, then 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.
Approved Variation: Targets are round, 32 inch Styrofoam forms covered with a skirted target face of five colors which are widely available. Scoring of the targets is according to the difficulty of the shot.
Forward or approach shot:   gold = 6;   red = 5;   blue = 4;   black = 3; white, = 2.
Side shot:   gold = 5;   red = 4;   blue = 3;   black = 2;   white = 1.
Parting or backward shot:   gold = 7;   red = 6:   blue = 5;   black = 4:   white = 3.

For all courses, except Mogu, arrows cannot be held in the hand but must be drawn from a hip quiver or a belt.

All other safety features laid out by MA3 should be followed with these courses.

Double Shot Course

Two targets are placed roughly in the middle of the straight part of the course, separated by 8 meters. The first target is a forward shot; the second is a backwards shot. Again, the course is timed and competitors draw their arrows from a hip quiver or belt.

Serial Shot

Five targets are place along the total length of the course in 30 meter increments, all presented as side shots.
This course is not timed; arrows are to be drawn from a hip quiver or belt, not held in the hand.
Scoring is as follows: bulls’ eye = 5 points, then 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.
Additional points are added as follows:
If the first 3 targets are hit an additional 3 points is added to the score for that run.
If all 5 targets are hit an additional 5 points is added to the score for that run.
If a competitor does not hit 3 targets on the course he/she is eliminated from the Serial Shot competition.

Mogu

A mounted rider pulls a Mogu ball behind him on a long rope over the first 90 meters of the course. A mounted archer chases the ball while firing bunt arrows (Mujuckjun) at it.
Team competition: Teams of 2 mounted archers chase the ball.
Arrows may be held in the bow hand as the blunts will be coated with paint to mark the hits.
Chasing archers may only hit the ball when it is moving, not at the beginning of the course when the drag rider is picking up the slack rope or at the end when it has been dropped. A flag should be dropped or a drum beaten to indicate when the chase rider can set off after the ball and start shooting.
Scoring is as follows: 5 points per hit to the Mogu ball
The course will be timed to settle any ties.
The Mogu Ball should be of sturdy construction, covering it in a light colored canvas is recommended.

Safety Considerations

- The rope used to drag the Mogu ball should be of a sufficient length that hitting the drag horse is minimized
- Arrows must have blunts attached, further, wrapping them in several lays of cloth is suggested.
- The drag horse and chasing rider should be positioned so that the chase rider is shooting to the left, and always away from any spectators.

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Safety and Course Layout for Horseback Archery Courses:

Mounted archery is a dangerous sport along with all other equestrian sports and high action outdoor sports.   However, if good safety practices are followed, the accident rate is very low. At all times safety will be in the forefront of any competition and rules can be modified as needed by the circumstances of the location.   We encourage all riders to use helmets and competitors under 18 years of age are required to do so.

Separation of spectators from the shooting action is critical.   A 75 meter space behind the targets must be totally blocked off from all spectator traffic.   On the spectator side of the course, a 10 meter safety buffer from the center of the course must be well barricaded.   Even though bright colored rope would seem to be good material to demarcate areas, it should not be used anywhere on the course.   If a horse panics, bolts and gets twisted into a rope, panic is likely to increase and the rope can burn or cut like a knife.   Use standard 3 inch traffic tape.   There should be two strands on the fence to separate spectators from the course.   Permanent standardized courses may use a ditch-like formation with 10 inch high earth berms on the sides to help guide the horses down the track which is one meter wide.   An alternative is to use flexible plastic posts with one strand of traffic tape on each side of the course.   Posts must be flexible in case a rider falls on a post.   The full 3” tape will flutter in the wind and some horses may have trouble adapting to it.   A solution is to split the tape down the middle to a 1 ½   inch width; the wind cannot catch it nearly as much and it is still strong enough to be durable.

The backdrop is partially a safety feature, but is more a matter of facilitating arrow retrieval.   On a permanent course, it should be built as an earth mounding.   Because the center of the targets for Discipline One are 2 meters above ground, the top of the earth mound should be 4 meters high at the center, should extend laterally 17 meters each way from center, tapering to 0 elevation at the ends of the extensions.   The whole mound structure should form a slight semi-circle from the top view; the extension tips come in toward the track slightly.
If a competition is staged on a more temporary course, the backstop may be constructed of a wood frame covered with arrow netting.   The total frame consists of five segments 4 feet wide and 12 feet high.   One 4 foot by 12 foot segment will face the course and will hold the right angle or side shot target.   Two other 4 foot by 12 foot sections will flair or “swing” back 15 degrees from the right angle target on either side of it.   The targets are centered vertically on these winged segments.   An additional 4 foot by 12 foot section is then added to each of the flared wings in order to catch more of the errant arrows.

If one is constructing a more permanent course with an earth mound, the spacing of the three targets can be deduced from the dimensions just mentioned. In this case the three targets are usually mounted on one strong 6 inch by 6 inch timber, with steel or wood framing in the back in order to present the targets at the correct height, correct angles, and at the correct distances from each other.