Flashback Horse Archer

[Samuel Longwell]

Horse Archer Date: 72nd Spring, Year 500 Location: Windmount Track and Field Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel wasn't too sure about this. His patron had insisted that he was good enough at riding to attempt this but the squire still felt he should practise the basics more first. He shrugged, who was he to argue with the knight in charge of his training. He continued fitting the saddle onto the docile grey gelding that he was to ride. Samuel made sure it was adjusted correctly, so that when he sat on the saddle it would be comfortable for both horse and rider. Satisfied with his work, the squire pulled himself into the saddle. He nudged his mount into a walk to warm up, setting off round the track. Samuel truly loved riding, it was a truly liberating feeling. It always made him feel on top of the world. After a few laps he pressed gently with his legs and the gelding broke into a trot, picking up the pace. Samuel focused on the flow of the motion, keeping his body's movements synchronised with those of the horse. After a few more laps squire and mount halted opposite a group of targets. This was the reason Samuel had been instructed to come to the field. The targets weren't set up very often and his patron had jumped upon on the opportunity for Samuel to practise archery while on horseback. It wasn't an easy technique, even some knights couldn't fire a bow accurately when on a moving mount. Samuel understood the appeal of firing from horseback, it would allow a group of knights to beat a much larger force of marching melee units by firing then riding to a safe distance before firing again. Samuel pulled his bow off his back and nudged his horse forwards till the squire was sitting side on from the target. This would be the easiest shot to pull off, with the horse not moving and Samuel in a familiar orientation with respect to the target. Samuel made sure to keep his body relaxed, he didn't want his mount to move while he was firing. He drew an arrow and set it to the string, taking a deep breath. Sitting on the horse hands free was not too difficult while the horse was still, so the squire could focus all his attention on accuracy. He loosed the arrow, his legs holding him in place as the arrow flew true. Samuel smiled, maybe firing from horseback wouldn't be as hard as he'd thought.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel now coaxed his horse into a variety of different positions, working out whether he could still hit the target from that orientation. He fired arrow after arrow, with the horse facing away from the target, straight towards the target, and everything in between. He finally decided he had a firing arc of about half a circle. It stretched from almost right behind him on his left hand side to slightly off to his right in front of him. If the target was anywhere else in respect to the horse it would involve too much contortion to get the arrow aimed at the target. Firing more arrows Samuel quickly discovered that the nearer to his initial position he was, the better accuracy he could fire at the target with. If the target was almost directly to his left he could fire with almost the same accuracy as he could when standing. On the other hand, firing behind him was a real struggle, requiring him to twist his body awkwardly. Samuel expected it would be almost impossible for him to do so while he was moving, the twisting would probably result in him getting thrown from the horse. Samuel knew what the next step would be, he needed to try firing while on the move. There were two essential parts to this technique. To be able to stay seated without holding onto the horse, and also to be able to factor in the movement of the animal while aiming. To start with, Samuel focused on the first part. Putting his bow away he set the horse off at a walk. He then released the reins and focused on keeping his balance. It wasn't too difficult when walking, control of the horse was done through the legs rather than the hands so his patron had made him walk the horse hands free before. Samuel moved his body as if he was about to fire a bow, feeling the movement of the horse underneath him. He gently retook the reins and turned the horse around, riding back past the targets. He let the horse walk a decent amount of distance from the target then turned back again. The targets were now on his left, a little way in front of him. Samuel grabbed his bow from his shoulder, it was now time to actually fire an arrow while moving.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Squeezing gently with his calves, Samuel encouraged his mount into a walk. Samuel carefully reached to take an arrow from his quiver, making sure he didn't unbalance himself. The squire notched an arrow and drew the string back. The horse beneath him continued plodding forwards. As he took aim at the target, Samuel suddenly realised the most difficult part of the skill was aiming while being rocked about by the movement of the horse. His bow bounced in time with the gelding's steps. The squire grimaced and loosed the arrow. It would have been a simple shot while stationary, but the arrow flew over the top of the target. Samuel set another arrow to his string, trying to work out when the best time to fire would be. Again he loosed the arrow, which struck the target right on the outside ring. By this time the horse had passed the target, so Samuel knew he had just enough time to make one more shot. But in his rush to fire he misjudged the movement of his mount again. The shot flew wide. A small frown could be seen on the squire's face as he turned the gelding round to return to his starting position. Samuel nudged his mount into a trot, his annoyance making him impatient. Rider and mount reached the starting position and the squire guided the horse round to face the right direction. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It had little success, he kept worrying that if he couldn't fire when the horse was walking he would have no chance when the horse was really moving at speed. He made the pass again, managing to fire three arrows at the target before he'd gone too far past. If anything he was less accurate this time, still only managing to hit the target once but his misses fell further from the target. His grip tightened on his bow, his inability to hit the target with consistency weighing on his mind. The squire put his bow back on his shoulder and decided to ride around the track for a bit. He was just getting himself worked up and it was not a productive way to train. He encouraged the gelding into a canter, enjoying the increased speed of the gait. He focused on his mount beneath him, putting the difficult horseback archery out of his mind for a couple of laps.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The freedom of horse riding had always appealed to Samuel. He grinned into the wind as the horse cantered round the edge of the enclosure. All thoughts of his failure with the bow fled from his mind, pushed out by the joy of riding. After he had given the horse a good workout, Samuel dismounted to give the gelding a rest. “We'll get back to the hard stuff soon okay?” Samuel said in a calm voice, stroking his mount's neck. While the horse was grazing, Samuel decided he'd fire some arrows from the ground. You could never get too much practise. He stepped up to the target, drawing his bow as he did so. The squire grinned, this type of archery was much easier. He spent several chimes putting arrows in the target, taking his time to ensure that he was firing as accurately as he could. After he felt the gelding had rested for long enough, Samuel gathered up the arrows from the target and nearby and walked over to the grazing horse. “Time to have another go, lazy.” Samuel said, resting his hand on his mount. The gelding ignored him, focusing on his lunch. The squire took hold of the reins and led the horse away from the grass he was eating to make a point. “We've got work to do I'm afraid.” he said firmly, “You'll have more time to eat later.” He mounted up and set the horse walking towards his designated starting point again. “We're going to try and work out how to do this, no more excuses.” Samuel said, more to himself than the horse. The horse rode forward and Samuel prepared to fire at the target. The first shot struck true, near the centre of the target, provoking a grin from the squire. He felt like he was getting the hang of the movement of his mount and he was more able to adjust for it when firing. The second shot missed the target by a hair, going slightly too high. Samuel's final shot went wide, but again didn't miss by much. Although his score remained the same, one from three, Samuel certainly felt he was getting the hang of firing from horseback. Now he needed to reinforce his learning with repetition; lots of repetition. Samuel turned his mount and trotted back, he was ready to try again.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others “I'm gonna have a few more runs at this target,” Samuel decided, “then I'll head back to the dorms.” The squire coaxed his mount forwards and it began to walk. He took a deep breath and drew the string back full draw. He made an effort to compensate for the motion of the horse and then released. He realised that he'd managed to make the shot more quickly than before, so he focused on keeping calm and kept firing arrows. He managed fire four times before the horse had walked too far for the squire to aim at the target, two of which hit the target. This repetitive training continued for another ten chimes or so, with Samuel eventually able to hit the target about the half time. Samuel decided that was enough archery for the session and decided some riding would be a nice way to wind down after the mind-numbing horse archery. Samuel disliked training like this, all on his own, but sometimes it just had to be done. Samuel gave a squeeze to speed his mount into a trot, then another to encourage it into a canter. He was soon speeding round the field, an excellent way to finish a hard training session. After about a lap, it became obvious to the squire that his mount was working hard. Samuel wasn't used to moving his body in the correct way to make it easier for the horse, he didn't have a huge amount of experience with this gait. He made a small adjustment to his form, so he was moving slightly more in sync with the gelding beneath him. After a few laps of this, the horse was starting to sweat. Samuel pushed it on a little harder and they sped up, racing half a lap before the squire reined the horse in and they came to a halt. Samuel dismounted, then started to remove the saddle so that he could clean the horse. Lifting the saddle off, Samuel grabbed his brush and got to work. He had always been taught that looking after your horse is very important, so he took his time. The squire ran the brush over the gelding's coat carefully and thoroughly, removing any dirt that may have built up from their time riding together. Samuel found the process soothing, he smiled at the thought of how he used to flinch away from horses while cleaning them. It hadn't been that long ago that he was terrified of being kicked. But now he was very comfortable around the big beasts, nearly all of the horses he had access to as a squire were completely harmless to those who looked after them. Once he was satisfied, Samuel led the horse back to the stables.

[Dove Brown]

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Samuel Longwell

Skills

• Horsemanship 1
• Riding (horse) 5
• Weapon: shortbow 5
• Animal Husbandry 2
• Observation 2

Lores

• Riding without reins
• Archery: Horseback arc of fire
• Archery: Horse's movement makes aiming hard
• Always look after your horse

Miscellaneous

• Shield points +2 (training)

Comments: Enjoy your grades