JAY RAWDING
Owner and Instructor of Highland Bow & Arrow.
Hi! I am Jay Rawding. Five years ago, I felt as though I was not in control of my career choices and that the decisions I was making were because I had no other choice. A year later, I gave away the vast majority of my belongings and moved to the Cabot Trail. I managed a resort for just over a year, got involved with my community, lived in some VERY simple shacks, and suddenly in 2017 I am forming Highland Bow & Arrow and having one of the busiest years in a decade for freelance graphic design and photography. On the North Shore of the Cabot Trail I barely have an internet connection (and CERTAINLY no cell service). I started Highland Bow as both a tourist attraction and to be a local range for people who already shoot or live nearby. For many families in Cape Breton, archery is still entwined into their lifestyle through bow hunting and they are still passing those skills on to their children. Mainly and understandably these shooters are choosing compound bows for proficiency while hunting, while my range offers what is usually a fun break from the technical and a place where intuitive shooting can take the reins.
I offer lessons in traditional archery throughout the months of May until December and host events, groups, tournaments and many eager folks from all over the world who are enjoying the famous Cabot trail. I have an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, small shop, bathroom and campsites - but no electricity or running water. I also have a 10-15 target 3D trail available by appointment for those who want to brush up on shooting in the field or have fun with a group of people.
‘Lady Archers’ is an all-age, female club that was formed in 2018 and has members from every decade of age between the years of 8 and 60. As nearly 60% of my local clientele is female, I have devoted a number of events and special sessions through this club that cater directly to women and girls who want an independent and safe practice with archery. Events like Full Moon Yoga and Archery, the Survival Circle, and learning to shoot 3D are all great upcoming opportunities.
I am located in the small community of Skir Dhu which is surrounded by St. Ann’s Bay and the North shore communities of the Cabot trail. Artisans and cottage rentals make up the majority of the businesses in my area, making an activity like archery a very rare experience. I am thrilled to provide what can be a home-base for local shooters and what is actually a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for some tourists. What thrills me the most is when they leave the range and pursue archery with their own equipment, and I am glad to say over 20 people have done so! Some have even moved to the competitive stage with success.
I learned archery through experienced archers at Scotian Bowmen Archery Club before I moved to Cape Breton Island nearly 5 years ago. My passion for the sport has been mainly kept to my own personal activities and 3D shoots around the province. I am new to bow hunting but continue my study and practice toward that eagerly as I get a handle on my new business. I am greatly interested in learning more about the craft of bow and arrow making, as well as teaching. I welcome any opportunity to learn from other shooters or hunters.
What’s my vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years, you ask?
For Atlantic Canada, my vision would be that people of my generation start filling more roles in our government and begin the influence that is necessary to change how we do business in the Maritimes.
Owner and Instructor of Highland Bow & Arrow.
Hi! I am Jay Rawding. Five years ago, I felt as though I was not in control of my career choices and that the decisions I was making were because I had no other choice. A year later, I gave away the vast majority of my belongings and moved to the Cabot Trail. I managed a resort for just over a year, got involved with my community, lived in some VERY simple shacks, and suddenly in 2017 I am forming Highland Bow & Arrow and having one of the busiest years in a decade for freelance graphic design and photography. On the North Shore of the Cabot Trail I barely have an internet connection (and CERTAINLY no cell service). I started Highland Bow as both a tourist attraction and to be a local range for people who already shoot or live nearby. For many families in Cape Breton, archery is still entwined into their lifestyle through bow hunting and they are still passing those skills on to their children. Mainly and understandably these shooters are choosing compound bows for proficiency while hunting, while my range offers what is usually a fun break from the technical and a place where intuitive shooting can take the reins.
I offer lessons in traditional archery throughout the months of May until December and host events, groups, tournaments and many eager folks from all over the world who are enjoying the famous Cabot trail. I have an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, small shop, bathroom and campsites - but no electricity or running water. I also have a 10-15 target 3D trail available by appointment for those who want to brush up on shooting in the field or have fun with a group of people.
‘Lady Archers’ is an all-age, female club that was formed in 2018 and has members from every decade of age between the years of 8 and 60. As nearly 60% of my local clientele is female, I have devoted a number of events and special sessions through this club that cater directly to women and girls who want an independent and safe practice with archery. Events like Full Moon Yoga and Archery, the Survival Circle, and learning to shoot 3D are all great upcoming opportunities.
I am located in the small community of Skir Dhu which is surrounded by St. Ann’s Bay and the North shore communities of the Cabot trail. Artisans and cottage rentals make up the majority of the businesses in my area, making an activity like archery a very rare experience. I am thrilled to provide what can be a home-base for local shooters and what is actually a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for some tourists. What thrills me the most is when they leave the range and pursue archery with their own equipment, and I am glad to say over 20 people have done so! Some have even moved to the competitive stage with success.
I learned archery through experienced archers at Scotian Bowmen Archery Club before I moved to Cape Breton Island nearly 5 years ago. My passion for the sport has been mainly kept to my own personal activities and 3D shoots around the province. I am new to bow hunting but continue my study and practice toward that eagerly as I get a handle on my new business. I am greatly interested in learning more about the craft of bow and arrow making, as well as teaching. I welcome any opportunity to learn from other shooters or hunters.
What’s my vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years, you ask?
For Atlantic Canada, my vision would be that people of my generation start filling more roles in our government and begin the influence that is necessary to change how we do business in the Maritimes.
Tree Stand Safety
Ok guys and gals. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. That being said, I was taught to smarten up last night and I hope that many of you become wiser after hearing my story. This year I set my stands up with safety lines for the first time. That way my safety harness is always in play even when climbing up or down from my tree stand. Last night I chose to hunt from a friends stand that I had never had the chance to hunt. But I knew that he, like so many of us, didn't have a safety line in place. I even had an extra one I could have taken in with me last night. I get in to the stand no problem and strap in safe as can be. Even saw a decent bear around 5pm. Then time passes and it gets dark. I lower my bow. Put on my hunters orange for the walk out. Put on my back pack. Then unclip my safety harness to climb safely to the ground. Only that did not happen. After stepping my second foot onto a step, and this part is foggy, somehow as I moved my left hand down, my right hand became free and I fell 8' to the ground landing flat on my back and left side. The rest of the story is long and filled with what could have been much scarier outcomes. I am grateful to have only broken my left humerus. Pic attached!! I will never again climb a stand without a safety line. And beg my hunting friends who have not invested in safety lines yet, to please do so, And quickly! My 2017 season is over because I didn't take an extra 15 mins to put a safety line up. Please be a wise man (woman) and learn from the mistakes of others (ME)! Please everyone get "To The Woods" as safely as you can this season. I am so grateful that this didn't turn out so much worse. Travis
Horse Archery
Recently we had the privilege of meeting Lance Bishop at one of the traditional archery tournaments. He was shooting a very different bow – a Hunnish horsebow, modeled after the short Asiatic horn, sinew and wood composite bows used by the ancient Huns.
Here is his story:
Lance is a self-employed beef and sheep farmer in Canning, NS. He started shooting at age 5 with a 25 lb fibreglass bow handed down from his older brother, but when he started high school at age 11 he joined the school archery club, run by Gordon Porter. Gordon was a school teacher at the school and shoots a longbow, so you can see where the interest continued to grow in Lance. After high school Lance stopped shooting for the next 26 years, only starting again last fall when he realized Gordon was still leading a club based out of the high school, though now retired from teaching. Gordon’s club is now called Titans Archers, Titans being the school’s mascot.
From a very young age, Lance was fascinated about riding horses and shooting arrows like Plains First Nations did for hunting and warfare after the introduction of horses. He remembers he had the associated volume of his parents’ World Book Encyclopedia well-leafed as a result.
In more recent years Lance’s interest turned to the mounted archery talents developed by the ancient Mongols and Huns. That’s when he discovered Hungarian bowyer and modern day horseback archery master, Lajos Kassai. Kassai is regarded as the one who has done the most to rediscover the ancient techniques that made his ancestors renowned and successful warriors. He has developed his techniques into both a structured martial art with a system of grades based on the students’ proficiency levels, and created a competition course whereby archers canter horses along a straight 99 meter track to score points with their arrows!
Kassai runs a training center at his farm in Hungary that is now world renounced, called Kassai Valley. More Kassai training centers are now located across the world in Asia, South Africa, Europe, the US and Canada (one exists in Mount Currie, BC). He operates his school like a military training camp, as can be observed in a 2016 documentary: A lovasíjász (The Horse Archer). The Hungarian Language Society in Ottawa organized the first Canadian viewing of the movie in November 2016, which Lance flew out to view. There he made fast friends with other aspiring horse archers and cantered a track for the first time. “That’s when I learned how difficult it is to nock an arrow without looking at it while bouncing on a cantering horse, never mind trying to hit the target!”, recounts Bishop.
Kassai also travels the world offering 3-4 day clinics where there is interest. Lance got to meet and study under Kassai first when he attended a clinic in February 2017 in California with his Ontario friends, and then recently again in September 2017 when Kassai came to his friend place near Ottawa. His first horse bow was 51# made by a Hungarian bowyer who lives in Philadelphia (Attila’s Archery). He soon was taught by Kassai that a lighter bow was much more appropriate. He now uses a 35# Hunnish bow made Kassai. The bow is modeled after the type of bow the Huns used. It is asymmetrical meaning that the top limb is a few inches longer than the bottom for ease of use when riding. The horsebows have no arrow shelf so are shot off the hand. The arrows have to have adequate length, flexibility and point weight to shoot well around the bow riser, but the bows tend to be high-functioning and very capable. Lance finds 34”, 600 spine, Black Eagle Vintage arrows work well with 12 grain inserts and 145 grain points. Kassai teaches a shooting technique where multiple arrows are held in the bow hand and shot using a split finger draw, with a dynamic (changing) low and long anchor (lower for more distant shots). Lance tells me he can comfortably hold 12 arrows (34” long) in his hand and shoot them as fast as within 24 seconds, but not that fast from the cantering horse yet! Kassai can shoot 12 thrown targets from the back of a cantering horse in about 18 seconds!
Kassai’s fundamental teaching during the clinics is that most archery is left-brain oriented, based on thought and understanding, but that horse archers have to develop their intuitive parts of their brains, the right side, where actions can be achieved automatically because they’ve been repeated so often. He explains that on the horse there is “no time to think, just time to shoot”. Lance suggests that people don’t have to become horse archers to benefit from the Kassai style of teaching. Lance himself often shoots a Longbow at 3D shoots for example, using a traditional 3-under draw, and the horse archery training has helped him “get out of his head”, addressing periods of target panic, false release ques, string plucking, and flinching.
Most of the practicing for horse archery is done not on horseback but on foot, as shooting while walking, running, squatting and rising, jumping, moving away from, adjacent to, and towards the target, laying on one’s back, and even while dancing to Hungarian folk music or balancing on a slack-line! All is in preparation for having to blind-nock and shoot arrows from the precarious seat of a cantering horse. The concept of a solid and consistent stance doesn’t make sense here!
Lance and his wife and kids together own 8 horses and ponys currently. During his 20s, Lance operated a horselogging business offering selection harvesting services to woodlot owners. “The logging business stopped when the price of softwood lumber fell in 2005, but horses have been a constant fixture! Now they are learning that it’s ok for humans to twang bows and fling arrows from their backs!”
Lance has never competed yet, but hopes to soon. He even wishes to host a Kassai clinic next fall at his farm. Competitions consist of each contestant completing 9 runs of a 99 meter straight track with a central rotating target that always faces the rider, located 9 meters from the center of the track (off to the left for right handed shooters). The goal is to shoot and score as many arrows as possible on the 90 cm target, which has three point zones: center 30 cm is 4 points per arrow, 60 cm zone is 3 points per arrow, and the outside 90 cm is 2 points per arrow. The horse must canter the entire length of the track in a maximum 20 second timeframe. Points are also allocated for every second under 20 seconds that it takes to run the track, but faster horses allow less arrows to be shot and more adjustments are required for the horse archer’s faster movement relative to the target. The longest shots can be about 50 meters forward or behind, an accuracy only the top mounted archers achieve consistently.
To get a sense of what this all looks like, check out the short video of Lance from one of his training visits to Ottawa! Also, search the internet for Kassai Horseback Archery for an abundance of videos of the Master! Lance is happy to share his passion with anyone interested in learning more about this ancient traditional archery form and he encourages people to heed the call of their inner warrior if it’s there! “Not many folks are doing this yet but I believe many people will someday! The sooner we start to connect with each other the sooner we get back to our tribes! Send me an email: [email protected]”.
Recently we had the privilege of meeting Lance Bishop at one of the traditional archery tournaments. He was shooting a very different bow – a Hunnish horsebow, modeled after the short Asiatic horn, sinew and wood composite bows used by the ancient Huns.
Here is his story:
Lance is a self-employed beef and sheep farmer in Canning, NS. He started shooting at age 5 with a 25 lb fibreglass bow handed down from his older brother, but when he started high school at age 11 he joined the school archery club, run by Gordon Porter. Gordon was a school teacher at the school and shoots a longbow, so you can see where the interest continued to grow in Lance. After high school Lance stopped shooting for the next 26 years, only starting again last fall when he realized Gordon was still leading a club based out of the high school, though now retired from teaching. Gordon’s club is now called Titans Archers, Titans being the school’s mascot.
From a very young age, Lance was fascinated about riding horses and shooting arrows like Plains First Nations did for hunting and warfare after the introduction of horses. He remembers he had the associated volume of his parents’ World Book Encyclopedia well-leafed as a result.
In more recent years Lance’s interest turned to the mounted archery talents developed by the ancient Mongols and Huns. That’s when he discovered Hungarian bowyer and modern day horseback archery master, Lajos Kassai. Kassai is regarded as the one who has done the most to rediscover the ancient techniques that made his ancestors renowned and successful warriors. He has developed his techniques into both a structured martial art with a system of grades based on the students’ proficiency levels, and created a competition course whereby archers canter horses along a straight 99 meter track to score points with their arrows!
Kassai runs a training center at his farm in Hungary that is now world renounced, called Kassai Valley. More Kassai training centers are now located across the world in Asia, South Africa, Europe, the US and Canada (one exists in Mount Currie, BC). He operates his school like a military training camp, as can be observed in a 2016 documentary: A lovasíjász (The Horse Archer). The Hungarian Language Society in Ottawa organized the first Canadian viewing of the movie in November 2016, which Lance flew out to view. There he made fast friends with other aspiring horse archers and cantered a track for the first time. “That’s when I learned how difficult it is to nock an arrow without looking at it while bouncing on a cantering horse, never mind trying to hit the target!”, recounts Bishop.
Kassai also travels the world offering 3-4 day clinics where there is interest. Lance got to meet and study under Kassai first when he attended a clinic in February 2017 in California with his Ontario friends, and then recently again in September 2017 when Kassai came to his friend place near Ottawa. His first horse bow was 51# made by a Hungarian bowyer who lives in Philadelphia (Attila’s Archery). He soon was taught by Kassai that a lighter bow was much more appropriate. He now uses a 35# Hunnish bow made Kassai. The bow is modeled after the type of bow the Huns used. It is asymmetrical meaning that the top limb is a few inches longer than the bottom for ease of use when riding. The horsebows have no arrow shelf so are shot off the hand. The arrows have to have adequate length, flexibility and point weight to shoot well around the bow riser, but the bows tend to be high-functioning and very capable. Lance finds 34”, 600 spine, Black Eagle Vintage arrows work well with 12 grain inserts and 145 grain points. Kassai teaches a shooting technique where multiple arrows are held in the bow hand and shot using a split finger draw, with a dynamic (changing) low and long anchor (lower for more distant shots). Lance tells me he can comfortably hold 12 arrows (34” long) in his hand and shoot them as fast as within 24 seconds, but not that fast from the cantering horse yet! Kassai can shoot 12 thrown targets from the back of a cantering horse in about 18 seconds!
Kassai’s fundamental teaching during the clinics is that most archery is left-brain oriented, based on thought and understanding, but that horse archers have to develop their intuitive parts of their brains, the right side, where actions can be achieved automatically because they’ve been repeated so often. He explains that on the horse there is “no time to think, just time to shoot”. Lance suggests that people don’t have to become horse archers to benefit from the Kassai style of teaching. Lance himself often shoots a Longbow at 3D shoots for example, using a traditional 3-under draw, and the horse archery training has helped him “get out of his head”, addressing periods of target panic, false release ques, string plucking, and flinching.
Most of the practicing for horse archery is done not on horseback but on foot, as shooting while walking, running, squatting and rising, jumping, moving away from, adjacent to, and towards the target, laying on one’s back, and even while dancing to Hungarian folk music or balancing on a slack-line! All is in preparation for having to blind-nock and shoot arrows from the precarious seat of a cantering horse. The concept of a solid and consistent stance doesn’t make sense here!
Lance and his wife and kids together own 8 horses and ponys currently. During his 20s, Lance operated a horselogging business offering selection harvesting services to woodlot owners. “The logging business stopped when the price of softwood lumber fell in 2005, but horses have been a constant fixture! Now they are learning that it’s ok for humans to twang bows and fling arrows from their backs!”
Lance has never competed yet, but hopes to soon. He even wishes to host a Kassai clinic next fall at his farm. Competitions consist of each contestant completing 9 runs of a 99 meter straight track with a central rotating target that always faces the rider, located 9 meters from the center of the track (off to the left for right handed shooters). The goal is to shoot and score as many arrows as possible on the 90 cm target, which has three point zones: center 30 cm is 4 points per arrow, 60 cm zone is 3 points per arrow, and the outside 90 cm is 2 points per arrow. The horse must canter the entire length of the track in a maximum 20 second timeframe. Points are also allocated for every second under 20 seconds that it takes to run the track, but faster horses allow less arrows to be shot and more adjustments are required for the horse archer’s faster movement relative to the target. The longest shots can be about 50 meters forward or behind, an accuracy only the top mounted archers achieve consistently.
To get a sense of what this all looks like, check out the short video of Lance from one of his training visits to Ottawa! Also, search the internet for Kassai Horseback Archery for an abundance of videos of the Master! Lance is happy to share his passion with anyone interested in learning more about this ancient traditional archery form and he encourages people to heed the call of their inner warrior if it’s there! “Not many folks are doing this yet but I believe many people will someday! The sooner we start to connect with each other the sooner we get back to our tribes! Send me an email: [email protected]”.
Here is the link to the short video of Lance from one of his training visits to Ottawa:
splice.gopro.com/v?id=73wxKG The photo on the left is Lance's new Kassai Horseback Archery Saddle. |