Desperados bring horses, guns to town

Those looking to try their hand at mounted shooting will have that opportunity when the Wyoming Desperados Mounted Shooters come to the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds April 9 and 10.

Nicole "Scooter" Singbeil, the 2015 Wyoming "High Point" Champion in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, said the Desperados would host a clinic at the fairgrounds.

Registration for the clinic is $120, and a nonrefundable $75 deposit holds a spot. There are 12 spots available, and the $120 goes to arena fee, use of guns and holsters, 100 rounds of ammunition and 100 balloon targets, a set of equine and human earplugs and a 2016 Wyoming Desperados membership.

"This is a basic clinic," Singbeil said. "Like a 101 for beginners, to tell them exactly what mounted shooting is, what it looks like, what we do, the equipment we use." The equipment's pretty involved, she noted, and the clinic will help prevent people from buying the wrong things.

Training will also be done with horses, to prepare them for the gunfire. The only thing participants need to bring are horses they feel comfortable on and have control of, Singbeil said, as there will be plenty of guns, holsters and ammunition to use.

The ammo itself will be blank cartridges, filled with black powder or cannon powder, that emit plenty of smoke and burning embers. This spray of embers is what breaks the balloon targets, and the cartridges are certified to shoot no more than 20 feet.

Lyle Spence explained how competitors start with two revolvers, each loaded with five cartridges, and run down a course with five randomly placed balloons. They fire and attempt to break five targets with one pistol, holster that gun and draw the second, turn around a barrel and make a run at the finish line while firing at another five targets.

Singbeil added the event is timed, much like barrel racing, with penalties for knocking down items or missing targets. Unlike barrel racing, there are 50 different possible patterns, and the patterns for a day's competition aren't drawn until the morning of the event.

"It's all about the horse," Spence said. "It's fun to do, but it's something you can expose your horse to that's challenging, and rewarding when you can get a horse to accept and perform at that level."

Mounted shooting is the fastest growing equine sport in the United States, Singbeil said. There are about 5,000 members in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA), and hundreds of clubs worldwide. Along with the Desperados in the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming is also home to the Rough Riders in the south.

Each year, the Desperados host three or four competitive shoots, two or three clinics and "for charity" events to give back to the community.

Mounted shooting is fun to watch, and even more fun to do, Spence said. Singbeil said her favorite thing about it is that it's very family-oriented. Younger children even do it, pointing their fingers at targets or using cap guns when riding; they actually shoot from the ground under high supervision.

The Desperados always seem to pick up a few members after hosting a training clinic, and the group currently has 35 members. Singbeil added she's amazed to see how many people still don't know what mounted shooting is, even though it's been around since the early '90s.

To register for the clinic, contact Singbeil at 406-291-3202.