JACKSON, Miss.—The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is proud to have the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association Inc. (CMSA) be a part of the 61st National Appaloosa Show & 2008 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss. Participants of the CMSA will showcase their talents in this inaugural Appaloosa competition Friday, June 27, offering $5,000 in added payouts.

Cowboy Mounted Shooting is one of the nation's fastest growing equestrian sports, and has been described as "equestrian NASCAR". Contestants mount their colorful Appaloosas and compete in this fast-action timed event using two .45 caliber single action revolvers, each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition.

Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns. The first half (five targets) of a course of fire will vary with each go and requires the Appaloosa and rider to stop, turn, change leads and accelerate rapidly. The second half (five targets), called the "run down," is a straight course with targets set at 36-foot intervals.

Typically, a competitor crosses the timing beam at a full gallop and engages the first pattern of five targets. After a shooter fires the fifth shot, he or she returns the empty revolver to a holster—while turning around a barrel and then racing to the far end of the arena—and draws the second revolver. At the far end, Appaloosa and rider turn another barrel and then engage the five remaining targets of the run down at full speed.

Scoring is based on the elapsed time, plus a five second penalty for each target missed or barrel knocked over. An average course of fire normally takes a contestant between 15 and 25 seconds to complete.

Four divisions are available for competition—Non-Pro Men (levels 1-2), Non-Pro Women (1-2), Pro Men (3-6) and Pro Women (3-6).

Elimination classes begin at noon Friday, June 27 at the Kirk Fordice Equine Center. There is a $75 entry fee with 100% payback.

The top riders will compete in the finals Friday evening, June 27 at the Mississippi Coliseum. The finals offer $1,200 in each division; first place will receive $720, second place will receive $480, third place will receive a saddle pad and fourth place will receive a headstall both donated by The Horse Teacher, Joestes Wyatt. 

Participants also have a chance to win $200 from the Rifle Jackpot Friday night.

The CMSA was created to develop the rules and guidelines for the equestrian sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting in 1992. The CMSA now annually hosts four major championship competitions, including the Jeffers National Championship in Tunica, Miss., the Sundowner EUSC in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the Ruger WUSC in Guthrie, Okla. and the World Championship in Las Vegas. Individual CMSA clubs across the country host hundreds of events, much like the performance at the National Appaloosa Show, so competitors may accrue points at these events toward qualifying to compete at the World Championship.

The Appaloosa Horse Club would like to invite everyone to experience this exciting sport at the 61st National Appaloosa Show & 2008 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show, which will be held June 23-July 5, at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss. Once you are there for Cowboy Mounted Shooting, don't miss the gravity-defying performance of the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls or deals at the Moonlight Madness event at the Cowboy Way Trading Post.

For more information about this exciting event, contact Diana Olson at (520) 661-6464 or olsondm@us.ibm.com. 

To learn about the Appaloosa Horse Club and its events, visit www.appaloosa.com.

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was established in 1938, with a mission of preserving, promoting and enhancing the Appaloosa breed. The ApHC has since registered more than 670,000 Appaloosas, which are known for their distinctive color, intelligence and even temperament. True to their reputation as an extremely versatile breed, Appaloosas can be found in nearly every discipline, including racing, endurance riding or serving as reliable family horses. The international breed registry is headquartered in Moscow, Idaho; the heart of the Palouse region, the Appaloosa breed's namesake and point of origin.