Pacific Northwesterners are taking to the ancient martial art of horse archery

A new generation is building community around shooting arrows from the backs of galloping horses.
Beesh Lotspeich leans forward to her horse’s ear and growls, “Let’s kill it!” She spurs the horse. It breaks into a canter with a burst of raw power.

As they pass between two wooden poles, they trigger a timer. The seconds are now clicking away.

She feels the sides of the horse’s ribs expand and contract with each breath. She reminds herself not to tense up but to breathe.

Beesh feels the pounding of the hooves as they hit the dirt track. The hooves thump in a three-beat cadence with each stride, thud-a-lump. Her body rises up with the horse, and falls back to the earth, thud-a-lump. She and the horse are now perfectly in sync.

She drops the reins. She is now trusting the horse completely.

She sees the target ahead. She lifts her bow. Curling her thumb and two fingers around the bowstring and the notch of her arrow, she draws.