Rodeo Rapid City kicks off Stock Show with Mounted Shooting

Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — The first competitive events of the Black Hills Stock Show kicked off today with the C-M-S-A Mounted Shooting.

The national series is part of Rodeo Rapid City.

Friday, horses and riders stepped into the Summit Arena as Rodeo Rapid City kicked off nine days of events.

“Well, we’re in an agricultural country, we’re in a Western lifestyle. There’s no better time to be a cowboy right now if you’re competing. The money’s great, a lot of rodeos to go to and with Yellowstone and the different TV shows coming on, everybody wants to put on their boots and hat and go to town for the weekend,” Sutton Rodeo Owner Steve Sutton said.

Being able to properly shoot a gun at a shooting range and hit a target can be a difficult task. Doing it on horseback adds to the level of difficulty.

“Cowboy mounted shooting is like barrel racing with guns. It’s a timed event with ten reactive targets, balloons, that we shoot with 19-century replica guns, with a specially loaded black powered blank that only flies to about 20-feet,” CMSA Level Six Shooter Brett Borkowski said.

This event is family friendly and lets people take a step back in time.

“The old westerns on TV used to be the gun fights and everything and so it’s pretty entertaining. I think a lot of people got into this event by sitting in the stands watching it, seeing how much fun it would actually be if you were participating,” Sutton said.

“You know, if you don’t get your second gun out in time you might be halfway home, you might have run by three balloons before you even get your second gun out. So the feeling when you shoot ten balloons and everything flows and it’s all perfect, it’s an amazing feeling,” Borkowski said.

Riders from seven states and a variety of levels are competing at this year’s event.

If you were unable to attend day one of this event, you can still get in on the action as day two of their Mounted Shooting series begins Saturdaymorning.

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