Phoenix Horseback Archery

Here at Phoenix we believe in supporting as many events as we can – because collaboration happens at the top, competition happens at the bottom!

Well done to three of our Phoenix riders who participated in the Hunt track at the 2*K&P New Beginnings competition today, scoring excellent results:

🥇1st Place: Marna Wium took top honours in the Hunt Canter Senior category, riding her trusty Wolf, with an impressive score of 127.52 points.
🥇1st Place: Talitha Schoeman won the Hunt Canter Junior category, riding lovely Braveheart, scoring 82.83 points.
🏅4th Place: Andrie McArthur competed in the Masters category, riding the feisty little Yankee Doodle, earning a very respectable 32.08 points.

~"One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it."

Phoenix hosted the 4th and final SANESA qualifier for Gauteng and North West last weekend - well done to all the riders who participated!

We now await the team announcement for SANESA Nationals, which will be held on Thursday 1st October at Botha Wil Stables, Pretoria North.

And one final post, because after such a successful clinic and competition, they deserve it - and so much more!

We might be a small club, but we are incredibly privileged to have the talents of SA's two top riders, who are not only accomplished horseback archers here at home but have a wealth of international competitive experience to draw on when it comes to teaching.

Jacques and Marna started their journey at about the same time, as SANESA riders, have represented SA as both junior and senior Proteas, and both enjoy sharing their passion and expertise with others.

At the recent training clinic, they taught a bunch of teenage girls (!) and a couple of young at heart ladies, and they did an incredible job.

Aided by Nicolene, who spent three days overseeing the horses, tacking up, tacking off and running stirrups up and down, this little team of three made me realize how lucky we are to have them.

Here are our heroes, from left: Nicolene, Jacques and Marna, with some of the Phoenix and Riverside participants.

Cheers to you all!

𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓: 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
The 3rd annual Phoenix Winter Hunt competition was held at Phoenix Horseback Archery on Saturday 18th July 2026.

This competition was held in conjunction with a training clinic, where we hosted a group of riders from Riverside Mounted Archery in KZN.

The Phoenix Winter Hunt was an accredited International Horseback Archery Alliance 2* event.

The track was approximately 800m long, with 15 targets, one optional jump shot and one equitation element which had to be done in a walk. In addition, the track designed demanded a reasonably high level of riding skill, with sections being open to test the rider’s skill in directing their horse to the next fenced off section.

𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐒:

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐘:

🥇1st – Marna Wium (riding Wolf) from Phoenix Horseback Archery with 134.29 points
🥈2nd – Jacques Horn (riding Sylvester) from Phoenix Horseback Archery with 119.59 points
🥉3rd – Andrie McArthur (riding Yankee Doodle) from Phoenix Horseback Archery with 39.17 points🏅
4th – Nicolene Wessels (riding Braveheart) from Phoenix Horseback Archery. This was Nicolene’s first canter hunt, and as a newly graded Student Archer, she elected to take it slow and just shoot for target points, which she did admirably – 32 target points in total!

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐘:

🥇1st – Talitha Schoeman (riding Braveheart) from Phoenix Horseback Archery with 67.20 points.
🥈2nd – Aimee Crago (riding Braveheart) from Riverside Mounted Archery with 41.50 points – her first ever Hunt track score!

Our grateful thanks to Riverside Mounted Archery in KZN for supporting this event. In the current climate in which we find ourselves, your dedication to the sport that we all love does not go unnoticed or unappreciated – we are thankful for your willingness to put the sport first, and your friendship.

The following people deserve a standing ovation:

𝐀𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨 – 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲

Aimee took a couple of falls during the training clinic when she and Sylvester had a difference of opinion in terms of direction. However, being the determined young lady that she is, she got back up, dusted herself off, and got back in the saddle (albeit a different saddle on a different horse). Aimee had never done a Hunt track before, but she rose to the occasion and was determined to do her best in spite of her nerves. A true warrior with a very bright future ahead of her.

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐬 – 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲

This was also a first for Nicolene, who only recently achieved her Student Archer grading. An accomplished rider who has a passion for horses, she stepped up to attempt her first canter hunt track, and approached the challenge with her usual quiet determination and courage.

Thank you both – you are true heroines!

Day 2: Phoenix Youth Training Camp

The second day of training was dedicated to the notoriously difficult Hunt track - but as always, we start slowly; first at a walk, then a trot and then eventually at a canter.

A 400m hunt track with 10 targets was laid out for our clinic participants, many of whom had never seen a Hunt track before.

So we began at the beginning...

First a walk-through of the track with the horses to show them the scary and not-so-scary stuff, followed by a ground archery session to teach the finer points of the ground shot, the long-distance shot and the offside shot.

Then it was on to the competition, with some riders choosing to walk the course, and others scraping together the courage to do it at a trot.

RESULTS - WALK/TROT HUNT (International Horseback Archery Alliance accredited 1* Event)

SENIOR WALK RIDERS:
🥇Nicolene Wessels (Sylvester)
🥈Janine Crago (Braveheart)

JUNIOR WALK RIDERS:
🥇Natalie Nathard (My Hero)
🥈Skyla Duvivier (My Hero)

SENIOR TROT RIDERS:
🥇Andrie McArthur (Jay-Lo)

JUNIOR TROT RIDERS:
🥇Makenzi Solomon (Wolf)
🥈Tessa Pitout (Yankee Doodle)
🥉Rachel Solomon (Wolf)

Day 1: Phoenix Youth Training Camp

The first day was spent fine tuning their archery technique before saddling up and doing some Straight Track training and mini competition.

TABLA 4 - CANTER RESULTS

🥇Aimee Crago
🥈Talitha Schoeman
🥉Andrie McArthur

TABLA 4 - WALK/TROT mini competition

🥇Skyla Duvivier
🥈Janine Crago
🥉Tessa Pitout

The Phoenix horses enjoying some hard earned downtime, after a 3 day clinic and competition, carrying different riders.

Love and lucern for them, and they will enjoy a well-deserved rest for the next few days.

Day 2 of the clinic and we are getting to grips with the Hunt track, a first for many!

Super day of training at Phoenix Horseback Archery under the instruction of Marna Wium and Jacques Horn , assisted by Nicolene Wessels .

Lovely bunch of youngsters (and "young at heart") participants, getting to grips with different horses and saddles, and fine polishing techniques on the straight track.

Well done everyone - tomorrow we tackle the Hunt track, a first for many!

And special thanks and carrots to our faithful equine partners - they worked hard today and gave their riders their best!