Horse archery is an ancient and wonderful martial art. Its lineage goes back at least three thousand years and was the great gender equalizer of antiquity. The Scythians, an indo-European people from the Eurasian steppes, were among the earliest horse archery cultures to change the course of world history. They were matriarchal and were the inspiration for the Greek legends of the Amazons. The bow and the horse allowed a woman to kill a man from a distance and get away. Although in time, Shamanism, a patriarchal religion, was to supplant the matriarchal spiritualism of the Scythians, the tradition of women warriors fighting with a bow from horseback was firmly established.

There are two generally accepted ways of shooting a bow from horseback: the Persian release and the thumb release. The Persian release is done with the two middle fingers pulling beneath the arrow and the index finger pointing at the target. The arrow is on the left side of the bow. The thumb release is done with the thumb pulling the string in the area directly underneath the arrow and the arrow on the right side of the bow. Both methods have their benefits and drawbacks but students are started on the thumb release.

Balance and confidence in the saddle are essential and come with practice. Students are started on the ground first where they learn to concentrate on the bow, technique, and accuracy. They are then mounted on a horse and taught to canter without reins and in the "two-point" position. Once students are confident on and off the horse, the two halves are joined and the horse archery begins.

Horse archery is very much a martial art of nuance and subtlety. It takes practice to reach a reasonable level of accuracy and fluidity but eventually horse and rider become a deadly team. It is not a mundane pastime but then horse archers aren’t mundane people.