Much of Canada’s public discussion about firearms begins with violent crime and ends with firearm prohibitions.

That narrow frame leaves out thousands of Canadians whose experience with firearms is built around training, competition, community and tradition.

Last weekend in southern Alberta, one of those traditions was on full display.

Mounted Shooters of Canada held its 2026 Canadian Finals on September 18 and 19 at the Silver Slate Arena near Stavely, Alberta.

The two-day competition included five main-match stages, rifle and shotgun stages, awards and a national gathering of riders from a sport most Canadians have never even heard of.

Credit: Lei’Lani Hrubizna & Double Elle PhotographyWHAT IS MOUNTED SHOOTING?

Cowboy mounted shooting combines horsemanship, speed and firearm handling. Competitors guide their horses through a predetermined course while engaging balloon targets with special blank ammunition.

Success requires a lot more than just moving quickly and shooting fast. Riders must control the horse, follow the course, handle their firearms safely, and accurately engage the targets—all under competition pressure.

It’s difficult, it’s disciplined, and it’s an unmistakable part of Canada’s firearms culture.

The event featured 51 registrations, including 48 main-match competitors across 20 classes. That won’t rival the audience for professional hockey, nor does it need to.

Community sports earn their value from the people who build them. 

This includes the competitors who practice, the families who travel and support, the volunteers who organize, the officials who enforce the rules and the local facilities that make participation possible.

Mounted Shooters of Canada’s mission is to unify clubs across the country, to grow the sport and to develop the Canadian championships. 

Small disciplines survive when local clubs cooperate, competitors have meaningful events to work toward and new participants can see a clear path into the sport.

The organization’s Wrangler program also makes room for younger riders using age-based rules. Its youngest participants must be led or accompanied through the course and do not take part in ground shooting. Older novice Wranglers ride independently under the program’s rules.

Skills grow with training, supervision and experience.

That’s how responsible sporting traditions endure. 

2026 Canadian Mounted Shooting ResultsCredit: Lei’Lani Hrubizna & Double Elle PhotographyShoot Overalls

• Shoot Overall Cowboy – Curtis Clausen on Dino 
• Shoot Overall Cowgirl – Holly Schuk on Target

All Around

• All Around Cowboy – Curtis Clausen on Dino 
• All Around Cowgirl – Michelle Pipke on Kitten

Dash 4 Cash Champions

• Overall Dash for Cash Cowboy – Markus Hofer on Sonic Cat 
• Overall Dash for Cash Cowgirl – Ashlynn Morrison on Shooter 
• A Ladies– Alyssa Nielson on Huck 
• AA Ladies– Ashlynn Morrison on Shooter 
• AA Mens– Matt Nielson on Ledoux 
• AAA Ladies – Heather McKenzie on Lola 
• AAA Mens – Markus Hofer on Sonic Cat

Senior Incentive Champions 

• Ladies Limited – Michelle Bowman 
• Mens Limited – Gary Charnock 
• Ladies Open – Cathy Irwin 
• Mens Open – Dwayne Savage

Rifle Shoot Champions 

• Limited – Gary Charnock 
• Open – Allen Watson on Rooster 

Shotgun Shoot Champions 

• Limited – Gerard Hearn 
• Open – Shawn Parsons 
• Wrangler – Josie 

Wrangler Shoot Champions 

• Pee Wee – Stetson 
• Novice – Kya 
• Junior – Nevada

Overall High Point Season Leaders

• Mens – Markus Hofer on Sonic Cat 
• Ladies – Michelle Pipke 
• Senior Mens – Kevin Wenger 
• Senior Ladies – Cathy Irwin

Rookie of the Year

Gregory Godziuk

Congratulations to everyone who participated this year, and congratulations to those who won these coveted titles.

For all the details, visit https://cmsaevents.com/events/event.php?id=14981&show=times&group=mm-cumul-5

An Echo of the Past or Relevant Today?Credit: Lei’Lani Hrubizna & Double Elle Photography

For people outside the firearms community, mounted shooting may look like a colourful echo of the Old West. It certainly carries that heritage. But reducing it to costumes and nostalgia overlooks the commitment, dedication, and skills required by both horse and rider individually and working together.

A horse is not a piece of static sporting equipment. It responds to movement, noise and the rider’s emotions and decisions.

The competitor must combine calm control with speed. Safe firearm handling must remain deliberate even while navigating an arena course. The result is a partnership between rider and horse that demands months of preparation long before competition day.

But these skills aren’t confined to the competition arena alone. They translate directly into every aspect of a person’s life – personal and professional – long after the horses are cooled down and the guns are cleaned and stored away safely. 

This is not the firearms story Canadians usually hear.

The public is shown a firearm only after a criminal has misused one or a government has announced another layer of restrictions. Responsible firearms use appears, if at all, as a footnote.

That omission has consequences.

When the public only sees crime reports, it’s easy to treat every gun as evidence of danger and every firearms owner as a problem requiring more regulation.

The millions of ordinary Canadians connected to hunting, collecting, competition, ranch life and recreational shooting disappear from that view.

So do the habits, skills, and commitment those communities teach.

Organized shooting sports depend on rules. They depend on range commands, equipment standards, experienced officials and consequences when safety requirements are ignored. They reward preparation and self-control.

These values are not incidental to responsible firearms ownership. They are its core, its foundation.

None of this means shooting sports should be exempt from appropriate safety requirements. It means regulation should recognize that these disciplines are legitimate Canadian activities practiced by people committed to doing them safely.

Canadian public policy rarely shows that balance.

Successive federal restrictions have placed growing pressure on competitors, clubs and ranges.

The political language surrounding firearms often treats sporting use as a claim to be doubted rather than a lawful activity to be understood.

Small shooting disciplines are especially vulnerable because they lack the audience and institutional reach of major sports.

Their size should not determine their legitimacy.

Canada readily celebrates equestrian competition, rodeo heritage and rural community events. Mounted shooting belongs in that same cultural landscape. It combines those traditions with disciplined firearm use instead of pretending that firearms have no lawful place within them.

The Canadian Finals also offered a lesson for the firearms community.

We should tell these stories more often. Invite people to observe. Explain the equipment and rules. Introduce the competitors, volunteers and families. Show Canadians what responsible firearm culture looks like before someone else defines it for us.

The strongest answer to a stereotype is not outrage. It’s evidence.

Last weekend, that evidence rode through an Alberta arena via trained competitors, organized rules, controlled firearms and a community preserving a distinct sport.

Canadian firearms culture is not a political abstraction. It’s built by people who practice, teach, volunteer and compete.

And it’s still alive and riding fast.

Special thanks to Ashlynn Morrison of Mounted Shooters of Canada, Lei’Lani Hrubizna of Double Elle Photography, and everyone who participated in the 2026 Canadian Mounted Shooters event. 

Thank you all for keeping this amazing piece of Canadian gun culture alive.

All photos are copyright Double Elle Photography and are used with permission. Learn more about Lei’Lani Hrubizna and her amazing work on Facebook and Instagram.

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Sources:

• https://www.mountedshooterscanada.com/
• https://doubleelle.shootproof.com/
• https://cmsaevents.com/events/event.php?id=14981&show=times
• https://cmsaevents.com/events/event.php?group=evententry&id=14981&show=entries
• https://www.mountedshooterscanada.com/wranglers