Target Practice

Gwen sat on a bench at the edge of the arena checking her bow and then her arrows. After all the excitement from the storms not too long ago, Applewood had bounced back quickly. The fence had been repaired. None of the horses seemed any worse for wear. If a few of the trees seemed more bare than they should it was only a few, the rapidly changing colors of the leaves from green to hues of red and yellow and orange made up for it in a brilliant quilt of color. 

Uiscefhuaraithe stood nearby the blueberry mare watching Gwen with curiosity. It wasn’t that the mare was unused to Gwen shooting from her back, but more usually when that happened there was something wrong and they were fighting something. 

Gwen stood up and slipped her quiver into place, checking to make sure the arrows were easy to grab before starting to check Uiscefhuaraithe’s tack. “You ready?” 

Uiscefhuaraithe tossed her head, all of the mud and dirt having been brushed out of her coat left the white sabino markings clean and crisp in the fall sun. 

“Well, then here’s hoping I don’t embarrass us too much.” Gwen used the mounting block to swing up into the saddle and then turned Uiscefhuaraithe towards the arena where the archery contest was. The mare was calm enough, but Gwen could feel her nerves rising. She wasn’t a bad archer, but she wasn’t sure she was competition level either. Not that it mattered. Somehow she’d started competing in horse shows and the like and she had enjoyed it; so here she was. 

The wooden fence of the arena was painted white like much of the rest of the fences in the area, the red of the barns and the rustic facilities were all clearly visible from where the course was set up. There were already spectators there even this early in the morning, which didn’t really help with Gwen’s nerves. 

Uiscefhuaraithe gave a soft whinny, like she was trying to reassure Gwen. The mare turned to look at the fae as best she could. 

“Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll calm down.” Gwen chuckled and let Uiscefhuaraithe move the rest of the way up to the gate. 

The other horse and rider were just finishing their run, the crowd cheering for them loudly on completion. Gwen smiled, listening to the sound. She hoped they did well. 

“You ready?” A young woman with the uniform of Applewood walked up to her and Uiscefhuaraithe, looking between the pair. 

“Yeah, we’re good.” Gwen nodded, patting Uiscefhuaraithe’s side as the mare tossed her head in agreement, her long curly tail swishing excitedly. 

The woman nodded and opened the gate with a cheerful smile. “Wait for the announcer to make the call and then you’re good to go. Best of luck.” 

Gwen nodded and let Uiscefhuaraithe bring them up to the gate. 

She heard the announcer give the go ahead, and then Uiscefhuaraithe was in motion. Gwen didn’t really remember signaling her, but it was probably nerves. She pulled the first arrow and set it to her bow, drawing the string and finding the first of the targets. She released the arrow and managed to hit it, not center but still solidly. 

From there, the nerves vanished as she had a clear task to focus on. She pulled another arrow and set the nock, watching for a target she thought she could get. She knew it was timed but she also only had so many arrows and there was no point wasting them on shots she didn’t think she could take. 

Uiscefhuaraithe was familiar with Gwen’s firing patterns and kept her pace steady even though Gwen no longer held the reins. The mare’s blue ears twitched at the sound of the string being released again, this time the arrow finding its way to the center of the target. 

Gwen gave a pleased laugh and drew yet another arrow, squeezing Uiscefhuaraithe’s side as she turned the mare to get a better shot on some of the targets. 

She missed the next shot, the arrow sliding under it. It was her fault as she hadn’t timed it quite right to Uiscefhuaraithe stride. She didn’t dwell on it though, instead drawing another arrow and landing a shot in one of the targets up in the colorful leaves of the trees. 

The next two were also good shots. Not the center of the targets and one Gwen wasn’t completely sure wasn’t just outside of the target, but still not too bad. Uiscefhuaraithe was performing brilliantly at least. The mare kept an easy pace and listened to the directions Gwen was giving without hesitation. Even if they didn’t win, she was extremely proud of the horse. 

She missed another shot, this time going a little high. She’d timed it right but her aim had been bad, the arrow coming down into a nearby haybale. She chuckled and drew again, now simply enjoying herself and the fun of shooting at targets that weren’t going to be fighting back. 

She’d released no fewer than twenty arrows, only five remaining in her quiver when she heard the timer run out. Uiscefhuaraithe seemed a bit reluctant when Gwen turned her back towards the gate, but she didn’t do more than toss her head as Gwen relaxed her bow and took back the reins. 

The crowd seemed happy enough with the display, cheering for the two of them just as they had the competitor before and hopefully the competitors after as well. It was a nice feeling, if nothing else. Win or loose, at least they’d had a good time.