Pat Stoddard
Pat Stoddard, in Native American dress, holds the U.S. flag at the Al Faris International Archery Competition. Photo courtesy Kootenai Valley Record.
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Mounted archery competition
Pat Stoddard prepares to fire at a target during the Al Faris International Archery Competition. Photo courtesy Kootenai Valley Record.
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Stoddard represents U.S. in Jordan
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
October 24, 2011
In a strange land and on a strange horse, for two days in June Libby’s Pat Stoddard represented America at an international mounted archery competition in Jordan.
Stoddard has been shooting his bow from the back of a horse since the early 1990s, and has worked with wild west shows and performed at events around the country. He was invited to the 2011 Al Faris International Archery Competition by a Czech-American friend involved in competitions around the world.
Stoddard was one of three Americans at the competition in Jordan. In all, there were 34 competitors from countries ranging from Iran to Malaysia, from Sweden to South Korea, and from Brazil to Hungary.
"Hungary, they were the best," Stoddard said.
Unable to bring his own horse to the competition, Stoddard selected his Egyptian Arab mount from Jordanian royal police stock. The horses were rated by speed – slow, medium and fast.
"I picked a medium speed horse and in the practice I hit everything I wanted, but in the tournament he turned out to be the fastest horse there," Stoddard said. "I couldn’t hit anything."
"Honestly, that’s got to be the fastest horse I ever rode in my life," he added.
Stoddard finished the competition in 28th place, but it wasn’t all bad.
"Even though I had too fast a horse, I got lots of compliments on how good I looked on that horse," he said.
None of the horses used in the competition were specifically trained for mounted archery, Stoddard said. Mounted archery is relatively new as an organized sport.
"People are just starting to figure out how important the horse is," Stoddard said. "The horse is actually more than half of the team."
At the competition, Stoddard got to meet the king of Jordan and talk with his son, the prince.
"The royalty’s actually got some Cherokee bloodline, because the king is half American," Stoddard said.
While the actual competition only lasted for two days, Stoddard had 10 days in Jordan altogether, during which he was put up in a five-star hotel – "the fanciest thing I’ve ever seen in my life," he said – and see the sights including Roman ruins and the Dead Sea.
The latter is a popular tourist attraction, "but it’s ugly," Stoddard said.
"I said, ‘Guys, you’ve got to come to Montana and see a Montana lake,’" he said.
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Editor's Note: See the October 18, 2011 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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