Equestrian Archer Diary
North America 2022. Chapter I.
The trip started on May 20, through Budapest-Frankfurt-Calgary. At the airport in Alberta, a dear friend of mine was waiting for me to hand over the keys to the car so I could continue my journey on land to Mount Currie. The original destination is USA, Washington, Arlington, but I was able to take a small detour to the Native American Sanctuary, where one of the racecourses of the Original Kassai System is located, I didn’t hesitate for the extra 300 miles.
On the afternoon of the 21st, I reached Mount Currie on the Trans Canadian Highway, through the gorges, river valleys, barren countryside of Cache Creek toward Lillooet, then up and down a stretch of road lined with gorges and snowy mountain peaks over the Rocky Mountains. Signs along Route 99 indicate, "Please don't get out of the car!" It is a nature reserve, where predators can hunt tourists, (bear, wolf, cougar, etc.). The reserve is bordered on the north by mountains and on the south by a turquoise mountain river. Some of the indigenous community living here are members of the WFEA and the Original Kassai System. The team is led by Borsos Róbert, who is a Canadian archer of Hungarian descent and built the racecourse 2 decades ago with Alvin Nelson, who is also an equestrian archer and the owner of the place. Róbert and Alvin have known each other for a long time, I have been planning to visit them for years. Róbert, as the International Judge of the course, also brings together Hungarian equestrian archers and those interested in the area. When I arrived, they were just at the end of the first day of a 2-day competition which continued the next day. My students from other Canadian provinces also came to the competition, so we spent the evening in a family atmosphere with professional and personal conversations.
The second competition started on the morning of the 22nd, which I took part in as an observer, so I managed to make some memorable shots. In the afternoon, I continued my journey to Washington State, where the 1-week training camp for International Judge, Katie Stearns and her team began on the 23rd of May. You can read more about that in the next chapter.
Konkoly Merse
Fundy Bay, Nova Scotia 07/06/2022
