OK a little more detail for others who may be following this thread and are tempted to try horseback archery.
My daughter and I had an absolutely fantastic day with Neil in South Petherton. After a proper warm up we were coached in shooting technique and nocking with our feet firmly on the ground! I opted to be converted from a Mediterranean loose to a thumb loose. I have always wanted to use a thumb loose but had been struggling with only video clips and trial and error as my guide. I was very happy to have an experienced coach to show me the basics.
Once we had learned how to nock the arrow quickly we divided into two teams and played speed games, nocking and shooting whilst bobbing and weaving, even whilst hopping on one leg! We had points for finishing first and also points based on our scores. There was much laughter but we could see that this sort of exercise is essential if we were to be able to nock and shoot from a moving horse. I was very pleased to be able to hit the target reasonably consistently using a thumb loose after such a short time.
Neil and fellow coach Emily went to get the horses ready and we carried on with our relay race speed shooting. Once the horses were brought down to us we took it in turns to shoot three targets at the walk. Neil was brilliant with my daughter who is twelve. He took every care to make sure she was confident and comfortable on the horse before she was asked to move onto the next stage. With her it was being led at the walk, then shooting from the walk, then cantering with one arm out to the side, cantering with two arms out to the side and finally shooting a pre-nocked arrow from the canter. She did very well and hit the target from the canter - I am a proud Mum!
With me I did the same but was happy to go it alone not needing to be led at the walk. I tried nocking and shooting at the canter but my nocking abilities went to rats whilst on a cantering horse and I got to the end of the run laughing and saying I need a bit more practice! With the arrow pre-nocked I did better, and it was a lovely feeling to have hit a target from the canter, albeit with a pre-nocked arrow.
We are definitely hooked and can't recommend this form of archery highly enough. I am impressed with Neil's encouraging and laid back teaching style. We can't wait to go back!
Meanwhile yesterday back at the club shooting indoors seemed very tame in comparison, but I was at least able to spend time practicing my speed nocking and thumb release. In fact I realise that there is a huge amount that I can do 'on the ground' to prepare myself for the next training session.
Overall verdict - brilliant. It is nice to participate in an ancient and traditional form of archery. Much more fun to me than standing on a line twiddling with a sight.