When you watch cowboy mounted shooting, you can't help but think you're being transported back in time to the Wild West.

The sport works like this.

Competitors ride their horses through a course containing ten balloons.

The rider has two single action revolvers loaded with blank ammunition that they use to shoot the balloons.

They're scored on time and accuracy, facing penalties for missed balloons or not running the pattern correctly.

There are cowboy mounted shooting organizations in more than 40 states across the country, and here in Iowa.

One family is taking the reins on growing the sport.

We live in southwest Iowa.

We're about 11 miles northeast of Creston, and we're kind of in the middle of nowhere.

We always say we're a family that's stuck together and, we enjoy farming and we love horses.

The Travis extended family is made up of nearly four dozen people, and they are especially tight knit.

Most of them live within ten miles of each other, and many of them work together, raising quarter horses.

Bruce Travis is one of the patriarchs, and he was the first person in the family to compete in Cowboy Mountain shooting.

You know, I'd heard about it probably in the 90s.

Todd Jackson, one of my best friends, he came to our saddle club one night and showed a film of, Calvary Mount a shooting in the.

When it was just starting.

You got to realize this was the 80s and 90s on the farm, and we didn't hardly had two nickels to rub together, you know, and it looked like fun.

It looked like something that we could compete in really well.

But I remember a couple guns were $500 each year, like, whoa, whoa, you know who could do that?

You know, in 2012.

Another friend, Carl Watson, had been after me and after me to come to a mounted shooting.

He was very involved and it rained one weekend I couldn't do anything else.

I loaded up a horse and went to one of their clinics and I was hooked.

Immediately.

We all thought it was stupid.

We couldn't figure out why he wanted to do that.

What?

You don't have time for that?

We don't have time for hobbies.

And he was going all over doing this.

And then finally I remember it was in 2014 and April, he was shooting at the Iowa Horse Fair at the fairgrounds, and I went and watched him, and I never really watched him before.

I watched him, and I mean, Jamie did as well.

I looked at Jamie, I said, why are we not doing this?

Not long after, the rest of the Travis family got hooked, too.

Now 30 of them compete from eight year old kids to Bruce, who's in his late 60s.

It's a full family sport.

I think that that's why I love it so much is because it's a family event that we all love and we all can do really well at too.

So we are at the Travis Quarter Horses Shoot.

this happens once a year at my parents place.

Look at them.

I like to say it's.

Not controlled chaos.

It's just chaos.

My dad says this, and it's the truth.

If you have to win to have fun, you shouldn't be doing it.

And it's the truth, I mean, in anything, you know, I want to be competitive, and I want to.

I want to do the best of my ability.

And, you know, God's given me these horses.

I want to showcase them the best that I possibly can.

Go, go.

But this weekend, I missed a balloon.

I was so frustrated, but I walked out of the arena and smiled and thought I got the whole rest of the weekend to just have fun and try to get better.

Jamie stopped the clock and 16.414 will add 10s and penalties.

Make that a 26.414 for Jamie Travis.

You don't hear much cussing.

You don't hear much swearing.

You know, there's guys that have bad runs and you don't see guys that were pouting in the corner screaming or having a fit.

Dave, you did the same thing I didn't look like.

But you get all the blues.

They're there to enjoy the sport and enjoy the company.

Half of the fun there is seeing all your friends when you pull into a shoot.

Think about it.

There's as much pressure on you as you want there to be.

But at the end of the day, everybody is cheering for you and everyone wants you to do well.

It's a sport unlike any other.

Nice.

Good job.

Nice job.

Maddie.

Maddie is still an 18.407 And filling in for Maddie.

I'll tell you what.

This is a guy that I look up to.

I have for the last 49 years.

Come on, dad, let's see you get it done.

I don't know how many times I've shot.

Hundreds of times.

I'm still really nervous.

And adrenaline.

Still really fighting.

Gentle Bob is running good.

The minute you go, it's just a rush.

You can run down barrels youre going to bring Bob on home.

Here.

Eight, nine and ten.

Nice round 18.256 and Wayne, I've played with motorcycles most of my life.

I don't think there's anything that can match that rush.

I'm an insurance agent in Creston, and you know, we've not had great weather here in Iowa.

And so there's a lot going through my mind at work.

you know, a lot going through my mind when I get home.

But when I am out there, all I'm thinking about is what I'm doing on my horse.

And it's freeing.

It's a release.

There's no feeling like it.