On Friday, members of the Wild Rice Peacemakers, a Cowboy Mounted Shooting group based in Minnesota, rode their horses over to First Community Credit Union to conduct a mock bank hold-up. The event was conducted ahead of their Spooktacular Shoot at the Winter Shows Arena in Crookston on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25.
Kelli Bertils organized the event, which included riders from the kids wrangler division to the adult groups riding on horseback across Highway 2 to the credit union and “hold up” the bank for their loot: candy. Riders were dressed in Western outlaw gear and carried revolvers and shotguns, which were unloaded for safety. Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and a Crookston police officer were on hand to “apprehend” the robbers. Despite some rain showers, Bertils and her crew were excited to make the trek across the highway and thanked law enforcement and the workers at First Community Credit Union for their partnership in this promotional event. “Oh, this just went great. We had a little rain delay. I know real old west robbers probably would have just ridden through it, but we did wait a little bit. We had just a fantastic turnout. We rode across, and lots of people came out to watch. What a great time! So much fun. Don’t worry, we only robbed their candy bowl, but did a little mock arrest as well.”
The Spooktacular Shoot begins at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, with the 4 stages competition followed by shotgun. Rifle will kick off Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m., followed by the 3 stages main match. There will be a Halloween Costume Contest on Sunday, with prizes for the best costume for wranglers and adults. Both breakfast and lunch food options will be available for purchase on-site.
Following the Spooktacular Shoot, Bertils and other members of the Wild Rice Peacemakers will make the trip to Guthrie, OK, for their final show of the year, the World Championships, from Tuesday, November 3, through Saturday, November 7. 2027 will mark the 20th anniversary for the Wild Rice Peacemakers, and Bertils encourages anyone interested to give cowboy mounted shooting a try, as it is one of the fastest-growing equine sports in the country, and riders range in age from 3 to 70+. “We have the most kids in our club, which is our Wrangler division, and our club continues to grow. And we welcome anybody. If you have a horse, or if you want to ride a horse, and you want to learn how to do this, please reach out to the Wild Rice Peacemakers. You can go to our website, get more information, and we are more than happy to get you set up and get you started in Mountain Shooting. It’s a great group of people. It’s a fun community and a good time.”
You can see photos from the hold-up below.
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