On bank holiday Monday, Sway Bowmen hosted their first Red King shoot. This type of event is traditionally for Longbow archers but the field of 48 participants came from across archery disciplines and from 5 local clubs. The shoot was a ‘two way’ which means archers shot three arrows in one direction, collected and scored them, and then shot them back in the other direction. 8 dozen arrows, some small sherries and some enormous burgers later, we all agreed it had been huge fun and should be an annual event.
Jem Mason, the organiser, said the idea came from the shooting of the Red King – ‘Red Rufus’, more properly King William 2 – in 1100AD when he was killed by an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrell and deflected off a tree. This event is commemorated by The Rufus stone in the New Forest. Luckily risk assessments have improved since then and everyone made it to the end in complete safety!