Meet the Tribe
Griffins Horse Archers club is a non profit club.
GHA is affiliated to WFEA (World Federation of Equine Archery) and SAEF (South African Equestrian Federation)
We meet every Friday for club training.
To be a member of Griffins Horse Archers, you have to have a few private lessons. After which it may be possible to attend the group training. A minimum of 30 points needs to be shot in bareback competition before one can become an official member.
Daniel Griffin
DOB:
WFEA Grading:
WFEA OKS Record: 237.87
Style: Thumb Draw
Right-Handed
Owner of Griffins Horse Archery, Daniel was one of the first internationally recognised horse archers from South Africa, and contributed largely to its growing popularity. Daniel lives on a farm with 13 horses, and over the last two decades has been developing developing his facilities for horse archery on his farm.
Daniel is now on the international board of directors for WFEA, as well as an International Judge for WFEA competitions, which he hosts regularly.
Christiaan Bester
DOB: 10th September 2006
WFEA Grading: Student II
WFEA OKS Record: 123.33
Style: Kassai Style
Right-Handed
Christiaan is a matric student at Hermanus High School. He’s been riding horses for 10 years now, and has been a member of Griffins Horseback Archery Club since 2019. He started his journey when Pony Club introduced him to horseback archery at Griffins Valley during their competition. He immediately fell in love with the sport and is currently at second grading. His highest score is 127 points on OKS.
“What I love about this sport is the immense discipline and the fact that even though you’re competing against each other, we’re still a team helping each other out. I’m looking forward to continuing my journey at Griffins Horseback Archery Club and bettering every day.”
James Gasson
DOB: 19th August 1997
WFEA Grading: Student I
WFEA OKS Record: 171
Style: Thumb Draw
Left-Handed
I am 21 years old and currently stay in Cape Town. My first experience with horse archery was coming to one of Griffin’s horse archery’s first training camps in 2012. Since then, I have been training at Griffin’s horse archery on a regular basis, going through for training camps, weekends, and competitions. I have not graded officially yet because of lack time since I’ve started studying, but hopefully I’ll do so soon.
Rudi Riek
DOB: 13 September 1976
WFEA Grading: Advanced I
WFEA OKS Record: 138.14
Style: Thumb Draw
Right-Handed
Rudi is the CEO of a film industry related business and lives in Napier in the Overberg. He has been doing traditional archery for ten years and has been riding horses for thirty six years, but only combined the two six years ago. Two of Rudi’s children, Michaela (23) and William (11) also do horseback archery.
“It is a wonderful bonding activity in addition to teaching discipline, focus and it is good exercise.”
Lulah Killinbeck
DOB: 14 July 2007
WFEA Grading: Student I
WFEA OKS Record: 115.24
Style: Kassai Style
Right-Handed
Lulah is in High School Bredasdorp. She does ballet, horseriding, horse training and horseback archery.
Lulah started riding horses when she was 11 years old, but she felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere and always wanted to do more with it. She started doing horse archery when she was 13 years old with her best friend Sasha Chadburn, who also inspired her to start it.
“I’ve always wanted to do something different and unique than just the usual school sports like netball and hockey, and my love for this sport just came to me. I love horses with all my heart and I love that I can connect with different horses each time I do horseback archery and that it never ends is my motivation to keep going.”
Sasha Chadburn
DOB: 23 July 2005
WFEA Grading: Advanced II
WFEA OKS Record: 177.72
Style: Thumb Draw
Right-Handed
Sasha has been passionate about horses since she could walk and started riding horses at the age of 3. When she was 13, she discovered horseback archery and has been doing it ever since. Sasha has just completed the 2nd Advanced Grade exam, and hopes to keep climbing the ladder.
“I’ve recently started my own Horse Archery Club, inspired by Daniel Griffin and his amazing mentorship. I love the diversity of this sport, and how anyone, no matter the age can always grow and learn. I have 7 horses that I am training and am hoping to become an international judge. I am also a musician, author and artist.”
Michaela Riek
DOB:
WFEA Grading:
WFEA OKS Record:
Style:
Right-Handed
Michaela Riek is a 17yo student currently completing her Cambridge AS levels from home in addition to a business administration degree. She is passionate about giving back to the community and as such assists weekly with disabled riding lessons. Michaela has aspirations to become a veterinary surgeon once she completes her schooling.
Michaela has been doing ground archery since 2013 but she has only recently been learning how to ride a horse and has been doing Horseback archery since October 2018.
Michaela is working hard to complete her bareback exam.
Nina Schein-Murzl
DOB:
WFEA Grading:
WFEA Record:
Style:
Right-Handed
Originally from Austria, Nina’s passion for horses started as a child and reawakened when she and her husband moved 2016 to their smallholding in Baardskeerderbos where she adopted her first horse in 2019. Two more rescue horses followed and Nina finally was able to combine her love for horses with her passion for EF coaching and harnessing the healing effects of nature
Nina’s passion for archery was ignited by her late younger sister, who introduced her to ground archery 20 years ago. When she heard about the possibility of horseback archery in the area, her enthusiasm lit up and a dream was born. On her 44th birthday, she finally got a top Kassai bow as a communal present from her friends and husband and now nothing is holding her back.
“There is a calling deep inside me that wants to reach mastery level one day, and I love every minute of the journey.”
