The Pala Tribe hosted an Honoring Traditions Gathering event August 29, and the activity included a hand-made bow and arrow competition.
“It went great,” said competition organizer and administrator Eric Ortega. “We got probably about 25 people there.”
The Honoring Traditions Gathering was held at the Pala Rey Youth Camp and drew competitors from San Diego County and Riverside County as well as Pala Tribe members. The hand-made bow and arrow competition had an open division for adults, although those 17 and under were allowed to enter that, along with a 14-17 division and a 10-13 division.
“It turned out really good,” Ortega said.
Pala initiated the hand-made bow and arrow competition about 15 years ago. “It started with me wanting to make a bow,” Ortega said. “I wanted to learn how to make a bow.”
Family members and friends joined Ortega in that quest. “We tried different woods,” he said. “We made a bow that first year and it was really nice.”
Determining how the bow functioned as well as looked led to the contest the second year. “At that time people weren’t really good at shooting with hand-made bows,” Ortega said. “The scores weren’t as good.”
Improved scores during practices prior to the third year led to increasing the difficulty. “Everyone was shooting bull’s eyes,” Ortega said. “The following year we started moving the bales, the targets, further back.”
Improved scores during practices prior to the third year led to increasing the difficulty. “Everyone was shooting bull’s eyes,” Ortega said. “The following year we started moving the bales, the targets, further back.”
Each competitor shoots three arrows in each round. For the adults four rounds from 10, 15, 25, and 40 yards are incorporated into the scores. The 14-17 and 10-13 classes have targets 10, 15, and 25 yards away.
“Everybody got so good at it,” Ortega said.
When the Pala Tribe had a powwow the contest took place there. After the powwow was discontinued the competition became part of the Honoring Traditions Gathering.
The bow must be hand-made. “It can’t be a store-bought bow,” Ortega said.
This year Evan Pepper took first place for the open competition and Abraham Cuevas was second. “It was tied after four rounds,” Ortega said.
That led to a single-shot tiebreaking procedure. Both hit their targets in the first tiebreaking round. In the second round Pepper hit his target and Cuevas was half an inch off.
“It was exciting,” Ortega said.
Wayne Nelson Jr. placed third in the open competition and also took second among 14-17 shooters. Kaylee Pepper was the 14-17 champion and Shivela Nelson earned third place. Ryder Cuevas had the highest 10-13 score with Mac Orozco taking second.
Ortega is also a member of the Bonsall Unified School District board, and his grandson is a Bonsall High School student. Many of the youth competitors are Bonsall Unified School District students.
