Rooster Cogburn, Josey Wales and the Cartwright brothers made it look easy. Rarely did they appear out of sorts firing revolvers on horseback.

Jake Daley, 17, can verify it's not as easy as decades of American cinema seems to suggest. But while it took the Kinsman teenager time to develop the skill of staying in the saddle while firing at targets, he has developed an affinity for one of the nation's newest shooting sports.

Daley took up a fledgling activity known as "Cowboy Mounted Shooting" over the summer and once he mastered the art of staying atop Sammy, he began moving through the ranks.

In September, Daley learned he had notched enough competitive victories to qualify for the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association's Sundowner World Championships, which took place in October in Amarillo, Texas.

Daley wound up earning reserve champion status in Division II. Daley began as a Division I competitor in July. Division VI is the elite class. After several days of competition in Amarillo, he wound up ranked 64th of 399 shooters.

Daley was just 5-100ths of a second behind the top finisher in his division, which included 64 competitors.

"It was a blast," Daley said. "I had a lot of fun. It was exciting. The first time I competed, I was so nervous, I felt like throwing up. But once I got out there, it was an adrenaline rush."

Shooters, who wear Old West-style garb, are timed as they navigate a course lined with balloons. They must shoot each balloon and are timed while doing so.

CMSA competitors use .45 caliber, single-action revolvers. Double-action revolvers were common in the Old West, but CMSA competitions are limited to single-action revolvers, which must be cocked by drawing the hammer back each time before firing.

Live ammunition, of course, is not permitted. Competitors' weapons fire cartidges called "Long Colts," which are loaded with 1800s-style black powder. According to the CMSA, these loads will break a balloon from up to 15 feet.

Daley, who describes himself as a life-long sportsman, could shoot right from the start.

"That wasn't the problem," he said. "It was more or less staying on the horse. I just practiced. You learn your seat in the saddle and go with it. I've been lucky. I've fallen off more times than I can count, but I've never been hurt."

Daley is the son of Tracy and Tim Bedlion.

He works with a club called the Lake Erie Vaqueros, which his parents started in Williamsfield, in nearby Ashtabula County. The family also is affiliated with the Northern Ohio Outlaws, based in Wooster.

"We saw the event at an Equine Affaire, which is a week-long horse show, in Columbus three years ago," Tracy Bedlion said.

Tim Bedlion said the family began building toward competition early.

"It's a long process," he said. "We started out going to clinics where they help you start kids on the shooting process, then you set up stuff at home and start practicing."

Daley said he knew he had a chance to compete nationally when he completed a course less than half a second behind a well-known Division VI competitor in Wooster.

"Dave Ferguson is one of three Division VI guys east of the Mississippi," Daley said. "That day, he did his shoot in 17.9 seconds and I did mine in 18.4, so I was pretty psyched about that."

epuskas@tribtoday.com