a series of discordant trenches on the forest
floor. “They were made by soldiers during the
Anglo-Boer War,” says Regy. “And the 1900
Battle for Diamond Hill was fought where we
stand.” We leave the forest, come to an open
meadow and Follie joins the conversation.
The pro archer points to a patch of knee-high
weed khakibos, “An invasive plant brought here
by the Brits during the Anglo-Boer War. Its seed
arrived here in the hay bales used to feed their
horses. And the khaki-coloured uniforms of the
British soldiers inspired the plant’s name.”
We reach the next target and Luzanne is first
on the line, and takes aim at a life-size kudu
target 50 metresaway.Shereleasesanarrow,
thenliftsherbinocularsto determinearrow
placement.Theshotmustbeontargetbecause
sheturnsandsmiles.
Thetournamentendsin theearlyafternoon
afterthearchershavevisited 20 targets.They
sitdownto calculatefinalscoresanddiscuss
goodshotsandbad,butseemsatisfiedwiththe
overallresults.Wereturnto themusterareaand
I askLuzanneaboutthechallengesofhigh-end
tournamentarchery.
“Thementalgameis thehardestpartof
archery,forsure,butif youarenotphysically
fit,themindcannotprocessit,”shetellsme.
Luzanneengagesregularlyin aerobicexercise
aspartofa holisticarchery-fitnessregimenand
suggestsherlifetimedalliancein traditional
sporthasbeenanasset.
The South African archery champion
received a bursary to play netball at the
University of Pretoria during her university
days, then gravitated toward athletics where
she also triumphed. Lessons of discipline, hard
work, fitness, mental focus and the mechanics
of sport groomed her for future archery
success. “People who put in the work get to
the top,” Luzanne tells me, and suggests she
still has lots of work to reach her goals. The
determined archer must make up for time lost
after the spider mishap.
The benefits of archery are huge, and for
a wide audience. The sport helps kids focus,
assistsadultswithself-discipline,provides
personalchallenge,createssocialopportunity
andis greatfun.Theoptionto competeis always
presentbutis notthefocusofeveryarcher.
“It’soneofthegreatthingsaboutthesport,”
Luzannesays.“Anyonecanpickupa bow.”
Shetellsmeabouta couplein their70swho
shootsat theArcher’sEdgefieldrangeonce
a weekasa sharedactivity.“I wantto introduce
asmanypeopleaspossibleto archery,sothey
canseehowmuchfunit is.”
Herpassionforthesportis unmistakable,
andit’snosurprisethatthedayherhusband
presentedherwitha bowwasthedayshewas
shotwithCupid’sarrow. ■
MapreferenceB7seeinsidebackcoverhttp://www.archersedge.co.zaLEFT: The six shooters in our flight: (front) Luzanne Grant and Tjaard du Plessis,
(middle) Reghardt van Jaarsveld and Jaco Streicher, (back) Anthony Lauter and
Folkers Herholdt. ABOVE: Field shooting requires fitness and stamina. The event
includes two days with lots of walking between targets, over rocks, uphill and
down. Luzanne walked about 10 kilometres per day at the international field shoot.
BELOW: Danica Bishop, a 12-year-old ‘cub’ shooter from Vanderbijlpark, scores
and marks a target face.BELOW: Pierre van Wyk, world champion field archer
and event organiser holds one of the trophies awarded
at the 2019 Mpumalanga Champs.http://www.countrylife.co.za 069