In English

(c) Ali Ghoorchian

About me

I'm Anna Minkkinen, a horseback archer from Finland. I have been riding horses ever since I was a little girl, and I got interest in martial arts and history re-enactment in high school. Quite naturally these two combined in historical riding and horseback archery, first as a back yard hobby and then on more serious level. At the moment I compete in the Finnish national team as the top ranked horseback archer of my country, teach horseback archery as a full time job and do equestrian martial arts shows and stunts. Horseback archery is the passion that lights my way in life!

You can contact me in any horseback archery related matter:

anna.minkkinen@elrohir.fi !

Teaching

Being a horseback archery teacher is my full time job in Finland. I work together with several riding schools and with my company Elrohir we arrange weekly classes, workshops, camps and competitions. I graduated as Physioterapist from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in 2020 and one of my main goals as a trainer is to teach biomechanically sound archery technique. I got the first level of accuracy sport coach program from the Olympic Committee of Finland, which gave me many tools to work with both beginners and high level athletes. On the other hand I am very interested in the traditional part of mounted archery and spent a lot of time in Iran learning the roots of this sport. In summer 2021 I passed the teacher exams at Némethy Horseback Archery Academy. I'm a Némethy equipment reseller in Finland and work together with them for the future of this great sport.

If you want to join my classes or get private lessons in Finland, you can find more information on Elrohir's website at www.elrohir.fi .

If you are interested to have a workshop with me in your country, please contact me by email anna.minkkinen@elrohir.fi .

Thesis: Accurate Shooting with Well-Functioning Body - A Guide for Horseback Archers

My Physiotherapy Thesis Accurate Shooting with Well Functioning Body - A Guide for Horseback Archers can be downloaded HERE for free! Scroll down the page to find the English version with blue text.

 

Shows

Horseback archery is a very visual sport, that gives people amazing experiences. I do shows and stunts in different projects, for example in Finnish medieval markets with my performance group Equi Victoriosi. I like working in front of camera or audience and participate in projects that get more people interested in the sport. In addition to the bow I use also sword, axe, spear, shield and light lance both on foot and on horseback.

Media projects I participated:
Ironreeve - Action Short Film. HMC Indie.
HOME - Action Short Film. HMC Indie.
Metsien Kätkemä, K2J1: Kuninkaantiellä. YLE.
Persian Horseback Archery. Kavan Studio.
Turisas - Ten More Miles. Century Media Records 2013.
Ancient Sport of Horseback Archery Sparks Unexpected Bond. National Geographic.

Competitions

My main focus in horseback archery is to enjoy the thrill of the sport, but my goal is also to be a successful athlete. I have been competiting internationally since 2016 and all these competitions have taught me valuable lessons!

Some of my best results:

- 2022: Gold in World Cup, Hungary, senior category.
- 2022: Gold in Skirmish and Bronce in Raid at European Championships, France.
- 2022: Team Silver in IHAA Grand Prix 1. stage, Poland.
- 2021: Gold in IHAA World Grand Prix 2. stage, senior category
- 2021: Gold in Finnish Championships
- 2020: Gold in Finland Cup
- 2019: Gold and Bronce in European and Mongolian Tracks in Spirit Khiimori Tournament, Mongolia
- 2019: Team Bronce in 1st Stage of Grand Prix & World Cup, Hungary
- 2019: Silver in Finnish Championships
- 2018: 5th place in World Championships in South Korea
- 2018: Team Bronce in The 2nd International Equestrian Martial Arts Competition, Iran, Shiraz
- 2018: Gold in Finnish Championships
- 2017: Silver in the 1st International Equestrian Martial Arts Competition, Iran.
- 2017: Gold in Bowhunting Finnish Championships, women's league with instinctive bow
- 2016: 11 th place in Single Shot in World Championships in South Korea
- 2016: Silver in Finnish Championships


Blog

I started writing a blog about my horseback archery adventures when I traveled to Iran for the first time in 2016. Some of the blog texts have a summary in English, and all the posts have pictures that you can enjoy even when the text is in Finnish!