Success is seldom linear. More often than not, it’s bow-shaped, with several challenges to overcome early on before you hit the target.
Tiauna Bustard has experienced a steep learning curve this winter. Her love for archery has been tried and tested again while she adapts to the next step in her development.
The 13-year-old Stonewall resident has followed a familiar path by upgrading to an Olympic recurve bow this season. Like many archers, she learned to shoot on a barebow.
Her old weapon is exactly as it sounds — bare — using only small weights to steady the bow. Her latest is much more intricate, with rods, stabilizers and a new sight to focus on her target.
The equipment change might appear insignificant to the layman, but Bustard said it couldn’t be further from the truth.
It took time for her to find her shot again. Much longer than she had planned or hoped.
Bustard, who has been a standout young archer in Manitoba since taking up the sport three years ago, wasn’t producing the same results she was used to. It began to eat away at her mentally, and what was once a beloved hobby now felt like a chore.
“The big switch between barebow and recurve, it was a lot, and it was just stressful, I guess, because you still didn’t want to let people down but you’re going through this whole transition of new equipment like a stabilizer and a site and a clicker. It’s like a whole different way of shooting,” Bustard to the Tribune recently.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easier, because it’s not. It’s definitely harder. But it’s the next step for archers.”
However, there was a point earlier this month when the entire tune changed for Bustard. It came during the Rocky Mountain Classic, an event for youth and collegiate archers held in Blackfalds, Alta., when the teen found her range and reclaimed her confidence.
Competing in her first event with Team Manitoba, Bustard captured gold in the U15 recurve division, highlighting a medal haul for the Keystone province that included four golds and one silver from the five representing archers.
Anna Parkhomenko (U25 Recurve), Ryder Wilson (U21 Recurve), and Sylar Anderson Johnson (U15 Compound) also won their categories, while Acadia Flockton (U18 Compound) added the silver medal.
Bustard’s run to the top of the podium in the double-elimination matchplay event included an improbable comeback from a 4-0 deficit to win 6-4 in the A-side final. She later faced and defeated the same opponent, Taressa Pardo, in the gold medal final with a decisive 6-0 victory.
“It was really interesting and it was exciting. I didn’t exactly love the travelling part, but it was really fun being able to go different places, being at that level where you can go different places and travel and being part of the team,” said Bustard, who also won the U15 barebow/recurve team matchplay alongside Rylan Kaliel with a combined score of 757.
“I think this whole trip really made me fall in love with archery again.”
Equally important is the valuable experience Bustard gained from her comeback victory, which She can lean on going forward in her career. She has often been one of the youngest shooters in a competition.
“It really proved that if I get out of my head and I just focus, keep my mind straight, forget about what happened before that, you can make a comeback,” said Bustard, who admits she had her doubts before coming back in the A-side final.
“I wouldn’t have gotten that without my coach because the team coach and another team member were there, and she was cheering me on, and they were like telling me that it wasn’t over yet. If they weren’t there, I probably would have still been (doubting myself).”
Bustard has already come a long way in a short time. Her archery career started on Christmas Day 2022 when her parents gifted her and her three brothers a bow. Her siblings quickly gave up on the sport, but Bustard kept coming back.
Backyard target practice turned into lessons, which she parlayed into her hobby of choice over sports like softball. It turns out that hitting a stationary target was more in her wheelhouse than trying to line up a moving one.
“It’s one of the sports that I’m actually good at, and I think the community… is really nice. We’ve met a whole bunch of different people, like my coaches and the teammates, Team Manitoba people,” she said.
“It really trains you, it trains your mindl. You’re not just competing against other people, you’re competing against yourself. You can always have goals, there should be no point in archery where you have no goals. There’s always a goal to work toward.”
Bustard hopes her latest victory has set her up for success for the rest of the season. She will continue to participate in Mailmatch, a national competition in which shooters submit their scores from a local club, and other local tournaments in preparation for the provincial and regional shoots in March, and the national championship in Alberta in August.
Bustard hopes her latest victory has set her up for success for the rest of the season. She will continue to participate in Mailmatch, a national competition in which shooters submit their scores from a local club, and other local tournaments in preparation for the provincial and regional shoots in March, and the national championship in Alberta in August.
“It’s gonna be really exciting. It’s gonna be really interesting and very helpful, and I’ll learn a lot from it.”
