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June 24. 2009 6:00AM

Lori Dump is your modern day Annie Oakley.
Although her aim may not be as accurate as the famed Oakley, the Valley Spring woman's enthusiasm for firing .45 single action pistols while in the saddle, is right on target.

Dump, a member of the Lennox-based Dakota Territory Mounted Shooters, knew she had to be a part of the sport four years go.

While watching the action from the sidelines of a demonstration at the Spirit of the West Festival in Sioux Falls, Dump turned to her husband, Rick, and announced she, too, wanted to ride and fire blank ammunition from pistols at balloons.

“It intrigued me,” Dump said. “I grew up riding horses and was looking for something fun to do with my horses other than the trail riding that we do, and I love western anything, but a lot of horse shows now you have to have the high-dollar horse.”

Although she'd never fired a gun in her 51 years of life, Dump purchased a pair of .45 single-action pistols, holsters and fashions from the era.

“We're encouraged to wear 1880s attire and to use western saddles to make it as authentic as the real West as we can,” she informed.

The guns are replicas of those used in the 1880s, a requirement of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA), of which the club is affiliated with. She next attended a clinic, where professionals worked with her and her eight-year-old Quarter horse-Arabian cross, Autumn. Dump said of her four horses, Autumn “accepted the gun the fastest.”

Dump often practices the sport in a pen Rick constructed for her on their Valley Springs farm. She first used a child's popgun to acquaint Autumn with the loud bang of the guns and then advanced to a .22 pistol that Rick initially fired while she was riding. She then began shooting while riding and eventually moved up to the .45 pistol.

“I really didn't practice shooting at things until I was on the horse,” she explained.

Dump said Autumn's ears are protected by two huge earplugs that look a lot like pom-poms. “It's to keep them from shying and to protect their hearing,” she informed.

The idea of the sport is to hit as many of the 20 inflated balloons affixed to poles set up in one of 60 CMSA-developed patterns. The shoot and ride take anywhere from 15 to 40 seconds, depending on the course.

To date, Dump has competed in three competitive mounted shoots and hopes to take in four to six this season. At her most recent competition in Chamberlain earlier this month, Dump competed in the senior ladies level one division where she hit 37 of 40 balloons. “That's OK,” the mother of two informs. “As long as I'm having fun, then I'm OK, because I compete for myself.” There are divisions for kids 12 and under through adult and senior levels, all of which have six levels.

Dump intends to improve on that performance July 5 at the Cowboy Way Church-sponsored “He Paid Your Fees” event near Hartford. There's no monetary entry fee that day, although $3,000 will be paid out that day. Instead, the participants “pay” their entry fee by attending the 11 a.m. Cowboy Way church service that day.

“I myself have never gotten any (payouts),” Dump said. “I donate a lot.” The lack of prize money, however, hasn't deterred Dump's enthusiasm. “Everybody's just there to have fun with their horses, and they're helpful, even though they're competing against each other.”

She adds, “The goal is that my horse and I finish at the same time.”

The sport does have its dangers, Dump said, who's witnessed a riders being bucked off. “But the horses get so they know what's in store,” she informed.

For 18 years, Dump was a member of her husband Rick's pit racing crew. “I drove race cars around the country for 18 years and she followed me around,” he said, “so now, I told her I'd be her pit crew.”

In that role, Rick takes charge of keeping the trailer stocked and ready to go, and making sure the guns are cleaned and ready to fire. “My other job is I get to take the pictures,” he adds.

And whether the Dumps are following the racetrack scene or shooting balloons from the saddle, there's one similarity to their passions: “We don't make any money at it - it's just like racing,” Rick informs.

A therapist by career, Dump said her family and friends were a bit surprised when she jumped in the saddle with guns in hand. “People have a hard time believing that I do this, because I hate guns and now I have three,” she said. “And it scares my mom, but a lot of things I do scare her.”