Thirteen-year-old Kathy Hollmann has become something of a phenomenon in the world of mounted shooting in the three years she has been at it. Already an accomplished rider when she took up mounted shooting at the age of 10-Kathy's been climbing on horses since she was three years old-she also already had three years of competitive target shooting under her gunbelt as a member of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), where her alias is Morning Dove.

Kathy took second place in the junior mounted shooting class at the SASS End of Trail world championships last June. The SASS junior division is for boys and girls aged 12 to 15. She took top honors for Mounted Costume in the junior girls' division at End of Trail. She was the 2006 SASS New Mexico mounted shooting champion for women. She had the highest overall score for mounted shooting at the New Mexico championships, besting all the men at that match. Last year she was also the high point junior mounted shooting competitor for the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association in New Mexico.

Last year was also the first year she could compete with real pistols. Shooters under 12 use toy guns in the SASS and CMSA matches.

Six-shot single-action .45- caliber revolvers are required for mounted shooting matches. Match officials provide certified blanks for shooters to use in their guns. Burning embers from black powder emitted from a fired revolver cause balloon targets mounted on poles to pop. Riders carry two pistols for each pattern or stage. A typical match will include four to six stages.

The legendary Single Action Army Revolver, popularly known as the Colt 45 Peacemaker, is the favorite pistol among mounted shooters. Kathy's father, Jim Hollmann, has authentic Colts, but he bought Kathy a pair of what he calls "Colt clones," manufactured in Italy. "I was not eager to have a little girl drop my Colts in the dirt," he deadpans. "So I got the less-expensive clones for her, and she hasn't dropped them yet."

Cocking a three-pound, singleaction revolver sized for an adult's hand from the back of a galloping horse involves some contortion by the diminutive Kathy. "She can't keep her arm extended and her hand still while she works it because her hand's just not big enough, yet," Jim notes. "She has to bend her elbow and flip her wrist a little bit to get the job done, but she does it okay."

Kathy's involvement in the sport began when a local chapter of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association was started up in Roswell, N.M., a few miles from where she lives with Jim and her mother, Chaleeporn Hollmann. Kathy and her dad, a career law enforcement professional and firearms instructor, were among the founding members of the Roswell CMSA chapter.

A perpetual honor roll student at the middle school in nearby Hagerman (N.M.), Kathy is required to keep her grades up to participate in mounted shooting matches. The Hollmanns live on a small ranch where they have an arena for practicing mounted shooting.

Kathy and Jim work cattle on local ranches to hone their riding skills. "She's really quite a good hand," Jose Chavez says of Kathy. Chavez is one of several neighbors and friends who recruit the Hollmanns to to cowboy for them. Chavez marvels at her willingness to try just about anything. "She has no fear of ranch work and even at barely five feet and under 100 pounds she can hold a little calf down," he says. What amazes him even more is how well she pays attention and takes direction. Kathy was born with a hearing impairment that requires her to wear hearing aids. She turns them off when she's out working cattle because the wind blows and makes them pretty much useless. "We just use hand signals when we're out there," Chavez says. "She does just fine."