Violently falling from a horse would make most people wary of getting in a saddle again, but for aircraft technician Leading Aircraftwoman Caitlyn Blumenthal, it had the opposite effect.

After sustaining a lacerated liver and broken bones during a dressage competition, she discovered a small but growing sport during her recovery: horseback archery.

“I didn't like the fact that I got hurt doing something so boring. So I decided if I was going to get hurt, I may as well get hurt doing something exciting,” Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal said.

The sport involves riding down a 90-metre track while loosing arrows at targets. Points are awarded for hits, with bonuses for completing a run faster.

Already a skilled rider, Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal took to archery “like a duck to water” and became one of the top horse archers in her age group.

But as successes piled up – three state championships, two national championships and a world champion by age 15 – she started to feel uneasy.

Only allowed to compete in the juniors, she was a level above her competition and found the lack of challenge disheartening.

“Friends would look at me when I turned up and smile and go, ‘Oh my gosh. It's CJ!’ And then I would just watch their face crumple as they realised, ‘Oh, it’s CJ. I’m not going to win today’,” Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal said.

“That was just a terrible feeling. I reached the highest levels I could within the sport at that age, but I wasn't interested in constantly winning and making other people feel terrible, so I retired.”

'If you managed to learn absolutely everything about a Super Hornet, I would be incredibly impressed and a little bit nervous because I’m convinced it’s impossible.'

While not an easy decision, once unburdened from horseback archery she could concentrate on simpler things.

While she strongly considered studying nursing at university, she ultimately took advice from her father – a Navy sonar operator – and looked to join Defence as a medic after high school.

When no positions were immediately available, Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal joined as a Gap Year aircraft technician to get a foot in the door.

But after training and posting to 1 Squadron, she fell in love with her once temporary role.

“I really enjoy the work. I enjoy the travel, but most of all, I really love the people. The people that I work with are absolutely my favorite part of the job,” Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal said.

It’s not just the variety she enjoys – from working on the flightline launching jets, to joining a duty crew with 13 Squadron during Exercise Pitch Black 24 – but also the technical role that keeps her engaged.

“If you managed to learn absolutely everything about a Super Hornet, I would be incredibly impressed and a little bit nervous because I’m convinced it’s impossible,” she said.

“There is always something that you can be working towards, which is incredibly satisfying to me and I really enjoy it.”

It was also through Air Force that Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal started her journey back into the sport she walked away from.

Though she hadn’t touched a horse or bow since retiring, in 2024 she joined the Air Force Archery Association to do “normal archery, on the ground like a normal person”.

'There is always something that you can be working towards, which is incredibly satisfying to me and I really enjoy it.'

Not long after, a message from the organiser of the Australian Horse Archery National Championships had her flying to Cairns for her first ride in seven years.

Despite the time away and some self-imposed pressure to perform, getting back in the saddle was a lot easier than expected.

Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal took third in the Tower and Raid tracks, and fifth in hunt-style, placing fourth overall.

“The nerves were definitely there, but it was thrilling,” she said.

“I forgot how much of an adrenaline hit it can be to gallop down a run, in anywhere from seven to 12 seconds, while shooting arrows and controlling the horse with just your legs.”

Leading Aircraftwoman Blumenthal said the opportunity to compete against a bigger pool of competitors nationally and internationally through the ADF Elite Sportsperson program had her excited to ride again.

“There are people all over Australia that are incredible archers and incredible riders. It’s thrilling to have that competition,” she said.

“If Defence is going to help me do something that I actively enjoy, that’s going to keep me fit and is a little bit different from other sports you might see around, why wouldn’t I?”