In a mere 2 days, professionals will flock to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to enjoy the awesome yearly event that is the Black Enterprise Golf & Tennis Challenge. This year Black Enterprise went an extra step to entertain by introducing the game of archery into the fold. BlackEnterprise.com reached out to esteemed Archer, Babette Peyton, who happens to be a charismatic, gold medal totting, service-disabled veteran, where she spoke of overcoming obstacles and striving to win no matter the circumstance.
[Related: Close Out the Summer with G&T]
BlackEnterprise.com: When did you acquire a passion for archery?
Peyton: It all started when I attended a military Paralympic sports camp. To be able to attend you had to participate in every sport. For example, they had field sports, they had javelin, they had discus, they had shotput, they had it all. At the camp, the covenant that they made us sign was that we would participate in any and all sports that they had, because they could help us to do it. It didn’t matter your disability. So, I had to do archery, although I wasn’t too happy about that. With the rest of the activities I did my best to try, this one I met with resistance. This guy ended up helping me. He went in his bag and he pulled out some leather, cut it, put it on the string and told me I had my right hand–that was my good hand, [and] I could hold the bow. The bow was about two pounds. He asked me if I had any dentures, I said no. He said ‘Good, because you see this little thing I put on here? You’re going [to] grab that and pull the string back. Look at that bullseye, and when you’re ready just let it go. Don’t worry about where it hits.’ The first two shots I hit were bullseyes. The second shot was almost a Robin Hood. It was so close.
Did your military training offer any advantage to you as an archer?
When I went to the military, I qualified [as an] expert on a M16 white 200, and I also qualified [as an] expert on a 45 pistol. I had those designations. I know how to move around, I know how to move out. As a woman soldier, I dealt with a lot of adversity so that prepared me to deal with this type of situation. I always said my prayers while I was in the military. I always had my faith.
(Continued on next page)