By Carol Gifford, Carol Gifford, Community and Public Affairs Manager, cgifford@visioncorps.net, VisionCorps

A feature piece from our Winter 2024 issue of the Lancaster Thriving Publication.

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When you think of Lancaster sports and famous athletes, you might first think of the high school football stars, or even Lancaster’s AAA baseball team – the Stormers. But when the world thinks of Lancaster sports one name comes to mind.

Meet Casey Kaufhold, the female face of international archery.

Casey is a 20-year-old on a mission. You may remember her as the woman who won a bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, after her Olympic debut in the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“Archery is my life,” said Casey, who competes in professional competitions around the world when she’s not a member of the U.S. Olympic team. “There’s not a day I don’t think about it.”

Casey was the first U.S. woman to hold the number one world ranking in women’s recurve in 2023, and she intends to retain her dominance in the sport. In her sights are the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics followed by the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Casey said the 2036 Olympics is also a possibility, depending on its location.

The secret to her success? Lancaster Archery Supply and Academy, her family’s owned, and operated store and academy, Rob and Carole Kaufhold, the business team, and Casey’s parents, immersed her and her brother Conor in archery. They began to shoot as soon as they could walk, said Rob.

Archery runs in the family. Rob’s own love of archery and shooting also began early. He won the national championship as a senior at Conestoga Valley High School.

“If archery was a national sport, I would have been the number one draft pick,” said Rob, who also began planning his archery shop when he was a teen.

He attended James Madison University on an archery scholarship studying management and marketing to help him with his new business. The weekend after his graduation, Rob returned home to his father’s tool and die shop at 2195 Old Philadelphia Pike, where he began sketching plans.

“I was 21 years old with lots of energy and no credit. Fulton Bank loaned me the money with my dad co-signing the loan with the agreement that I’d pay him back, if necessary.

“In 1983, I opened a 25 x 40 shop about the size of a 2-car garage, with a small range upstairs,” said Rob. He soon had local and regional customers. He met his wife, Carole, the company’s current CEO, when she visited the shop with her parents from Delaware who were archery enthusiasts.

The pair invested years of work and energy into growing the retail shop and growing family.

“We had our home next door so we could work full-time and still have the kids nearby,” said Carole. “We spent long days working at the shop and traveling to different events and tournaments to grow the business.”

It paid off. Today, the shop is still at the same location but has expanded into the largest archery only retailer and distributor in the U.S., said Carole. Thanks to Rob’s foresight, the shop began its online presence in 1996.

The company grew to a 22,000 square foot, two-story building and added a 100,000 square foot warehouse in Upper Leacock Township, employing 155 people between the two locations.

The company includes:  the pro/retail shop which offers local hunting equipment for archers and the online division which offers target shooting equipment. Each complement the other. Local inventory is about 75 percent hunting equipment while the online store offers about 80 percent professional or target equipment.

The family business also launched Casey’s professional career. As an athlete she is sponsored by about six companies, including Lancaster Archery.

“I shoot six days a week about 200-250 arrows a day,” said Casey, adding that takes about six hours. “It includes shooting my bow, working on my technique and equipment, scoring rounds, and practicing matches. She also does cardio workouts to build her stamina that includes biking, running, swimming, and walking, and weight training for strength.

Her training is more than physical – she also incorporates mental journaling about her workouts and progress.

“I write about three things I did well and three things I want to improve and how I can do it,” said Casey. “It helps me review and improve my training.”

Training and competing are second nature to Casey who has been doing it since the age of 12 when she switched from gymnastics to archery. She was coached by her father, but currently works with coaches Heather Pfeil and Dick Tone.

Despite the continuous growth of the business and sport, the family plans to retain ownership and operations in the community. Casey and her brother, who is currently studying at Texas A&M, to grow into management roles in the business. 

What fuels their growth? The growing popularity of archery itself, which does not experience limitations due to age or strength, or other common physical barriers.

“People of all ages, sizes, and capabilities can participate in archery,” said Rob. “My grandfather shot a bow for first time at age 68.”

To encourage people to try the sport, the academy offers a variety of options.

“We now offer couples and date nights, and coffee club with seniors, along with classes for all levels,” said Rob.

Lancaster Archery Supply’s worldwide reputation is expanding as well. It will host its now 20-year-old Lancaster Archery Classic, the world’s largest indoor archery tournament, on Jan. 23-24, 2025.

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