Brian Woodward - In The Zona

Photo by “Deadeye Al”
“Sugar
Cookie”
“
Cowboy Action Shooting is about
preserving the cowboy era and
most importantly, having fun.”
Roz
Rozlyn Flanagan
8th Grader
Ingleside Middle School
Rozlyn is a Cowboy Action Shooter. She competes
in target shooting. For more information on her
sport visit – http://acsainc.com.
zona: How did you get involved in Cowboy Action
Shooting? Rozlyn: My dad is actually the one who
got me involved. He brought me to his first match and
I thought it was pretty boring just sitting there, so at the next
couple of matches I would pick up the brass for the other shooters.
We eventually met my tutor Bill a.k.a. Judge Uriah Harshly, who
helped me get more into shooting. zona: What kind of guns do
you shoot? Rozlyn: I use two thirty-two Vaqueros, a Marlin thirtytwo
rifle, and a twenty gage Stoeger shotgun. zona: I see you’re
holding a fancy belt buckle. What are they all about and how many
have you won? Rozlyn: Belt buckles are a way of showing how
far you have come along. It is also very fun when the other shooters
notice if you’re wearing a new buckle. I myself have won seven
buckles so far. They are Winter Range, ATR, ACSA, Railhead, and now
Bordertown. zona: Where’s the coolest place you’ve ever shot?
rozlyn: Bordertown. Being so close to Tombstone and all
the history was so interesting. My favorite part was getting
to spend so much time with my mom. zona: What is your
cowboy alias? What is a cowboy alias? rozlyn: My alias?
(Aha!) It’s actually Sugar Cookie. My dad helped me make
a final decision on it. A cowboy alias is a name we choose
to be called by during the shoots. An alias must somehow
connect to the “cowboy era”. zona: What is the cowboy
alias of your closest competitor? Rozlyn: The alias of
my closet competitor would probably be “Dancin’ Spurs”.
She is a junior from Tucson, as I am a buckarette from
Phoenix. zona: Is your mom supportive? Rozlyn: My
mom is so supportive. She helps me pick out my shooting
outfits and she keeps me focused during my shoots. zona:
Tell us all about your dad. Rozlyn: My dad is one of the most hard-working, family-loving men that I
know. He also shoots. Occasionally he shoots better than me, But most of the time I out-shoot him.
zona: What’s a typical day like when you are competing? rozlyn: A typical shooting day is
waking up at 5 AM, out the door by 6 AM and at the range by 8 AM. Usually we start around 9
AM, and we don’t finish until around 3 PM . After the shoots we stay to help pick up the targets, we
eat and head home around 4:30 PM. zona: What are some of your awards thus far? rozlyn: Some
of the awards I’ve already won are: 1st place at Bordertown (state championship), 5th and 3rd place
at Winter Range (nationals), and a couple of best dressed. zona: Where do you plan on taking this
skill someday? rozlyn: Hopefully in a couple of years I will be shooting all over the country just
like “Holy Terror,” another cowboy action shooter. She has many sponsors, and gets paid to fly
all over to shoot certain manufactures’ guns. zona: Has, or will this sport ever be on ESPN?
rozlyn: My father told me this sport is on ESPN, I haven’t been able to find it. But I have faith
in what he told me. zona: How do you stay focused and mentally tough? rozlyn: Most
of the time as I re-run the stage scenario in my head, I am spotting for shooters. I have also
just started timing the shooters as well. zona: What do you want to be when you grow up?
rozlyn: I am hoping to be a successful veterinarian, or maybe a coroner. zona: What else
do you like to do when you are not shooting? How do you relax? rozlyn: When I’m not
shooting I like to hang out with friends or read a book. I love to read. Generally whenever
it’s quiet you can find me reading a book, or bursting out into song. zona: Do your friends
think it’s cool what you do? rozlyn: My friends find it really cool about my shooting. Most
of them want to come out and try it. zona: Could you shoot an apple off my head? rozlyn:
I could probably shoot and apple off your head, I’d be too afraid. But I’m sure I could do it. zona:
If you could meet anyone, make believe or real, dead or alive, who would it be? rozlyn: Alive, I
would have to say Taylor Swift, because she is pretty much like my idol. But dead, I would choose
Annie Oakley, She and I could share so many secrets about shooting. She could help me with
shooting the apple off your head. zona: Do you consider this a sport? rozlyn: I would very
much consider it a sport. Just like football, baseball and
yes, even golf, shooting is on TV and people are flown
all over the country to promote the sport. zona: Any
last words? rozlyn: I would like to thank my dad for all
the support. I would also like to thank my mentor; he has
helped me with so much. Thank you Judge! Also, Thanks
to all of the other shooters and all my friends for their
support and their help.
“
We always have to
take precautions,
while around guns.
I was taught that
“unless you know
for a fact that the
gun is unloaded,
you always treat it
like it’s loaded.”
SHARP SHOOTER
Funky
Fill-in
4 • In the Zona!
Ask a friend to give you words to fill in the blanks in this story without showing
it to him or her. Then read out loud for a funky laugh.
the “new kid” in class
We were so excited when _____________________ announced that we had a new
teacher’s name
student joining our class that day. His name was _____________________ and he was
funny name
from ____________________. ____________________ explained that the new student weighed _____________ pounds
place same teacher as above number
and loved to ______________________ every morning before school. After the daily ______________________ and
verb
verb
the ____________________ of allegiance, we all took our seats. “Okay class, it’s
noun
time to introduce our new student,” proclaimed _______________________. The
same teacher as above
anticipation was so ___________________ you could cut it with a __________________.
adjective
noun
The classroom door ______________________ opened and in came our new student.
adverb ending in -ly
“_________________!” yelled ______________________, “the new kid is a monster!”
by Mathew Inman
exclamation
name of classmate
saga continues on next page
Our jaws dropped to the ___________________. The new guy had giant__________________
noun
body parts (plural)
and a tiny, little ____________________. The whole class began to___________________
body part (singular)
verb
and _____________________, until finally ______________________ was able to calm
verb
same teacher as above
us down. Then we all got in trouble for being so _________________________.
adjective
___________________________ had to sit in the corner facing the wall for throwing
name of another classmate
a _______________________ at the new student in all the mayhem. When everyone
noun
settled down, it turned out that the “new kid” was quite _______________________,
adjective
and in music class he dazzled us with his ability to play the _____________________.
musical instrument
The “new kid” was also a monster at ______________________. Thanks to him, we
sport
ended up winning the championship that year! And we all learned an important
life lesson -- Never judge a ______________________ by it’s _______________________.
noun
noun
The scrambled words
have to do with meat.
How many can you
unscramble?
1. mbal pcoh
2. ofoltgton
3. pasm
4. almaftoe
5. zeritedne
6. dusiq
7. esohbwin
8. lgzzire
Answers – 1. lamb chop
2. footlong 3. spam
4. meatloaf 5. tenderize
6. squid 7. wishbone 8. grizzle
In the Zona! 5