triple classic report - Clay Shooting USA

42SHOOTREPORTPRE-LIM 100 BIRD SPORTINGPilla ChallengeCH RICHARD FAULDS 98RU BRANDON POWELL 97M1 WENDELL CHERRY 96M2 STUART RUDLING 96M3 ZACHARY KIENBAUM 96AA1 ANDREW SEAMAN 91AA2 LUKE ELLIOTT 90AA3 RON KING 87A1 LEIGHTON SASSO 91A2 STUART SMITH 88A3 PASCUAL PEREGRINA 87B1 CHUCK JACKSON 82B2 BROOKS BERGERON 82B3 GEORGE FLOURNOY 80C1 JEFF LITTLE 79C2 NICK RAMPINO 78C3 BILL DEMPSTER 76D1 WILLIAM YOUMANS 68D2 RICHARD MESSA 67D3 JAYNE KING 65L1 HALEY DUNN 87L2 REBECCA BREAM 85L3 ANNA JARNALD 83SJ JON FREEMAN 78J1 LUKE ELLIOTT 90J2 MIKIE HOFFMANN 83J3 TYLER THURSTON 82V1 GRANT KIRKUP 92V2 LEIGHTON SASSO 91V3 GRAHAM STIRZAKER 90SV1 LARRY FARROW 83SV2 REDMOND BARTLETT 83SV3 CARL SKIP ZAPFFE 81SSV1 RONALD SHAFER 85SSV2 BILL RAY 82SSV3 DAN FLOECK 78home by Leighton Sasso (91) andGraham Stirzaker (90) fromEngland. Ron Shafer (85) wonSenior Super Veterans, ahead ofBill Ray (82) and Dan Floeck (78).Talk in the barn area after theevent was of an entertaining round– belly or dome was visible onevery target with some craftyangles and deceptive presentationsthat could be easily missed if yourset-up wasn’t quite correct. Targetsetters Husthwaite and Bruntondeclared themselves to be happywith the outcome – top D classshooters were in the high 60s,C class high 70s, B class in the 80s,A and AA in the high 80s and low90s with 17 of the Masters scoringover 90.A cold front had comethrough at the start of theweek but as the daysprogressed, temperaturesrose into the high 80s.Predominantly blue skieswith low humidity made forperfect shooting conditions.The 200 target PillaSporting Challenge was shot overtwo separate 100 target courses onWednesday and Thursday. Thecourses were out around anotherset of lakes and made good use ofthe terrain. Targets over waterwere supplemented by tricky butentertaining stations amongst themore wooded areas. Think of anytarget presentation and thechances are you would have seen it– some off towers. Interestingly,the two very different courses shotquite evenly, with total competitoraverage scores of 74.8 on theOrange course and 75.5 on Green.Top D class finishers scored 128-132 (66%) and in C class 140-143(71%).By the close of the second day,on Thursday, it was WendellCherry (191) who had made thebest of the courses and weather totake HOA and finish three clear ofAndy Duffy (M1 – 188) withBrandon Powell (M2 – 186) gettingon the podium once again. FloydFrank (161) won Super Veteranswhile Dan Carlisle (183) tookVeterans ahead of Ed Arrighi (178)and John Woolley (176). NathanBatchelor (159) from England wonJuniors with Nolan Sprengeler(158) chasing him hard to the linewith Mikie Hoffman (155) againmaking the podium. Dr LeslieMarchando (137) took the LadiesBronze, Haley Dunn (165) theSilver and Jenni Clark (167) theGold. Bill Ray (166) added to hisSilver in the Pre-lim by taking Goldin the Senior Super Veterans.PILLA SPORTING CHALLENGE200 BIRD SPORTCH WENDELL CHERRY 191M1 ANDY DUFFY 188M2 BRANDON POWELL 186M3 JARI RAJALA 186AA1 ANDREW SEAMAN 176AA2 RON KING 174AA3 NEIL LOCKTON 169A1 STUART SMITH 165A2 BRIAN JARDINE 162A3 LEIGHTON SASSO 159B1 MARKKU POUTLAINEN 157B2 JOHN HENDERSON 153B3 BROOKS BERGERON 151C1 BRIAN KNIGHT 143C2 BILL DEMPSTER 140C3 GEORGE EDDY 129D1 RICHARD MESSA 132D2 ALLAN BINSTEAD 128D3 ROBERT STEGMAIER 128L1 JENNI CLARK 167L2 HALEY DUNN 165L3 LESLIE MARCHANDO 137J1 NATHAN BATCHELOR 159J2 NOLAN SPRENGELER 158J3 MIKIE HOFFMANN 155V1 DAN CARLISLE 183V2 EDWARD ARRIGHI 178V3 JOHN WOOLLEY 176SV1 FLOYD FRANK 161SV2 CARL SKIP ZAPFFE 159SV3 LYNN MARVIN 158SSV1 BILL RAY 166SSV2 RONALD SHAFER 165SSV3 DAN FLOECK 139TOP INSET: BRIAN JARDINE OFPROMATIC WAS THE FIRST TO SIGNUP FOR THE TRIPLE CLASSIC.THEPILLA 200 BIRD SPORTINGCHALLENGE WAS WON BY WENDELLCHERRY (BELOW).CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

44SHOOTREPORTTriple BeginsBoth Pre-lim events (300 birdstotal) had given competitors agood feel for the type and varietyof targets that Husthwaite andBrunton had planned for thefollowing three events that wouldmake up the Triple Classic. Thosecompetitors who had traveled thecart tracks on Tuesday andWednesday couldn’t help butnotice the impressive number oftraps out on the Classic courses –many of them ‘specials’ – while themajority of the standard machines,with their orange target filledcarousels, were tilted or leaningleft, right and back. Competitoranticipation was that the targetsetters had gone up a gear for theTriple Classic events. Trappositions suggested that therewould be nothing edgy, few goingor quartering away targets, butplenty of fading crossers, battues,chondelles, rabbits and off speedpresentations – with most targetsup in the air and clearly visible.Black targets against skylines andorange elsewhere.An added feature of the threeevents that made up the TripleClassic was the introduction ofPro-Class – in addition toconventional NSCA M-E classes.By definition, this class includedUK shooters who had shot fortheir country together withTeamUSA and 1st and 2nd AllAmerican team members. All Pro-Class shooters paid a compulsory$100 option that was matched bythe shoot organizers to give Pro-Class a separate big money purse.The introduction of this elite classhad the added effect of moving thetop 38-40 M class shooters out oftheir class – making Master classthat much more competitive.Caesar GueriniClassic 5-StandA five minute cart ride from thepavilion took you to the CaesarGuerini Classic 5-Stand – a 100target event over 4 layouts. To thecasual observer it looked prettystraightforward. When youactually stood in the cages andTOP LINE SPONSORSHIPHaving previously sponsoredClassics in UK, Russia, US,Belgium and Scandinavia,Promatic were quick to confirmtheir top line sponsorship of thisyear’s Triple Classic.“When the Bruntons cameto us last year and said theywere going to hold the TripleClassic at Rio Brazos, Promaticjumped at the opportunity,although we didn’t at that pointhave a view of just how big theywanted the event to be!” saidBrian Jardine of Promatic.HOW MANY?300 IN ALL!“With six separate sportingcourses, FITASC and5-Stand, we provided well over 300traps and had ten members of thePromatic team on site, plus twostaff from Heath SportingCompany Inc,” said Jardine.“For me, the big achievementat this event was using our newwireless target release technologyon such a huge scale,” said AllanBinstead, CEO of Promatic GroupUK. “We’re using an FCCapproved radio which is burstencrypted and is based on digitalmilitary and police technology.”According to Binstead, thistechnology is much less affectedby physical obstructions, such aswhen placing a trap on the far sideof a stand of trees, effectivelyincreasing the functionality to 350or 400 yards.“The feedback from the event’sreferees was nothing but positive.Every event was entirely wireless,”said Binstead. “We had 380receivers on the ground and justunder 200 sets of controllers,THE PROMATIC TEAM ATTHE TRIPLE CLASSIC.CAESAR GUERINI CLASSIC 5-STAND.CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SHOOTREPORT45FROMLAYOUT 2 OF THE CAESARGUERINI CLASSIC 5-STAND.ranging fromthe standardA/B paircontroller tostandard8 button controllers, many withsolo delay. We also used ourpartner’s, Long Range LLC, radioson the main courses for themultiple single stations.”Having over 300 traps inoperation requires at least thatmany batteries, along with ahealthy number of back-up spares.“We brought a lot of our ownbatteries and making sure theywere charged and looked after wasan exercise in itself,” said Binstead.Throughout the six days of thecompetition, Promatic’s team wasstrategically spaced around thecourses, allowing them to respondat a moment’s notice to anymaintenance issues. Reachable byradio or cell phone, the Promaticteam of engineers, led by JimMoses who heads up the USoperation, had just two minutes tofix any given trap problem – if theycouldn’t fix it in two minutes theywere instructed to call for anothertrap in order to minimize thedelays.“For the Super Finals our trapswere using double springs fortargets such as big battues andlong crossers that were thrown agood hundred and thirty yards,”said Jim Moses. “The trap andtarget combination was perfect – inthe 6-man FITASC Super Final of25 birds each, there was only oneno-bird! My compliments to WhiteFlyer – it’s a real nice target.”Many of the traps, including100 specialty machines, were madespecifically for the event back atthe Promatic factory in the UK andsea-freighted to the States monthsearlier. Additionally, the Promaticsales/support staff each broughta trailer with between thirty andfifty machines each, with RioBrazos supplying about fifty trapsof their own. After the event,many of the machines wereheaded to clubs all around thecountry. “Most of the new trapsthat were shipped from the UKwere presold – we prefer to thinkof them as just about tuned in,”said Moses.“This event was a real showcasefor Promatic – not just asregards traps and targetcontrollers, but also our back upand engineering services andour commitment to the sport,”concluded Moses.“Would we do it again? Youbet!” said Brian Jardine. “I’vealready told the Bruntons thatwe’ll be back in 2012 and will bedelighted to continue our top linesponsorship.”Michael Brunton, Publisher ofClayShootingUSA and organizerof the Triple Classic said,“Promatic’s input to this event,together with the full support oftheir UK and US managementteams, was one of the biggesttrue sponsorship deals of recentyears in this sport. The 300 traps,batteries and controllers on siterepresented close on $1 milliondollars (sales value) ofequipment. We couldn’t havepulled this event off withoutthem – and for Promatic tocommit to match thatsponsorship for 2012 is a shootorganizer’s dream come true.”REPORT BY DANA FARRELLANDY DUFFY ON LAYOUT 1 OF THE5-STAND THAT INCLUDED THEBUDWEISER TOWER.viewed the show birds, it stilllooked straightforward –until youstarted to shoot. The undulatingterrain to your front, and the viewover a lake on Layout 2, madejudging distances no easy task.The use of the Budweiser tower onLayout 1 and specialist battue,rabbit and chondelle traps on theother layouts tested the skills ofevery competitor. A mixture oftarget speeds, rather thandistance, ensured that the eventshot harder than at first glance –despite each layout beingstraighted numerous times. Yetagain, our target setters got it justabout right, with high scores in Dclass of 79 and low 80s in C and Bclass with 13 Master class shootersand 22 Pro-Class shooters scoring90 and over. Of the four layouts, 1and 2 recorded total competitoraverage scores of 18.4 and 18.6respectively, while layouts 3 and 4returned averages of 19.3 and 19.Enter George Digweed – freshfrom his 19th World title at theWorld English Sporting in SanAntonio the previous week.5-Stand was his first of three events– and he immediately caughteveryone’s attention with a mightyCLAYSHOOTINGUSA

46SHOOTREPORT5-STAND HOA GEORGE DIGWEED.98. In Master class, John Woolleywas on a good run of form andtopped his class and Veterans with astrong 93. Solid performances couldbe found throughout the classes,but few better than Jeff Little’s 83 inC class, 12 targets ahead of BillDempster (71) and Robert Arnold’s79 in D class for an 11 target winover Richard Messa (68).A feature of each Triple Classicevent was the 6-man Super Final.A score of 95 became the cut-offpoint for the 5-Stand, takingGeorge Digweed (98) and fiveothers tied on 95 into the speciallyprepared arena close to thePavilion. Some 200 competitorsstayed to watch an entertaining 30target shoot-off that saw Digweednever lose his three target lead –taking HOA and the first of theTriple Classic Cups. Runner-upwas Bryon Justice, followed homeby Theo Ribbs, Diego Duarte,Brad Kidd and Gregg Wolf.With such an outstandingperformance in the 5-Stand SuperFinal, it was no surprise to seeTheo Ribbs take the Junior Goldmedal ahead of Charles Maynard(92) and Nathan Batchelor (90) ofEngland. Zach Charbula (90) wonSub Juniors and Michelle Wampler(84) kept her cool in a three wayshoot-off for the Ladies win againstBecky Bream (2nd) and JanetMcDougall (3rd). John Woolley(93) made the podium yet again inVeterans after slugging it outagainst Dan Carlisle. Ron Abbott(86) won Super Veterans and RonShafer (82) took the Gold in SeniorSuper Veterans.CAESAR GUERINITRIPLE CLASSIC 5-STANDPROCLASSCH GEORGE DIGWEED 98RU BYRON JUSTICE 953RD THEO RIBBS 954TH DIEGO DUARTE 955TH BRAD KIDD 956TH GREGG WOLF 95M1 JOHN WOOLLEY 93M2 MARSHALL McDOUGALL 92M3 MICHAEL SELLERS 92AA1 NATHAN BATCHELOR 90AA2 ANDREW SEAMAN 89AA3 DAVID BLUM 89A1 MIKE BRYAN 86A2 CHRISTIAN SASSO 85A3 STUART SMITH 84B1 EDDIE BLAZEK 81B2 WALTON ELLER 80B3 ROBERT DENTON 78C1 JEFF LITTLE 83C2 BILL DEMPSTER 71C3 LES CLEMMER 70D1 ROBERT ARNOLD 79D2 RICHARD MESSA 68D3 DAVID BRANHAM 68L1 MICHELLE WAMPLER 84L2 REBECCA BREAM 84L3 JANET McDOUGALL 84SJ1 ZACH CHARBULA 90SJ2 KOLBY KAHLDEN 87SJ3 ROSS NESKORA 85J1 THEO RIBBS 95J2 CHARLES MAYNARD 92J3 NATHAN BATCHELOR 90V1 JOHN WOOLLEY 93V2 DAN CARLISLE 93V3 CURTIS ANDERSON 90SV1 RON ABBOTT 86SV2 GEORGE BALL 82SV3 S.R. EVANS 82SSV1 RONALD SHAFER 82SSV2 DAN FLOECK 82SSV3 BILL RAY 81Blaser ClassicFITASCThis Blaser sponsored event was150 targets new style FITASC shot50 targets on each of three days –Thursday, Friday and Saturday.New style FITASC (as shot at theWorld Championship) is seldomoffered in this country – and by itsvery nature is incredibly laborintensive. Six parcours, each of 3completely separate pegs withtheir own traps, requires threetimes the space of a 150 bird oldstyle course, the use of 78 traps(instead of 30 traps), 18 targetcontrollers and as many referees.At many Big Blasts the cost of newstyle FITASC is prohibitive – butwith generous sponsorship fromBlaser, Promatic and White Flyer,this Classic FITASC was to be thecenter piece of the whole week –with many competitors agreeing itwas well worth the effort andexpense.Reflecting the kudos attachedto the Blaser FITASC event, theshoot organizers brought seventop European FITASC refereesover to the US, including HughSmith the BICTSF Chief Referee.Dressed in uniform of jacket, collarand tie (despite the heat) theyensured the smooth running of theSEVEN EUROPEAN REFEREES TOOK CHARGE OF THE FITASC. L TO R: MICKCOTTON, DES BELAM, HUGH SMITH, MEL WATSON, NIGEL BOUGH, BRIAN FROSTAND MIKE FARQUAR. BELOW: BILL McGUIRE IN ACTION.CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

48SHOOTREPORTFITASC for all three days – andthere wasn’t a competitor whodidn’t appreciate their input to theevent. Better still, prior to and afterthe FITASC, they willingly switchedto referee the sporting events.All parcours were straightedseveral times – with Parcour 2proving to be the most shooterfriendly with 19 straights, despitethe all rabbit Parcour 2, hoop 2 thatcaused frustration and laughter inequal amounts. Parcour 1, hoop 1proved to be the nemesis of manya card. Tucked into a fold in theterrain, it was a wide open hoopwith little protection from thestrong breeze that caused havocwith a long high battue. Hoops 2and 3 were relativelystraightforward, balancing out thedegree of difficulty on this parcour.Parcours 3 and 4 were by themain lake and benefited from astunning backdrop that the targetsperfectly complemented. Formany, a shooting hoop positionedon a concrete lakeside dam facingan 80ft tower might have beenunnerving! Parcours 5 and 6 werelandlocked but were none thepoorer for an entertainingselection of targets.Taking all competitors scores,the average score on each layoutwas Parcour 1 – 16.3, Parcour 2 –20.7, Parcour 3 – 18.8, Parcour 4 –20.2, Parcour 5 – 18.5 and Parcour6 – 19.2. Such degrees of difficultydidn’t seem to bother SandyFigliomeni in C class who shot a121 to win his class by 15 targets,nor Robert Arnold in D class (110),who won his class by seventargets.By Saturday afternoon all eyeswere on the Pro-Class shooterscores – what would the cut-offscore be for the FITASC SuperFinal? Diego Duarte was in stellarform and had finished on animpressive 145 which was thenmatched by Gebben Miles. ZachKienbaum’s 143 was enough to getPARCOUR 3 INCLUDED A HOOPON THE DAM OF A LAKE.PARCOUR 2, HOOP 2 – ALL RABBITS.CURT MAULDIN LEADS OFF HIS SQUAD.FITASC WAS SHOT NEW STYLE, SIX LAYOUTS OF 18 HOOPS.CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

50 SHOOTREPORTGEBBEN MILES FITASC HOA.BLASER CLASSIC FITASCPROCLASSCH GEBBEN MILES 145+23 = 168RU GEORGE DIGWEED 144+21 = 1653RD DIEGO DUARTE 145+18 = 1634TH GRAHAM STIRZAKER 143+20 = 1635TH ZACHARY KIENBAUM 143+20 = 1636TH RICHARD FAULDS 144+18 = 162M1 JOHN WOOLLEY 138M2 NADIM NASIR JR. 137M3 CURT HALBAKKEN 136AA1 RON KING 132AA2 PETER CHIEFARI 131AA3 NATHAN BATCHELOR 127A1 TYLER ALDRIDGE 123A2 STUART SMITH 121A3 RICHARD GARZA 120B1 MARKKU POUTLAINEN 126B2 LOGAN MEITZEN 118B3 WALTON ELLER 113C1 SANDY FIGLIOMENI 121C2 ANSSI MIKAEL VIRTANEN 106C3 SHAMI BIFFLE 101D1 ROBERT ARNOLD 110D2 DOMENIC PIERAGOSTINI 103D3 DAVID BRANHAM 94L1 JANET McDOUGALL 129L2 JENNI CLARK 128L3 REBECCA BREAM 126J1 THEO RIBBS 133J2 JENNI CLARK 128J3 NATHAN BATCHELOR 127V1 GRAHAM STIRZAKER 143V2 DAN CARLISLE 139V3 JOHN WOOLLEY 138SV1 GONZALO VARGAS 127SV2 LARRY FARROW 126SV3 RONALD SHAFER 125Zoli Party TimeIt had been an outstandingFITASC Super Final – but now itwas time to party and to presentthe prizes for the alreadycompleted Pre-lim, Pilla SportingChallenge, Caesar Guerini Classic5-Stand and Blaser Classic FITASC.300 competitors stayed on late intothe evening – though few left withas broad a smile on their face asCurt Halbakken, who had won thedoor prize of a 4-day dove huntingtrip for two in Argentina (courtesyof Southern Wing Outfitters) andSandy Figliomeni who had won thestar prize of a five day trip toEngland for private coaching andregistered competition shootingwith George Digweed.Main EventThe Krieghoff Classic 300 targetsporting Main Event was shot over3 days, starting Friday. With over550 targets already shot, our targetsetters still had a surprise or twoon their White, Red and Bluecourses. It was imperative thatcontenders found and held theirform – this wasn’t a sprint, it was atrue marathon.The three courses each hadtheir own character – though thedegree of difficulty was similar. Allcourses included one station thatincluded 4 targets from 4 differenttraps – each on the tough side.Able to use both barrels at eachtarget, most competitors were upto the challenge and enjoyed theentertainment value of those novelstations.Target variety was exceptional– from fast curling distant crossersshowing plenty of dome, to teal,incomers, battues, a pair of L to Rand R to L crossing rabbits on astream bank at 12ft and 20ft(missed plenty) and a typicalEnglish overhead pair of targets atPARTY TIME – SATURDAY EVENINGSPONSORED BY ZOLI.TWO UNIQUE DRAW PRIZESAmong the many door prizes at the Saturday evening party, two topdraw prizes were eagerly awaited among the 300 competitors thatattended the shoot party.First up was the dove huntingtrip to Argentina donated bySouthern Wing Outfitters. The tripincluded four days of dove and pigeon hunting for two and was wonby Curt Halbakken.The top prize was a trip to England to spend several days ofprivate coaching with 19 times World Champion, George Digweed,culminating in competing at two 100 bird registered shoots atdifferent clubs – squadded with Digweed to keep an eye on hisstudent! The lucky winner was C class shooter Sandy Figliomeni ofCanada. What a trip! Our correspondent, Don Brunt, will be on handto ghost write Figliomeni’s diary of his trip for a future issue.SANDY FIGLIOMENI WINSDIGWEED’S STAR DRAW PRIZEAT THE SATURDAY PARTY.CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SHOOTREPORT 53Gebben Miles and RichardFaulds continued to shoot well onday two to stay in contention, asdid Wendell Cherry who also putin a 96 on Blue. Faulds faltered onthe third day early flight on theWhite course with an 87 – wouldhe make the Super Final cut with275? Cherry, who shot on thesame rotation as Faulds, kept upthe pressure to finish on 286, justfour targets short of Digweed’stotal of 290.PAT LIESKERICHARD FAULDSWATCHES HIS WIFETAKE THE BLUECOURSE OVERHEADPAIR.Elsewhere Zach Kienbaum(280), Brandon Powell (276) andAndy Duffy (275) were still in therace. Dan Carlisle (274) and BillMcGuire (274) missed the 275 cutby one and so Faulds and Duffy, onequal 285s, had to shoot-off to getthe 6th spot in the Super Final –Duffy took the place.Targets for the Super Final hadbeen set late Sunday afternoon –with most traps fitted with doublesprings. This would be a battle ofthe titans. Not surprisingly, fromwhere the 200 spectators weresitting, the targets looked ugly –three stations, 10 birds eachstation. Station 3 was undoubtedlythe toughest but Brandon Powellhadn’t read the script and shot anoutstanding straight. Final scoreson the doors were: Digweed 22,MAIN EVENT300 BIRD SPORTINGPROCLASSCH GEORGE DIGWEED 290+22 = 312RU WENDELL CHERRY 286+20 = 3063RD ZACHARY KIENBAUM 280+21 = 3014TH GEBBEN MILES 277+21 = 2985TH ANDY DUFFY 275+21 = 2966TH BRANDON POWELL 276+19 = 295M1 JOHN WOOLLEY 268M2 ROSS NESKORA 266M3 BRIAN DuQUESNAY 260AA1 NATHAN BATCHELOR 252AA2 NEIL LOCKTON 251AA3 FOSTER BLAIR 248A1 STUART SMITH 241A2 LEIGHTON SASSO 231A3 CHRISTIAN SASSO 230B1 MARKKU POUTLAINEN 237B2 PHILIP GUARISCO 224B3 CHUCK JACKSON 220C1 JEFF LITTLE 220C2 SANDY FIGLIOMENI 209C3 ROBERT CARVELL 209D1 RICHARD MESSA 197D2 DOMENIC PIERAGOSTINI 189D3 AUSTIN WARDENBURG 188L1 JANET McDOUGALL 248L2 ANNA JARNALD 246L3 REBECCA BREAM 241SJ1 ROSS NESKORA 266SJ2 HUNTER MILLIGAN 254SJ3 ZACH CHARBULA 249J1 THEO RIBBS 268J2 NATHAN BATCHELOR 252J3 LUKE ELLIOTT 246V1 DAN CARLISLE 274V2 JOHN WOOLLEY 268V3 BRIAN DuQUESNAY 260SV1 GONZALO VARGAS 241SV2 LARRY FARROW 236SV3 STEVEN FISCHER 234SSV1 RONALD SHAFER 233SSV2 BILL RAY 215SSV1 DAN FLOECK 203KRIEGHOFF CLASSIC SUPER FINAL L TO R: GEORGE DIGWEED, GEBBEN MILES,ANDY DUFFY, WENDELL CHERRY, ZACH KIENBAUM AND BRANDON POWELL.CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

54SHOOTREPORTKienbaum 21, Miles 21, Duffy 21,Cherry 21 and Powell 19.Digweed’s 4 target lead into theSuper Final was just too much,finishing on 312. Wendell Cherry(306) battled on regardless to takethe Runner-up spot followed byZach Kienbaum 3rd – 301, GebbenMiles 4th – 298, Andy Duffy 5th –296 and Brandon Powell 6th – 295.In the Ladies Main Event race,Janet McDougall’s 248 was enoughto fight off Anna Jarnald’schallenge (246) with Becky Breamtaking Bronze (241). In Juniors,Theo Ribbs enjoyed a 16 targetcushion over Nathan Batchelorwith Luke Elliott taking Bronze.Ross Neskora (266) took the spoilsin Sub Juniors, ahead of HunterMilligan on 254 and Zach Charbula(249). Veterans went to DanCarlisle (274) ahead of JohnWoolley (268) and the evercheerful Brian DuQuesnay (260).Gonzalo Vargas (241) took the topstep of the podium in SuperVeterans with Larry Farrow (236)hot on his heels in second place. Itwas Ron Shafer’s (233) day inSenior Super Veterans, ahead ofBill Ray (215) and Dan Floeck(203).Prize giving for the Main Eventwas completed by 7pm – but thatwasn’t the end of things for GeorgeDigweed. Kolar had generouslysponsored a much sought afterHigh All Around (out of 550 TripleClassic targets) prize of a KolarMax high ribbed sporter. ThirteenSPONSORS MADE IT ALL POSSIBLENo major sporting championship is possible without sponsorship.As soon as the dates of this year’s event were published, the tradewas quick to commit to the Triple Classic, attracting sponsorshipfrom a wide range of manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. Oursincere thanks to you all – especially to those who have alreadysigned up again for 2012.competitors had recorded scoresof 500 and over in the HAA race –outstanding shooting by anyKRIEGHOFF CLASSIC SPORTING WINNERS L TO R: WENDELL CHERRY (2ND),GEORGE DIGWEED (HOA) AND ZACH KIENBAUM (3RD).MICHAEL ALVARADO, ON BEHALF OF JOHN RAMAGLI, PRESENTS GEORGEDIGWEED WITH THE KOLAR MAX SPORTER AND HAA CUP.OPTIXstandards. But Digweed’s HAAtotal of 532/550 was exceptional,13 targets ahead of WendellCherry (519) and a further twotargets ahead of Zach Kienbaum(517). Young Michael Alvarado, a16 year old Kolar sponsoredsporting, trap and bunker shooter,stepped up to the podium on behalfof John Ramagli to present theKolar Max Sporter to Digweed. Heclearly enjoyed the moment – nodoubt evaluating his own chancesof one day emulating the successesof the 19th time World Champion.It was all over! Eight months ofplanning and hard workculminating in a six day Festival ofShooting that had clearly metshooters aspirations. Theentertainment value was clear toall, target presentations and varietywere world class. Shootadministration, utilizing the iClaysregistration and scoring system,was handled by Connie Parker ofShoot Promotions. Together withKitty Haynes and Michelle Milesin registration/scoring and AdamZaks who managed course staffand referees, they had the variousevents running like clockwork.The Rio Brazos staff can be proudof their efforts.As competitors drifted home,George Digweed asked, “How do Iget this lot home?”, clutching threetrophies and a Kolar shotgun! “It’sbeen a truly fantastic event,” hetold the shoot promoters. I’ve shotthese Classics in various countriesof Europe – they’re alwayssomething special, but this hasbeen the best yet. I’ll definitely beback next year! I was particularlyimpressed with the targets –something for all classes.Obivously the two Bens had put alot of thought into each course –but as expected, the FITASC wasright up there with the best eventsin the world.”As well as Digweed, it seemedthat the event struck a chord withshooters across all classes. Shootpromoter, Michael Brunton, washeard to say, “Of the 17 Classicsmy team have done across theworld, never have I had so manypeople openly thank us for such anenjoyable and entertainingchampionship. With three of ourtop sponsors immediatelyconfirming their support for afuture event, and with so manyshooters asking about next year,I guess I’ll have to start thinkingabout 2012.” ■CLAYSHOOTINGUSA

SHOOTREPORTTRIPLE CLASSICSUPPORTSWOUNDED WARRIORS EVENTOn Saturday, Day 5 of the Triple Classic, it was an honor and apleasure to have the Warrior Benefit Charity Shoot join our ‘Festivalof Shooting’. Many sponsors made this event possible – their top‘Purple Heart’ sponsor was National Oilwell Varco with a $5,000contribution and a team of volunteers. In all, the event raised $30,000for ‘Impact a Hero’, a charity that has been helping Soldiers andMarines wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since the charity wasestablished in 2004 (www.impactahero.org).During the day, four 5-man wounded warrior teams competedalongside 33 other teams, primarily from the oil and gas industry,over a 100 target course set by Michael Weaver, Rio Brazos SportingClays Manager.The HOA Team was National Oilwell Varco (NOV) Team #1 witha score of 432. Team Members were Paul Conover (92), PerryCourville (89), John Henderson (85), Mike Russell (83) andHampton Fowler (83). There was also a HOA Wounded Warriorcategory. Warrior Team #4 took the prize with a score of 348. TeamMembers were Latseen Benson (92) (Army Sergeant, 101stAirbourne – double leg amputee), Bob Priego (74), Jack Goodroe(71), Sergio Trejo (60) and Robert Aiken (51). Sergeant Benson wasthe HOA Warrior with his score of 92 and was presented a BenelliSuper Sport 12g.