Saturday morning (hosted by 1st Ohio) the two clubs divided up their members and out of state guests into 8 teams to shoot it out for border victory. The teams were given bandannas in different colors and patterns, 4 members to a team, I found myself partnered up with Nancy Latham, Teresa Case, and Adrianne Fowler. All 3 of these ladies are very accomplished shooters in their own right. Our bandanna of choice was the black & white checkered finish print.
I was nervous about this because I hadn't been shooting very well in the last few weeks and I didn't want to let my team down. To add to my nerves Adrianne came up and bumped me in the shoulder said "you have to shoot well today we need to win."
The stages had been drawn , the grand entry was in the book, and the day was going to be cool and breezy. Temps were in the lower 60's and quite a few of us had our coats on in between stages. I had to find my gloves because my hands just wouldn't warm up. I like to keep my shooting hand warm and loose so that I can be quick with my hammer. Something I have only in just the last week or so gotten really comfortable doing.
After the dust had settled at the end of a very long day for most of the shooters, we gathered for the awards. I found myself in a place I had never been before since starting CMS with my horses. For the first time I had shot clean all day, I had won my class for the day, and when the awards were being handed out, I was announced as the Overall Ladies Champion! I also was in the top ten and I won 65.00 in prize money and jackpots to boot!
WOW!
I was shocked and quite speechless, which for me is surprising as those of you who really know me well will attest too.
I had invited some friends back to our Hacienda for the night since it was going to be very cold and it seemed silly of me not to open up our home and hospitality to shooters that might have had to sleep in their trucks or cold trailers. Daniel Sutton and Travis Newman from Kentucky, and Nancy Latham and Lynette McCellan from Indiana were my guests. All evening they kept telling me "way to go girl" and I know this is going to sound silly, but it just didn't feel real. I was so shocked to have done something I had only thought about all summer. It had seemed so out of reach that I figured I would never get there for at least a couple of years. Remember I have only started shooting this April of 2008.
Sunday dawned very cold, with frost on the ground and I was hoping for a repeat of Saturday. At least the wind had calmed down and it was warming to the point we didn't need our coats by late morning. I knew I was going to have alot of pressure on my shoulders today. Especially with the wind dying down so much that shooters having a hard time hitting balloons on Saturday would really be consistent on Sunday.
The first stage I shot clean, and then the 2nd stage drawn was the "Dice" I had trouble with this one early in the year and I was worried about it.
Just watch this -
Pictures say a thousand words don't they. I psyched myself out before I ever pulled my gun.
This clip is of stage 4, Saber went smooth and I shot great! Enjoy.
Stage 3 I shot clean, and discovered had I shot the "Dice" clean I would have been 6th overall. Dang it.
As it turned out the men's team from Ohio won the match and Ohio once again beat Indiana. Hopefully next year I can earn the honor back to our wonderful state Indiana. I can report that our Ladies team with the black and white checkered bandannas did win the ladies division for the weekend. We just were not fast enough to bet the boys from Ohio.
I have one more shoot for this year. Cross Roads arena in Cloverdale Indiana where this jounery began for Saber and I back in April. It is only fitting that our novice year should end at Cloverdale.
For those of you that follow video clips I will be in the process of uploading them on YouTube very soon, so check in often. I have quite a few from the border wars so I will be very busy in the next week or so. A big THANK YOU goes out to Bob Burnett who help me video on Sunday. Thanks Bob!!
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