Friday 13th September | Written by Alex Sadler
6am and the sound of phone alarms rattles down English competitor halls. Quiet mindfulness in prep for the big match was the flavour of breakfast this morning, along with bacon in 1 kitchen, cereal in the others and many cups of ‘not quite’ English breakfast tea.
The narrator would like to note some of the team were up early than 6am, notably Jeremy Hinde who had a “large animal” scratching at his door around 3am. The narrator can also confirm, it wasn’t the birthday boy, Dave Rose.
Cars packed, sun cream applied and off to the range. Usual morning safety brief, flags raised with national anthem and off to 300, show time.
Message 1 and the first rounds go down. Jeremy Hinde on the left target and Matt Button on the right. Clean start with a pair of 150’s set the tone for the the team. Wind fairly benign with a quarter max in either direction to centre the groups. The other 6 firers followed with laser like precision. Only 3 points dropped at 300 from a possible 1200 across the team. 1197.82 ex 1200.120 – A phenomenal start.
The USA 12 points off (with a cross shot sadly) and Scotland 6 off leaves the match all the play for. Wind early afternoon in Raton is often strong with quick changes. A good start but no room for compliancy yet. Back to 600 for the 2nd range.
The Narrator has already had to plug their phone in to charge. Social media posts, diary writing and stunning on range selfies have drained their battery. A long day ahead.
Narrator interview with register keeping Rob Edwards:
N: “Hard work writing scores down, any notable moments?”
Rob: “Why are you asking me this?”
N: “Answer the question.”
Rob: “My seat was comfortable”
A man of the people.
600 is off and running. Jeremy and Matt start again under the watchful eyes of Jason PH and Jon Cload respectively. The flags started to show some signs of movement giving main coach Reg Roberts more reason to talk (than normal).
Matt finished first. The ever vigilant narrator overheard:
Matt Button: “I’m sorry Jonny, I didn’t trouble the X ring very much”
Jon “Undertaker” Underwood: “Well, you better buck your ideas up then”
Despite the comments, Matt walks off the 600 yard point with a 150.5. Points win prizes and a good start nonetheless. Listing and changing wind flags have keep the coaches on their toes here at 600. Raton being surrounded by the Rocky Mountains means very quick changes as the wind whips through the mountain passes. The England team waited by coaches a few times didn’t stop the pace. Only 7 points dropped from a possible 1200. England remain strong. Keisha Farley leads the English charge with a 300.18 ex 300.30.
Tidy shooting from the USA team at 600 sees only 5 points dropped with the right hand target coached by John Friguglieti going clean with 4 x 150’s lowest X count 8. Still all to play for!
After a short lunch pit stop of home made wraps, salads, Doritos and nature valley bars the energy levels were high.
The narrator managed to grab a lunch interview with Charlie Sykes. News from the pits (butts).
N: “How were the pits? Any riveting information or news?”
Charlie: “It was hot and dusty”
Decorated army officer turned weatherman. More weather news at 6.
900, let’s get to business.
Target draw done and team rifle zeros checked. The starting group don their jackets and take their positions on the point. Someone has put 50
Cents in the wind and heat machine. A stiff breeze doesn’t do much to cool the hot air. Perfect weather for wearing half a cow in the sun. The narrator is thankful for air con.
Even though the match had started, the teams all held off on allowing their first firers to send their sighters down range. Strong and fast changing winds would have been costly to shoot in. After 10+ minutes of wait time the first English sighters rang out. 2 in, 2 converted. We’re off and running.
STRONG winds and intense heat put the pressure on the firers and coaches. You know that level in Mario when the sun tries to kill you? That’s the sun in Raton today. Horizontally challenged plot sheets tell the story. Unless you’re called Simon Hayton. 150.6 ex 150.15. Godly work by firer and coach. The USA takes the lead after 900 and it’s all the play for.
Back to 1000 we go.
After some reflection on our performance at 900, England made considerable improvements. Firers were getting shots away quickly, and target coaches worked in rhythm to stay on call. Clawing back the points all the way to the final shooter.
Oliver Milanovic was down to his 15th to count. The US team waiting for strong winds to pass for what seemed like an eternity. So long infact that Oliver stood up. “I’m old, I can’t lay down this much”. Pressures for tyres clearly!
With a clean final shot, the match was sealed. A US win. Bugger.
Despite the loss, the England team take pride in knowing that 2+ of the US coaches have been shooting at Raton for over 15 years. Slight advantage? This narrator thinks so.
The England and US teams went to prize giving after and then headed back for packing and to prep the BBQ. An epic match, epic day and unbelievable tour. Heads held high.
The narrator, signing off.
Well done Alex!