The Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge began with a bang of a shotgun on Sunday morning at the picturesque Murphy Hill in St. Ann overlooking the town of Ocho Rios.
One hundred and thirty shooters filled the 17 pre-set shooting stations which were spread around the looped course. It was a perfect day for shooting, filled with beautiful sunshine but still cold enough due to the high altitude on top of Murphy Hill.
It was not an easy win for champion shooter Shaun Barnes who shot 94 but had to duel Ray McMaster in a shoot-off as he also shot 94. They took to Station 16 to fire off eight birds in pairs of twos in a ‘true pair’ format where both birds are released simultaneously. McMaster missed the first and last birds to score six out of eight while Barnes only missed the fourth bird for a score of seven out of eight, to bag the coveted designation HOA – Highest Overall title.
“It was very important because David East was a good friend of mine so for me to come out and shoot to my best potential and represent my brand at his shoot, his memorial shoot was something very special for me,” said Barnes.
He welcomed the win. “It’s great… I had some struggles in the past but mentally I am figuring everything out and I feel my shooting coming back to where it was.”
Regarding the shoot-off, he said. “Ray McMaster is obviously one of the better shooters in Jamaica so shooting off against him was interesting. I appreciated the fact that we tied, and we could both get the opportunity to go and expose our talents in a shoot-off. Was I pressured? I don’t think so. I basically just shot my process and let the chips fall where they may.”
Fifteen-year-old top lady shooter Aliana McMaster was happy to record a ‘three-peat’ having won in 2021, 2022 and this year but was disappointed with the actual score as she felt that she could have done better.
“It feels good but as grateful as I am to be Ladies first, I am also disappointed in my performance. I have been practising a lot since the year started and I have been putting in some serious work and I really wanted to see some results today that I didn’t really get to showcase throughout my score.
“That is disappointing, but I am always still grateful because at the end of the day I got Ladies first, I got to defend something that I can now continue on to next year, so you always have to look at the bright side in certain things.”
Among the shooters who did well on the day were Rory Wilson, who was promoted to D Class and Darren Gordon who was promoted to E Class, after winning their respective classes twice.
The top three shooters in the various classes were – A Class, Christian Sasso 93, Roman Tavares-Finson 92, and David Wong 90; B Class, Damion Sawyers 83, Najeeb Haber 82 and Todd Lazarus 81; C Class, Ricky DuQuesnay 87 over Paul Burke 87 by ‘long run’ and Gordon Bucknor 85; D Class, Justin Samuda 86, Nicholas Stewart 85 and Matthew Sale 81; E Class, Rory Wilson 74 over David Campbell 74 by long run and Luke Chin 71; Hunters or Beginners, Daren Gordon 79, Tariq Nembhard 77 and Andrew Clarke 72; Ladies, Aliana McMaster 77, Wendy McMaster 76 and Abigail McMaster 72; Juniors, Roman Tavares-Finson 93, David Wong 90 and Darren Gordon (L/R); and Sub Juniors, Cameron Lee 63, Craig Powel Jr. 62 and Adam Clacken 56.
According to Christina East, president of the shoot organizer Driftwood Gun Club, “I am thankful that we had over one hundred shooters first of all post Covid. This is a great turn out for both the shooters and the spectators. It has been a great atmosphere. The shooters have said the course has been perfect, right conditions and that’s what Driftwood wants to give the shooting community.”
Proceeds from the event go to a worthy charity. “Typically, all our charities are really early childhood, so we support certain early childhood schools in the Treasure Beach community. We try to help them with their certification. We try to help then look at what their needs are and help them to get certified.”
Miguel Walker, assistant vice president at title sponsor Proven Wealth, said: “It has been a successful event. Last year Covid impacted the number of contestants so this year we have a full slate of participants, and I must say the camaraderie, the energy very positive, so Proven is proud to be a sponsor of this event.
“We have given our full commitment to continue to sponsor this event and we will sponsor this event going forward.”
