Monday, March 14, 2022

Texas State Update

 We're home, got in about midnight last night.  Safe and sound.  I'll spend the rest of the day sorting dunnage, simply because at some point during a return home venture, we're simply throwing stuff into the car.

Belle did well, as she generally does.  By Saturday afternoon late, we realized that she had qualified for the finals match.  She carried one loss util the 7th round where she got her 2nd loss.  By that time the scoring system had eliminated enough shooters that they could arrive at a finals match and Belle was in it.

On Sunday, Belle shot the finals match and took home 7th place at the Texas State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.


I, on the other had, did not distinguish myself in any way.  I had a lot of fun, and talked with a bunch of old friends.

Our match was marred by tragedy.  We lost a shooter, a well respected guy known as Everett Hitch.  I talked with Hitch on Friday, had a nice conversation about an event that he was helping to plan.  He seemed excited about it.  On Saturday morning, he wasn't a the shooters meeting, and folks started calling around.  Hitch was found in his hotel room, where evidently, he expired in his sleep.

Everett Hitch is survived by a wife, and children, and grandchildren.  We offer our prayers and condolences to them.  He was a (very) few years older than I am.  His death reminds us that we never know the place or the time, and we should live each day to its fullest.

Hitch was an innovator in our sport, constantly looking for better ways to train and to conduct matches.  He coned the phrase: "We Don't Practice Missing" in the sport.  He will be sorely missed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Our condolences for the loss of your friend. A good reminder of 'You Never Know When'.

It must be fun to have a spouse that shares your 'madness' of Cowboy Shooting Sports. Both of you were meant to be together.