Jesús en Inglaterra (Tesla on tour)

At the World Championships in Northern Ireland last year we met Jose and Manuel from Spain. Here they are pictured with the 2008 champion Ian Taylor.
Soon after the event Jesús Sangroniz introduced himself via the air gun forums using the name Tesla and through the internet friendships were formed. Jesús and Jose live in the Basque region of Spain and are members of field target association of Euskedi. This is my story of his trip to England to compete in the NEFTA Classic 2009.
Whilst most of us were at work on Thursday Jesús commenced his journey. First it was a flight from Bilbao to Stansted and then a hire car to Birmingham Airport where he was met by Roy who transported him and his gear to my house. His arrival was keenly awaited by my sons George, Michael and Peter and he very generously bought them gifts.

Thursday was a quiet night in the Barnt Green Inn where we introduced Jesús to Black Sheep Ale!
Friday it was off to the HFT course at Furnace Mill Fishery in the Wyre Forest area to test Jesús' Walther Dominator had survived the trip and to enjoy the English countryside.

Behind that pool is a delightful wood which contains 30 targets some of which test your geometry!

Afterwards some traditional English lunchtime cuisine ...

Friday evening was spent meeting more new faces but we were early to bed excited and ready for a pre-dawn start.
My alarm was set for 4am but I was showered and dressed by 3.30am! Everyone was equally keen so our party of me, Jesús, Greg and my son George set off in the dark destination Pontefract. We made good time despite the profusion of cones on the M1. A short break at services left us refreshed but not particularly satisfied; oh for a Truckstop!

We arrived at Pontefract in plenty of time for a practise and for Jesús to meet some of the people he had only known via the internet.
Jesús was delighted to see the flag of Spain displayed behind the silhouette course.
The Classic is split into 3 sessions of 3 hours. In one of these sessions you will shoot FT, one session of silhouettes and three hours rest. Throughout the day the NEFTA team members work tirelessly to ensure that the competition runs smoothly.
The wind was very kind on Saturday and it was no surprise that the FT scores were high; seven shooters dropped only one shot. Here is Jesús showing his FT style.
One of the seven who scored 39 on the FT course was Sam Monkman he added a 38 on the silhouettes to finish day 1 leading on an excellent score of 77 ex 80.
With the day's competition over it was time for hotels for some but quite a few of us took advantage of the free camping offered. After a cool beer sitting by the tents we set off to explore the village of Burton Salmon which thankfully had a pub!It was a beautiful spring evening and we all shared a beer or coke in the garden, cheers!
Two of our party were too young to stay out late and most were too old but some made it back to the campsite to enjoy a late brandy
Or a game of footballand some just made the wrong choice. We're in Pontefract Ian!Sunday was windy and a little wet which promised that the Pontefract bowl would capture some victims.
After day 1 Mr Calpin was in a strong position in the FT competition hence he was quite reserved prior to his round on Sunday. No doubt contemplating his route to victory.

Another day's fervent competition followed. The changing wind, the various terrain and excellent course design combined to provide a challenging FT course. Best score of the day was still high at 36 and four shooters tied but it was the aforementioned Mr Calpin who came out on top scoring 75 ex 80.
Sam Monkman reigned supreme on both days of the silhouette competition scoring an impressive 75 which was 3 clear of second place James Woodhead. Sam also excelled on the FT course and his combined total of 149 made him NEFTA Classic Champion 2009.

It was all over too quickly and my second and Jesús' first NEFTA Classic had come to an end. After a few shoot-offs we assembled in the silhouette range for the prize giving.

There are prizes for all grades and pin badges are awarded for those who managed to hit all five of a silhouette bank. There are also many team prizes and plenty of shooting gear in the raffle. The NEFTA members honoured their Spanish guest and awarded him mementos which included every silhouette badge!
Then it was time to go and Jesús' long awaited trip was at an end. A chance to relax on Monday before the journey home.
Jesús we all enjoyed your company very much and hope that you will shoot with us again in September at the Euros and next year you return to take on the Classic.