There was a terrific turnout for the annual Nev Mason Long Haul Trophy on Sunday. The “Long Haul” was devised by the late Nev Mason as a true test of the archer’s skill. Only traditional bows or recurve bows stripped of all shooting aids (sights, stabilizing systems and clickers) can be employed in the round. The “Long Haul” comprises three dozen arrows at each of two distances – 60 and 40 yards but uses the metric ten zone scoring system.

Ten archers competed for the Trophy, including Alex Parkes who had only come to drop his son off at the field. A wide array of long bows, flat bows, jelly bows and bare bows were put to use and the usual cry of ‘oh I’ve got one off’ became ‘yes! I’ve got one on’, as the archers struggled to find the target.

It soon became apparent that the fight for the trophy was between Josh Trafford and Colin Moore. After the first distance Josh had a 6 point lead over Colin, with Colin 59 points ahead of Tony Hartley in third.

The rest of the field were in disarray. Dave Moore was engaged in a private battle with his son Ethan. After losing consistently to younger son Rhys all season Dave was pleased to find an offspring he could beat. Pete Mumford who had taken time out to rest his joints was shooting for the first time in months and it showed. Damage to the flags on top of the bosses used to gauge the wind was heavy, with Barbara, Danny, Matt, and Josh putting arrows into the cloth. Pete Mumford went one better by actually cutting the stick holding the flag in half with one of his arrows.

The move to 40yds saw a general improvement in scores. Josh maintained his 6 point lead after the first dozen but after recording two misses to Colin’s one over the next dozen arrows Josh found himself trailing by 3 points going into the last two ends. Colin extended his lead by 10 points going into the final six arrows. Josh still had a chance but unfortunately he lost sight of the weed he had been using a reference point and he put two arrows into the grass. Colin, on the other hand, found the target with his last six arrows to put himself 30 points clear and bag the Trophy.

Sunday also saw the juniors competing in the format for the first time thanks to Denise Hill who has commissioned a new trophy. Dubbed the “Short Haul” and shot over 40 and 20 yard distances; Toby Young, William Parkes, Joseph Reaney , James Hill and Jacob Brookes turned up for the inaugural event. Joseph astonished himself by being brilliant at the event, finishing 107 points ahead of nearest rival Toby Young. A spell of drizzle did nothing to dampen the archer’s fun and a great time was had at a relaxed and eventful shoot.

Results – Nev Mason Long Haul Trophy: 1. C. Moore 65/401/3, 2. J. Trafford 59/371/1, 3. T. Hartley 61/324/5/1, 4. D. Moore 51/271/1, 5. D. Cowin 56/266/1/1, 6. B. Harris 38/213/1, 7. P. Mumford 34/174/0, 8. Matt 36/167/1, 9. A. Parkes 34/166/0. 10. E. Moore 35/135/0.

Short Haul Trophy: – 1. J. Reaney 62/426/9/2, 2. T. Young 56/319/1, 3. W. Parkes 49/246/1, 4. J. Hill 40/193/2/1, 5. J. Brookes 33/138/0.