A full house of 72 competitors took to the stands on a bright clear day at Meary Veg, Santon for Isle of Man Clay Pigeon Shooting Club’s annual Hospice charity shoot.

The event is now in its 11th year and has raised more than £25,000 to date for the local branch of Hospice.

This year’s shoot for the team event is handicapped based on the best three scores of the five stands shot; all the class prizes are based on actual scores.

The first squad was out at 9am with Juan Cowley setting the pace for high gun with 45 points. In squad two there was a personal best set by former radio presenter James Davis who beat his PB by one, scoring eight points - with his handicap, this put him in the lead for the handicap gold medal.

Squad three saw two father and daughters teaming up in the form of John and Darcy Bateson along with Mike and Kate Atkinson who set the score to beat in the team section with 186 points.

The 11.30am squad saw Rosalie and Richard Beaumont along with Tracey and Davy Jones taking to the stands, with Davy claiming the high ground by scoring 22.

The 12.30pm squad was entered from Hospice featuring Jamie Murphy, Liz Drummond, David Drummond and Callum Mills, with Murphy being top dog with 32 points.

The 1pm squad saw another two families taking part, the Kneens featuring John, Richard and Kate, along with the Fabrizio’s Peter and Giulio who would figure in the final results later on.

The 1.30pm squad saw some big hitters taking part, with Neil Parsons taking the lead in the high gun section with 46 by pipping Juan Cowley’s score that had stood since 9am.

But it didn’t last long as junior Michael Cross - who was in the same squad - beat it with a score of 47. Also in this squad was Stuart Cilliers who was taking part for the first time and scored 17. The 2pm squad was another entry from Hospice, with juniors Charlie and William Muggan teaming up with Clare and Nick Kayzer finishing with a combined total of 65.

The final squad at 2.30pm was the Collister family - Bill, John, David - along with James Mylchreest with his dad David taking part also for the first time.

The latter finished with a combined score of 48 in the handicap section which tied for first place with James Davis and John Bateson, therefore a countback was needed to decide the medals. Ultimately, Davis clinched gold by just over a point ahead of Bateson with silver while David Mylchreest took bronze.

It was a close-run thing in the team event once all the handicaps had been added in, with the bronze medals going to David Mylchreest, Chris McCabe, Peter and Giulio Fabrizio with 185 points.

Claiming the silver medals with 186 points were the two father and daughter pairings of John and Darcy Bateson along with Mike and Kate Atkinson.

But the winners of the gold medals were Stan and Michael Cross, Neil Parsons and Alan Kinrade with a score of 188.

Once all the scores had been verified the results were as follows:

Highgun - Michael Cross Jr 47. Seniors 1, Neil Parsons 46; 2, Juan Cowley 45; 3, Stan Cross

Veterans 1, John Moore; 2, Dave Corlett 44; 3, Arthur Hayes 43. Women 1, Nicky Barnett 32; 2, Allana Wade 28; 3, Ann Callister 26. Juniors 1, Michael Cross 47; 2, Joe Faragher 41; 3, Arran Wade 37. Novices 1, John Collister 34+6; 2, David Collister 34+4; 3, Jamie Murphy 32. Handicap 1, James Davis 48+12; 2, John Bateson 48+10.4; 3, David Mylchreest 48+9.4.

Main team event: Gold medal - Stan Cross, Michael Cross, Neil Parsons, Alan Kinrade 188; Silver medal - John Bateson, Darcy Bateson, Mike Atkinson, Kate Atkinson 186; Bronze medal - David Mylchreest, Chris McCabe, Peter Fabrizio, Giulio Fabrizio 185.

At the conclusion of the event the medals were presented by Anne Mills, chief executive of Hospice Isle of Man.

Organisers would like to thank the main supporters: NFU Mutual for sponsoring the medals, Harrison and Garrett for the burgers, ribs etc, Robinsons for the fruit and veg, British Clay Company for supplying the clays and last but not least Lisa and Kevin for putting on a marvellous buffet.

Also, a big thank you must go to all that helped in any way in setting up, officiating, competing and most of all in making it a very enjoyable day.

A full round up of results can be found at www.iomclays.com

In total, this year’s charity shoot raised in excess of £2,900.

MARK BARNETT