We travelled to the CMP Talladega range for the 2019 World Speed Shooting Championship. In the beginning, I was a nervous wreck. We practiced our rimfire pistols on Tuesday and shot them on Wednesday. While we were practicing Tuesday, I noticed that in the middle of strings I started shaking. I tried to chill out and breathe, but my nerves were haywire. Here comes Wednesday and my nerves have only settled a little bit. I didn’t shoot as well as I wanted, but aside from that, I had a lot of fun.

On Thursday and Friday, my sister (Emily Cunningham) and I talked to everyone. I tried to go out of my comfort zone and talk to people. Let me just say that I met some pretty awesome people. I made new friends and I conversed with old ones. After the match, I realized how much this helped me. I have always been shy, but at this match, I opened up and I talked. I talked to people from just several towns over to someone in Brazil! We also hung out with Brian Conley at his Hunters HD Gold tent. Hunters HD Gold sells great products and I’ve yet to see an unsatisfied customer.

Friday afternoon, I attended the Hunters HD Gold dinner. We went to a place called The Club. Of course, Mr. Conley had the dinner in the “Gold Room.” We were one of the first people to arrive, so we mainly looked around at the scenery. We even saw a spectacular sunset! I can’t forget to mention that we were being served this awesome peachy drink. Absolutely delicious! The dinner was so fun and I had a great time with an amazing group of people. I should also mention that I had been looking forward to this dinner since news of it first came out! I was not disappointed!

On Saturday, I practiced with my rimfire rifles and I knew tomorrow was going to be a good day. During the very last flight, I shot my RFRO and RFRI. While shooting our first stage, I felt my nerves start to act wild and I started getting worried. As I kept shooting, I gained control of myself. When I messed up, I literally shook it off. After a string, before I even unloaded my magazine, I either dropped my shoulders or I shook my shoulders. I closed my eyes and I started thinking, “You got this,” and, “Calm down.” When we were about half way through we came upon Five-To-Go.  This stage has always been a stressing stage for me, but this time, I nailed it! I shot Five-To-Go in 8.71 seconds with my RFRI and 10.17 seconds with my RFRO! This was definitely motivational. After this stage, I started to wonder if I had a chance to break into the seventies, and I did! When I first started Steel Challenge or even Rimfire Challenge, I had no idea that I would be able to shoot that fast. This experience made me realize that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to.

Many people have helped me along the way, but one person has helped me the most, my dad. If it wasn’t for my dad, I truly wouldn’t be where I am. Through all the blood, sweat, and tears, he pushed me to go further. I could name other people that have helped me, but there are too many! To anyone that has helped me by giving me tips or simply being motivational, thank you. I would also like to say thank you to all the staff, RO’s and sponsors! Without y’all, the match would not be as great as it was.

I ended up placing 1st in Ladies RFRI division and 2nd in Master Class RFRO division! I made my goal of making it into the seventies with a time of 76.40 seconds with my RFRI and 78.90 seconds with my RFRO.

Thanks to my sponsors:

Hunters HD Gold

Striplin Custom Gunworks

Vortex Optics

Tactical Solutions

QuarterCircle10

UltimateTargets.com

Ally Outfitters

Tandemkross

Hodgdon Powder

Extreme Tactics and Training Solutions