North of Scotland Cup Final

Forres Mechanics beat Wick Academy 3-2 in today's North of Scotland Cup Final at Brora.  Forres were all over Wick in the first half and went 3-0 well before half-time. A Gary Weir penalty and a late David Allan goal ensured a tense finish in the sunshine.  The first half was played in constant rain.

5 photographers were capturing the action, the most at any match for years.

DSRL Golf Competition

The annual DSRL golf competition was held on Friday evening at Reay.  Two teams of 12 golfers competed in pairs.  Managing Director Simon Middlemas was the captain of Simon's Slicers and Deputy Director Tony Wratten was captain of Tony's Toppers. Simon's team won and Michael Dunnett accepted the Caithness Glass trophy on behalf of Simon.

I managed to capture the great sunset in the group photo.

Wick Academy vs Lossiemouth

Wick Academy beat Lossiemouth 3-2 today at Harmsworth Park.  Lossie were all over Wick in the first half and went in at half time 2-0 up courtesy of livewire left winger Jamie Bagley. With the wind and slope behind them, 'e Scorries stormed back with goals from David Allan, Gary Weir and Richard MacAdie.

Next weekend is the North of Scotland Cup Final in Brora vs Forres Mechanics.  Wick's first ever senior cup fnal.

Craig Shearer Testimonial Match

Craig Shearer's testimonial match vs Ross County was held last night in perfect weather conditions.  I was asked by the testimonial committee to take the pre-match photos and some are shown above. Craig's daughter Katie was match mascot and Craig's brother Greg came on as a sub in the second half.

The Ross County side had most of the players who featured in the 2010 Scottish Cup Final. Wick played really well in the first half and went in at half time 1-0 up, courtesy of David Allan and some excellent saves by James More.  County turned on the style and won 5-1 with some stunning long range strikes. 

Craig won the man of the match award.

Caithness MotoX round 5

The Caithness MotoX Club held round 5 of their race series on Sunday at Ravenshill.  The weather was nice for a change!  Riders came from as far as Oban and Orkney to compete. The results can be seen on their website;

http://www.caithnessmotox.co.uk/

Blair Castle International Horse Trials

Travelled to Blair Castle International Horse Trials with our two ponies thanks to Gordy Donn's 4x4 truck - Moira's car broke down last weekend with serious engine trouble and may take a long time to get fixed.

Megland Royal Pretence (Poppy) and Eddiston May-Bee (Basil) both qualified for the prestigious event. Caitlin Bissett rode Poppy (top pics) and Jillian showed Basil in the in hand class (middle pics).  Both just missed out on a placing against the best in Scotland and in very large classes.

Vivian MacDonald was the only Caithness rider at the showjumping (bottom pics).

As far as I know, two Caithness riders gained first places.  Emma Coghill in the Working Hunter (two years running against the best in Scotland) and Carolyn Coghill on Chiddy in the ridden.  Ashley Miller got a 2nd with Ollie, Stephanie Anderson and Alex Henderson got 3rd prizes.  Still one more day to go.

Despite lots of showers, mainly during the night and early morning, the ground wasn't too bad. However, the entrance to the Castle field was muddy and most lorries had to be towed in and out. The layout of the field was completely different to previous years and seemed to be an improvement, once you got your bearings.  According to Moira & Jillian, the shops were better than ever and my wallet was empty by the time we left this afternoon!

Still going through all the pics I took.