RM: Hey Sassy, thank you so much for your time today to talk to us about the XFDA, I know you have a busy life away from shooting, can you give us a little background about yourself?
SS: Well thank you for having me, I’m a mother to three children and a grandmother to two granddaughters as well as a newspaper reporter, but most importantly i’m the secretary for the XFDA organization and I love every minute of it.
RM: So how did you first come into contact with the sport of fast draw?
SS: Well I had 20+ years experience in old west reenactments, I had done that since I was a young girl, and part of that involved something we called ‘balloon poppers’, this is where we would shoot blanks at balloons and pop them as part of the show, Jesse James was someone who I competed with doing this and he introduced me to target shooting, 5 years later, around 2020, we got into the XFDA! Since then we have just loved all aspects of it, we love to compete and travel the country meeting more people and promoting the sport.
RM: It seems like it was something that you were always going to like, given your interests in Western culture, what is it about the sport that has kept you coming back. Is it the atmosphere, the people, the competition??
SS: All of the above, you meet so many people from all walks of life, doctors, housewives, you name it. Its really interesting to see the diverse backgrounds and they become good friends, even family. Yes I am a little competitive, but the nice thing is you dont have to be to really enjoy it. The camaraderie is the most important thing, we’re a family and we make everyone feel welcome and make sure it’s a good time no matter your experience.
RM: So is this something that’s unique to the XFDA events, the format for events.
SS: Absolutely, with other organizations you may show up for an event, have a few poor rounds and be done, you may have traveled for hours and cleared your whole weekend only to be going home after the first few hours. With the XFDA is doesn’t matter how you perform, you get to compete all weekend, which adds to the fun and helps improve your skills ready for the next event.
RM: That’s great for new members. Are there some events that are better for newcomers than others?
SS: Yeah club shoots are usually held twice a month and they’re really for practice, so they are ideal for new members to come in and see if they like it before investing too much time and money in their own equipment. You then have Point, State, National and Worlds which get more competitive, and you can work your way into those as you improve your points and get invited to shoot at these bigger events. It’s always fun whether you’re competing against a familiar rival or just against yourself. We have KPIs (key performance indicators) which average our times, if we’re not shooting within our average then it doesn’t count, keeping us honest and always encouraging improvement.
RM: So you mentioned new members, what would be your advice and recommendations for people looking to get into the XFDA?
SS: First of all you need to visit the website and check out the rules page, make sure you understand what’s involved and what you’re getting into. Then find your local club, which are all listed online, and go along and give it a try at one of their practice shoots. They can help you out with technique, format and get you started with a loan holster, belt and gun to use before you’re ready to commit to spending money on your own. These items can be expensive so it’s great to get a feel for different styles before you decide what you want to buy for yourself.
We also like to dress up in keeping with the western traditions, it’s part of the fun but it’s important to us to keep this going, so something to consider when you get started. With my reenactments experience I already had that covered.
RM: Following on from that, do you see there being potential for the XFDA to appeal beyond the western enthusiasts, to more mainstream viewers as a spectator sport?
SS: I 100% believe that we could be on the sports channels one day, selling out arenas. We have a lot of characters across the sport that I know would draw in fans, whether they are viewed as heroes or villains, fans could support their favorite shooters like they do their favorite sports teams. Also it’s not just for men, we have increased our female members by 75% since 2020 and every shoot we have more and more interest. It’s really empowering for them and it’s great to see.
We’re also working on youth programs to get younger members into the sport at an earlier age, we’re a fun family environment and it helps promote safe gun use and ownership as well as discipline.
RM: I have heard great things about the scholarship program that the XFDA is promoting, there is a link to that below;
Finally I wanted to ask about the ‘Aliases’, when you join the XFDA you need to pick something unique to you, you are known as ‘Sassy’, how did you decide on that?
SS: I love asking members where their names have come from, it’s really fun and interesting. Mine is a little more straightforward, my parents always called me Sassy, it was actually Sassy Grace, because I was so clumsy, but I dropped that part. I used Sassy all through the reenactments I did so it just flowed. Even my granddaughters call me Grandma Sassy!
A Lot of people get inspiration from old west characters and history. It’s always fascinating to find out more behind people’s choices and often gets you talking about their other interests or reasoning for getting into fast draw. Once you decide it’s yours for life!
If you would like to see more about Sassy please click here to see Sassy’s profile!
