Horner Withdraws from 3GN Championship Finale

Horner Withdraws from 3GN Championship Finale

3GN Defending Champion SSG Daniel Horner spoke before the crowd after his run with Tommy Thacker.

By Chad Adams

Defending 3-Gun Nation Champion SSG Daniel Horner, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, has withdrawn from the 3GN Championship Shoot-Off Finale to be held Jan. 18 in Las Vegas during SHOT Show.

Horner, upon reviewing footage of his elimination-round run against Tommy Thacker, has concluded he completed his run with one fault. Thacker finished the run clean after Horner had already knocked down his stop plate.

According to 3GN rules, Thacker should have been declared the winner. However, a series of mistakes, all made by 3-Gun Nation, culminated in the fault not being recognized at the time, as Horner was declared the winner over Thacker during the 3GN Championship in West Virginia.

“My deepest apologies go out to the competitors involved in this unfortunate situation,” said 3GN President Pete Brown. “A fault occurred and it was not handled properly, which is a direct reflection upon 3-Gun Nation. Due to this, our shooters were put in an uncomfortable situation and were subject to speculation. Their only job is to compete and have fun, which is our ultimate goal for everyone in the sport. One of our jobs is to make the proper ruling for any scenario that comes our way, and in this instance we failed. Steps are now being put in place to ensure this type of situation never happens again.”

The incorrect ruling at the match has prompted 3GN officials to initiate a complete Shoot-Off rules review to ensure there are systems in place that prevent incorrect rulings in the future as well as add an arbitration system that enables future calls to be overturned in a timely manner.

“We are very proud of the accomplishments we have made so far and the opportunities we have been able to create for competitive 3-Gun,” Brown said. “We look forward to continuing our efforts—with fairness and positive expansion of the sport our priority.”

After the 3-Gun Nation match and Shoot-Off, and in the days since, SSG Horner has acted in a professional and courteous manner to all competitors, match staff and 3GN officials regarding his run against Thacker. As in the past, 3GN has found Horner’s actions above reproach, as he continues to stand as a shining example of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and the sport of 3-gun. We at 3-Gun Nation look forward to his continued involvement with the 3GN Tour.

3-Gun Nation Rules Review

• 3-Gun Nation will appoint a director of competition which will be the Chief Range Officer at every 3-Gun Nation event moving forward. This officer will be responsible for all rulings made per the rules of 3-Gun Nation Shoot-Offs. The Chief Range Officer will be responsible for procuring and overseeing assistant Range Officers to complete the match staff.
• 3-Gun Nation will utilize video footage to aid officials to make the proper calls on-site. From now forward, all judgments must be made on-site before the conclusion of the competition. 3-Gun Nation Chief Range Officer will reserve the right to accept or deny any requests to review footage.
• New rules will be added to the current 3GN shoot-off rules and amendments will be made to aid Range Officers in their duties during 3GN competitions. A full work up of these amendments and improvements will be released soon.

Posted on 11/17/2011