Saddle up for fun

Howdy Partner! The men standing outside the Music Road Convention Center looked a little different than your average, everyday Sevier County resident. Maybe it was the chaps over their jeans or the jingling of their spurs. The ten gallon cowboy hat worn by “Lightning McCoy” added to the charming ambience exuded by the men. Pigeon Forge residents will see a lot of cowboys in the next few days as people come from all over the country to participate in the 5th Annual Saddle Up! Celebration. Cowboy, Dustin Clays, aka Walter Reed, the safety officer of the Smoky Mountain Shootist Society (SMSS), a branch of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS),which is meeting during the celebration, explained that members are required to have fictitious names. Each name is recorded on the group’s website and they are given a number to verify that the name will not be claimed by anyone else. The group met Thursday and will meet today while concluding with an awards dinner Saturday at noon. The theme for the group this year is “Shoot-Out at Pigeon Forge. They will be meeting at the Walden Creek Stables on 2709 Walden Creek Road for shooting matches. Clays said that SASS requires participants to attend a safety meeting before they are eligible to participate in each match. Many of the men present at the safety meeting could recite the rules from memory, they have attended so many meetings. The organization is proud of it’s record of no accidents in it’s more than twenty year history. According to Clays, it has over 60,000 members worldwide and is considered the fastest growing shooting sport in the world. SASS members wear either movie-style cowboy clothes or authentic period cowboy clothes. They use period weapons and endorse a strong code of ethics. The cowboys said that their motto is “safety, safety, safety, and fun.” Shooting participants are required to wear safety lenses and hearing protection when anywhere in the shooting range area. They shoot only very soft lead and aim at steel targets to minimize any potential problems, and most of the members find it more practical to load their own ammunition. It is a family-oriented group that often sees husbands and wives, grandfathers and grandsons, and people of all ages laughing together. Vendors are in the Music Road Convention Center selling hard to find western wear during the event. The Saddle Up! Celebration, which is sponsored by the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, features cowboy poetry and western music as well as the shooting group. The event runs through Saturday. For further details you may contact the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism at 865-429-7350.