The inaugural edition of the Southwest Regional Championship Hot-Air Balloon Competition lived up to its billing the first weekend in June on the beautiful campus of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Race Director for the event was Dan Sherrill with Steve Jones Assistant Director and Pat Cannon Safety Officer. With the excellent staff in place and fifty-nine pilots in attendance the Wild West Balloonfest would be an event to remember!
Friday evening would begin with the first of four scheduled competitive flights. The first flight would be a Hare and Hound with Brian Owen’s Humpty Dumpty balloon as the Hare. After an easy inflation, Humpty Dumpty rocketed skyward as the Hare and the rest of the field looked like a wild west roundup. Pilots were shouting for the launch director as volunteer crews scrambled to keep up with the intense action. Pat Harwell wrestled with his Maverick while shouting at the top of his lungs for the launch director, watching other balloons leave the field before him. From the ground, it looked like a stampede of color, racing toward the West Texas sky. The many spectators were in awe. The Wild West Balloonfest was finally underway. After a 45 minute flight into the Texas sunset, Humpty Dumpty landed with ease and the scoring part of the task began.
Saturday morning dawned with beautiful blue skies and mild winds. The race
officials called a challenging task. The pilot briefing adjourned with the pilots returning
to their crews with a total of four baggies! The race was to be a minimum double-drop,
Watership-down, and a $10,000.00 Key Grab included. Fred Edmiston and Bubba
Cliver came closest to the mark with Cliver flying within 10 feet of grabbing the ring. The
wind shifted and some of the pilots drifted 100 yards west of the field.
Saturday evening was a fly-in to the field with Mark Sullivan from Albuquerque, N.M. dropping down from a high altitude to score closest to the center of the “X” in front of 35,000 cheering spectators at the intramural field at ASU. The crowd really went wild when the Medivac helicopter from Shannon Medical Center, providing first aid for the event, made an impromptu flight and dropped a baggie closer to the “X” than Sullivan’s. There were many special shapes that flew with Eric Bond’s Miss Penny, Wayne Bond’s Spider Man, and Susan Harwell’s Something Fishy being cheered the loudest next to Brian Owen’s Humpty Dumpty.
The moon glows Friday and Saturday evening were spectacular. Humpty Dumpty, Norwest Miss Penny, Matt Matthew’s Silver Bullet, along with the GMC and Pontiac corporate balloons awed the mass of spectators wandering through a twilight extravaganza. The dignitaries from Angelo State University stood back and smiled; some even laughed out loud at the throngs of people staring up in amazement at all the balloons tethered to the ground, while the pilots fired propane illuminating their envelopes to the music and comments provided by George Broach. It was one hell of a ride for the ground-bound! George even got about a thousand or so spectators to dance the La Mac Arena during the moon glow. It was quite a sight.
During the final competition Sunday morning, the balloons looked like a remuda heading for the barn after a long trail drive. Sherrill and Jones chose a maximum double drop with a fly-in task with virtually no wind and about 120 degrees of steerage. Fred Edmiston from Carrollton, Texas, led the competition up until this event, but after making two great drops, he bounced his basket on the ground for a 500 point penalty. When it was over, the balloons packed up and headed for the corral and waited on the final results.
When the dust settled and the rodeo was over, Bubba Cliver came out on top. Wayne Bond was second, Joe Heartsill finished third, followed by Dale Wong in fourth, Eric Bond in fifth, Mark Sullivan in sixth, Steve Lombardi in seventh, Fred Edmiston in eighth, Sean Askren in ninth, and Pat Harwell in tenth. Fifty-plus pilots racked up Balloon Federation of America points as well. Ten thousand dollars was split among the top ten finishers. Five of the top ten qualified for the U. S. Nationals. The Wild West Balloonfest was hailed as a success by both the pilots and the sponsors. It will be an annual event at Angelo State University and promises to be even better next year. A special thanks goes to Lucas Heartsill from the organizers, for keeping his Dad’s old balloon tethered at the field at all hours of the day and night for the interest and entertainment of the crowds.
