There are few pleasures equal to mentoring a talented shooter, as Team Taurus’ Jessie Harrison can attest. Harrison, the first female shooter to achieve Grand Master status with the USPSA, with wins including multiple World and National Champion shooting titles, has taken a new young competitor under her very capable wings. Even more impressively, she did it while capturing a new title for herself at the 2021 Bighorn Classic.
The Bighorn Classic, held June 25-27 in Grand Junction, Colorado, was young competitor Trent Eichler’s first match as part of Team Taurus. He competed in the Single Stack division, using a custom Taurus 1911 pistol to take the seventh spot in that competition.
“My first big match at the Bighorn Classic went well,” said Eichler. “Shooting with Jessie and KC on the Taurus Team was an honor. They have both taught me a lot and I look forward to learning more from two of my biggest role models.”
The Bighorn Classic is definitely a challenging match for a first-timer, but Eichler had some strong coaches in his corner in the form of Harrison and her teammate KC Eusebio. Eusebio and Harrison decided to come along to cheer Eichler on in his first major shooting event.
“Since this was Trent’s first big match,” said Harrison, “KC and I flew out to shoot the Bighorn Classic with him and to provide our support.”
This mentor/protégé relationship is already demonstrating big returns. “The Bighorn Classic was a great indicator of what KC and I should be focusing on for our upcoming Nationals,” Harrison said. “It was also a great starting match for Trent to show how hard he’s been training. Having one another to work with and learn from will make us all raise the bar of our own success, and I look forward to seeing how we progress and grow together."
The Bighorn Classic is shot in 12 stages, and the 2021 match saw 242 competitors from around the country on the firing line. Harrison captured the Ladies Open Division at the event with a custom open gun. Eusebio competed in the Open Division with a custom open gun, taking both First Place in the class and Overall Match Winner.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team and how well we all performed at our first match together,” said Team Captain Harrison.
For more information on the complete line of Taurus pistols and revolvers, including the newest compact and micro EDC pistols, visit TaurusUSA.com.
