Last week we celebrated the 28th edition of the Sugar Golf tournament headed by Alfy Fanjul (click here to read more), so now we look forward to the 26th edition of Sugar Shooting Tournament, headed by Alfy’s brother Pepe Fanjul – being played later this month from the 23rd to the 28th of April.
Pepe Fanjul at the Casa de Campo Shooting Center
The “Sugar” tournaments have become an annual tradition in Casa de Campo. And hosted by the Fanjul brothers, Alfy and J.Pepe, are two of the most glamorous and eagerly anticipated occasions of the year.
In fact it was the Sugar Golf Tournament which brought about the foundation of the Fundación MIR charity. In 1990 the Sugar Golf tournament was won by Alfy Fanjul, who donated his winnings to his sister Lian Fanjul de Azqueta, who used it to found the Casa de Paz, once a small project which has now grown into MIR Charities with 3 schools in La Romana, as well as numerous projects in South Florida.
So now that we’ve enjoyed a wonderful week of golf and celebrations at the 28th Sugar Golf Tournament, let’s take a closer look at the Sugar Shooting Tournament and see what we have to look forward to.
The first Sugar Shooting Tournament took place in 1988, hosted by J.Pepe Fanjul in celebration of the opening of a new and improved Shooting facility; the Casa de Campo Shooting Center, which, originally located near to the Casa de Campo Polo Fields, had just re-opened with a Sporting Clays circuit of more than 200 stations, two pigeon rings, and a skeet and trap facility. 15 years later, following the appointment of new Director of Shooting; Shaun Snell, a new shooting facility at Rancho Peligro for European Style Driven Bird Shooting was opened, allowing the tournament to grown from a 4-day event to a 6-day event.
Today, this prestigious occasion incorporates the Live Pigeon Shoot, the Colombaire and the Sporting Clays, as well as the European Style Driven Bird Shoot at Rancho Peligro, all accompanied by various cocktail parties and dinners. Here we bring you our coverage of last year’s tournaments and celebrations…
The European Style Driven Bird Shoot at Rancho Peligro
Rancho Peligro is a beautiful wilderness reserve owned by the Central Romana Corporation (who also owns Casa de Campo) and is less than an hour’s drive outside of Casa de Campo, or mere minutes if you fly in by helicopter as the shooters of the Sugar Shooting Tournament do.
The European Style Driven Bird Shoot takes place over 2 days, with the competitors taking part in 3 drives with the release of approximately 1,000 birds (pheasant and partridge.)
Please click here for photos and coverage of the 2012 European Style Driven Bird Shoot!
The live pigeon shoot took place at the Casa de Campo Shooting Center, where they have 2 pigeon rings and was a thrilling event to watch, with the birds released from boxes just 30 meters from the shooter.
Please click here for photos and coverage of the 2012 Live Pigeon Shoot!
The Sporting Clays section of the tournament took place over 2 days, with the competitors shooting 200 targets in total (100 per day) at 10 different shooting points which make up the entire circuit. At every stop the shooters encountered different challenges, with the clays appearing from different directions and at different speeds.
Please click here for photos and coverage of the 2012 Sporting Clays Tournament!
The Colombaire is arguably the most thrilling (and certainly the scariest to watch) of all the contests, with the birds launched into the air by hand to be shot down by the competitors.
Please click here for photos and coverage of the 2012 Colombaire Pigeon Race!
Dinner and prize-giving at Casa Grande
The finale of the annual Casa de Campo Sugar Shooting Tournament is the dinner and prize-giving hosted by Pepe and Emilia Fanjul at Casa Grande, where the competitors of the tournament and their guests enjoy a delicious dinner under the stars and the winners were awarded their trophies.
Last year the winner of the Gubelmann Cup (the overall winner of the Casa de Campo Sugar Shooting Tournament) was Andres Fanjul – pictured above with his uncle Pepe Fanjul and James Gubelmann, who donated the cup.
Click here for photos and coverage of the dinner at Casa Grande!
