Gandy Wins Oban Gold Medal (Updated)

Oban, Scotland – August 27-28, 2003 – Bruce Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, won the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal for piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering here today against a field of 25 other competitors. Gandy added the Oban medal to the Gold Medal he won in 2002 at the Northern Meeting in Inverness. All five of the prizewinners in the event played in the last group of ten pipers.

In the Senior Piobaireachd, Mike Cusack of Houston, Texas, won the event, and Ross Cowan of Annan, Scotland, won the Silver Medal.

Gordon Walker of Kilmarnock, Scotland, won the tightly contested Former Winners March, Strathspey & Reel before a packed house at the Corran Halls.

Gold Medal
1st Bruce Gandy, “The Battle of the Pass of Crieff”
2nd Stuart Shedden, Glasgow
3rd Robert Watt, Northern Ireland
4th Richard Hawke, New Zealand
5th Alan Bevan, British Columbia
Judges: Ronnie Lawrie, John Wilson, John McDougall

Senior Piobaireachd
1st Mike Cusack, “Spaidearachd Bharrach”
2nd Rab Wallace, Glasgow
3rd Niall Matheson, Inverness, Scotland
4th Angus MacColl, Benderloch, Scotland
Judges: Iain MacFadyen, Jimmy Young, Malcolm McRae

Silver Medal
1st Ross Cowan
2nd Margaret Houlihan, Glasgow
3rd Louise Hay, Blairgowrie, Scotland
4th Jonathan Greenlees, Northern Ireland
5th Glenn Brown, Milton, Canada
Judges: Donald MacPherson, Walter Drysdale, Jimmy Banks

Former Winners March, Strathspey & Reel
1st Gordon Walker, Cumnock, Scotland
2nd Willie McCallum, Bearsden
3rd Chris Armstrong, Bathgate
4th Angus MacColl
Judges: Barry Donaldson, John Allan, Gavin Stoddart

On the Thursday games day, glorious sunny weather made for ideal playing conditions and huge crowds. A strong turnout of pipers attended the traditional march to the games through the town of Oban, with Bruce Gandy, the new Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medallist filling the Pipe-Major role.

For what is thought to be a first for a major Scottish piping competition, pipers were given the option of competing with or without a jacket. Gandy in fact was one of only two competitors in the Gold Medal who did not wear a jacket, and thus became the first in history to win the event without having to wear a performance hindering garment.

The A Grade light music had largely mixed results across the events, with the March featuring an all-Scottish prize list.

A Grade March
1st Douglas Murray, Cupar, Scotland
2nd Neil Walker, Dunblane, Scotland
3rd Niall Stewart, Alness, Scotland
4th Niall Matheson, Inverness, Scotland
5th Gavin Walker, Cowie, Scotland
Judges: Walter, Drysdale, Malcolm McRae, John Wilson

A Grade Strathspey & Reel
1st Margaret Houlihan, Glasgow
2nd Alan Bevan, Surrey, British Columbia
3rd Neil Walker
4th Iain Speirs, Edinburgh
5th Richard Hawke, New Zealand
Judges: Ronnie Lawrie, Gavin Stoddart, Andrew Wright

Jig
1st Alan Bevan
2nd Gordon McReady, Renfrew, Scotland
3rd Niall Stewart
4th Brendon Eade, Inverness, Scotland
Judges: Jimmy Banks, John MacDougall

B Grade March
1st Alistair Dunn, Northern Ireland
2nd Andrew Carlisle, Northern Ireland
3rd Brian Mckenzie, Glasgow
4th Hamish Munroe, Lhanbyde
5th Andrew Hall, Essex, England
Judges: John Allan, Roger Huth, Jimmy Young

B Grade Strathspey & Reel
1st Niall Smith, Bridge of Weir, Scotland
2nd Glenn Brown
3rd Fiona MacKay, Alness, Scotland
4th Lisa Morrison, Glasgow
5th Darach Urquhart, Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland
Judges: Barry Donaldson, Iain MacFadyen, Donald MacPherson

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