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The winner of Carve Carrbridge 2009 is Bob King from the USA with a spectacular carving of a Cougar or ‘Mountain Lion’.  2009 winner Bob King with his cougar carving - (high resolution image)
1st Bob King, USA 2nd Mick Burns from Scotland with ‘Dragonfly’ (resident of Lincolnshire and winner of 2008 English Open). 3rd Tim Burgess, England with ‘Golden Eagle’. (Joint winner of 2009 English Open). People’ Choice Mick Burns Best Newcomer Michael Tamoszus from Germany with ‘Owl’ Carve Carrbridge Results Today Bob King from Edgewood, Washington in the USA won the Claymore Trophy at the seventh Scottish Open Chainsaw Carving Championships in the Highland village of Carrbridge. Beating a strong line up of top carvers from Italy, Germany, Finland, the USA and the home nations Bob created the spectacular wood carving of a Cougar or ‘Mountain Lion’ from hefty 8 foot / 2½ metre lengths of pine. After receiving his prize, Bob said the cougar - which is native to the Americas - is a beautiful animal. “I normally pick an animal I like and then practise carving it for a year. With my carving I wanted it to have emotion and for people to remember the carving when they walk away” Asked if he enjoys competing in a limited duration competition like Carve Carrbridge, where you only have four hours to complete a carving using only chainsaws, Bob explained “the four hour carve makes you step out of your confidence box. You don’t think, just carve. It is amazing what you can do." "I can’t draw, I can’t paint but I have a vision of a carving” he continued. Bob said he really enjoys the camaraderie of the carvers at the Carve Carrbridge event and said he would have to return next year to defend his title (provisional date is Saturday 4th of September 2010). Last year’s winner and five time previous winner Pete Bowsher from Moffat was gracious in defeat. "If beaten by anyone, I am happy to be beaten by Bob. He has taken chainsaw carving to a new height." The event enjoyed fair weather - with the help of Carrbridge’s renowned microclimate - with just occasional drops of rain, unlike the surrounding area where heavy rain was reported by many visitors. |