Apart from Greenfields I don't have a local shoot, Abbey is next closest at 40 minutes, Southdown is 2 hours each way, Horne is 1 hr 25 mins, Caterham a touch closer blah blah. Not sure why this is important anyway, true I've never had to (or been able to have the circumstances) shoot a 25 on the world stage to stay in the game etc, but my small world still has it's challenges. It took me years to learn how to win the odd one in a small pond, I have the arrogance to know I'd have worked a way round the big'uns too, nobody has the monopoly on mind games you know. The ones doing the winning now didn't all have mental tuition, some don't need it.Your still trying to quantify the X factor!!!
Where do you get this "2 birds" from? You may only be talking "2 birds" when you are playing safe, staying local, no pressure, big fish/little pond, not got a 4+ hour drive before you shoot, not knowing that you HAVE to be no more than 3 behind HG at a shoot you've never been to before, let alone shot at, to make the team, not got a burning passion to win so strong it hurts, not going into the last 25 of a FITASC knowing you need to straight it just to make the shoot off, not in that shoot off you just shot 25 straight on the last course to get into with a crowd of strangers and people you know, standing watching, some willing you to win, some willing you to fail.......put yourself in that moment and then tell me you wouldn't want to be as mentally prepared as you are technically prepared!?!? I know I would.........
Incidentally GD has just won a world event with a 199/200 , he won the Jack Pyke missing a single rabbit, won the British with 117/120 a couple of years ago, so not sure why his 97/98's at Horne are so poopooed !? Small ponds are open to everybody, plenty good guys don't always win those so you're wrong if you think they're piss easy. My 2 bird examples are not far off the mark, anymore than that then it would definitely have been technique/know how at fault.