The Field – August 2019

WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 3

Take to the fi eld

Ladies’ Special

▲ RACING AHEAD, PAGE 24 ▲ ORDER OF THE BATH, PAGE 30

▲ WIN THE FASHION STAKES, PAGE 15 ▲ SUCCESSFUL STALKING, PAGE 20

▲ STYLISH ACCESSORIES, PAGE 4 ▲ RECOIL RECLAIMED, PAGE 8

▲ TOP SHOTS’ GUNS, PAGE 12

O

ne ofthefirsthooks

forthisyear’ssupple-

mentwasa dayspent

withmysisterin the

field.Sheis anexcel-

lent peg companion

buta stintontheGreenFeatherscourse

atHolland&HollandinearlyDecem-

berledtoa switchinrolesasI tookto

thepegatherside,intentonoffering

somesisterlyadvice.Bythethirddrive

we weren’t speaking. My advicewas

deemed unhelpful. By the fifth there

appearedtobetears.Appalled,I enquired

thereason.Thedewyeyeswerenothing

todowiththebirdsbombingoverhead

butpaintheborrowed20-boreinflicted

everytimeshepulledthetrigger.

Ishootwitha decentlylight12-bore

and never find recoil a problem. I

switchedplacesforthelastpegandas

I tookthefirstshotmyshoulderrever-

berated unpleasantly. I checked the

cartridges. The same load that I fire

throughmy12-boreis regularlygivento

thoseshootingwitha 20-bore.It gives

farmorefeltrecoiland isfranklyoff-

putting.I’vealsoexperiencedcartridges

thatkicklikethe proverbialmuleand

would suggest it’s worth the trialand

errortofindonethatdoesn’t.A month

agomysisterborroweda 12-boreforour

hunt’scharityclayday,andalmost out

shotmewitha pain-freegrin.

Knowingwhatcausesrecoilandhow

tomitigateit makesfora happyshot,

andMichaelYardleydiscussesthetech-

nicalities.Forinspiration,I haveasked

someofthecountry’stopladygunsto

revealwhatkeepsthemattheapexof

theirgame.TheMagpieshowcasesthe

shiniestpiecesforthesummerseason,

we interviewthe womenbehind ele-

gantkitforthefield,andmore.

It’sa delighttofeaturesuchanarray

ofenthusiasts,nothuntressesorpink-

clad poppets but sporting women in

a sportingworld.Weneednospecial

treatmentbutit’sinspiringtotakenote

ofourfellowSportingDianas’achieve-

ments,betheyonoroffthe fi eld.

ALEXANDRAHENTON

EDITOR, THE FIELD LADIES’ SPECIAL

FOLLOWMEONINSTAGRAM
@ALEXANDRAHENTON
COVER PICTURE: RACHEL ULPH PHOTOGRAPHY. THIS PAGE: ANDREW SYDENHAM; RACHEL ULPH PHOTOGRAPHY; REX FEATURES/SHUTTERSTOCK; SARAH FARNSWORTH; SYKES MEDIA