WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 159
COUNTRYESTATE
SPORTING DIANA
I’M a Southern Belle born and bred. My
fatherwasa big-gamehunterandprimarily
foundhisquarryintheRockies,Canada,and
Alaska.I grewuparoundconstanttalkofhis
nexthunt,whether itwaselk, big-horned
sheep,caribouorbear.Hewasalsoa keen
wingshotspendingtimehuntingquailinmy
nativeGeorgia,duckintheLouisianaBayou
orwalked-uppheasantsinNorthDakota.
Asanonlychild,ourfather-daughtertime
includedweekendtripstoourlocaloutfitter,
Abercrombie& Fitch,whereI developedan
eyefor best Englishguns. Most American
teenagersaskfora carfortheir16thbirthday
butmyrequestwasfora beautifulHolland
& Hollandover-and-under16-bore.Sadly,I
didn’tgetthegunbuttheseedwas sown for
myfuturepassionforshooting.
WhenI movedtotheUK 20 yearsago,
oneintroduction toBritishfieldsportswas
throughTheHonourableArtilleryCompany
(HAC) Saddle Club, and hunting with the
RoyalArtilleryonSalisburyPlain.I wasalso
a foundingfollowerofthetongue-in-cheek
Connaught Square Squirrel Hunt, even
chairingourLondonHuntBall.I adoredmy
twice-weekly rideswith the King’sTroop
inStJohn’sWoodandtheLightCalvaryin
Windsor Great Park, and was devastated
when a hard fall cut my all-too-brief UK
huntingcareershort.
Ataboutthe sametime, I attendedthe
Holland&Holland GreenFeathers Course
forlady guns and haven’t looked back. I
absolutely fell in love with the sport. I startedNicole Escue
I shot the simulated grouse sequence at
almosteveryshootingschoolinthesouthof
England.Whenthedaycame,thepractice
haddefinitelypaidoffandwasunquestion-
ablyworththetimeandeffort.
Itrytogetoutonclaysatleasta couple
oftimespermonth,if notmore,andI love
simulatedclaydays.Fonthill,HaydonFarm
andHilldropareparticularfavourites.I am
learningto shootEnglishSportingto help
withmygameshootingandfindthisa fun
challenge.I’mevenpushingmyselftoenter
charitycompetitionshereand there, which I
neverthoughtI woulddo.
Oneofthegreatjoysona day’sshootingis
workingourlabradors.It givesmeimmense
pleasurewhentheysitsteadilyonthepeg
andretrievea birdtohand.Oneparticular
memory isofone ofthe firstwoodcockI
shotinDevon,whichlandedindeepcover
and myyounglab worked fora good 20
minutestoretrieveit aftermoreexperienced
dogshadgivenup.I’mcertainthedogs enjoy
thedaysoutasmuchaswedo.
Ihavecometorealisethatweneedtodo
moretoprotectthehardworkourfarmers
andkeepersputintosustainingourwildlife.
Thisisattheheartofourcountryside.I am
a keensupporteroftheconservationwork
and research undertaken by the GWCT.
Towidenmyownknowledge,I took(and
passed!)the DSC1coursefordeerstalking
andhaverecentlyacquiredmyfirstrifle.
I am fortunate to have game chef and
restaurateurMike Robinson as mystalking
mentorandI amsolookingforwardtolearn-
ingmoreaboutfieldcraftandpreparingmeat
forthetable.I’ma bigfanofTheBritishGame
Alliance,The CountryFoodTrustandWild
& Game. It is crucial that harvested game
reachesa wideraudienceandthatthoseofus
who shoot and stalk help to promote it.Whena hardfallendedherhuntingcareer,thisdaughterofa big-game
hunter from Georgia, USA, grabbed a shotgun – and hasn’t looked backHaverespectforyourquarry.
Practiseonclaysintheclose
season.Thankthepeoplewhohave
madeyourdaypossible- beaters,
pickers-up,keepers,loaders and
cateringstaff.
Besuretotakea brace(ormore)
home– eatwhatyouharvest.
Introducenon-shootingfriendsto
healthy and delicious game meat.TOP TIPS
onclaystogainconfidenceandthenmoved
ontogame.Atthattime,it wassometimes
noteasytobeacceptedasa womaninthe
linebut,fortunately,thishaschanged much
forthebetterinrecentyears.
I have been privileged to be a part of
various teams up and down the country
onsomeofthefinestandmostchallenging
shoots, from Exmoor to Scotland. One of myfavouritesis a family-runshootinCornwall
thatwereturntoonthesameweekendeach
year.It is a mixeddrivenandwalked-upday
andthemostspecialpartis thewalkbackto
lunchthrougha woodlandperfectforwood-
cock,whichweonlyshootwhenthe migrant
populationis knowntobehigh.
When I received my first invitation to
shootgrouse,I wasthrilledandmadesure
that I was ready to do my quarry justice.