The Field – August 2019

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Danby,inparticular,verynearlyhaditsall-
timerecord,let 31 daysandwasstillbeing
shotinthesecondweekofNovember.
The magnificent 10,500-acre Danby
MoorattheupperendoftheEskValleyis
partoftheDawnayEstates,owned bythe
12thViscount Downe ofWykehamAbbey.
Itwasacquiredbythefamilyin 1656 and
establishedasa seriousdrivenmoorbythe
ninth Viscount, one of the great Edwardian

shots, who once bagged 570 birds in a

day. Danby wasfurtherdevelopedby his

son,the10thViscount.Today,Danbyand

the4,000-acrelowgroundpartridgeand

pheasant shoot atWykeham are run on

a commercial basis, with Danby being a

three-day moor with 40 lines of butts,

buttedforuptonineguns.

On 27 September2018,a shootingparty

put together for two days back to back on

DanbybyIanColeySportingLtdassembled

in the walled garden behind the Keepers

House opposite the Moors Centre, the

former Danby shooting lodge. The team

comprisedEdDarbishire,CraigHartleyand

JackSadler fromIan Coley,plustheguns:

LarryPotterfieldandhisson,Russell;Robert

Rose;JeremyBradley;TrevorHamblen;Paul

Reed;CarlDemczak;AndrewLeGros;and

EllyO’Donnell.TheywereallpartoftheIan

ColeyBugattiRovingSyndicate,designedto

enable individual guns orsmallgroups to

enjoypremiershootingwithouttheneedto

arrangea fullteam.TheyweremetbyPeter

Snaith,whohasbeenheadkeeperatDanby

for 15 years,andAngusOughtred,whowas

hosting the day and representing Robert

Sword,DawnayEstates director.Oughtred

welcomedthegunsandgavethema resumé

ofthedayahead;Snaithdemonstratedhow

toplacethesafetysticksonthemodelbutt

builtforthispurposecorrectly,emphasising

howvitalthesewereinavoidingswinging

throughtheline.Withpegnumbersdrawn,

gunsenbussedtodriveupontothemoor.

Danbyisdividedgeographicallyintothe

High and Low Moors by the River Esk, and

Clockwisefromleft:EllyO’DonnellandGary

Pickford;theunusualsightofa lurcherretrievinga

grouse;AlanPernandcompanionkeepaneyeon

the action; the moor is butted for nine guns