My Clay Shooting story so far…
5th overall at the mini commonwealth event held at Wales 2000.
Some of my more recent shooting achievements include qualifying to shoot for Team GB as well as England Ladies shooting teams. In particular, I have qualified for the universal Trench discipline for Team GB as well as winning an international Automatic Ball Trap whilst representing the England Ladies Team.
A mini commonwealth held at Wales 2000 saw me come 5th overall in the Olympic trap discipline.
I’ve achieved so much in 2015. Not only this but my level of achievement has been it’s best yet! As the year draws to an end, I find myself continuing to provide my Clay and Target tuition to those in the Exmoor and North Devon areas. I have definitely had a taste of what I can achieve on the European and global Clay Shooting competition and in 2016 I’ll be looking to taste it again.
The main highlight of 2015 so far for me is competing on the World stage.
European championship for Universal Trench clay target completion Ychoux in the South of France on the 11,12,13 and 14 June 2015.
On the first day of the competition I shot a 23 and a 22 – I was happy with the result and proved a solid start to the European competition. After the first day, I went back to the Hotel and got myself a well earned and good night sleep feeling refreshed and ready for the second day.
The second day saw me shoot a 22 and 25. I was feeling fantastic after this up until everybody wanted to shake my hand. My thumb was hurting and all the hand shakes weren’t improving the pain but this moment was definitely worth grimacing and accepting the pain! Joking aside, this had to be the biggest cheer of my career so far.
The third day I shot 2 rounds of 23 out of 25. If I was in England shooting a selection shoot, I’d have been very happy with this but felt I wanted a few more.
On the fourth and final day I turned up feeling quietly confident not nervous having shot a really good couple of days beforehand. I shot another 23 and finished on a massive high shooting 25!
After the four days, I ended up with a shooting score of 186 out of 200 – my personal best to date and what a time to do it!
My final results across the four day European championship Universal Trench Clay Shooting competition were as follows:
Total shot: 186 out of 200
You can view more information on this Fitasc Clay Shooting championship as well as others here http://www.fitasc.com/uk/home/view
I am competing more than ever and have achieved my dream – shooting for not just England but Great Britain!
Portugal – 5th-8th June 2014 European Universal Trench Championships.
I flew out to Portugal on the 5th June earlier this year to compete in the European Championships in Universal Trench. I entered both the individual ladies and team ladies events and brought back team bronze for Great Britain. Being my first time competing abroad, the whole event was quite overwhelming to say the least but with this one under my shooting belt, things will only get better. My shooting status is definitely on the up from now on!
Italy – 23rd-24th August 2014 World Championships.
Italy is my next mission where I compete for Great Britain once more in the World Championships this time. More to follow so watch this space!
Scotland- 5th-6th September 2014 Home International Automatic Ball Trap.
I travel to Scotland later this Autumn to compete in the Home International competition on the 5th and 6th of September. This event will be the Automatic Ball Trap. Follow this link to find out more about The Clay Pigeon Shooting Association events taking place this year.
This year starts with the South West Double Rise Championship, which was held at Broadmoor shooting ground on the 1st April. I was tired from lambing although considering this, I managed to get through. It was good to have a gun in my hand again for the start of the season.
Time for a challenge, and I like a challenge. Particularly a clay shooting challenge!
The Rackenford community kindly wanted to help me achieve my England dream. They have taken the pressure off, by raising funds to help me travel without worrying about the cost.
Nuthampstead here we come. On 27th April it was the first England selection shoot for Automatic ball trap. Having finished lambing on the Monday, Thursday of we went for a four hour journey in my new to me, car which my partner drove kindly. We stayed in the Jester Country Inn at Herefordshire. On the Friday it was time to practise and I needed lots of it! They tell me practise is when you need to make your mistakes and I did. I found out that I would be shooting in the competition on the first stand in the first squad on the first day of the first England selection shoot for 2013. Blimey give me a chance! This seemed to get to me back on track after a bad practise, which is what I needed. As I expected I missed my first target, then the next one went to dust. I then missed nine in a row, pressure, as I walked from station 5 to 1 I had a quick look at the ground owner who was waving his arms telling me to slow down and relax. I took my time and the other squad members looked back at me and wondered if I was going to shoot. And shoot is what I did. With the next 13 straight but the 1 before the last got away. The ground manager said to me at the end of that round it was the best come back he had seen. I ended up after 2 days with 150 shot targets out of 200 equal third in the ladies. Look out next time. I know I can shoot much better.
The second Automatic Ball Trap English selection shoot is in Yorkshire. So off both myself and my partner went in my, not so new by this time, car. Six hours later we arrive at the Premier inn just by the Humber Bridge. Fridays practice went well finishing with a 24 clay total, using just 1 second barrel! We left it there and went back to the town of Beverley to relax. Beverley is a lovely ground to shoot, so no excuses. I shot really well on the first day not looking at the scores, though I knew I was leading the ladies group. The next morning I was really nervous, so I sat in my car and picked up the phone to a friend. While I was talking I could see the other ladies pacing up and down, some were putting extra layers on others taking them off, they were looking at me, looking at the layouts and changing glasses. They did not know whether to sit down or stand up! I shot really well hitting 174 out of a total of 200 clays which resulted in me finishing 9 targets ahead of the next lady. The ladies are not happy now. I’m in front at the moment, now it’s the hard bit, I’ve got to stay here. I still know I can shoot better, so I better do it.
In 2012 I kept up my shooting achievements as well as exceeding them.
I qualified to shoot for the Devon ladies teams in the All Round, Single Barrel and Down the Line shooting disciplines. I also qualified for the senior shooting teams in Automatic Ball Trap and Universal Trench. I went on to become the Devon Ladies Champion in both Down the Line having previously won in 2010 and the Automatic Ball Trap which I previously won in 2011. I also won 5 South West clay shooting titles which were Automatic Bull Trap, Down the Line, Universal Trench, Double Rise and also the Handicap by Distance for the second time having won in 2010.
Having achieved all of this however during 2012, I still think my personal best achievement was being runner up in the Ladies English Open Automatic Ball Trap shooting competition held at Southern Counties on 7th and 8th July 2012.
This year started with Steve Ling taking me up to Bisley on Saturday 7th April to shoot my first Olympic Trap competition. It was a good experience and I shot 48 out of 75.
The first Devon shooting Championship was Single Barrel. I shot 92 so did Richard Chapple. 95 won on the day.
On the 7th May was the South West Championship Double Rise held at Richard Chapple’s which I won the Ladies.
On the 25th June at Richard Chapple’s there was an Automatic Ball Trap Devon selection shoot. I shot really well and everything was good including the weather and even the people I was competing against. It was down to the last 25 and our squad were last to finish. I could feel everyone watching. The weather went dark all of a sudden and then it rained really heavily which didn’t particularly help matters! Roger Westerway’s targets went high in the dark sky which was a benefit for him, whereas mine seemed to be the complete opposite and kept very low which meant the clays were much harder to pick up in my line of sight. I shot 90 clays which was equal 2nd with 6 others. Roger shot 92 clays and won, he has shot for England. Twenty people entered the competition.
The 30th June was the day to upset Devon Down the Line Ladies again. I arrive at Axminster for the first time. As I got there I could sense certain people were looking and thinking ‘oh great’ she is here. Just making it on time, which I love to do. The first people to speak were Terry and Jethro, yes the one and only Jethro, two fantastic people. The day went in my favour, I won the Devon Ladies title again by two points which I knew I was going to do from the start.
On the 7th and 8th July at Southern Counties English Open Automatic Ball Trap. The first day Sophie came with me, it took 3 attempts just to get out of Rackenford because of the rain! Everywhere was flooded. I don’t mind shooting in the rain to an extent. This was a good thing, I finished the first day leading the ladies. On the second day I was by myself, the weather was dry. The lady who was in second place came up to me and started talking to me. She seemed to know more about me than I knew myself but looking back on it I think she was trying to play mind games. She won’t do it again. She beat me on this occasion however you must remember this was the English Open. I came second in the ladies which I won a medal for, and second in D class. I won £100 for that – my first proper money winnings. A really good weekend even with Saturday’s floods all the way there and back.
On July 14th at Bradford was the Devon Ladies Automatic Ball Trap Shooting Championship to be won which I did with a score of 90 clays. Wurz came with me and we had a brilliant day.
On August the 10th I set off to Nottingham doing a slight detour to pick Owen Hastings’ up at Birmingham. I left home at 10.30 to arrive at the ground at 6.35pm. I have never been stuck in traffic so long in all my life so far. The ground was shut by this time so I did not get to practice. This is the last England team selection for Automatic Ball Trap shooting. It meant a lot and I shot badly so I ended up missing out on the England Team place by 3 targets. For me it was an achievement just to get to Nottingham and back in one piece.
On 19th August I did the Automatic Ball Trap at Brook Bank. This was an inter counties event. I shot 89 clays and I won the South West Ladies Ball Trap Shooting Competition and the senior team won for Devon.
On 26th August at Southern Counties I did the South West Ladies Down the Line Shooting Championship which I won. Also competing in the Ladies team which we won also.
On the 2nd September at Brook Bank the South West Championship and Inter Counties Single Barrelled competition was held which the Devon Ladies won.
On the 15th September at Richard Chapple’s was the Handicap by Distance South West Championship. I won the Ladies with a total of 86 clays.
On the 16th September at Southern Counties it was the All Round South West and Inter Counties Championship. I shot 74 clays and Chrissie Parr shot 79 to win the Ladies Team.
On the 30th September at Southern Counties it was the Universal Trench South West Championship and Inter Counties. I became South West Ladies Champion and Senior Team winners.
On the 7th October at Podimore it was the Sport Trap South West and Inter Counties Shooting Championship. I shot 64 clays and Wurz shot 65. This was the last competition of the season and it was all a bit of fun.
Broadmoor – Saturday 2nd April 2011 Olympic Skeet Championships.
Olympic Skeet on the 2nd April was the start of this year’s clay shooting achievements, which took place at Broadmoor. I shot 53 out of 100. Most of us who entered on this day made the Devon team.
Broadmoor – Saturday 25th April 2011 Devon clay shooting Championships.
Now it was time to win my first Devon clay shooting Championship of the year. Which is with ABT on the 25th April at Broadmoor. I shot 71 out of 100 getting into my first proper shoot off. This was against Wendy Hawkins. Look out! She wanted to fight me for it, I just wanted to win, either way I did not really mind. I knew I was capable, I just needed to focus on the job and forget the mind games. In the end I beat her by one target, YES. I did feel sorry for her, just a little bit. Its hard losing by one, I’ve been there. Which makes winning all the better.
Southern Counties – Sunday 14th August 2011 South West Championships.
The South West Championship took place at Southern Counties on the 14th August. As a team we came 3rd and individually I became the South West ladies champion.
On the day of the All Round South West Intercounty Championship at Brook Bank, everything went wrong for me. We even ran out of clays half way through a round. This just does not happen. I was in the Devon Ladies team with Christine Parr who shot well, so together we did win, and became Inter County Champions.
The weekend of the 10th and 11th of June was the DTL competitions starting with the Dougall Memorial Shield to be won. I shot well at this event, I came equal 176th out of 310 on the first day. Martin Howe won this event so it was really good knowing that he has shot with me over the past year and to achieve this standard. It could be me one day. The second day was the English Open competition, this was my time to prove to myself and others I was capable. I had a good feeling about this day I knew what I had to do, the weather was good and the day ended very well with myself coming 5th out of 25 of the best ladies in England, only being 4 points away from a medal which I was so proud of. In B class I came equal 9th out of 71 that was also something to be proud of. This was a great weekend that I will not forget.
On the 25th June at Bradford was another Devon Championship to be won. This was a single barrel event. I did manage to win the Ladies, shooting 88 clays out of 100 to make me Devon Ladies Champion. I got into the senior team to represent Devon at South West Inter County.
On Sunday 4th September at Southern Counties was the time to shine. I had a good feeling about today and it turned out to be right. Everything that I connected with turned to dust, it was really enjoyable and it was the only time I would have loved to have been filmed without me knowing.
I went on to become South West Ladies Single Barrel Champion winning by one target to the lady I lost to by one the previous year.
On the 25th September at Broadmoor was time for the Devon Championship for Handicapped By Distance. This ended up being a fantastic day beating everyone who entered including Richard Chappell. I was in B class and I shot 93 out of 100 earning 277 points out of 300 which made me overall Devon Champion. This is another day that I will not forget in a hurry.
On the 16th October at Southern Counties I was in the Ladies team for Sport Trap. This was my first time I had ever shot this discipline in competition which was very enjoyable. I earned nothing but a fleece.
2011 was another great year.
I became Devon Ladies Champion in All Round for the second time and Automatic Ball Trap. I was also overall Devon Champion for Handicap By Distance. I then went on to win South West Ladies Olympic Skeet and Single Barrel clay shooting competitions.
I represented Devon Ladies in Sport Trap and Sporting. I also represented both Men and Ladies in Skeet, Single Barrel, Olympic Skeet and All Round.
This was another great year that didn’t come easy, I nearly gave up in the middle but looking back over the year it wasn’t that bad. Some people would say that it was pretty good so I look forward to doing even better in 2012.
In 2010 I became Devon Ladies Champion in three different disciplines. All Round, Down The Line and for the 2nd time, Skeet. As a team with Jackie we became South West Inter-counties English Skeet shooting Champion’s.
I then went on to win the South West Inter-counties clay shooting Handicap By Distance Championship.
This year I represented Devon in Sporting, also All Round and Skeet in both the ladies and men’s teams.
It has been said that this year – 2010, I am the best lady clay shot in Devon, North Devon and Exmoor near to where I live in Rackenford, Tiverton. This is a fantastic feeling that I am not going to give up easily.
5th June 2010. All Round was the start of my Devon clay shooting titles, which I also came 3rd in class C.
On to my 2nd Devon Championship. Skeet, beating both Christine Parr and Jackie Maguire. I also came 1st in class C, beating my other half by one target. That was close! There were NO hard feelings though.
Bradford Shooting Ground – Saturday 31st July 2010 DTL Devon Championship.
In my squad it went like this:
Terry 94 out of 100 / 270 out of 300
Katie 97 out of 100 / 290 out of 300
Richard Chapple 97 out of 100 / 288 out of 300
Ian Moor 99 out of 100 / 287 out of 300
I beat the lot, but most of all I beat the one and only Richard Chapple, what a feeling. At last.
European DTL.
I shot well for the 2nd time in this discipline beating all the other Devon ladies again. I shot with two welsh people, come Sunday we could understand each other. Well they were Welsh and I am Devonshire. It was great fun though. Richard Chapple came 3rd in the veterans after a long battle with a French man in a shoot off. This was very enjoyable to watch. We will be talking about it for years.
On the 25th September 2010 I became the south west region ladies clay shooting champion at Handicap By Distance. I also came 1st in class C with an 86/252.
Then in to October I entered the Single Barrel south west inter-counties championship clay shoot. I had never shot this as a clay shooting discipline before. I was therefore, very happy with 89 out of 100, coming 22nd out of 94 entries. I was put straight into class A, which was not expected at all. I still managed to come 8th out of 21 in this class. The only down side of this competion was I missed out on the ladies clay shoot title by one target. Look out next year.
Devon Skeet Championship 18th July 2009.
My badge I wore during my first shooting competition.
This was my first Devon Championship becoming Devon ladies Skeet champion, I was so proud and I just wanted to carry on shooting more clay traps. This was my first big shooting competition and I simply entered just because I could. I also wanted to gain confidence in my shooting so I was ready to represent Devon at a later stage.
I then went on to qualify to shoot for Devon in three different disciplines. All Round, Sporting and Skeet. I was also number eight in the top ten for the men’s team in skeet.
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