Going Down A Storm

As gale-force winds descend on Cumbria, students from Newton Rigg College deliver a challenging partridge day. Curtis Mossop reports

 

With the date for the Newton Rigg College shoot in Cumbria fast approaching, many of us spent our days checking weather apps and television forecasts, hoping that the approaching band of rain known as Storm Brian would avoid our pocket-sized partridge shoot. As one of our most important shoot days of the season, weeks of planning had gone into the organisation of this event. Guests were coming from as far away as Hampshire, so there was apprehension along with excitement.

The students at Newton Rigg College plan and run the partridge shoot entirely, being responsible for the day-to-day management of their own “beats” and, ultimately, the running of the shoot days themselves. On this day it was the turn of Kane Wright-Bedford to act as headkeeper, with Josh Jenkins and Richie Penfold supporting him in the underkeeper roles and leading the flanks.

On the morning of the shoot the students were calm and collected. Like a well-oiled machine they chatted through the order of the day, visualising the drives, identifying potential problems and making the relevant adjustments to the pre-shootday plans scribbled on a classroom whiteboard. Shoot captain Charlotte Rathbone was front of house, greeting guests on arrival and inviting them inside for a warming cup of coffee.

Giving the guests ample time to become acquainted with each other, Charlotte disguised her nerves and delivered a cracking safety briefing to the group. Putting students in these key roles on a shoot day is very much a sink-or-swim exercise, but it gives them the experience and skills required to join such a hard career as gamekeeping.

First covey