Natural Selection

It was a surreal sight. A gentleman, dressed in a sun-bleached polo shirt and red shorts, was dusting the snow from his gun slip as he prepared to shoot stand four. Minutes later, competitors in full winter garb were loosening collars and stripping off layers as the sun beat down from a blue, almost cloudless sky.

Few were prepared for the fickle weather, and even fewer were ready for Steve Lovatt’s skilfully set targets at this first ESP England Selection Shoot of the year. Paul Batchelor and Miles Machin were untroubled, taking joint high gun with a very respectable 93 ex 100, but much of the rest of the field were left scratching their heads, wondering what on earth went wrong.

Steve Lovatt’s Westfield, a Clay Shooting Company ground, is usually a delight in the spring. A slow, careful drive down a rough farm track