DRESSED in bright neon-orange wellies, light-blue jeans and an oversized tweed coat that my parents were convinced I would eventually grow into, I shot my first pheasant with a single barrel .410 at just 12 years old. With the sound of my loved ones cheering fanatically, to this day, I can still remember the incredible feeling that came over me. Since then, shooting has become a huge part of my life and my fascination for the field-to-fork journey has increased year on year.

I was blessed as a child that my dad was a keen Shot and wouldn’t mind taking me with him every time he had his gun out of the cabinet – not that he had much say in the matter. From standing at a peg or pigeon hide watching in awe, to being able to refer to shooting as part of my identity, it really has been a journey.

I’m keen to promote shooting and farming

Living and working full-time on an arable farm as a farm manager means pigeon shooting plays a large role in the day-to-day running of the business, and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. I have always been proud of why I do what I do, whether this is in my farming or shooting life. Once I had graduated from the Royal Agricultural University, I was really keen to showcase my journey and promote shooting and farming for the good, the bad and the extremely frustrating. This is where my Instagram account – @countrygirl_andlabradors – was born.

I wanted to try to help educate people on what I was doing. This included posts about why I was shooting pigeons and the impact it was having on my bottom line as a farmer by not controlling these pests. Figures such as average yield reductions of 30% and how one pigeon can eat more than 200 grains each day, and what that means for farmers, became popular. People were interested in the facts and the reasoning behind our actions, and subsequently my page started to grow.

We are one of the largest women’s country communities

As traction increased, I began to get a lot of women messaging me asking questions about shooting. It quickly became clear that there wasn’t a community for women interested in fieldsports to connect, ask specific country questions and meet like-minded people. There was also a common theme that a lot of ladies were finding shooting daunting to get involved in or, like me, they didn’t have ladies locally to go shooting with. As a direct result of these messages, The Country Girls UK (CGUK) was born.

A year and a half after setting up the business, we have a senior management team of four, and 13 regional ambassadors hosting women’s country pursuits events. We are one of the largest women’s country communities in the UK. We have, on average, two events every weekend. A large percentage of our events are shotgun shooting, more specifically tuition for ladies that have never picked up a gun before or who lack confidence, and simulated clay days and game days for experienced Shots wanting to get out shooting more.

Sporting Diana Tania Coxon lives and works on an arable farm

We have recently branched out to polo tuition, gundog training days, falconry experiences, fishing days [Off to a flying start, Ladies’ Special, August] and more, including our first annual CGUK ball this winter. Our community is growing daily and is truly welcoming for women, no matter what their background is.

We strive to create those special fieldsport moments

For me, it’s always been about the thrill I had as a 12-year-old and recreating that for hundreds of other ladies across the UK and different fieldsports. We strive to create those special moments and make our ladies fall in love with the outdoors, just like I did as a toddler growing up in the beating line. No matter what stage of life our ladies are at, where they live in the UK or what they wear, the biggest success for us is that they are having fun, being safe and celebrating those incredible wins.

Between running the farm, CGUK and trying to maintain a normal social life for a 25-year-old, there’s not many hours left in the day. However,  I wouldn’t change it for the world and long may it continue. Everything happens for a reason and the universe has a weird way of working itself out, so aim high, have no regrets and throw yourself into every opportunity that comes your way.

TOP TIP: Everything happens for a reason and the universe has a wired way of working itself out, so aim high, have no regrets and throw yourself into every opportunity that comes your way.

To find out more about how to get into shooting, click here.

Thank you to Dubarry for supporting Sporting Dianas in fieldsports. See Dubarry’s range of sporting clothing and footwear here.