DETERMINED TO SUCCEED
Young shot Philippa Stroud won’t let anything stand in the way of her shooting ambitions, as Jasper Fellows discovers
T he future of our sport is in the hands of the young shots. From the business minded James Bradley-Day to Olympic hopefuls Lucy Hall and Theo Ling, we can all take inspiration from the passion that they have for keeping our sport alive and well. One inspirational youngster shooting today is Philippa Stroud. At just 14 years of age she has already shown a phenomenal level of dedication to the sport she loves and found a way to turn her passion into a force for good.
Her story begins with a have-ago session at her local clay ground in Oxfordshire. “I started shooting back in August 2017,” says Philippa. “I didn’t have any friends who shot but when I found out about a local novice day I signed up, thinking it would be fun to try. My father and grandfather are both keen shots, so they were very encouraging. However, despite their encouragement I admit I was terrified when I found myself on the stands with a gun in hand for the first time.”
WHY WE SHOOT
WHY WE SHOOT
Why We Shoot is a new campaign from Britain’s leading shooting magazines, including Shooting Times, Sporting Gun and Airgun Shooter. It aims to raise awareness of the wide-ranging benefits of shooting to wildlife and the countryside as well as the physical and mental wellbeing of shooters themselves.
Once she built up the courage to pull the trigger, Philippa discovered she had nothing to be scared of. “When I fired that first shot and broke my first clay I wondered why I had been so nervous! It wasn’t scary at all, if anything it felt like something I was meant to do.”