Last Tuesday evening saw the most prestigious awards in shooting - The Purdey Awards - handed out at a glittering awards evening held in the Long Room at the gunmaker's famous Audley Street in Mayfair.
The judges were unanimous in their praise of all the 2023 medal winners. “This was a really strong year with some excellent entries from the length and breadth of the UK,” noted judge Tim Furbank. “From small scale, community projects to larger shoots all the entrants demonstrated outstanding conservation policies which delivered huge biodiversity benefits for myriad wildlife. In addition, the public engagement and community involvement of several projects elevated them to exemplar shoots.”
Outstanding game and habitat conservation work
The Gold Award, was awarded to the Hainley Farm Shoot in Cambridgeshire.
Set across six farms, each with a distinct approach to game management, this fenland shoot is managed by The Estate, Sporting and Conservation Manager, Stewart McIntyre, who applies his remarkable knowledge of conservation to the landscape, with a strong focus on habitat improvement for wider biodiversity, as well as creating a closer harmony between the estate's farming and horticulture operations and conservation. With much of the estate given over to conservation, the estate has invested heavily in the creation and improvement of a range of habitats including wetlands, wildflower meadows and reedbeds.
The judges were also impressed by Stewart's engagement with the local community, which sees him visiting schools, hosting game cooking classes and leading educational walks around the estate.
Following the win, Stewart said: “I feel quite emotional, because I dedicate my life and my soul to my job, so to get the recognition from something as prestigious as this award is just incredible. I’ve always dreamed of this.”
Speaking about Gold Award winner Hainey Farm Shoot, panel member Marcus Janssen said:
"Hainey Farm is a truly exceptional example of what can be achieved. Indeed, we were at times left dumbfounded by the level of detail and effort that has gone into making Hainey Farm Shoot as wildlife friendly as possible, and the unstinting desire to constantly learn and improve what they are doing.”
Small shoots honoured
While Hainey Farm Shoot is a sizeable operation with big budgets, smaller shoots were also recognised. The Smith and Pearman Family Shoot took the Silver Award, impressing the judges with their focus on quality over quantity, community engagement and country stewardship, while Flea Barn in Sufolk - another family shoot - was given a Highly Commended Award.
Richard Negus, who is part of the team that manage Flea Barn shoot told GunsOnPegs:
"What Ed Nesling has achieved at Flea Barn in terms of species recovery is phenomenal. A farm shoot such as his, being recognised at the prestigious Purdey Awards should be an inspiration to others with small shoots but big ambitions. It highlights, that if you get the basics right - improve your habitat, provide year-round food sources and maintain a targeted regime of predator control, mighty results are indeed possible. I was glad to help Ed, and proud to call this fine farmer and conservationist my mate!"
The third place Bronze Award was given to Ganton Hall in North Yorkshire, where the creation of wetlands and conservation-sensitive farming caught the eye of the judges.
How to win a Purdey Award
Established in 1999, the Purdey Awards aim to promote a wider appreciation of the outstanding game and habitat conservation work carried out by shoot owners throughout the UK.
Competition for the awards is fierce, with shoots from around the country required to submit an application outlining the shoot's practices, projects and results in support of conservation over a given time period, including activities like heather moorland restoration, hedge or woodland planting, habitat improvement, and the careful logging of bird counts, vermin control, and habitat improvements.
These applications are then reviewed by the highly respected Dr. Mike Swan of the GWCT Advisory Service before being passed to the 16-person judging panel which is chaired by the Duke of Westminster and includes the likes of Marcus Janssen, Claire Saddler, Mike Swan and Dylan Williams. The panel whittles the scores of entries down to a shortlist, all of which are visited by the judges between August and September.
"I would say to anyone who is thinking of taking part, please do" said Nicholas Wrigley of Bronze Award winning shoot Ganton Hall, adding: "It’s great fun, the judging panel are really interesting, constructive, helpful people and we found the whole process enjoyable and invigorating. I’d recommend it to everyone.”
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