The Call of the Countryside
Whether catching up with old friends, trying the latest shotguns or just having a damn good party, our shotgun-wielding correspondent rather enjoyed the Game Fair
Article by Claire Zambuni
I am at my happiest when at the CLA Game Fair. It is the ultimate celebration of the countryside. Although I think it every day, it always confirms that I am one very lucky girl to work in the industry I do. The country lifestyle sector and the luxury brands it encompasses are led by characters who are passionate about what they do and have a love of stories and heritage. This year the CLA (Country Landowners Association) took their festival of fieldsports, the Game Fair, to Harewood House. It was refreshing to be in The North, especially Yorkshire, as it drew in a new crowd and some different exhibitors.
I made the pilgrimage north, to Leeds, on Thursday afternoon with fellow Zambuni team member, Kate Fensterstock. That evening we went for dinner with great friends Donald and Lucinda. They own high bird shoot, Newton Mulgrave Shoot in North Yorkshire. Friday is my favourite day of the fair. This could be because it is slightly quieter and I lounged with hot shot Lord James Percy, sampled the hospitality of the charming, eccentric owner of William Evans, James Cox, ‘back stage’, was entertained on EJ Churchill’s Formula one style double decker motorhome vehicle and hung out on the tailgate of the new Holland and Holland Range Rover. It could be because that’s when some of the major parties take place such as Bettws Hall, supplier of high birds and high jinks, who entertained us with live music and Pol Roger. The legendary Field party is my annual opportunity to see so many I love in the fieldsports fraternity face to face, something increasingly special in the digital age we live in.
On Saturday Hammond Sporting, with a little help from the Zambuni girls, were launching Swedish Wellington boot, Arxus, ‘The New Boot on the Block’. Built for the Swedish hunting lifestyle, Magnus Apler, an engineer focused on sturdiness and consistency, has created the first rubber boot that is sure to become an heirloom. Jamie Lee, the legendary West Country shoot host, William Asprey of William and Son and Fairs like the CLA have built boot brands. Take Dubarry for example. Without their legendary parties, now sadly banned by the powers that be, where would that legendary leather welly be now? Charlie Ludlow had the right idea. Employ a group of hot blondes, fill a tent with 400 people, get them trolleyed and everyone would be talking about the Dubarry party and therefore the brand. It worked. So well in fact that even now people ask me if I am going to the Dubarry party even though it is now several years since it was allowed. The new kids on the block are Fairfax and Favor who unashamedly say they want to follow in Dubarry’s footsteps. They also have the added luxury of social media. Judging by the throngs of people at the stand, their strategy is working.
There is everything on sale at the CLA from a pigeon decoy to a spey cast salmon fishing rod. Whatever your passion, whatever your budget there is something for you. From booking a day on the grouse on a top estate, to buying a whistle for your dog, watching the huntsmen and the hounds parade around the arena, sampling fresh, wild game with the Eat Wild boys at the Countryside Alliance tent, ordering a modified Landrover from Charlie Stopford-Sackville at Bishops 4 x 4 to trying a new English shotgun such as the round-bodied Boxall and Edmiston, it’s all there. Designed specifically with game shooting in mind, in Peter Boxall’s own words, ‘with clays you remember the misses, but when shooting game it’s the hits you remember.
What was glaringly apparent was the growth in popularity in ladies shooting. When I first started it was rare to find another girl in the line and so I was inspired to found the Covert Girls. Now, there are ladies shooting clubs springing up all over the country and many were at the Game Fair. The girls were out in force from the glamorous and deadly Femmes Fatales clad in Holland Cooper fur trimmed capes to The Shotgun and Chelsea Bun Club in their Alan Paine tweed who love the colour pink and baking….cakes! It has to be said, I am more of a tomboy, but this year they organized the impressive and highly successful National Ladies Shooting Day which encouraged ladies in their droves to take part from Cumbria to Sussex so hats off to them. 
Enquiries: CLA Game Fair/ 0845 6122 052 / www.gamefair.co.uk
Claire Zambuni is a contributing writer and owner of Zambuni PR