Inter Livery Clay Shoot Report 2025
With three new faces and one that had been absent for a couple of years, nerves were running high at the Inter Livery Clay Shoot this year. However, a chilly start and an overcast morning at West London Shooting School on Thursday 15th May gave cause for optimism that none of us eight Founders would have the sun in their eyes. With nerves steadied over multiple bacon rolls and large cups of coffee, the Founders assembled their two teams and discussed battle tactics.
With debut appearances from Callum Savage, Chloe Palmer and Tom Haxworth, the regular Founders hot shots were excited to see them perform, even if a little nervous that their places in the A Team might be in jeopardy next year.
Starting with a couple of stands that looked as though they should be straightforward enough, we were all astonished to see that the majority of us had gone rather rusty and were left scratching our heads as to why we weren’t hitting very many. That was, until Freeman Callum Savage took to the stand and with a remarkably cool aura about him, seemed to have no difficulty hitting his stride and barely missing a thing.
Left to Right: Will Mathias, Robin Fletcher, Michael Swan, Tom Haxworth, Callum Savage, Richard Lewis, Chloé Palmer, Matthew Farrant
As the day progressed around 12 stands of sporting clays and two flushes, many Founders were left with disappointing results, finishing on lower scores than previous years. But we battled on and with Callum Savage and yours truly keeping just ahead of Robin Fletcher, we stood our ground. The scorecards were improved by some more straightforward rabbits and driven pheasant, but alas it wasn’t enough for us to make up lost ground.
History was made this year as the Founders Shooting Team welcomed our first lady gun to the squad. Having recently joined the Freedom, Chloe Palmer proved herself more than competent with a shotgun finishing only one point behind Past Master Matthew Farrant. Chloe finished an impressive 11th place in the individual women’s results. If there are any other ladies within the Founders Company that can point a shotgun in the right direction, please do make yourself known to me as we would love to have more ladies involved and ultimately enter a Ladies Team into the competition.
With a total of 448 members of over 40 livery companies shooting over two days, we were delighted to have two Founders finishing in the top 100, with the Founders Top Gun this year being awarded to Callum Savage. Entering two teams for the Founders showed that we can hold our own even though we ended up slightly in the bottom half of the final score rankings.
To cheer ourselves up and raise spirits, Liverymen Tom Haxworth and Richard Lewis suggested that we pose for a squad photograph with some of the silver that was not to be awarded to us this year.
We finished with a hearty lunch and held our heads high safe in the knowledge that we were the smartest looking team in the competition. Whilst some companies opted for a rather more “relaxed” look to their team attire, no standards slipped with us and Founders ties and caps were admired by many.
As ever, anyone wishing to join the shooting team is very welcome to contact me and join our WhatsApp group to be kept in the loop.
Liveryman Will Mathias