British Open English Sporting & Sportrap Day 2 Report

The second day of the British Open at High Lodge Shooting Ground was again greeted by fine weather to complement a great day’s shooting.   With conditions still ideal, it represented the perfect opportunity for the day’s shooters to post some strong scores to contend with the likes of George Digweed MBE and Mark Winser who both shot on day one.   Rob Fenwick from E.J. Churchills was in the first squad out on the English Sporting course, in what was his first ever visit to High Lodge. Rob said: “It’s fantastic here, hell of a place, it’s unbelievable! The course was good, something for everyone, there’s some 115s and 116s - big scores out there, they are all there for the taking.”   He added: “People of all calibres are shooting and it’s really good and enjoyable, I shot with some nice guys who did really well. I wish best of luck to everyone who is coming down to shoot over the next few days and the weekend.”   Nick Portlock shot the highest score of day two recording 115 ex 120, with Paul Simpson and Andy Jude close behind dropping one further target.   In the Sportrap Andy Jude shot 91 ex 100 to put himself top of A class at the end of day two, whilst Joshua Brown impressed in the Junior category registering 89 ex 100 to put him ahead of Aaron Harvey on 85 ex 100.   Speaking about the design of the course, High Lodge owner John Bidwell said: “We created some new stands with new ideas and new targets and put a lot of work into looking at the targets and testing them. We’re quite happy with the course, I shot it myself for fun yesterday and muddled round with 112.”   “If we can create an enjoyable experience, I think that’s what a lot of the shooters come for. We’ve got to put something on for the top boys and make it interesting enough and competitive enough, but they will always look after themselves.”   The Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club had a strong presence on day two of the championships and a number of the ladies took to the course. Laura Everton was competing in her first major championship and said: “It was amazing, I really enjoyed it. This was my first ever major competition and I had a really good time all the way round the course and I did better than I thought I would, I shot just under half the targets and I’m really pleased for my first major competition.”   She added: “Cheryl Hall’s been amazing. She’s got so many ladies into shooting and she came out with our squad of ladies today and was giving hints and tips in-between stands, which helps raise your game a bit and also gives you the confidence to go out and do it.”   To view the full day two results for the English Sporting click here and for the Sportrap click here.