For us at Banks Lyon Jewellers of Lancaster the annual Breitling Clay Pigeon shoot has become the highlight of our events calendar. Since its conception in 2007 the event has gone from strength to strength and we now welcome 32 teams and their guests to join us for a day of shooting, raising money and of course a lovely lunch! There is also the chance of winning £15,000 worth of Breitling Watches!
The shoot takes place on the beautiful estate belonging to His Grace the Duke of Westminster and is attended by the great and good from the North of England – and beyond. We are lucky enough to welcome guests from The Shooting Gazette, Holbeck Ghyll Hotel and, for the past two years, World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty.
The event has been held each Spring for the past five years in aid of the ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity. It features an auction of one-off, money-can’t-buy prizes that range from football match hospitality to helicopter rides, to gold and diamond jewellery from ourselves; last year alone this auction raised £22,000 for the charity.
The event starts with a breakfast of bacon buns, coffee and the opportunity to warm up, with or without instruction, followed by some of the best clay drives in the country. The shooting is designed specifically for game shots, with an emphasis on team flushes, and because we like to really test our guests’ skills there is the opportunity to bring down a remote-controlled aircraft with their 12 bore.
Though the day may be challenging we welcome more and more new teams each year and we do take this into consideration when preparing the layout. It has to be said that some of the best shooting in the past has come from the ladies and so we encourage ladie’s teams to take part – to show the men how it’s really done! There is also a specific prize for the lady with the best score on the day so that’s an added bonus!
One team, picked from the top ten scoring teams, will win £15,000 worth of Breitling watches.
Once the shooting is over there is a champagne reception and for the last couple of years we have enjoyed this in splendid sunshine. This is then followed by a glorious four course meal that showcases some of the best local produce the North West has to offer.
This event is organised by the fabulous team at Samuelson Wylie Associates and for more details, or to enter a team then please contact Ben at [email protected] or call  01524 590610 for more information.
We hope to see you there!
