Magazine exposure for Marcus Horry

Marcus Horry, the BGS clay shooter who is being sponsored by the Old Bostonian Association has secured some ongoing publicity. Thanks to BGS old boy Dom Holtam (BGS 1989-96) who is Group Editor for Archant's shooting titles and gave Marcus the opportunity of featuring in the group's magazine, Clay Shooter, throughout 2015. Every month Marcus will write a diary which will be published in the magazine, which is available free at gun shops nationwide.

The first of Marcus's diaries appeared in the March issue. Dom has kindly allowed us to reproduce this and future diaries on this blog.

An introduction to Marcus Horry

Young DTL hopeful Marcus Horry shares his clay shooting story so far and his hopes for the future

My name is Marcus Horry and I'm a sixth form pupil at Boston Grammar School, currently studying for my A levels. I am also a Flight Sergeant in the 141 Boston Air Cadets, which I joined in 2011.

In June 2013, I was asked to shoot with Boston Air Cadets in the National Cadet Clay Target Shooting Championship, where the best cadets from all over the United Kingdom competed. To prepare me for my first competitive shoot, my coach at cadets gave me four weekends' training prior to the competition.

The three-day competition in Cambridge ended with my beating all 175 cadets with the highest combined score of 54. This was quite unexpected as much of the opposition had years of experience shooting clay pigeons whereas I had none. Obviously this was an awesome feeling! It was easy to see I had a natural skill for the sport. It was on this day that I fell in love with shooting.

After the competition, I continued to shoot with the air cadets. During these shoots, my cadet coach and I discussed the possibility of taking my training to the next level. My coach knows John Bellamy, who is part of the England coaching team; she introduced me to him in February 2014. I had a trial lesson with him at P
ark Lodge Shooting School in Goole. He rated my shooting positively and thinks I show considerable potential. He helped to pick out the right gun which, with the help of my family, I have recently been able to buy.

I am still in full-time education and I have also recently applied for the Royal Air Force, so obviously there is little time left for earning money. But the money I do earn working at my local fish and chip shop funds my shooting. People who are not within the shooting crowd don't understand why I spend every penny I have available on clay shooting. My answer to those people is that shooting is my passion and it's also an addiction; I strive to get better every time I go.

I applied to be part of a new scheme to scout coachable talent for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. My application was successful, I attended the first stage and I am happy to say that I have been invited back for the second!

My aim now this year is to carry on collecting my scores for England selection and make the England DTL Junior Team. One thing is certain - there are some very exciting times ahead!