Alexandra Henton
For a country girl, what better job than PA at The Field? Well, Editor, of course, to champion rural causes and keep 168 years of heritage relevant
THE country has always been part of my life. We live in the Leicestershire countryside and my formative years were spent poking around in streams with my sister, jumping on our ponies with only a headcollar for guidance to race each other up the field, riding with my mother and acting as a human gundog to my father on his shoot days. I would stand by him on the peg, in my waxed jacket and cap, toes slowly turning to ice, scampering off to retrieve birds, proud as any well-honed gundog. There would always be a cherry bakewell in Pa’s pocket, for elevenses, and the warm glow of retelling the day when I arrived home with a brace of birds for supper. Storytelling has always been my thing.
After university I contemplated the usual law/banking route (much encouraged but ultimately resisted). In the end I did whatever it took to stay rooted to the countryside, doing something I loved (hunting twice a week over High Leicestershire). Writing about the countryside, with my interest in history and heritage, too, made The Field a natural fit. I had always loved the publication (my grandmother bought it like clockwork every year for my father) and it always rested beside the most comfortable yet brokendown old chair in the kitchen, next to the enormous 1920s radiator and a reading lamp, where everyone would flop after hunting, shooting, sometimes lambing or too much partying. It inspired a devotion that has never left me. When I applied for the job of PA, I assured the Editor, with my fingers firmly crossed and a History degree from Oxford in my pocket, that I would be content to answer the phone; once installed, I pestered for six months to change my job title and to be commissioned to write a feature. I became the Editorial Assistant, and filed a feature on hunting in the Amazon with blowpipes. First step towards becoming the 14th Editor, done.
When it comes to women in the sporting world things have changed since I spent a couple of years cooking lunch for the shoot we had at home; men only, no wives, girlfriends or extras. Now I am in the shooting line, often the only woman. I don’t mind, I prefer to be on the peg and in the action rather than awaiting the hunter’s return. It’s good to show the smalls at heel (son, daughter, niece, nephew, godchild) that our world is open to all. Also, find a suitable partner in crime. Having someone at your side to encourage, banter with and discuss where it’s going wrong (from flies, to hedges to high birds) is what our world is about. My sister is a great sporting companion, as long as our competitive side is held in check. My father can be ferocious fun on the peg or riverbank, and my husband has always been monumentally encouraging. Find your own cheerleaders. There are great initiatives and organisations that have been set up to encourage more women into the sporting world from a variety of backgrounds. You don’t need to be born and bred in the country. It’s essential we are not a closed shop. Our sporting world is one of the few where men and women can participate on equal grounds, so let’s do so.
Launching the Sporting Dianas column in April 2017, and our ‘Ladies Supplement’, were projects I felt passionate about. The Sporting Dianas was my idea to form a virtual community of women in our world who could inspire others, give advice and motivation. These are women who are passionate about their sport, start businesses, have great ideas and inspire others. I felt that they needed championing in the pages that they read. It isn’t about pert bottoms (if you have one, hurrah BTW) or social media perception. It is about knowledge and passion and ability.
The Field started as The Country Gentleman’s Newspaper in 1853, but ever since I have been with the title we have had a healthy split in subscribers between men and women. The Field produced a ‘Ladies’ Supplement’ in 1913 – full of remarkable sporting women and their achievements – we were well ahead of the game. The real sporting field has always welcomed women. For those of us in it, it is our turn to encourage more.
The Dianas is open to those keen enough to make their passion their life, to those who fit their sporting life around a day job, to anyone who is a genuine inspiration for others. We’ve got this, girls.