Latest News

Our busy year of events and competitions is already underway, and if you’re planning a visit to Thimbleby Shooting Ground – or if you’re a regular – it’s time to introduce the team that makes the magic happen. We wouldn’t be anything without the clubhouse team, who welcome customers, whip up tasty food and answer countless questions about the contents of the gunroom and shop. And, of course, our instructors and grounds team are the people at the heart of the shooting ground, keeping our stands just the right balance of challenging and fun and helping our guests take their first shots, improve their strike rate or prepare for a day’s driven game shooting. Let’s get started with the team that takes care of things in the TSG clubhouse!

The Clubhouse Team

The clubhouse is where most of our guests first meet our staff after they arrive here at the shooting ground, and that might be for a shooting lesson, a self-caddied round, a browse in the gunroom or to sample the food and drink from the cafe.

Caroline Thompson, Front Desk & Retail Manager and Instructor.

Caroline is a popular face on reception, greeting visitors, checking people in for lessons and the first person many people meet when they arrive at the shooting ground. She is also part of our instructor team having passed her CPSA instructors course 18 months ago and enjoys teaching ladies and the next generation of young shots.

Caroline is married to Paul (our Grounds Manager) and mum to Jack and when she’s not working hard in the clubhouse or giving our customers the best possible introduction to clay shooting, Caroline loves to spend time with her family who are all avid clay shooters.

Jayne Hodgson, Events Co-Ordinator / Administrator

If you’ve come along for a shooting and brunch session, booked your kids in for Young Guns or attended our popular cookery demos, you’ve probably met or emailed Jayne! Jayne is the furst point of contact for people booking events, lessons and our simulated game days. She’s a calm and organised presence who keeps everyone in line and the ground ticking along for us.

Tristan Prudden, Estate Chef

Tristan is our estate chef and joined us in 2025, bringing award-winning game cookery skills and an excellent background in menu creation and – of course – whipping up tasty food! With Tristan at the helm, the cafe has gone from strength to strength, with seasonal menus, cookery demos for game and Thimbleby lamb, and a new late-night menu for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings that includes tasty tapas.

Tristan has cooked at some of the region’s top establishments and earned titles including Eat Game Awards Champion of Champions, and he’s a passionate advocate for Yorkshire ingredients and game cookery.

Outside the kitchen, Tristan’s just as passionate about his hobbies, whether he’s following the horses, spending time with his young family and Labrador or capturing our local scenery and wildlife with his camera and drone.

William Mole, Gunroom Manager

If you’re visiting TSG to browse the latest additions to our shotguns, ammo and air rifles, William is your man. He’s at the helm of our gunroom and retail space and is a key part of our popular demo days too. William is a font of knowledge about the different brands and gun designs, so he’s a great person to talk to about upgrading your setup, buying your very first gun or finessing what you already have for the game season or a competition. If you’re interested in optimising chokes and ammo then William’s pattern plate sessions are well worth a go, and he’s equally happy chatting about our country clothing and accessories in the shop!

When he’s not in the gunroom, William loves to take to the skies with his private pilot’s licence, spend time with his beloved labrador and, when he can, squeeze in some time on the clays or in the shooting field.

The TSG Instructors and Grounds Team!

Once people have checked in and fuelled up with some food in the cafe, it’s time to meet the people who make the magic happen. We’re so proud of our team of highly qualified, professional instructors who can take you from a non-shooter through to seasoned shot.

And nothing would happen without the grounds team who make sure traps are working properly, there are plenty of clays to aim at and the place stays looking neat and tidy.

Adrian Gribbin

Adrian is a valued member of our team and holds domestic and internationally recognised instructor qualifications including being one of only eight coaches in the world who is FITASC L2 advanced qualified!

He’s also got disability coaching and gun fitting qualifications and is known for his calm, and soft manner which brings out the best in all levels of student. With over 30 years shooting experience and some impressive competition results, Adrian is more than equipped to help you take your very first shots or find that extra 1% in your next shooting match!

Craig Bainbridge – Instructor

Craig “Barney” Bainbridge joined us in late 2022 after retiring from the armed response wing of the police. Before joining the police, Craig served in the military for 16 years where he taught clay shooting. Always a patient and fun instructor, he gets excellent results with everyone from brand new to experienced guns.

Craig is APSI accredited and has a real passion for teaching all levels. Craig learnt to shoot as a child so to reveal how long he’s been shooting for risks letting the cat out of the bag about his age, so we’ll keep it under our hats!

Dave Marwood – Instructor

Dave is a BASC accredited coach who has been teaching shooting for nearly 12 years and works with the BASC at game fairs, young shot days and other events to help spread the word about our sport.

Dave has over four decades of game shooting experience and he’s a qualified loader, so while you’ll see him here plenty, he also spends a fair few days out in the field during the shooting season. He’s a much-loved member of the team and is brilliant at helping adults and children reach their full potential whilst enjoying themselves and developing a passion for shooting.

Mike Wilson – Instructor

Mike is an experienced APSI Instructor and thoroughly enjoys encouraging new people into the sport along with the next generation of clay shooters with tailored one to one sessions or group sessions. He is extremely passionate to help customers achieve their goals and be able to shoot with confidence.

Mike has been a keen shooter and stalker for 55 years, a BASC member for 45 years and also has his CPSA and APSI tickets and is a fine archery shot too!

Paul Thompson – Grounds Manager

No one likes to shout ‘pull’, be ready to aim and fire then… nothing. The man who’s responsible for keeping the ground in shipshape and ensuring minimal ‘no bird’ calls is Paul Thompson. He’s our Grounds Manager and that means he is responsible for ensuring all the clay traps are working smoothly and that the ground stays looking good for our visitors. Paul is a keen clay shooter in his spare time so you might spot him shooting at the ground with his son Jack and wife Caroline.

Russ Dickinson – Instructor

Russ is a key member of our team of shooting instructors and joined us after a 30+ year career in the police force. There, Russ had worked his way up from policing armed crime to being an instructor, armourer and expert witness in firearm-related cases, so he’s a stickler for safety who loves sharing his knowledge.

During his time teaching in the police force, Russ was interested in the psychology of learning and eventually got his Advanced Certificate in Education, a post graduate diploma and a degree at master’s level in training and evaluation. He is also a CPSA qualified instructor and a member of the Institute of Clay Shooting Instructors and is a very popular choice with everyone from novices to expert shots.