From setting up the group on a JCB to now being one of the largest women’s country communities in the UK, Tania Coxon sits down with Holly to unpack this.
Tania Coxon is an incredibly impressive young woman, who at just 26 displays a confidence in herself that is rarely seen at her age.
Tania’s knowledge of her industry (farming), her readiness to take over the family farm and her passion for her entrepreneurial business – The Country Girls UK is inspiring and honestly, infectious. I drove away from our time together, my mind whirring with ideas and thoughts.
The purpose of meeting with Tania on this occasion though was not, to talk about the farm or even her necessarily, but to explore the work she does through her business, The Country Girls UK to support other women and enrich their lives through the community she has created.
Photo credit Stocks Field Photography.
Joined by Emma, and Mr W (Emma’s husband, Andrew), we were first treated to an insightful tour around the farm. With harvest done and dusted for another year, we’d seemingly timed our visit perfectly, ploughing and drilling were underway, under Tania’s watchful eye. Barns were filled with wheat, and enormous CASE tractors, with wheels and tyres bigger than Emma!
Farming aside though, The Country Girls UK was founded in 2018, born out of the curiosity and interest from her posts about pigeon shooting as a form of pest control around the farm. “I received tonnes of messages from people explaining how they never knew farmers needed to do this, and so in response, I began creating educational content about why we do it, and the impact it would have on our bottom line if we weren’t to shoot the pigeons. Dozens of ladies would reach out to me after each video expressing a genuine interest in how they could get into shooting.”
Tania explains at the time, she wasn’t aware of anywhere to signpost these ladies, and so set up a WhatsApp group to bring them all together, “within a couple of days the group had about 400 women in. I set it up whilst sat on the JCB in the yard, and it just kept pinging constantly. I put a message in the group shortly afterwards saying I was thinking of organising a shoot, who would be interested… and three years later here we are, now one of the UK’s largest women’s shooting communities.”
Loneliness is something that, as we’ve toured the countryside this month, has reared it’s head in conversation time and again. Adult friendships can be hard! As we go through life, and begin to pave our own way, discover ourselves, our likes, dislikes and values, it becomes a lot harder to find new friends. Tania’s community, brings people together through a shared interest, and I was keen to find out more.
In the past we’ve traditionally lived within communities, from small villages working together as a team to provide and look out for one another, to tribal situations, but in today’s world we live in such an isolated and astutely independent way. Besides our immediate family or partners, we don’t really immerse ourselves in communities, though there does appear to have been a shift in recent years…
When looking at the shape Countrywoman’s Guide would take, we looked at the countryside, and identified that it resembles a shell of a community. We are a group of likeminded individuals, though there is fraying at the various edges and across the faculties; shooting, equestrian, farming etc, and that is one of the things we want to strengthen through the sharing of our stories into the community.
“I’ll always remember, one member’s summary of her experience,” Tania begins, “she said she ‘joined for the shooting but stayed for the community,’ and that really embodies everything we are. ”
“Yes, people may initially come to us because they want to learn to fish, shoot or play polo,” Tania explains before continuing, “but actually, they stay because the meet their best friends.”
Left photo credit, Matthew Nutt, right, Amber Banks Brumby.
I ask Tania, what is a piece of advice she’d give someone, who might be reading this, feeling a bit lost, or struggling with loneliness?
She wholeheartedly and from a place of genuine intent starts with, “even if it isn’t The Country Girls, find people who understand you. Sometimes you might have to go through a few different channels or groups, but open yourself up to different people, events and friendships. The more you throw into it, the more you can get out of it.”
We agree, and you may be thinking also, that the prospect of this is rather daunting. That brazen, untouchable attitude we had in our younger years wears thin as we expose ourselves to societal pressures, on this Tania says, “people are often so afraid to take the first step but once they’re in, we’re never getting rid of them. Everyone has to start somewhere!”
Image by Over and Under Fieldsports Photo.
On finding the right community for you, which fulfils that sense of belonging you’ve been searching for, Tania says confidently, and from a place of unbiased support, “you don’t need to be just a Country Girls member, or even a member at all. You can be a member of a number of different groups and if one group isn’t right for you, then try another until you find the right one.”
Speaking of where her members come from, in addition to the obvious, being a country dweller, Tania proudly shares how her community is made up also, of “lots of ladies who aren’t necessarily from the country. They may work in the city but are interested in country things if you like, though none of their friends are into that and often they come to us because they want people to share that with. They want to learn more and broaden their horizons through a community.”
I think this is an important point to touch on, as a ‘community’, and like many others, we are viciously defensive of our way of life, sometimes to our detriment. If we are not actively encouraging new people into our world with open arms, and minds, then how can we expect the countryside to survive, let alone thrive, during a time of our history in which our lifestyle and industries face so much oppression from the woke, un-educated and anti communities?
Through nurturing membership communities like The Country Girls UK, not only are we welcoming fresh blood as it were, but we are adding new building blocks to the foundation of what it is to be a modern countrywoman, whilst giving back and supporting our existing community through countless cartridges being spent on clay grounds, securing peg days on shoots throughout the season, supporting working dog trainers who are providing coaching to keen members, helping fisheries stay in business through ‘introduction’ days which not only support them directly but helps to turn the tide on the future of the sport if more people are putting rods to water. All of which are positives for our ‘community’, no?
If you’re interested in finding out more about The Country Girls UK, and how you could get involved, head to the website here. The membership can be paid monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually so is designed to work for everyone.
We also want to thank Tania for her support of us and our CWG mission. Thank you!