A YOUNG trooper has her sights set on winning a competition for shots.

And Emma Hornby, 18, is set to pit her shooting prowess against some of America's finest, in Arizona.

Tomorrow she will jet out to the mid-western state to prepare for competition, the following weekend, at Camp Navajo, an American National Guard training facility.

Emma, of Station Road, Huncoat, is the only female member of the Duke of Lancaster Territorial Army regiment's 10-strong shooting team.

And the student at St Mary's College, Blackburn, has dreams of earning a commission to the famed Sandhurst military academy.

Emma said: "It does not bother me really being the only woman because I get treated just the same.

"The physical requirements for the team are just the same - I just got a place because I'm considered to be a really good shot."

Emma's abilities with an SA80 rifle came to light when her TA regiment went on an expedition to Canada in 2005.

"It was good experience, but we didn't do as well as other teams who had experience of shooting in the Common-wealth Games," added Emma.

Since then she has continued her shooting training and is looking forward to her Arizona mission.

The Lancashire outfit will face a steep learning curve when they are Stateside though.

Trained on British military-issue rifles, the UK troops will have to learn how to handle their US equivalents for the competition.

Unusually for a competitive marksman, Emma is actually a medic within the TA's 4th Battalion.

She is studying for A-levels in English language, English literature, history, geography and PE at St Mary's, and hopes to attend Salford University to read English this year.

Once at Salford, she will aim to join the officer training course and work towards securing a TA commission to Sandhurst, which could lead to a full Army career in time.

If the military life is not an option, Emma would like to become an English teacher.

l Camp Navajo in Bellemont, just outside Flagstaff, is currently home to no fewer than seven military units and detachments.