LARAMIE, WY – Leading the way as the first event of its kind for women, the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt was a huge success, with many of the women receiving awards that highlighted their achievements.
The hunt was held Oct. 3-6, 2013 at the Ranch at Ucross in northeastern Wyoming. The Wyoming Women’s Foundation created the event to promote camaraderie and mentorship through hunting, and raise awareness around the Foundation’s mission dedicated to the economic self-sufficiency of women in the state.
“I’m so proud of these women who stepped up to help each other whether it was giving hunting advice, loaning equipment, teaching each other new skills or just encouragement,” said Richelle Keinath, executive director of the Wyoming Women’s Foundation. “Beyond the many new friendships that developed, this experience empowered many women to be able to hunt and be able to put food on their families’ tables.”
Blizzard conditions always make for a great story, right? Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
Blizzard conditions, road closures and power outages plagued the hunt on its first day, Fri., Oct. 4, delaying the start time by a few hours. However, very eager to go out, the majority of teams left before noon. By the end of the day, 11 women had filled their tags. Blue sky and the sun welcomed the hunters on the second day, Sat., Oct. 5, when 21 hunters harvested their animals. Of the 34 total hunters, 32 harvested antelope.
During the event, hunters were assigned to two-person teams led by a guide, hunting on private and public land. To encourage mentorship through hunting, more experienced hunters were often paired with women who had little experience with hunting.
Here’s Julie Golob sighting in her Smith & Wesson M&P10 at the range before the antelope hunt. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
2013 AWARDS: Working with the prestigious Boone and Crockett Club, the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt has structured its awards to adhere to the core principles of conservation and hunting ethics. This year’s award recipients are below.
Here’s how to cape out an antelope for that taxidermy mount. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
Super Stalker Award: Danielle Sanville of Southampton, MA had the closest distance at 45.9 yards. She received the Super Stalker Award, which is presented to the individual who takes her animal at the closest distance.
It was surf and turf! Some women took time to fly fish. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
Annie Oakley Award: This award was presented to 28 individuals who took their antelope with one shot.
Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
Diana Award: (The name is borrowed from Safari Club International.)Named after the Roman goddess of the hunt, this award went to the seven women who harvested an animal for the first time.
Theodore Roosevelt Award: Kristy Scott of Corning, CA was the recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award, which is sponsored by the Boone and Crockett Club. Voted on by the guides, this award is rooted in sportsmanship, and not necessarily a successful hunt.The award is given to the participant that had the fortitude to keep trying, was determined and persisted through the two full days of hunting. Regardless of the challenges, this woman maintained a positive outlook. She has what it takes to succeed, both in the hunt and in life. Named after the Club’s founder and the father of American conservation, this award celebrates the type of personal character Roosevelt held in highest regard – an adventurous spirit, determination, self-reliance, and the need to give back more than that taken – all he believed defined what was inside every true sportsman and sportswoman.
Guess who was on the winning team? Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
Winning Team: The Smith & Wesson Team received the winning team award. Under this award, the corporate team with the closest average shot distance and all team members harvest an animal. Team members were Julie Goloski-Golob of Glasgow, MT who shot at 165 yards; Danielle Sanville of Southhampton, MA who shot at 45.9 yards; and Laurel Smith of Broad Brook, CT who shot at 111 yards. All three received the Annie Oakley Award and Danielle Sanville received the Super Stalker Award.
Julie Golob, who writes a column here at The WON, and her guide get the buck up and ready to be processed. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
About the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt
The Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt was developed by the Wyoming Women’s Foundation to promote women’s hunting and recreational activities on a national level and support the organization’s mission of economic self-sufficiency for women across Wyoming. The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is a component fund of the Wyoming Community Foundation. The hunt, which is the first event of its kind for women in the U.S., took place at the Ranch at Ucross in northeast Wyoming. It included female hunters of all experience levels and emphasized safe and responsible hunting. To learn more about the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt, visit www.wyomingwomensantelopehunt.org.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
This event looks to have so many levels, and thanks to Julie Golob, you’ll get to learn even more about it later this week!
I understand this is a great deal for woman but they fail to tell people that this is a sponsorship hunt which means if you give 50,000 dollars down to 5000.00 then you can hunt with this organization. If they they are open to teaching woman to hunt and want some to participate well open it up to the general public. It is bad enough there is not a lot of organizations left for woman to turn to hunt with. NRA took away the woman’s hunting programs and Woman in the outdoors does nothing in this area to promote hunting as well. So woman that would like to hunt and want to learn how to hunt that do not have a lot of funds can not turn to this organization which I think is sad.