Laramie, Wyo. – Recognizing the hunters for their achievements, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow helped hand out the awards during a ceremony at the fourth annual Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt.
The hunt was held Oct. 6-9, 2016 at the Ranch at Ucross in northeastern Wyoming. In 2013, the Wyoming Women’s Foundation created the event to promote camaraderie and mentorship through hunting, as well as raising funds for grants and special projects to help women and girls across the state. This year’s hunt resulted in 38 of 45 hunters harvesting antelope. Next year’s event is slated for Oct. 12-15, 2017.
Mia Anstine, the first American woman to be featured on the cover of Field & Stream magazine, was a media guest at the 2016 hunt. Donna Boddington from the television show “The Boddington Experience” was a special guest hunter at the 2016 hunt.
2016 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.
ANNIE OAKLEY AWARD
The Annie Oakley Award was presented to hunters who harvested their pronghorn by firing only one shot during the two-day hunt. Award winners were:
- Jan Beu (Brimfield, MA)
- Gloria Courser (Jackson, WY)
- Katie Couture (Cody, WY)
- Anna C. Farrell (Cheyenne, WY)
- Roxanne Garaventa (Cheyenne, WY)
- Jo Gathercole (Wilson, WY)
- Dione Hasse (Franklin, TN)
- Anne Jolliff (Casper, WY)
- Jayne Kravis (Harmony, ME)
- Cheryl Madden (Buffalo, WY)
- Annette Penman (Rawlins, WY)
- Tammie Pillard (Casper, WY)
- Jaclyn Randall (Longview, TX)
- Laurie Richardson (Kenmare, ND)
- Rose Ann Rinne (Cheyenne, WY)
- Danielle Sanville (Southampton, MA)
- Mary Schmitt (Wilson, WY)
- Gabrielle Sitomer (Houston, TX)
- Karey Stebner (Rawlins, WY)
ROMAN GODDESS OF THE HUNT AWARD
The Roman Goddess of the Hunt Award was presented to first-time big game hunters who harvested an antelope. Roman Goddess Award winners:
- Jennifer Andersen (Laramie, WY)
- Jennifer Barcklay (Chattaroy, WA)
- Jan Beu (Brimfield, MA)
- Martha Caraway (Wamsutter, WY)
- Anna C. Farrell (Cheyenne, WY)
- Dione Hasse (Franklin, TN)
- Erin Klauk (Laramie, WY)
- Elysia Linson (Houston, TX)
- Cheryl Madden (Buffalo, WY)
- Tonya Martinez (Rawlins, WY)
- Tammie Pillard (Casper, WY)
- Jaclyn Randall (Longview, TX)
- Aysia Rogina (Cheyenne, WY)
- Kathleen Salvador (Shutesbury, MA)
- Gabrielle Sitomer (Houston, TX)
FOUNDERS’ CUP AWARD
The Founders’ Cup Award goes to our corporate sponsor team with the closest average shot distance; all team members must harvest. It is named for the hunt founders, Marilyn Kite, Donna Wichers and Lynne Boomgaarden, and was presented by Marilyn Kite. The award is sponsored in part by Twin M Designs, which is co-owned by one of the hunt’s guides, Matt Moran. The cup is passed from one team to the next each year. Individuals on the team receive commemorative leather clutches handmade by Moran, who is a leather craftsman based in Sheridan.
The winner of the 2016 Founders’ Cup is Thompson/Center Arms. The team had an average shot distance of 137 yards. The team’s hunters were:
- Jan Beu (Brimfield, MA) – 211 yards
- Laurie Richardson (Kenmare, ND) – 110 yards
- Kathleen Salvador (Shutesbury, MA) – 200 yards
- Danielle Sanville (Southampton, MA) – 82 yards
- Hope Sholes-Pinder (Petersham, MA) – 150 yards
SUPER STALKER AWARD
The Super Stalker Award goes to the individual closest to her antelope when making the kill shot. This award was sponsored by Maven Outdoor Equipment and Michael Day Photography. The 2016 Super Stalker was:
- Jayne Kravis (Harmony, ME) – 35 yards
- Her guide was Mike Rodriguez (Buffalo, WY)
ROOSEVELT AWARD
The hunt’s Roosevelt Award is named after Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. president, conservation champion and co-founder of the Boone & Crockett Club, which sponsors the award. This award celebrates the type of personal character Teddy Roosevelt held in highest regard – an adventurous spirit, determination, self-reliance, and the need to give back more than what is taken – all of which he believed defined what was inside every true sportsman and sportswoman. Voted on by the guides, this award is given to the participant that had the fortitude to keep trying and hung tough, win lose or draw. Roosevelt Award winner:
- Katie Couture (Cody, WY)
CANTELOPE AWARD
This award was not part of the original set of awards created with Boone & Crockett’s partnership. It is an informal award created in 2015 that goes to the hunter who keeps her sense-of-humor about her throughout the hunt even though she doesn’t harvest an animal. In 2015, hunter Danise Edmonds (Katy, TX) hunted hard for two days, but in the end, she did get close enough to take a shot. Recognizing the spirit of the hunt did not depend on getting an antelope, but in enjoying the experience, Danise asked her guide to stop at the grocery store before returning to the ranch. She went inside and returned with a cantaloupe, saying with a grin that she got her (c)antelope. She attached her carcass tag to it and a set of make-shift horns imagined from the weathered trunk of a sage brush. The 2016 Cantelope Award was presented to Randi Downham (Laramie, WY) and Rachel Girt (Cheyenne, WY).
Annie Oakley Award recipients
Roman Goddess of the Hunt Award receipents
The winner of the 2016 Founders’ Cup is Thompson/Center Arms.
About the Wyoming Women’s Foundation
The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is a priority fund of the Wyoming Community Foundation, which granted out over $6.1 million to nonprofits across the state in 2015. The Women’s Foundation builds on a permanent endowment that will ensure funding to enhance the lives of women and girls in Wyoming for generations to come. It makes grants to organizations that help Wyoming women and girls attain economic self-sufficiency, creates statewide awareness of the barriers to economic self-sufficiency, and supports systems change to eliminate those barriers. Since its inception in 1999, the foundation has invested $775,000 into almost 100 organizations. Learn more at www.wywf.org
