Women Hunters Have a Great Pronghorn Hunt

Mostly sunny, warm weather welcomed the women hunters to the 9^th Annual All Women Pronghorn hunt at The Ranch At Ucross, and sponsored by the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WYWF).

The Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt was founded in 2013 is an opportunity for mentoring and developing camaraderie between women.

According to Alex Shannon, Communications and Event Coordinator, said about the 2021 hunt “We had 45 hunters representing 13 states this year and around 40 pronghorns were taken by the women hunters.”

Teaching women to hunt can help them feed their families nutritious food and fulfills WYWF’s mission of investing in the economic self-sufficiency of women. The Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt emphasizes hunter safety, hunting and land ethics, and the conservation and the proper management of wild natural resources, for an enjoyable experience for participants, guides, and landowners.

Nora Jewell, Saratoga, Wyoming, attended the event. She works for the Sinclair Refinery in Sinclair, Wyoming.

She had this to say about how she was able to come on the hunt this year.

Although Jewell didn’t know exactly how her pronghorn scored, she plans to have her trophy head mounted.

Riley Anderson is from Monroe, WA. She is a first time hunter who applied for a spot on the hunt. She describes herself as “An ex- beautician, stay at home mom, and now, huntress” She had this to say about her participation in this year’s event. She said she is planning her next hunt already, although she doesn’t know where or for what species. She added that her husband is a hunter as well.

Anderson said the guide told her that the pronghorn horns were 14 inches, and she plans to have her trophy head mounted as well.

The hunters are in teams of two, with a new hunter teamed up with a mentor, another woman who has hunted before. Each team had a local guide who is familiar with the area and pronghorn hunting.

Tarina Pleasants, Cabot, Arkansas, harvested her first pronghorn on the hunt, and found it to be an unbelievable experience.

Her mentor was Tina Thornsberry, owner of Beavercreek Outfitters in Knott County, Kentucky. Thornsberry is an experienced hunter who guides elk hunters in Kentucky, but this was her first pronghorn hunt.

She said that this was a dream hunt and added, “We hunted hard and we had a great hunt.”

Rebekah Smith, Director, felt the auction on Oct. 8 went very well, “It was very well attended and bidders were enthusiastic and very supportive. And, we still have an online event coming up this Saturday, October 16 at 7 pm. We will have about 20 more auction items and some great raffles as well. This includes a bison hunt near Gillette, a stay at the Wort Hotel in Jackson and Model 29 Smith & Wesson handgun.

“Money raised goes to pay the expenses of the event and helps us to carry out our overall mission of helping women achieve economics self-sufficiency and provide opportunities for girls in Wyoming,” She added.