Late afternoon sun enflames the range near Ucross, where antelope graze.
Under the white tents of the Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt, laughter carries through the cooling air. Hunters, guides, and volunteers gather for the evening auction.
It's part celebration, part reflection on a weekend that means more than the harvest.
The Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt started with a simple idea and two determined women. After a successful all-female hunt in the Red Desert, former Chief Justice Marilyn Kite and current Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden imagined an event where women could learn to hunt safely, ethically, and together. Partnering with the Wyoming Women's Foundation, they turned the idea into reality.
The first hunt in 2013 brought 34 women to Ucross in the middle of a snowstorm. They persevered through cold, wind, and the occasional missed shot. What they proved that year still holds: you can build confidence, connection, and community through shared experience outdoors.
The event remains faithful to the vision that began it. Women from across the country gather each October to learn firearm safety, tracking, and field dressing. First-time hunters are paired with experienced mentors, creating partnerships that often extend well beyond the weekend. The goal isn't simply to take an antelope but to build self-sufficiency and courage.
Skills that carry home into daily life.
That's empowerment, Wyoming style.
Our family ranch provides land access for the hunt. Women experience Wyoming's wide-open country firsthand. Each year, the same joy and sense of awe return as hunters step out onto the prairie. Two women who hunted on our place this week both harvested bucks.
One, a surgeon, laughed as she critiqued her guide's technique while helping to field dress her animal. The exchange was filled with humor, humility, and respect. That moment captured the purpose of the hunt better than any trophy could.
The Spirit of the Hunt, the code that guides the weekend, reflects Wyoming's own values. Safety, conservation, fair chase, and gratitude come first.
That's what matters.
Awards like the Annie Oakley, Roman Goddess, and Super Stalker honor ethical hunting and perseverance rather than competition.
It's a reminder that integrity matters more than outcome.
The Hunt's partnership with the Boone and Crockett Club reinforces that hunting isn't conquest, but stewardship.
Volunteers prepare meals, guides donate time, and local landowners open their gates. Each detail, from the pre-dawn safety checks to the shared laughter under the evening tent, reflects the collaboration that defines Wyoming.
Participants arrive as strangers and leave as part of something larger. A circle of women who've faced the wind, learned new skills, and found strength in each other.
As the final night draws to a close, the auction begins in earnest. Beneath the tent, the hum turns to cheerful chaos. Bids for art, gear, and adventures, each dollar supporting the Wyoming Women's Foundation and its mission to advance women's economic self-sufficiency. It's fundraising, yes.
But it's also fellowship.
Around every table are stories of first hunts, new friendships, and personal victories measured in courage rather than antlers.
When the last raffle's drawn and the laughter fades, the drive home feels quieter. The road between Ucross and Sheridan winds through miles of pasture where deer and antelope reflect in the headlights.
I think about the women who came here unsure of themselves and left with new confidence. I think about the volunteers and guides who make the event seamless, the landowners who share their property, and the deep connection that forms between people and place.
This year, I left without a prize, a firearm, or a raffle win, though my friends teased me for losing my lucky streak. Still, as one woman took my chair after dinner and promptly won a Ruger rifle, I decided the luck had merely changed hands.
The drive home gave time for reflection. The benefit to the hunters, the increase in women taking part in Wyoming's hunting traditions, and the success of the Foundation's mission fill me with gratitude that our family can contribute.
My empty hands are matched with a full heart.
The Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt isn't just about teaching women to hunt. It's about teaching confidence, self-sufficiency, and collaboration. Skills Wyoming has always valued.
That's worth supporting. If you want to contribute to the Wyoming Women's Foundation or learn more about the hunt, the doors are open. That's how strong communities stay strong. By lifting each other up, one weekend at a time.
