The prestigious Boone and Crockett Club is returning as a sponsor of the Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt and presenter of the hunt's Theodore Roosevelt Award.

The hunt, hosted by the Wyoming Women's Foundation, will be held Oct. 9-12, 2014, in northeastern Wyoming. The Wyoming Women's Foundation created the hunt to promote camaraderie and mentorship through hunting while raising awareness and funds for the Foundation's mission to improve the economic self-sufficiency of women in the state.

Boone and Crockett Club helped the hunt in 2013, its inaugural year, by creating an award to honor core principles of wildlife conservation and hunting ethics. As part of that process, the Club created and sponsored the Theodore Roosevelt Award, named after the Club's founder and father of American conservation.

With the recipient voted on by the guides, this award is rooted in sportsmanship, and not necessarily the biggest trophy. The award is given to the participant who 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. 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.

Kristy Scott of Corning, Calif. was the recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award during the 2013 hunt.

"Public hunting may just be one way conservation is supported in North America, but it is a critically important way," said Keith Balfourd of the Boone and Crockett Club. "More women participating in hunting, whether it is to provide healthy protein for their families, build a closer connection to the natural world, have the confidence to introduce their children to hunting, or in support of conservation, is more than a good thing. Our wildlife needs all the advocates they can get. Boone and Crockett is a proud supporter of the Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt and will remain so."

"Boone and Crockett Club is respected worldwide for its wildlife conservation efforts and promotion of hunting ethics," said Shelley Simonton, co-chair of the hunt committee. "We appreciate the ongoing support that Boone and Crockett has given this hunt, especially in helping us create an awards structure highlighting these core values."

Kristy Scott, of Corning, Calif., was the recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award during the 2013 hunt. Scott, a single mother of three daughters, was new to hunting and wanted to teach her seven-year-old daughter how to hunt. She received a scholarship to attend last year's Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt where she harvested an animal for the first time.

Leading the way as the first event of its kind for women, the inaugural Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt was a huge success in 2013. Hunters came from across Wyoming and the nation to participate, including prominent leaders like Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kite, who helped start the hunt. Of the 34 total hunters in 2013, 32 harvested antelope and seven women harvested for the first time.

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