West Point cadets join governor's hunt
Posted: Sunday, November 09, 2008
LIBERTY, Neb. (AP) -- While Cadet Jessica Huggins is used to being the "only girl" in the 25-member Hunt Club at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., she was a little taken aback when she found out she would be the first female to take the field in the 6-year-old Nebraska Governor's Celebrity Pheasant Hunt.
Huggins traveled to Nebraska with three other cadets and a Hunt Club official. They were one of 12 teams competing in the hunt.
"On the way here, I asked Major (Michael) Harvey if there would be other girls here," Huggins said. "He said he thought there would be."
Huggins, however, was undaunted when she found out she'd again be the one and only.
A native of Advance, N.C., Huggins had never hunted pheasants until a recent Saturday in Nebraska.
"I've been dove hunting and I've been goose hunting once," Huggins said. "This was really my first real bird hunt ever, of any kind."
Huggins said she didn't hit any doves and no geese were within shooting range during the first two outings.
So when Huggins bagged her first Nebraska pheasant, she was excited.
"On the first one, I got a little excited," Huggins said, laughing.
Huggins went two-for-two to start her hunting day, hitting both pheasants that were flushed near her.
"She shot great," Harvey said.
Huggins and her fellow cadets -- Mike Niedbala, Connor O'Brien and Jordan Likes -- made the trip to Nebraska for the Governor's Celebrity Pheasant Hunt along with Harvey, who serves as the officer in charge of the Hunt Club.
"We've had a great weekend," Harvey said. "All the folks in Beatrice were very nice and very hospitable. We're impressed with everything."
This is the second year cadets have made the trip from West Point to Nebraska for the hunt.
This year's cadet group was accompanied on their hunt by guides Brian Droge of Pawnee City and his son, Jordan, and Mark Lierz, also of Pawnee City.
Likes and Harvey shot the first pheasants not long after sunrise on land located just east of Liberty.
"When they shot their two birds, I was excited," Huggins said. "I've never been anywhere like this and just to see the birds fly and then fall, it's just like something you see on TV."
When one of the dogs accompanying her group went on point, Huggins knew she'd soon have a shot, but was worried she'd miss.
"When the bird started to fly, I just went 'Bam!' and it didn't get far," Huggins said.
Huggins later dropped a bird with her second shot, also, but then missed on a third opportunity.
The cadets who made the trip to Nebraska were selected based on their participation in the Hunt Club, Huggins said. And Harvey said they have to be "in good standing" academically.
"It's a pretty big commitment for the academy to let them come," Harvey said. "But we think it's a good experience to get them out and see other parts of America."
Some people at the academy gave her a hard time about making the hunting trip, Huggins said.
"They just think it's funny I go hunting, because there's not many girls who go hunting at West Point," Huggins said.
While the number of female cadets has risen since the academy first began accepting women in 1976, they are still in the minority on the West Point campus.
About 15 percent of each new class is women.
Huggins said she's known for a long time she wanted to be an Army officer.
As a junior in high school, she joined the North Carolina National Guard.
Huggins said the best part of the weekend in Nebraska wasn't the hunt, however.
"I've never been this far west," Huggins said. "I liked just being out there and enjoying the wildlife."
Huggins traveled to Nebraska with three other cadets and a Hunt Club official. They were one of 12 teams competing in the hunt.
"On the way here, I asked Major (Michael) Harvey if there would be other girls here," Huggins said. "He said he thought there would be."
Huggins, however, was undaunted when she found out she'd again be the one and only.
A native of Advance, N.C., Huggins had never hunted pheasants until a recent Saturday in Nebraska.
"I've been dove hunting and I've been goose hunting once," Huggins said. "This was really my first real bird hunt ever, of any kind."
Huggins said she didn't hit any doves and no geese were within shooting range during the first two outings.
So when Huggins bagged her first Nebraska pheasant, she was excited.
"On the first one, I got a little excited," Huggins said, laughing.
Huggins went two-for-two to start her hunting day, hitting both pheasants that were flushed near her.
"She shot great," Harvey said.
Huggins and her fellow cadets -- Mike Niedbala, Connor O'Brien and Jordan Likes -- made the trip to Nebraska for the Governor's Celebrity Pheasant Hunt along with Harvey, who serves as the officer in charge of the Hunt Club.
"We've had a great weekend," Harvey said. "All the folks in Beatrice were very nice and very hospitable. We're impressed with everything."
This is the second year cadets have made the trip from West Point to Nebraska for the hunt.
This year's cadet group was accompanied on their hunt by guides Brian Droge of Pawnee City and his son, Jordan, and Mark Lierz, also of Pawnee City.
Likes and Harvey shot the first pheasants not long after sunrise on land located just east of Liberty.
"When they shot their two birds, I was excited," Huggins said. "I've never been anywhere like this and just to see the birds fly and then fall, it's just like something you see on TV."
When one of the dogs accompanying her group went on point, Huggins knew she'd soon have a shot, but was worried she'd miss.
"When the bird started to fly, I just went 'Bam!' and it didn't get far," Huggins said.
Huggins later dropped a bird with her second shot, also, but then missed on a third opportunity.
The cadets who made the trip to Nebraska were selected based on their participation in the Hunt Club, Huggins said. And Harvey said they have to be "in good standing" academically.
"It's a pretty big commitment for the academy to let them come," Harvey said. "But we think it's a good experience to get them out and see other parts of America."
Some people at the academy gave her a hard time about making the hunting trip, Huggins said.
"They just think it's funny I go hunting, because there's not many girls who go hunting at West Point," Huggins said.
While the number of female cadets has risen since the academy first began accepting women in 1976, they are still in the minority on the West Point campus.
About 15 percent of each new class is women.
Huggins said she's known for a long time she wanted to be an Army officer.
As a junior in high school, she joined the North Carolina National Guard.
Huggins said the best part of the weekend in Nebraska wasn't the hunt, however.
"I've never been this far west," Huggins said. "I liked just being out there and enjoying the wildlife."
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