Willow Valley Trophy Club holds 67th annual Awards Day

(J. Davis photos)

(updated with new information)

Josh Davis and Toni Lucas

Willow Valley Trophy Club (WVTC) held their 67th Annual Awards Day celebrating the Year of the Elk on Saturday, January 9th, at the Pincher Creek Community Hall. This all-day affair started with the doors opening at 8 am. The club uses the Boone and Crockett method of scoring and rules of fair chase to determine if it is legal game, and encourages conservation and best hunting practices.

Brittney Semenoff at the Back Country Butchering ICowley) display

WVTC President Lindsey Paterson is in his sixth year as president and is very proud of the history and future of the WVTC. The club has been encouraging youth mmembership and education.  He was pleased with an attendance of approximately 500 people of the event, as the club faced some last minute issues with the day.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, the keynote speaker had to cancel only days before the event sending the organizers into a hunt for a new speaker.

Bessie Desjardins of Rocky Mountain Taxidermy (Cowley)

Rocky Mountain Taxidermy display

Fortunately Bill Hanlon from Sparwood graciously accepted to speak at the event.  He spoke to the guests about his hunting trip in 1999 to Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in British Columbia, Canada, during which his party found a significant archaeological find. Bill Hanlon, Warren Ward and Mike Roche noticed some wood at the base of a melting glacier. As they looked they noticed carving and notches. Further investigation they found parts of the remains of a body of a man who was trapped in the ice.  Their discovery was reported and investigated to uncover a man who lived approximately 500 years ago. Later called Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi - meaning Long Ago Person found in Southern Tutchone, or Canadian Ice Man. The find represents the oldest well-preserved human remains in North America. The young man was estimated to be 18–19 years old at his time of death. The cause his of death is unknown, but there appears to be no sign of serious injury, and hypothermia is a possibility. He died near the onset of the Little Ice Age.

Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi was found with a number of artifacts, including a robe made from about 95 gopher or squirrel skins sewn together with sinew, a woven hat, a walking stick, a knife, a hand tool of unknown purpose, and an atlatl and dart. Tissue studies revealed that his long-term diet consisted principally of shellfish and salmon, indicating that he was originally from one of the communities near the Pacific Ocean coast.  This find reveled a number of fascinating aspects of First Nation life during that time and geographic location. (sourced from Wikipedia)

Paterson said he was delighted at Hanlon for stepping forward on such short notice.  "He was a fantastic speaker.  I have never heard the hall so quiet during a presentation. Everyone was mesmerized."

Frans Diepstraten, Tyson Craig, and  Dave Craig at Wild Sheep Alberta Foundation booth

AWARDS

The 2016 Willow Valley Trophy Club Fish Award Winners 

Walleye
1st Jake Funk 9 lb 11 oz
2nd Duncan Baldie 9 lbs 2 oz
3rd Walter Eisenlohr 8 lbs 9 0z
Youth
1st Logan Olsen 4 lbs 5 oz
2nd Hunter Olsen 3 lbs 6 oz
3rd Owen Olsen 2 lbs 12 oz

Whitefish
1st Jason Dyck 2 lbs 3 oz
2nd Jared Dyck 1 lb 14 oz
3rd Leighton Dyck 1 lbs 13 oz

Youth
1st Payton Cervo 2 lbs 15 oz
2nd Grady Dyck 2 lbs 6 oz
3rd Logan Olsen 13 oz

Lake Trout
1st Jake Funk 14 lbs 11 oz
2nd James Verbaas 7 lbs 12 oz

Cutthroat Trout
1st Andrea Gedeke 2 lbs 1 oz
2nd Bill Messum 1 lbs 6 oz
3rd Renee Desjardins 1 lbs 5 oz

Youth
1st Phoenix Messum 12 oz

Rainbow (Lake) Trout
1st Walter Eisenlohr 5 lb 6 oz
2nd Jake Funk 4 lb 9 oz
3rd Cary Hackler 4 lb 2 oz
Youth
1st Rylee Hackler 1 lb 13 oz
2nd Jackson Beauchamps 1 lb 6 oz
3rd Owen Olsen 1 lb 3 oz

Rainbow (Stream) Trout
1st Junior Olsen 2 lb 3 oz
2nd Tim Juhlin 1 lb 15 oz
3rd Andrea Gedeke 1 lb 12 oz

Youth
1st Phoenix Messum 6 oz

Brown Trout
1st Jake Funk 14 lbs

Youth
1st Indie MacGarva 13 oz
2nd Owen Olsen 11 oz
3rd Josh MacGarva 10 oz

Pike
1st Levy Groves 27 lbs 11 oz
2nd Jake Funk 24 lbs 15 oz
3rd Ross McIlwraith 21 lbs 15 oz

Youth
1st Logan Olsen 13 lbs 15 oz
2nd Owen Olsen 12 lbs 10 oz
3rd Hunter Popson 10 lbs 2 oz

Geraldine Price Memorial Trophy Largest fish scored on % for all current entries 10 year average
Pike Levy Groves 27 lbs 11 oz

2016 WVTC Big Game Archery Award Winners

Black Bear
1st Chester Rudolph 19 12/16
2nd Pete Lehman 18 8/16

Youth
1st Kara Popson 18 12/16

Elk
1st Trevor Garbiar 310 5/8
2nd Brandon Beckman 180 2/8
3rd Tod Kennedy 76 2/8
Youth
1st Thomas Garbiar 254 4/8

Typical Mule Deer
1st Ivan Indenbosch 162 6/8
2nd Riley Groves 162 5/8
3rd Kim Schatz 156 2/8

Typical Whitetail Deer
1st Jake Funk 110 4/8
2nd Marc Beckman 102 4/8

Non-Typical Mule Deer
1st Levy Groves 201 0/8
2nd Darcy Wakaluk 179 2/8

Pronghorn
1st Mike Park 75 2/8
2nd Patrick Horvath 42 2/8

2016 WVTC Big Game Rifle Award Winners

Black Bear
1st Ashley Indenbosch 18 11/16
2nd Dallas Tiegen 14 4/16

Youth
1st Hunter Popson 17 5/16
2nd Christopher Collings 16 6/16
3rd Grady Dyck 16

Cougar
1st Kyle Green 14 11/16

Youth
Christopher Collings 13 10/16

Typical Whitetail Deer
1st Gordon Dorge 156 5/8
2nd Leo Behuchamps 151 1/8
3rd Chester Rudolph 151 4/8

Youth
1st Hunter Austring 149 0/8
2nd Clayton Taylor 136 7/8
3rd Devon Cervo 123 2/8
Trophy Day Challenge Winner Gordon Dorge 156 5/8

Typical Mule Deer
1st Ross McIlwraith 175 7/8
2nd Robert Rice 172 4/8
3rd Tyler McIlwraith 168 0/8

Youth
1st Spencer Dorge 174 5/8
2nd Jerred Plante 164 4/8
3rd Leighton Dyck 159 5/8
Trophy Day Challenge Winner Delbert Chabillion 180 0/8

Non-Typical Whitetail Deer
1st Tyler Villemarie 168 0/8
Trophy Day Challenge Winner Tyler Villemarie 168 0/8

Non-Typical Mule Deer
1st 1 Troy Stebanuk 230 6/8

Youth
1st 1 Levi Sekella 171 4/8
Trophy Day Challenge Winner Troy Stebanuk 230 6/8

Moose
1st Tyler Villemarie 167 2/8
2nd Sarina Olivieri 155 4/8
3rd Gary Nyberg 146 5/8
2nd Tim Juhlin 8 4/8" Beard

Canada Goose
1st Louis Patterson 6.3 kg
2nd Cary Hackler 6.14 kg
3rd Rod Taylor 6.104 kg

2016 WVTC Challenge Trophy Competition Award Winners 

Peter Hucik Memorial Trophy Typical Mule Deer Spencer Dorge 174 6/8 101.2%

Charter Member Trophy Roll Call Members - current year 

Non-typical Mule Deer Levi Sekella 171 4/8 - 93.7%

Cornerview Archery Award Levy Groves Mule Deer 201 0/8 109.8%

Ed & Babe Burton Trophy Members - current year, all categories Troy Stebank Non Typical Mule Deer 230 6/8 126.1%

2016 WVTC Bird Award Winners

Mallard Duck
1st Rod Taylor 1.688 kg
2nd Adam Juhlin 1.59 kg
3rd Kara Popson 1.45 kg

Blue Grouse
1st Rod Taylor 1.32 kg
2nd Tim Juhlin 1.21 kg
3rd Jarred Dyck 1.06 kg

Sharptail Grouse
1st Tim Jensen .976 kg
2nd Rod Taylor .968 kg
3rd Robert Plante .930 kg

Ruffed Grouse & Spruce
1st Tim Juhlin .721 kg
2nd Rod Taylor .672 kg
3rd Jarred Dyck .658 kg

Hungarian or Gray Partridge
1st Cary Hackler .484 kg
2nd Rod Taylor .672 kg
3rd Jarred Dyck .658 kg

Pheasant
1st Cary Hackler 40 5/8"
2nd James Cook 40 1/8"
3rd John McGarva 38 3/8"

2016 WVTC Photography Award Winners 

Wildlife
1st Wade Aebli
2nd Tim Juhlin
3rd Yvonne Messum
Honourable Mentions: Patrick Horvath, Andrew Prokop, Walter Sekella

Youth
1st Hunter Olsen
2nd Josh MacGarva
3rd Matthew Erickson
Honourable Mentions: Logan Olsen

Best Of The Natural World
1st Melenie Cervo
2nd Andrew Prokop
3rd Yvonne Messun
Honourable Mentions: Jake Funk, Anne Lapointe

Youth
1st Taylor Amos
2nd Josh McGarva
3rd Owen Olsen
Honourable Mentions: Hunter Olsen

Scenery
1st Yvonne Messum
2nd Tim Juhlin
3rd Bill Messum
Honourable Mentions: Walter Sekella, Leo Beauchamps

Youth
1st Logan Olsen
2nd Owen Olsen
3rd Taylor Amos
Honourable Mentions: Josh MacGarva

Sportsman In The Field
1st Gary Villemarie
2nd Patrick Horvath
3rd Ivan Indenbosch
Honourable Mentions: Junior Olsen, Wade Aebli

Youth

1st Logan Olsen

2nd Owen Olsen

3rd Indie MacGarva

2016 Youth Draw Prize Winners and ATB RESP Recipient

First: $1,000.00 gift Certificate Summit Home Hardware, Blairmore, Alberta. Andrew Hohn - Sterling, Alberta

Second: Bushnell Rangefinder, Backcountry Butchering, Cowley, Alberta. Richard Kunz - Lethbridge, Alberta

Third: Nikkon Monarch 10X42 Binoculars, Thriftway Pharmacy, Lethbridge, Alberta. Jake Funk - Coaldale, Alberta

Fourth: Badlands Backpack, Marksman Guns and Sports, Lethbridge, Alberta. Dale Keenan - Pincher Creek, Alberta

Fifth: Bushnell 10X24 Binoculars, Thriftway Pharmacy, Lethbridge, Alberta, Debi Slomp - Lethbridge, AB

Youth Winner of ATB/Willow Valley Trophy Club jointly sponsored $500.00 RESP: Steven Wilson - Cowley, Alberta

Bert Frelink of QuarterMoon Longbows

Tahj Nathaniel at Blackfeet Design booth