100 Mile House resident Candace Knudsen returned on July 16 after competing in the 2017 Extreme Huntress competition in San Antonio, Texas.
Candace was pretty pumped up when she got back and wanted to see how the challenges and hunting expeditions were going to look when they were aired.
She and five other competitors had to battle through daily challenges and hunting trips from July 10 to 15. The tests included dealing with the desert heat and having a camera in their faces.
After arriving at San Antonio Airport, Candace met the five other competitors. She says the first meeting was brief, but they were friendly with each other.
The next day, they were introduced to last year’s Extreme Huntress winner Shannon Lansdowne. and their camera crews.
Candace says it was pretty awkward being in front of the camera.
“The camera was basically two feet away from you 24/7, and they were constantly asking questions about hunting and other things. It was definitely different and a bit nerve-racking.”
Prior to her departure for the competition, Candace says she trained by doing distance running in a sweater and garbage bag combination, but it was still a struggle to deal with the Texas heat.
“It was extremely hot. It was 108 F (42.2 C), which was 12 degrees hotter than last season. Most of the time we always had our hunting bags and gear on us, so it was definitely a challenge.”
Candace says the episodes have started airing and will be aired every Monday on www.getzone.com and extremehuntress.com.
Noting the episodes don’t air at the same time, she says there are 26 in all, so they may change as they go along.
Two episodes have already been aired, but folks can catch up by viewing previous episodes.
She says the first episode was a rifle challenge, which saw the competitors getting new rifles, mounting scopes on them and going out to a range for a competition on who could shoot with the most accuracy.
She won that competition.
Noting the episodes are only six to eight minutes long, she adds this was what was covered in the first airing.
Each day saw them compete in one challenge and go on two hunts.
The next episode (on Aug. 9) saw Candace and Taylor Reisbeck from Montana going on their first hunt.
She says it was her very first hunt outside of British Columbia and it was a challenge.
“It was the first time I saw that kind of terrain and those kind of animals. It was more desert like.
“I went for the Rusa deer. I basically hunted like I would in B.C. – more quietly, methodical and slow because up here you hardly see any animals, but down there are hundreds of animals. It doesn’t matter if you spook them because they’re spooked by each other, they’ll watch you or run around – it’s totally different.
“I definitely learned that day, because after that, I hunted a lot differently for the show. I didn’t get an animal on that episode.”
Reisbeck was the competitor who was on the show last year and she ended up shooting a goat.
Fans and supporters can get involved in the Extreme Huntress competition.
People can only e-mail in a vote one time during the 26 episodes. However, they can vote on each of their e-mail addresses if they have more than one.
People who vote will receive an e-mail reply asking them to confirm their vote, and then their vote is accepted.
Candace currently sits in fourth place in the voting, so she is reaching out and asking folks to check out the shows and help her by e-mailing in their votes.
“It is too bad people can’t watch an episode and then vote once for every episode because people do better one time but then somebody else does better the next time.
She adds the girls who are in front of her have big fan bases, but she hasn’t had the same exposure.
“I don’t have as big of a fan base but it’s good because I did get into the top 6 and mostly it came from 100 Mile House.
“I know we can get the votes up higher.”
Go to extremehuntress.com to register, click on voting, and click on the picture Candace. Voters will receive an e-mail asking them to confirm their votes, and they must be confirmed to count.
To help the cause for this 100 Mile House girl, tell all of your friends and family members to vote for her.
With files from Jeremy Hannaford.
