Every vote counts for Margaret
Margaret Botha, a professional hunter from eMalahleni is in need of votes, she entered an international competition titled ‘Extreme Huntress’ and has made it through to the semi-finals, making her the only South African woman to have come this far in the competition.
“The adrenalin! That moment of quietness, when it seems that time stops, when you can almost hear the African dust settling after a herd of impala have raced to a sudden halt, that second when you squeeze the trigger with such precision that you can feel your heart beating in your fingertips. That’s the adrenalin I’m talking about! That’s what makes me an extreme huntress!” – reads an excerpt from her entry essay.
“I was five. My dad made me a sling shot from a branch and a strip of old rubber tyre, this got my lessons started. Three days later, I shot my first bird. My lessons progressed; me nagging for a real gun resulted in my dad giving me a pellet gun. Not long and I was shooting doves and small vermin on the farm. My passion grew immensely especially after spending many fondly remembered hours with my dad, target shooting, hunting, laughing and eating around many South African braais,” said Margaret.
By age 12 she experienced the thrill of hunting her first antelope, it was a young kudu bull. “I used a .22. Hunting as an adolescent girl was done with my dad or brother,” she added.
“I was blessed to marry my childhood sweetheart who had many lessons from my dad too. We have shared many fruitful hunts together as a family. My father passed away four years ago. I now teach these lessons to my young children with as much dedication and love as what I was taught. Teaching not only principles of hunting but also ethics of hunting and respect for conservation.
Passing this love and knowledge onto the young generations is important to me because as a young girl it was frowned upon. I have recently met many other women hunters that have such an eagerness for this male dominated sport, all which started with those dusty, passionate ‘lessons’ taught by their fathers or brothers,” her essay continues.
Margaret has been a member of the South African Hunters & Game Conservation Association since 2008.
“When I was asked to promote woman’s hunting in my area I felt my passion exploding and it did, after advertising an interest for a women’s only hunting weekend, I was inundated with requests. It goes without saying that our weekend was filled with much adoration, laughter and most of all that adrenalin!” said Margaret.
Margaret is one of 20 semi-finalists and only 6 of these semi-finalists, by way of public voting, will make it to the finals where the six finalists will compete in Texas to prove their hunting ability.
One of these finalists will then be crowned as the Extreme Huntress.
To vote for Margaret click here Finalists will be determined by 60% celebrity judges scores and 40% online votes.
Voting will end at 11:59pm, mountain standard time in the USA, on June 1, 2014.
If Margaret gets enough votes she will be invited as one of the six finalists to the 777 Ranch in Hondo, Texas to compete from July 9 to 13 with the hopes of being crowned ‘Extreme Huntress.’
