•Spring 2017

LAND / Sport
“It’s not that hard to tempt them onto our property
for an amazing goose hunt.”
Although upland and waterfowl hunting are the
mainstay, Ms. Kania and her team are perfectly willing
to get you involved in deer and elk using a rifle or bow.
She believes that the hunting experience can be
transformational for women—providing they receive
the training to ensure safety, success and confidence
gained from the
Joy of Hunting
curriculum.
Along with fellow
instructor, Andrea
Mahorney, their
twofold guiding
principles of the
academy are Be
Safe and Have Fun.
For Ms. Kania,
wingshooting
around Yellowstone
Valley helped her
feel at home with
her new American
husband when she
arrived in the U.S.
from New Zealand
in 2007. Originally
from the Northeast
of England,
she graduated
from Newcastle
University with
a degree in English. Afterwards, she moved to New
Zealand where she worked as a training manager
in a computer center and a professional classical
singer. She also taught voice for many years,
specializing in beginner adults and choral singers.
In 2005 she met her husband. They managed
a cross-Atlantic relationship for two years until
she relocated to their house in Montana that he
owned at the time. In the years following, Mr. Kania
taught her to hunt, first starting on doves in the
neighboring ranch. From there she set out on their
pheasant preserve as well as wild waterfowl and
even some big game in the surrounding area.
Ms. Kania now believes that hunting with her husband
enabled them to understand and appreciate each other
better during the early years of their relationship. And
if hunting could help the Kanias, then clearly it could
help other women
find a new outlet
“We want to
provide an
experience
that teaches
women to hunt,
but also creates
friendships
that can last
a lifetime”
to become closer
with their partners
who hunted.
She realized that
her teaching
background in
high-tech and voice
could be applied to
empowering women
in ways that aren’t
always available.
Her newfound
dedication to
hunting and passion
for instructing led
to her to qualify
as a NSCA Level 1
Shooting Instructor
in sporting clays—a
discipline frequently
used for training
wingshooters.
A turning point for Ms. Kania in starting Joy of Hunting
occurred in 2012 at Highland Hills Ranch in The Dalles,
Oregon. She attended a women’s wingshooting
hunt led by Elizabeth Lanier of the G.R.I.T.S. (Girls
Really into Shooting). The trip had an uplifting effect,
inspiring her to write an Open Letter to Women. In
it she said “The fact that I felt so comfortable right
away was definitely due to the openness, warmth
and inclusiveness that is so special to women.”
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