2024 Winner: Tony Caliguiri
DSC is thrilled to announce this year’s Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award winner is Tony Caliguiri.
An Iowa native, Tony has a tremendous passion for North American big game hunting in general and wild sheep conservation and sheep hunting in particular. He volunteers several hundred hours a year toward conservation and hunting advocacy projects, serving on the board of the Wild Sheep Foundation and as Executive Vice President of Administration for the Boone and Crockett Club.
He also serves on the boards of Bear Trust International and the Jack O’Connor Heritage Center and is a past chairman of the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation. The longtime C.E.O. and president of Boyt Harness Company and Gokey boots, he has used his hunting knowledge to design numerous pieces of outdoor gear over the past 40 years including the first wheeled sporting luggage.
“The list of prestigious Peter H. Capstick Award winners is akin to the hall of fame of the conservation and hunting world, and we are very excited to add Tony to this group,” said DSC CEO Corey Mason. “Tony has traveled the world over in his outdoor pursuits, written about it, and put his time and talents into many conservation efforts. He has been a leader and supporter of many regarded conservation organizations and continues to do so as the Executive Vice President of the Boone & Crockett Club and a current Director for the Wild Sheep Foundation and Bear Trust International. We feel privileged to recognize Tony’s lifelong efforts to engage and educate people about the outdoors.”
Tony has made more than 50 hunts outside the United States in pursuit of big game on three continents as well as hunting in most of the western and Rocky Mountain states. He went on his first sheep hunt in 1989, and has since hunted sheep multiple times in British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Mexico as well as Alaska, Arizona, Idaho and Colorado.
He is an avid upland bird hunter and dog enthusiast and designer of several specialty products related to upland hunting with dogs.
Tony and his wife Ginny and their eight English pointers and English setters live in south Central Iowa.
Named after the well-known American author, the Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award (PHCHHA) was first announced in Dallas, Texas, at DSC’s Annual Convention in 2004. The award is presented each year by Peter’s widow, DSC Life Member Fiona Claire Capstick.
Purpose
Capstick’s defense of the international big game hunting community and the role of hunting in the conservation of wildlife and its habitat made him a household name. The objective of this award is to bring honor and recognition to an individual, organization or group whose achievements reveal a sustained and significant contribution to the conservation of wildlife and its habitat. Additionally, the winner will have shown long-term commitment to our hunting heritage by pursuing that goal for the benefit of future generations.
The PHCHHA honors the memory of a great man whose writings captured his love of the hunt, his respect for and understanding of wildlife and wild lands, and also promotes the hunting legacy and conservation of our wildlife resources.
Criteria
Award criteria include active involvement in: education, hunting, conservation organizations, humanitarian causes, research, permanent endowments, and charitable giving.
Application
To nominate, a DSC member should send as much background on the nominee as they deem appropriate. All nominations should be received by August 25.
Presentation
The Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award recipient will be announced and presented the award at an evening banquet during the annual Convention.