Thoughts from the Field:
A Different Perspective

It’s time for a different vantage point. My name is Audra Leichleiter and Trent is my older, much wiser (for the most part) brother. I had the privilege of knowing Trent when he was just a little guy with dark blonde hair (and he had a lot of hair!). Oh the stories I could tell… but we can save those for another time. I’d like to share about my experiences in the field from the outside looking in.

I consider myself a hunter but I haven’t harvested an animal in several years. Lately I’ve been able to shoot the experiences with my camera instead, and it’s given me such a different perspective but I still get the same adrenaline rush as if I was holding a firearm.

When we were young, my brothers and I were raised in a hunting/fishing/camping family with labs our entire lives – black, chocolate, and yellow, we had them all. It wasn’t until around the late 90s that my dad brought home our first GSP. His name was Spot and he had the best personality. I always viewed our dogs as my friends, but Trent understood that these dogs had an even higher purpose for their lives. As we got older, Trent started getting dog training videos and he, along with my dad, would work with our dogs to train them how to flush and retrieve. We used to go pheasant hunting in the fields around our home but I never really paid close attention to the dogs’ performance, or the relationship Trent and my dad had with them until we were older. When he was in college, Trent took some friends and family pheasant hunting and I got to go along. He had recently started training his new dogs Duece and Benelli.

I noticed that this time when went hunting, Trent was more like a guide, than a big brother. He was teaching us how to properly walk the field, showing us what to look for and he was training these dogs how to do things I never knew dogs were even capable of. Trent was in college to become an elementary teacher. He was a collegiate wrestler, and had a part-time job and he STILL found time to spend in the outdoors for himself, and for these dogs. He’s such a phenomenal trainer and teacher. It’s one of his best gifts. But I was so surprised to see how he was able to take that gift and use it with dogs and humans. This was one of the first times I realized he started treating me more as a pupil, or a peer, than as his “annoying little sister.” Up until he left for college, we had a pretty typical sibling relationship. But now, I started to see a different side of him and realized all of these gifts God had given him. I started to see Trent the way others must have been seeing him his whole life- a hard-working, passionate guy who doesn’t let any kind of circumstance or excuse get in his way. If he has a dream, he follows it. He sets goals, accomplishes them, and keeps setting more. It’s not hard to see where I get my goal-driven mindset from.

Let’s fast forward to October 2020 when I had the pleasure and opportunity to spend a day at Pheasant Bonanza with my camera. I went on some hunts and shot action shots of the dogs, people, pheasants, and Trent as a guide. This wasn’t my first experience doing this, but it was my first time in a few years. I had forgotten what it was like watching my brother in the outdoors. He was in his element, relating to people, relating to the dogs, and treasuring every minute he spent outside. Trent was born to be in the outdoors and he was determined enough to make a successful career out of it. He has so many passions and it’s been such a blessing to be able to watch him pursue his passions from such a close proximity.

If it wasn’t for the parents we were blessed to be born with, and our grandparents, we wouldn’t have been raised to love and respect the outdoors the way we have been. Someone, somewhere up in our family tree decided they were going to hunt and fish. Some (or much) of it was because it was out of necessity to feed their family, but some of it may have been for sport too. Just as much as it takes someone to decide to become an outdoorswoman or outdoorsman, it also takes someone to continue being one and teaching their family how to hunt and fish. So many people do not have access to land, the equipment needed, the knowledge, or a mentor to teach them how to become an outdoors person. It falls on all of us to keep passing down this great lifestyle. This is much of why Trent created KAMO. I am just in awe of his determination and ability to combine his passions for sporting dogs and for outdoor mentorship.

KAMO is currently taking ongoing applications for outdoor mentorship “scholarships.” Please share them with anyone you know who might be interested in these outdoor opportunities! Click here for the KAMO Outdoor Mentorship.

One last KAMO plug- if you shop on Amazon, would you take a few minutes to add KAMO to your account on Amazon Smile? It’s the easiest way to help KAMO fundraise while you shop. 

Thank you for letting me share a little bit from a different perspective. It’s been such a privilege watching my brother become the man he has become, having known him before he was the Pheasant Bonanza Managing Partner you know him to be.