Lydia was born and raised in Idaho, where the deep love for the outdoors was part of her upbringing. At 18, she took up hunting on her own– drawn to the deep connection of the land & self-reliance it offered. She began guiding in 2019 to further expand her experience and knowledge of hunting which she still guides part-time today. Her favorite game to chase is September elk – which she prefers to do solo.
Beyond hunting, Lydia is passionate about horses, particularly in training wild mustangs. She’s also a wildlife artist, having donated several pieces to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) to support conservation efforts.
Hunting with KuduPoint
In 2021 I decided to target a specific public land bull. Not even sure if he was still alive, I hunted the area for 11 days just in hopes I’d find him. On that 11th day, I had an unreal experience. I snuck into a bedding area with a group of cows and a herd bull. Not knowing it was him, I snuck into 20-30 yards of his bedded cows with him bugling 30 yards in front of me. It was so thick I could only see an antler tip here or a small piece of body there. Luck had it, he came and ended up bedding 25 yards in front of me in about the only shooting lane I had. I waited for him to stand back up and when he did I synchronized pulling back my bow with his movements. My arrow flew true and buried into him, hitting both lungs and nearly protruding out the other side. His was amongst the best blood trails I’ve ever followed. This beast of a bull went maybe 70 yards straight downhill and was done within 30-40 seconds of me shooting him.
Preferred broadhead: Contour+ Plus 100gn
Links
Instagram: lydiasmith00
YouTube: lydiasmith00
www.ivorypeaksbrand.com