Photos by Steven Drake
Eight bull tahr grazed down a steep grade in the foothills of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Carson Wentz, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and his brother Zach, had been in the country just a few hours. After two days of flights, layovers and delays, they had made it into the mountains and already looked worn out, exhausted even by NFL standards. With the bull tahr in their binos, they formulated an approach with their guide Zion Pilgrim. “Two of those bulls,” Zion said, “are stomping giants.” Less than an hour of shooting light remained.
This playing field was far longer than 100 yards, littered with boulders and deep-cut canyons. Carson and Zion moved slowly from cover to cover, carefully choosing each step in the loose gravel. They whittled several hundred yards down to 75, then 50. At 35 yards, a good bull stepped out from behind a rock spire. Carson drew back, took a breath and let the arrow fly.