Top Six Interviews, 2014 PKC World Youth Championship

Round by Round match ups and results from the 2014 PKC Youth World and World Championships October 24 - November 01, 2014 in Salem, Illinois

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Top Six Interviews, 2014 PKC World Youth Championship

Postby Jerry Moll » Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:42 pm

By Amy Thomas

It was a tough two casts of competition with 79 hounds and youth handlers heading to the woods in Salem, Illinois for the 2014 PKC Youth World Championship. As the dust has settled, six of those 79 are still standing. PKC thanks all those who have come out to support this event and wants to take this time to focus on the Top Six who have are now out seeing who will make it to the Final Three.

Lane Denny

Newly turned eighteen year old Lane Denny was sad that this was his last trip to the PKC World Youth Championship. However, to end his career heading into the woods as part of the Final Six made it all worthwhile! Lane said, “I would like to go out with a bang” and he is definitely making his odds better.

Lane is the son of Sheila Gillespie and Tim Denny. Lane is from Jay, Oklahoma where he is a senior this year at Jay High School. Lane is active in the FFA where he is an active judge for the horse and livestock team. Last year Lane was the president of the organization.

Coon hunting for Lane started when he was ten years old with his dad. Lane shared about his start, “My dad bought me my first two hounds and I went from there. They were littermates that I trained. I just started from there and loved it from the start.”
Lane ventured into competition hunting because of Carl Reed. He shared, “Carl is like a second father. I always looked up to him and he got me rolling. I heard about competition hunting, so I went and Carl was there. Everyone talked high about him and what a good handler he was and I started talking to him. Last year I sold him half Emmy and we have gone from there.”
This past year, Lane won $1117. In addition to that, he won the Oklahoma State Race and was the Reserve Missouri state Champion. Everything that he has been won has been with Emmy.

Newly two year old Emmy is out of Gorgeous Gomer owned by Ronnie Patterson. She is a granddaughter to Rat Attack and double Nailor bred. Lane bought her at 10 months from a guy in Arkansas though she originally came from Tennessee. Lane said that Berry and Parker owned her when she was a puppy.

Lane talked about his cast up at the PKC World Youth Championship so far, “I have had good casts. Early on Friday, we treed some coon. Emmy treed one by herself in that early round. Then she treed one coon with another dog in the Late Round. They were good casts that is for sure.

When asked about feel about being in the Final Six, Lane replied, “It is an awesome feeling, but we are not done yet. I am thankful for being here and hunting with some of the top youth handlers in the country. I am glad God has given me the health to be here and the opportunity.”

Lane also had some other thanks to give, “I want to thank my mom and Dad for being so supportive. I am surrounded by so many positive people who always have my back. I also want to thank Carl for keeping me in the woods all those times.”

Cade Rodgers

Twelve years old Cade Rodgers is the son of Darren ‘Buck’ and Cindy Rodgers of White Water, Missouri. Cade is in seventh grade at Jackson Middle School. Cade’s hobby of choice is coon hunting. Cade has been coon hunting since he was in Pre-School.
Cade shared what it was about the sport that made him like it so much, “I liked being out at night and also because that you could get the hides. Also, when it is out of season you can still train the dogs.”

Competition hunting started early for Cade. He began when he was in third grade. He talked about why he wanted to start, “I decided to do it because dad was going when I was little. My favorite thing about competition hunting is seeing which dog is the best.”

Over the years, Cade has not had a favorite dog, he said, “It changes.” He may not favor one, but he has been winning with the ones he has. This year Cade has won $150 with the added purse he earned at the Breeder’s Showcase. He said, “I did not go to very many hunts. There were a few that I went to, but I did not do much.”

Tonight Cade is hunting Skuna River Cry, out of Skuna River Dolly and Skuna River Bark. She is owned by his dad. Cade said he likes to handle Cry because she will tree a coon.

Cade talked about his casts this weekend, “In the Early Round, Cry treed a coon solo and that helped me win. Then in the Late Round, she treed a coon by herself again. I had the same score on both casts.”

When asked about being in Top Six, Cade said, “It makes me feel between nervous and excited. I feel like I am ready because I feel prepared. I was hunting a dog for a while and then I switched. In two nights, Cry treed two coons by herself, so we used her instead of the other dog.”

Cade is happy to have done so well and he knows that his success is because of the people behind him, he said, “I want to say thanks to my family for supporting me.”

Ethan Ledbetter

Eighteen year old Ethan is the older of the two brothers in our Top Six and this is his last year in our PKC Program. This is the first time that siblings have been in this position in PKC and it is amazing that these two were able to make this happen on their trip to Salem, Illinois this year. Ethan is the son of Mark and Eva Ledbetter of Newark, Ohio. 18 years old. Ethan is a senior at Licking Valley High School where he plays basketball.

Ethan started coon hunting when he was eight years old. He shared how he got his start, “I went with my dad, Chuck Dunlap and Garrett Oglebee. I liked it because it was time to spend in the woods with friends. I also got into competition hunting through Chuck Dunlap. Chuck was talking about it and he told me I had a good enough dog that I could go compete and win with. I went and I have not stopped.”

This year Ethan has won $288 hunting CH Buck Creek Tug, out of Buck Creek Mr. Smith and Buck Creek Trixie that he bought from Larry Weaver. Ethan has owned Tug for two years. He almost made a big mistake also with Tug, “I was going to sell him. Larry told me that he bets I am glad I did not now.” Ethan is hunting Tug up here.

Ethan shared how the hunts have gone for him so far, “In the Early Round, Tug went in and treed the first coon with 150 plus points. Then we cut off that, Tug treed a second one that I held off on because I thought he was on the circle tree that the others had made. Tug was 20 yards behind them. That gave me 225 plus. Loren Saunders was hunting Black Hawk and he treed a coon. So it was 125 to 225. Tug was working a track deep when Loren recut. Hawk made a tree right at the end and if he had a coon, he would win. If not, I won. The tree was circled. I got lucky. In the Late Round, I treed Tug when he was not treed and took 25 minus points. He made another tree and took 150 circle on it. The other two females made a slick and the hunt was over after that.”
When asked how he felt going into the Top Six, Ethan said, “I feel pretty confident if Tug keeps doing what he has been doing that we can take it all.”

Being in this spot of honor, Ethan wanted to share some gratitude, “I want to thank my parents in general for funding all the coon hunting I have done. I want to thank Chuck and Colton along with Brian Hartrum, for helping me learn the rules, so I could learn about competition coon hunting.”

Elijah Ledbetter

Seventeen year old Elijah is the younger Ledbetter in this prestigious position tonight. He is also the son of Mark and Eva. Elijah also goes to Licking Valley High School in Ohio, but there are no sports for him. He is just a plain and simple coon hunter.
Elijah started coon hunting when he was seven years old. He talked about what it was that he liked about it, “I like being out in the woods and being with all the people that I am friends with. I got into competition later than my brother because I did not have dog that I could work with.”

That has changed now though. This year Elijah has won $144 this year. He has been hunting Dizzy’s Mr. Ted, out of Dohoney’s Dizzy. He talked about his history with Teddy, “I have been hunting him about seven mos. I got him from Jesse Colvin. He was four years old when I got him and now he is five years old. I like his unique mouth and he splits off a lot. He is so independent.”

Teddy is the dog that Elijah is hunting this weekend. He talked about his casts, “In the Early Round, Teddy went in and struck for 100 points and treed for 100 points. The other dogs backed him and he had the coon. We cut him and then he split treed off from the two other dogs. Their tree was circled. Teddy’s was circled too. Then their three dogs treed all together on a den on the hill. Teddy was leash locked. We cut them with eight minutes left, they went in and three of the four dogs were on it. Teddy was on it with second on the tree and 25 points on strike. If he had a coon, I lost. Sluggo played a prank on me and had the whole cast playing along that they saw a coon. I was so mad, but I can tell you that Sluggo was the best judge I ever had. Then in the Late Round, Teddy went in and backed the Bluetick and Redtick. We all got minused. I told myself not to tree him there because I knew it was slick. I cut him from there. The fourth dog in the cast got scratched for being at our feet. The Redtick treed 400 yards in and Teddy treed 300 yards to the left. The Redtick had a slick and the Bluetick was also there. Teddy had a coon, so I was up 75 plus to 400 minus and 50 minus. It was bad and it got worse from there. We cut one more time and the Redtick and Bluetick cut to left and treed. If they had a coon, I still won. Teddy was treed on the hill, but I did not call him.”

Now Elijah and Teddy are in the Top Six with his brother Ethan and Tug. Elijah shared how it feels, “It is -. I never believed I would be this far. I am nervous. I hope God blesses me with another win, which is all I can say.”

Elijah had the same words of thanks as his brother, “I want to thank my parents in general for funding all the coon hunting I have done. I want to thank Chuck and Colton along with Brian Hartrum, for helping me learn the rules, so I could learn about competition coon hunting.”

Adam Borden,

Eighteen year old Adam is the son of Chris and Suzanne Borden. He lives in Russellville, Alabama where he is studying welding technology. This is Chris’ last World Youth Championship before he graduates out of our youth program. He almost didn’t come because of work, but he recently quit to attend school.

Adam started coon hunting when he was around three or four years old with his dad. He recalled, “I was too little to walk so my dad would tote me. I started competition hunting when around ten years old. My dad and my uncle Faron Borden got me into it. I just fell in love with it and started doing it.”

Competition coon hunting would be something that Adam would really like too, he shared, “I like the competition side of the sport and getting to hunt with different dogs and meeting different people. I like going to different states to see how the hunting is there compared to at home.

This year, Adam has won $450 for the year. He is hunting Habit’s Stylish Josie, off of Bad Habit. Adam talked about his history with her, “I have been hunting her since she was pup. My uncle Faron has been the one who hunted her. I just started hunting her this past year. She has been sitting in the pen because we have been hunting pups off of her. She is the mother of Byrum’s Amazing Goose, that won the Super Stakes and the mother to the She’s Not Easy female in the Black and Gold sponsored ad in the rules book.”

Adam talked about how things have gone so far, “In the Early Round, she real good. She had first strike and tree. She made one circle tree and then the hunt was over. In the late round, it was not a great spot and the dogs did not do great. I had 175 circle points and I treed her at the end of the hunt and I drew minus.”
When asked how he felt about being in the Top Six, Adam said, “It is nerve wracking and I am anxious to get out there. If I win this, the late round will really be something.”

Adam also had some thanks to express, “I want to thank Drake Roberson, Brad Durham, Zack Davis, Blaine Burdette, and Cody Burdette for congratulating me on my wins.”

Marcus Hyde

Sixteen years old Marcus Hyde is the son of Mark Hyde and Krissy Davis of Fayetteville, Tennessee. Marcus goes to Lincoln County High school where he is a junior. Marcus loves to spend his spare time just coon hunting.

Marcus started coon hunting about three years ago. He talked about how he got into it, “My dad did it when he was young and then he quit for five years. Some of my friends coon hunted and I got my dad back into it. We started going to hunts about two years ago. I like the competition hunts because of the money I can win, the people I meet, seeing what kinds of dogs are out there and stuff. “
This past year, Marcus won around $430. He has been hunting Hyde’s Cold Water Creek Bean, out of Nailor. Marcus talked about his history with Bean, “I got him from Tony Bailey and have had him for about two years. Bean is a good competition dog because he gets struck and by himself.”

Marcus is hunting Bean here this weekend. He talked about how his casts have gone so far, “In the Early Round, Bean had 325 plus points and had the High Score for both Early and Late Rounds. In the Late Round, he got 200 plus points in it. He is very independent was by himself in both rounds.”

When asked how he felt being in the Top Six, Marcus said, “It feels pretty good with 78 dogs being hunted here. I am feeling pretty good about going out as long as my dog does good.”

Marcus also had some thanks he wanted to say, “I want to say thanks to my dad for letting me go to these hunts and stuff. I also want to say thanks to my friends for cheering me on.”
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

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