2017 PKC World Championship Final Six Interviews

Day by Day Cast Matchups and Results from the 2017 PKC World Championship in Salem, Illinois October 23-28, 2017.

Moderators: R D Carnegie, Kristi Denney, Jerry Moll, Shane Patton, Chris Freiberger

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2017 PKC World Championship Final Six Interviews

Postby Jerry Moll » Sat Oct 28, 2017 6:42 pm

Salem, IL -
Saturday October 28, 2017


By PKC National Youth Director, Amy Thomas

What a Final Six group of hounds and handlers we have on stage for the big event tonight! Will we have a hound make a big name for itself for the first time in PKC? Will we have a Pro Classic or Super Stakes Champion take a step up to become a World Champion? Will we have the 2016 World Champion win it back to back? Or will we have the new Youth World Champion win back to back championships? There is a lot riding on how things go tonight for these Top Six participants and their hounds and we are about to see who is going to make it to the next step. Let’s take a closer look at these six hounds and handlers and recap their week’s journey that has brought them to this spot…


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2016 PKC World Champion Thousand Dollar Bill
Owned by Cochran/Bane/Sullivan
Handled by Coy Sullivan

These two need little introduction. Coy Sullivan and PCH Thousand Dollar Bill also known as Bill and TDB graced the cover of Prohound last year when they won the 2016 PKC World Championship. Now they are back in Salem, Illinois and ready to try to win the World again! They definitely have the most experience out of these six when it comes to getting to this point and there has not been a lot of time for them to forget what they learned in the process.

A couple things have changed since last year though. First, Thousand Dollar Bill is no longer at the top of the list for PKC Lifetime Money Earners. His winning streak last year propelled him into that spot, but he was knocked out by Full Throttle Melt Down. Second, Bill is now joined in the ownership of William Cochran by Coy Sullivan and Casey Bane. Last, and probably the most important to Coy, is that he is now a married man. He and Ginny made things official!

One of the biggest things that has motivated Coy to see Thousand Dollar Bill do well this week is to earn back that top spot as the Lifetime Money Earner. Coy had not handled Bill for quite a while and in the process, Dustin Weed and Meltdown got up about $18,000 on their earnings. This was a good motivator for Coy to get back behind Bill. He shared, “My main goal with the dog is to get the All Time record back. I am going to go until I cannot go and am trying to get a good start at it right here.”

That was also motivation for Kasey Bane to want to come in on Thousand Dollar Bill. Coy and Kasey were at the Big Bottom’s Hunt as was Bill. Coy shared the moment that brought this all to where it is at now, “I was hunting for Kasey there. When Bill saw me, he started barking. Kasey said, ‘That dog remembers you. See if you can get him bought.’ I talked to Josh to see if they wanted to come up with a deal on him. They did and when I cashed my check for winning the Bottom, Kasey came in on him.”

Coy has no doubt that Bill will make back the money that they paid in to get partnered up on him. There is no doubt that the crossing of Zeb 3 and Georgia Cyclone will go down in PKC history as being big money winners and investing in a dog from this line is a pretty safe bet. It has already been a great ride in PKC for Thousand Dollar Bill and Coy.

Both Coy and Thousand Dollar Bill bring a lot of experience to this Top Six. Bill has won the Super Stakes, a World Championship, and the top spot for All-Time Money Earners. Coy has been there with him along the way and his handling skills have not only been behind Bill’s awesome achievements, but Coy won a truck with Bill’s full littermate P CH Jessie Jane along with successes in the past with American Express. Coy talked about how Bill helped him get through his loss of Express, “Most people would kill to make the finals of the world. I did it with Express and got second place. I was upset because I thought I would never have the chance to make the Finals again and then five years later, I did it with Bill and now a year later I am in it again.”

Thousand Dollar Bill starts tonight as the most rested of the six. Coy got him in on Tuesday night when they won their early round with 375 plus point and their late round with 125 plus. Coy recapped that night, “Bill treed three singles on that round and had another at the end that I did not tree on. Then on the late round, he treed one and I made a bad call and took 75 minus. I still kept the lead. Then he treed another but I could not find it.”

After a couple days of rest, it was time for Thousand Dollar Bill to get back at it last night. The Quarter Finals found Bill and Coy drawing out with Silver Creek Rock owned by Shabel/Elliott and being handled by Ronnie Wilbanks; Collins Brandy owned and handled by Tim Collins; and Little Miss Chubby owned by Baker/Catoe/Cassidy and being handled by David Catoe. Bill had a score of 450 plus. Coy talked about that round, “Bill treed one out of the truck and two more singles after that.”

In the late round, Coy and Bill went up against Triple Creek Annie owned and handled by Darrian Martin; Stylish Whack owned by Tyler Steury and being handled by Ricky Osborn and won the cast with an impressive 600 plus points. Coy shared how that cast went, “Bill treed one and was backed and then he treed two more by himself. He got 200 points on three coons.”

Now they are in the Heads Up round. Coy talked about what advantages he feels Bill has to get him into the Finals, I do not like Heads Up casts, but he has been real consistent about treeing coons to himself and getting good strike points. Bill has been looking good and the weather really helps him with him being older. If he keeps his head right and the good Lord blesses ups, we will get lucky. I am not worried about anyone that I draw.”

Being in this position again has a lot of pressure for a returning World Champion, Coy talked about what it feels like to be in the Top Six, “It is a little stressful. I do not think the same hound and handler have ever won it back to back. It would be special to be able to do so. Even if he does not win tonight, the old dog has done good and he has done his part. I am proud of him.”

Coy is also pretty proud of the people that have helped him get to this spot. He wanted to mention some people before heading out tonight, “I want to thank Billy Cochran for selling Kasey half the dog. I want to thank Kasey and Amanda Bane for all they do for me. I want to thank my wife Ginny for supporting me. She and Grayson came up Thursday to be with me and they are having a good time. My dad is also here rooting me on. I want to thank all those who have called and texted with congratulations. I have a lot of support. I also want to thank the good Lord to be healthy enough to be here and PKC for having the event.”

Tonight could be a big moment in PKC history for Coy Sullivan. Thousand Dollar Bill has brought him a lot of success and memories in the years that they have been paired up together. It has been a pretty exciting ride and just when one might think it is about to slow down, something new happens to take a new twist. Whether Bill is the World Champion two years in a row or whether he is trying to retake his title as the All-Time Money earner, you know when he and Coy show up…things are about to get interesting!

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Stylish Little Thor
Owned by Drew/Stallard/Shabel
Handled by Casey Stallard

It seems like only a week ago that Casey Stallard was in this position at a World Championship? Oh wait, he was! Last Saturday, Casey Stallard won the 2017 PKC Youth World Championship with Set ‘Em Up Joe. That was the culminating event of Casey’s youth program and he is making his step out of it in a remarkable way! This time it is just by odd circumstance that Casey is hunting his brother Cody’s Stylish Little Thor. Casey did not expect to be in this position, but Thor may just be able to help Casey make PKC history by winning the Youth World one weekend and coming back to win the World Championship the next!

Cody Stallard, who owns Thor, has had him about a year and a half now. Five year old Thor is out of Stylish Little Manson and Blanchard River Sis. Cody got him from Josh Limber because has hunted with the hound since he was a pup and always liked him. Thor was not pushed hard before Cody bought him, but his achievements in PKC to date include being doubled up at the Super stakes, earning a truck ticket, and winning the State Race. Now Thor is sitting in the Top Six of the World and Cody is back home working. He jokingly said, “I had to send a dog down there just so Casey could have something to hunt on Friday. I had to send him videos over the phone so he could know what he sounded like.”

There were many piece of the puzzle, besides just the video clips, that have brought Casey to this point tonight and he feels pretty small in how they have all fit together. When asked how he came to handle Thor, Casey stated, “Thor is Cody’s dog, but he has been working a lot and could not get off. We brought Thor with us as a backup dog. Then Bill Stokes hunted him for us after he got his dog in and ended up getting him in on Thursday night. I got beat pretty bad all week, so I was open to hunt him Friday.”

For a backup dog, Thor had a pretty impressive performance on Thursday night with Bill Stokes behind him. In the early round, Thor won with 350 plus. Bill talked about that round, “We scored on five coons and he treed two of them. Painter’s dog was treed through there on another, but he could not win so he did not call him, which would have made six coons for the night. The dogs got scattered about early in the cast. Stanley and VanMeter’s dogs got treed. VanMeter had 200 points on one and treed another and got 325. I had to be struck for 100 points to beat him. I did get struck for 100 points and I treed Thor. I had a coon to win on the end there.”

On the late round, Bill and Thor’s score of 325 plus would win their cast, but this one also came down to the very end. Bill talked about that round, “I had Witch, Solo and Sue. Thor had 100 strike right out of truck, but Solo fired a track right through the corn field and got treed. Thor got deep. Solo had coon for 175 points. Sue treed and Witch covered her, but they had a slick. Sue treed again and Witch covered her and they had a coon. I could not hear Thor. Once we got to where we could hear him, I treed him. No sooner than I treed Thor, Solo was treed. We went to Thor and he had a coon for 200 points. Not more than five minutes after I recut him, he tree another. Solo had a coon and that put him up ahead. They walked him a minute and recut him. He went 50 yards and got treed again. I thought, ‘He has me’. Thor was treed in a hole in the bottom of a sassafras and I knew I had something in it. I had a mirror and scored on a coon in the hole. Earlier, I had fallen in junk pile and lost my phone. I went to find my phone while they went to score Solo. Solo did not have a coon. Thor looked good, but I got lucky to win both of those rounds.”

Thor earned a spot place in the Semi Finals, but Bill was already handling his own hound on Friday so that was when the mighty Casey stepped up to bat! The Quarter Finals found Thor and Casey drawn out with Hillbilly Trooper owned and handled by James Knight; Buck Creek Stickit owned by Chuck Dunlap and handled by Coleton Dunlap; and Too Little Profit owned by Phipps/Thomas and handled by C J Thomas. Thor won the cast with 125 plus point. Casey did not do too shabby (or should we Shabely?) of a job as a fill in handler!

Casey recalled how that early round went, “Profit struck for 100 points, I struck Thor for 75 points, and Stickit was struck for 50 points. Profit treed for 100 points, then Stickit treed for 100 points to the right. Thor went into Profit’s tree after the time and Profit had a coon, so I took minus. Stickit also had a coon. Trooper got treed, but it was slick. We called time out and moved. When we recut, I struck Thor for 100 points, then Profit was struck for 75 points and Stickit was struck for 50 points and treed for 100 points. We started walking to her when Profit treed about 300 yards to the right. I treed Thor about 600 yards straight ahead. Stickit had a possum and Profit’s tree was slick. Thor had a coon. We recut and I got Thor about two and a half miles away after the hunt was over.”

Though things started off pretty rough on that early round, Thor pulled off the win before the round was over and it was time to give it another go. In the late round, it would be Thor and Casey heading out with Stylish Diamond owned by Finley/Thompson/Thompson and being handled by Justin Thompson; Huff’s Nighttime Toby owned by Huff/Huff and handled by Dale Huff. Thor’s score of 275 plus would make him that round’s winner.

Casey was pleased with Thor’s performance on this round. He talked about it, “He looked really good. Diamond struck for 100 points, Toby struck for 75 points, Thor struck for 50 points and was treed for 100 points. We went to him and he had a coon and recut. Then Toby treed and had a coon. We recut him. When we pulled off of there, Diamond was treed. Thor was treed 900 yards in the opposite way. Diamond had a den. I treed Thor and he had a coon. We pulled off of there and Diamond treed across the river. By the time we found a place to cross and got to her to scored her coon, the hunt was about over.

Now that they are in the Heads Up round, Casey was asked what advantages he felt Thor has to get him into the Final Three and the answer was not what you would expect. Casey shared, “I am going to handle him so there is not much hope for him. Bill got him in and Cody, Dad and Randell got him ready. This is the first time I hunted him and I am just looking good all because of the work of the others. We do not have a lot of strength paired together, so probably luck is what we are going to need.”

Cody did add in his thoughts about tonight and what strengths Thor will bring, “He will be alone and have a coon. The thing that will help him being in the Heads Up is that he is a lower end strike dog, so he may get more strike points than he normally does. It is all up to the boy now.”

Though it is not what he planned or expected, being in the Top Six is quite an accomplishment. Casey shared about how he feels, “I cannot keep myself contained. I look at it in that Bill got him in, so it is all of us being here and working together - Bill, Cody, Randall, Shabel. They are the only reason why I am here. I just hunted him the one night.”

When asked if there were any people that he wanted to mention, “If it were not for Bill Stokes, we would be home right now. I want to thank James Love for getting in the picture with me. Whenever he gets in, I keep winning. I also want to thank Don Johnson for helping me all week. He saved me a lot of miles. So really I just want to thank everybody.”

Now it is time to see if Thor can throw the hammer down and Casey can hit things out of the park to win both components to the PKC World Championship series!

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The Whole Nine Yards
Noneman/Morgan
Handled by Alan Noneman

This is not The Whole Nine Yards aka Nine’s first rodeo here at the PKC World Championship. Nine was a Finalist four years ago and this finely bred hound has accumulated a whole lot of experience under his belt since then. Al also has a World Championship win under his belt when he won in 1996 with Eileen's Wild Time. Needless to say, Al has also accumulated more experience these past 21 years also. Nine is also another dog in this Top Six out of Georgia Cyclone, but this time he is the product of her crossed onto Boogar Hollow Mojo. There seems to be a real pattern this evening of hounds from proven crosses.

Al and Nine are also another duo tonight with quite a bit of experience behind them when it comes to coon hunting and winning and they are hoping to get one step closer after this Heads Up round. The Whole Nine Yards has already added winning the Junior division at the Breeders’ Showcase along with winning the Junior and Senior Division of the Super Stakes to his PKC resume. Al came in as a co-owner on Nine with Randy Morgan in 2014 when he bought out Scott Engle’s half of Nine. It was quickly apparent that there was just something special about the bond between Al and Nine and that is evident in all that they have accomplished and where they are tonight. Now Nine has a chance to earn Al another PKC World Championship win.

Nine was primed for this event by Randy and his daughter Maggie. They have been hunting Nine quite a bit. Nine is well-loved by the daughters of his co-owners. Even though Al’s daughter does not hunt like Maggie, she loves Nine like a pet. Maggie has been enjoying running Nine in the youth events and keeping him in shape with her dad. Randy had been hunting Nine this week, but by Thursday felt that something needed to be changed up, so he asked Al to come and see if he could change up the luck. It appears that worked!

It would be on Thursday night when Al would come on as a handler. Though it was their last shot at it, it was all they needed and Nine and Al would get in. Nine brought in the first win with a score of 300 plus. Then Nine headed back out and once again 300 plus would be the magic number to get him into Friday!

Al talked about how the casts went, “Nine had two coons on that early round. He had the first one for 175 plus points and was covered on that one by one of the dogs. Then he was alone for 125 plus points on the second one. On the late round, I drew out with Jeff Stallard and Shot, Joe Stewart’s ‘B’ female, and Josh Michaelis and Con Man. We went to government woods. Stallard struck Shot for 100 points, I struck Nine for 75 points and Nine put a track in the ground and left out. Then Nine got out into the open country and Jeff’s dog was out there also. Con Man treed a coon. ‘B’ treed in a pipe in the ground that you could see through and took minus. Then I think they made a slick together. Finally got to where we could hear Shot about a mile and a half away and I heard Nine too. We had to walk south to go to both of them. We got to Shot and he had a coon for 200 points and that put him in the driver’s seat. When we finally got to where we could hear Nine, I treed him in a five to ten acre patch. He had that coon there. We came off of that and had about six minutes left in the hunt. ‘B’ was treed south of us and I was down 25 points with only had a few minutes left. I turned Nine loose toward those dogs down a rough ditch. I do not know if when we squalled it drew one down or what, but he went about 100 yards down there and got another coon treed in a little bush. I caught about all the breaks known to man.”

In the Quarter Finals, Nine and Al would draw out with The All American Ace owned by Ashley Guthrie and being handled by Garrett Eblen; Hardwood Bo owned by Mayne/Rains and handled by Darrell Mayne; and Jojo owned and handled by Josh Woolman. Nine ended with a score of 475 plus to get him into the next round.

Al talked about how that round went for them, “It started out slow for me. Their three dogs treed a coon together right out of the truck. Nine left out and I took 25 minus on it. Then he got treed by himself. Two of the other dogs got treed left-handed. They scored them first. I had a question because you cannot tree out of order if not all dogs are not treed. I used to do it that way, but then read where I was wrong. Anyways they did it and they had another coon. By the time they got to me, they scored on two coons and Nine had scored on one. Then their dogs made a couple slick trees. Nine treed again by himself with a coon. He treed another coon giving him 475 and the rest quit.”

Friday night’s late round would find Nine and Al drawn out with Money Maxed Out owned by Cable/Danner and handled by Kevin Cable Jr; Polly $ Herbert Dean owned by Leon Childers and being handled by Cody Childers; and Spots Flatrock Topper owned by Billy Burden and handled by Zack Burden. Nine would end the round with 350 plus points and the win.

Al shared how that round went, “Topper made a circle tree and Nine had 200 points on a coon by himself. Then Herbert Dean got treed by himself in one direction and as we were going to him, Cable treed Money north of us by himself. Herbert Dean had the coon and Money had a coon. Then Nine and Topper were treed deeper in and they had a coon. Nine made another tree and had a coon and Money made a circle tree. In the end, Nine had three coons, Herbert Dean did a nice job and treed two by himself, and Money was under one.”

For a man who has been in semi coon hunting retirement, Al is now sitting in the Top Six of the World Championship! When asked what strengths or advantages, he felt Nine has to get him into the Finals later tonight, Al jokingly replied, “It sure is not me handling!” He then added, “The biggest thing he has going for him is age and his heart. When you see him around the club, he is just shot and acts like he is dying, but the dog has always amazed me because when it gets dark, he shakes it off. The biggest thing with Nine, like in the early round when he was down two coons, I was thinking, ‘It has been a fun two days’, is that you have to be patient and let the cast come to you. With him, you have to grind it out and when bad things happen to dogs like persimmon trees, which he could get one tonight, and all the other booby traps out there, you just have to wait and hope the cast comes his way.”

For Al, being in this position is not what he expected when he showed up Thursday. He talked about it, “It feels very good. I put coon hunting on the backburner for the past eighteen months and probably only coon hunted about 20 times. I am not any better handler than Randy, but his luck was not going good and he wanted to change things up. He and Maggie have been the ones to hunt him and keep him in shape. I am tickled for all of the other five finalists and I am friends with all of them. Though I am going to try my best to win, if I cannot, I think there is an opportunity out there for history to be made tonight for Casey Stallard who could possibly win two World Championships in two weekends. I think that would be pretty awesome.”

While Al heads out on this unexpected turn in his life, he is grateful to be in partnership with Randy. He is also very thankful for his wife and kids who have put up with all the hunting he did before slowing up. Now Al has been forced out of his retirement and it is time to see if he can get the Whole Nine Yards when it comes to the 2017 PKC World Championship! 21 is a big number to celebrate and if Nine brings home this achievement, you can bet that there will be some celebration going on!

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Studly Right
Owned and handled by Anthony McLaughlin and Robert Beggs

The PKC World Championship has been held in Illinois for several years now and it is fitting that an Illinois hound would be left standing in the Top Six. With a name like Studly Right, how can you go wrong? Especially when the stud of this five and a half year old Walker is Triple Creek Rat crossed onto Rambling Ruby. Triple Creek Rat held the lead as the All Time Lifetime Money earner until recently. In fact, some of Studly Right’s competition tonight with Thousand Dollar Bill was the one to initially knock him from that spot. Tonight’s top hounds have all kinds of connections that is for sure!

Studly Right is owned by Anthony McLaughlin and Robert Beggs. Anthony has owned him ever since he was a pup. He was impressed with how Studly Right started and then continued to progress. Anthony shared, “Studly Right started really young. He is a real hard hunting dog and gets by himself most of the time. He is everywhere when you let him go and usually has a coon. He is a good house dog too.”

Anthony and Robert live close to each other and after about twelve years of having to hunt against each other, the two decided to start partnering up on dogs about seven years ago. Anthony owns his own business as does Robert and even though neither one has the time to hunt and compete the way they want to, pairing up has made more things possible for them with Studly Right. Anthony talked about some of the bigger achievements Studly Right has had in PKC, “We do not hunt any open events. Bobby won a couple rounds with him as a one year old and won the Missouri Pro Hunt last year. Studly Right got in at the World once or twice.”

It was Robert who began the wins to get to this point. He handled Studly Right in the early round on Thursday night. Studly’s score of 300 plus won it. Robert shared how things went for them, “It went all right. Studly treed a couple coons. Mike treed his coon through the country and the female treed with Studly on the second coon. When I won, I called Tony up who had been hunting a female and said, ‘Come hunt this dog, I am heading home. Tony has been rolling the whole way since.”

With Anthony at the helm, Studly accumulated a nice score of 475 plus on the late round to earn a spot in Friday night’s Semi Finals! Anthony shared how that round went, “It was a lot of action. Studly treed a coon by himself. Then he treed a coon with another dog and then they all treed a coon together. We turned loose with about fourteen minutes left in the hunt and anyone could have won if they treed a coon. Barry Kiddy’s thirteen month old dog did a good job of going and getting treed. Studly got treed again and had a coon too. We treed seven coons on that cast.”

It would be Anthony at the helm on Friday night. In the Quarter Finals, Studly and Anthony drew out with America’s Shiney Juggernaut owned by Ashley Guthrie and handled by Cody Jacob Mayne; Neosho River Dixie owned by Wills/Anderson and handled by Spencer Anderson; and Parsley’s Wipeout Jake owned by Parsley/Morgan and handled by Jonathan Parsley. Studly won with 450 plus points. It was a cast that Studly would look really good on. Anthony shared, “On that early round, Studly treed three coons all to himself.”

The late round found them heading out against Hardwood Jukebox owned by Walter Moore and handled by Justin White and Cabo of Mayhem owned by Strickland/Dunlap and handled by Jeff Ricklefs. Studly would end up with 375 plus and in the Head’s Up Cast!

Anthony described how that cast went, “Studly treed an old coon track for 100 and 100 plus points out of the truck. Jukebox treed for 50 and 100 points. Ricklef’s dog treed a coon for 175 points. Studly backed him for 125 points. Then they treed a den tree. When we cut loose, Cabo got deep and treed in the last few minutes of the hunt. If he had a coon, he would have won, but he had a den.”

That lucky break for Studly Right put him and Anthony into this Heads Up round. When asked about the advantages Studly Right might have to take him into the Finals, Anthony stated, “He is wore out right now and is not in the best of shape since we do not get to hunt him much. If he is feeling good, he will be by himself with the coon. He is an honest strike dog. He may babble on the leash, but when you cut him loose, he is honest. He has a ton of drive and goes hard when he wants to.”

No matter how it turns out, Studly Right has already proven a lot to Anthony and Robert. When asked how it felt to be in this spot, Anthony replied, “It is pretty awesome. I am real happy to be here. I was one cast away from the World in 2009 when they hunted five rounds instead of six. It was a good feeling to win last night. I was up forever calling everyone to let them know how we did. To see a pup I raised come so far means a lot. He was a good one, but I did not know that he was this good.”

Before heading out with his Studly hound, Anthony had some people he wanted to mention before he heads out, “I want to thank my biggest fans who are my daughters along with my wife and my mom and dad for all their support. I would like to mention Randy Booth who was Bobby’s cousin and our good hunting buddy who passed away last year. I also want to thank PKC for what a good job they have done with this event – all the judges and guides have been impressive.”

Now it is time to see if Studly Right and Anthony can keep the World Championship title in the hosting state. Only time will tell…


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Wipeout 3 Sum
Owned by Cochran/Prince
Handled by Steven Smith

William Cochran has a lot to be proud of as we take a look at our Top Six of the PKC World Championship. He has a chance to own a two year in a row World Champion and he has a chance to watch one of his other co-owned hounds win it. Wipeout 3 Sum is owned by William and this time the partnership is with Rayburn Prince. Wipeout 3 Sum is also another one of our top contenders this evening who goes back to Zeb 3. This time it was the cross of P CH Wipeout Zeb 3 onto National CH P CH Bey Bey that produced 3 Sum. Both Zeb 3 and Bey Bey have produced PKC World Champions, now will they do it paired together with a win from 3 Sum? There is a one in six chance that it is about to happen!

Wipeout 3 Sum has some bigger wins under his belt. 3 Sum won the Pro Division Championship in 2015. He was the Reserve Super Stakes Champion for his Junior Division and has made the Top Six of the Super Stakes. He has also won the Georgia State hunt. Pairing up Wipeout 3 Sum with an accomplished handler like Steven Smith has been a win/win deal.

Steven Smith has been close to many big wins and tonight may propel him over the threshold. He has made it to the Final 8 of the World Hunt, won the Georgia State Hunt with Krazy, Draggin, and 3 Sum, won the Breeders Showcase, the Pro Championship, and a bunch of open events.

This week has been a good one for Steven and 3 Sum. The two got in on Wednesday night with a score of 200 plus in the early round. Steven talked about that round, “It went great. We walked our guts out. 3 Sum treed the only coon about 1.7 miles from the truck.”

That score would see him heading back out that night for the late round. Steven talked about how that cast went, “He looked real good and treed two coons on that cast. I can say that there are lots of things involved with him and one is lots of walking.”

That score of 300 plus in the late round cinched their place on Friday. In the Quarter Finals, 3 Sum and Steven drew out with Mr. Clean’s Snooki owned by Coselman/Holmes and being handled by Brandon Coselman; Wipeout Little Creek Frank owned by Shabel/Montgomery and being handled by Jeremy Montgomery; and WCH Wipeout 3 Dee owned by Crowson/Moreland and being handled by Ryan Crowson. 3 Sum would end the round with 300 plus.

That cast would be quite interesting too! Steven described the eventful night, “3 Sum treed a coon right out of the truck. Then he went on and treed one in an old barn that was circled. He got into some old junk in it and the two almost caught him. He treed another coon and at that time was when Snooki was treed. He had his and if he had not, Snooki could have beat us if she would have had a coon.”

It was a tight squeeze to get out of that early round, but Steven and 3 Sum did it. For their late round, the two would be heading out against Backwater Bones owned by Fields/Lewis and being handled by Jim Fields and Walston’s Big Country owned by Walston/Powell/Burkholder and being handled by Steve Burkholder. 3 Sum ended the night with 200 plus points and a ticket to the Head’s Up Round on Saturday.

Steven talked about how that round went, “3 Sum treed a coon about .7 of a mile away. Country drew a 100 minus, but then he went on deeper about a mile. Bones treed a coon. By that time, Country was leash locked. Bone had a slick. Mine was treed again, but he did not have to be scored since I won no matter what. We sat at my tree for 40 minutes though because we did not know what had happened.”

Now that Steven has 3 Sum in the Heads Up round, he talked about what advantages he felt that 3 Sum has to get them into the Finals, “He just does what he always does. He will be by himself with a raccoon. I have not made a tree with him yet that has not been plused. That is what we are looking for. Plus there is no wind so we can hear easier.”

When asked how he felt being in this position, Steven replied, “It feels good. It will feel better with two more wins.”

One of the things that has Steven motivated is the people he has behind him. He shared, “My wife and my life boy Slade along with all my friends at home are rooting for me. I also want to try to get Billy another World Championship and Rayburn his first one. I am really grateful that they have let me handle 3 Sum.”

Will Steven get 3 Sum into the next stage of the PKC World Championship – the Final 3? If he lives up to his name and his pedigree, there is a good chance that Wipeout 3 Sum may get to that point!

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Redoak Diamond Gypsy
Owned by Miller/Groves/Miller
Handled by Shane Groves

The story behind Redoak Diamond Gypsy is one that is deep in history for Roger Miller and Shane Groves. Four year old Gypsy is out of two of their old dogs. For Shane Gypsy goes back to his old dog Stylish Tank. For Roger, Gypsy goes back to his Redoak Diamond Ring, who also produced Big Money when she was crossed onto Big D. Now Gypsy is getting ready to start making a name for herself and is actually the only female left standing in this Top Six.

Roger talked about Gypsy’s background, “I raised her and then sold her to Gary Lankford in Florida when she was eight weeks old. He called me when she was six months old and was interested in selling her. I asked him what was wrong with her and he said that she hunted way too wide for them down there. I gave him his money and brought her back home. She was actually the pup that I wanted to keep out of that cross, but I sold her. It was a blessing that we got her back. That was the first time that I ever was able to buy a pup back out of old Ring.”

Roger’s son has handled Gypsy with success before Shane came on board. Roger talked about some of what they were able to achieve, “She did qualify for a pup truck ticket last year and Shane got qualified again this year for a senior dog ticket. She has gotten into the Michigan Madness four nights.”

Now Shane has a chance to revisit a piece of history for himself with Gypsy going back to Tank. Shane got a truck ticket with Tank two years ago, but Tank got shot while out hunting. It felt like he had gotten short changed in life, but Gypsy is giving him a chance to keep Tank’s memory alive and see a piece of him in action still. Shane also has a lot of handling experience to bring to the table. Shane has not hunted quite as much in PKC, but he has left his mark when he and Steve Burkholder helped organize the start of the Michigan Madness. He was also a co-owner with Steve and Duke Proulx on Magic Trick who won the PKC World Championship in 2009.

Tonight finds Redoak Diamond Gypsy as the only female left standing from this week and she may be able to bring Shane back into the PKC World Championship limelight. Gypsy began her journey to this point when she got in Tuesday night. In her early round, she won with 325 plus point.

Shane talked about that round, “She treed a couple coons off to herself and was nothing fabulous by no means, but did what she had to do. She made another tree, but the coon was over in another tree. We looked to decide if they were touching enough for it to be plused. Two of us agreed to plus and two agreed not to, so it was deleted.”

Then in the late round, Gypsy won with 175 plus points, Shane talked about that cast, “She treed two coons to herself.”

For the Quarter Finals, Gypsy and Shane drew out with Spotted Eagle owned by Bowman/Drew/Stallard and being handled by Tony Bowman; Pro Bait owned by Epperson/Minkler/Red and being handled by George Major Jr; and Full Throttle Melt Down owned by Landreth/Landreth and being handled by Dustin Weed. Gypsy won the cast with 300 plus points.

This would be an exciting cast and Shane shared the details of it, “Right out of the truck all three of them came treed within 30 seconds. Mine blew way through. I struck for 50 points and treed for 100 points. They had a coon and got to be recut before I treed her. She had that coon. They got treed again up through there and I was leash locked. When we got to them, Down and Eagle were together on a slick persimmon and Probait was on a slick bush thing. They lost the coon they treed. I think Meltdown had 50 plus points left and I had 150 points on a coon. We cut back loose and mine went way through there and treed a coon. Probait made another empty. Meltdown and Eagle got treed way through there and they had a coon. Meltdown was around 150 to 175 points on the card there. Gypsy had another coon so that gave me 300 plus. They recast, but the hunt ran out.

On the late round Friday night, Gypsy and Shane drew out with Ward Mountain Misty owned by Water/Reynolds and being handled by Timothy Waters and NC Posted Land Bone owned by Drew/Stallard/Shabel and being handled by Jeff Stallard. Gypsy would win the cast with 125 plus points and that would get her where she is tonight!

This was another quick action round. Shane described it, “Right out of the truck Timmy’s dog treed a coon for 200 right in front of us. I struck for 75 with a line. We never heard Bone. He had gotten hurt in the early round by catching a coon in a tile, but this far in the game and with the heart that Bone has, Jeff had to at least try to hunt him. As we were walking to Misty, Gypsy treed left-handed and was on a circle tree. Timmy cut his back loose and I cut mine loose. My dog treed slick on a persimmon tree for 125 minus. I was thinking that I was done. Timmy’s dog treed again and the judge put the stationary on her and the two caught her. Now he was down to 100 plus and I was at 125 minus still. I cut Gypsy loose and she went 800 yards and treed with a coon. Now I was on the board. I walked the minute, heard Misty, and cut Gypsy loose. Gypsy treed again and had a coon, so I had 125 plus. As we are working Misty came back in and took 25 minus. We had less than ten minutes left at that point. I picked Gypsy up .7 of a mile away treed with another coon after the hunt was over.”

Now Shane and Gypsy are in the Top Six. When asked what strength she may bring to this Heads Up round, Shane replied, “As a rule, though last night we had a slick, she is usually by herself and good about having a coon. She is a hard hunting little dog and pretty accurate. She is probably the most accurate dog I have ever hunted.”

When asked about how it feels to be in this spot, Shane said, “It is pretty cool and sentimental because I thought the world of my old dog and Roger’s old dog. Gypsy is fun to hunt and I feel like the underdog got in with her. If she does not win another cast, I will still be tickled to death. I want to thank Roger and Blake, his son, for giving me an opportunity to be partners with them and my family for supporting me like they have.”

Shane and Gypsy are on a trip down memory lane. There are a lot of bittersweet memories in connection to her for Shane, but she may take the memories he has of Tank and elevate them in a way that he never expected. Once again, good breeding is paying off in this year’s World Championship!
Prepare yourself and your hound. Hunt the dog, read the Blue Book, and your Good Book!

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