2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Youth Series

[Shannon Stafford]

Youth hunters, come on out to Groveton, Tx tomorrow night for the 4th leg of the 2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Youth Series qualifying event. There are still 2 more nights of DH’s left for a chance at qualifying for this year’s championship. Tomorrow night’s double headers will have deadlines of 8:00 and 12:00 with a guaranteed $250 Added Purse per round. Also on the early round we will have the $100 bonus for the fastest coon treed. Hope to see y’all there.

[Shannon Stafford]

The 4th leg of the 2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Youth Series is now in the books. It was a nice night in Groveton, Tx with light winds and slightly cooler temperatures. There were 8 youth hunters hunting early and 6 hunting late. Early round cast winners were Wyatt Tully hunting Ring and Mallori Oliver hunting Grace. Late round cast winners were Mallori Oliver hunting Grace and Dawson Pope hunting Ace. The series is starting to shape up as we go into next weeks finale of qualifying events at Queen City, Tx. You have 2 youth hunters with 3 cast wins and 2 youth hunters with 2 cast wins and 3 youth hunters with 1 cast win. Next weekend will solidify the final 4 of the series and they will move on to the championship in Buffalo, Tx on May the 1st. I would like to thank Willie West, Chris Collins and the Groveton club for putting on this event for our youth hunters. I would like to thank everyone that showed up to help judge, guide, and walk along with the youth. Also I would like to thank all of the youth hunters, parents, and mentors who came out last night. Next weekend will be another youth DH in Queen City, Tx. Youth hunters come on out for the final night of qualifying.

[Shannon Stafford]

2 nights away on Saturday April 24th will be the final qualifying event of the 2021 series in Queen City, Tx. 2 youth hunters pretty much have there spots locked up and 2 will be looking to hold off a couple that are on the outside looking in. Should be a good hunt with storms passing through on Friday and a cool 5-10 mph north wind about hunting time on Saturday. The majority of all casts this season have brought in plus points and I expect Saturday night to be no different. Saturday night will lock up the final four for next weekends championship in Buffalo, Tx. Not only will the final four be hunting for the $1000 winner take all championship but there will also be a $500 added purse youth open event in Buffalo on the same night. Even if you didn’t get qualified, even if you haven’t been able to make a qualifying event, and even if you’re from another state, the $500 added purse youth hunts is open to any youth from any state. Any youth from any state may hunt in the Queen City hunt this weekend as well. So youth hunters make your plans to be in Queen City, Tx this weekend and Buffalo, Tx next weekend.

[Shannon Stafford]

I was unable to attend Queen City last night but I’m sure they had a good time. Last night there were 6 youth hunters that came out and hunted both rounds. Early round winners were Laret Manning hunting Hank and Dawson Hearn hunting Mayble. Late round winners were Mallori Oliver hunting Grace and Dawson Hearn hunting Mayble. Congratulations to last nights cast winners.Last night completes the qualifying rounds and the championship will be held in Buffalo, Tx next Saturday night. I would like to thank Josh Howard and the Queen City club for hosting this event for our youth. Thank you to the judges and guides for leading the youth safely to and from the woods. Thank you to the youth hunters that came out and hunted. Next Saturday in Buffalo there will also be a $500 added purse youth open event. Youth hunters make your plans to be in Buffalo, Tx next Saturday night.

[Shannon Stafford]

This year’s championship final 4 will consist of Mallori Oliver, Holden Hawkins, Laret Manning, and Dawson Pope. Congratulations to these four youth hunters on their accomplishments during the series. Laret and Mallori are the veteran youth hunters of the group with both already having many accomplishments and titles to their names. Holden is the youngest in the group and only preteen to get qualified this year. From what I saw from young Mr Hawkins, if he keeps hunting, we’ll be seeing him in the winner’s circle for years to come. The last qualifier in the series, Dawson Pope, is a newcomer to competition hunting. Dawson kept coming to the qualifying events, picked up a couple cast wins, and held on to his spot. Congratulations to the 2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Youth Series final four and good luck next weekend in the championship.

[Ben Eubanks]

Each day leading up to the finals of the Texas Breaking Curfew Championship we are going to highlight each of our four finalists.

Today we are highlighting Holden Hawkins. Holden is the youngest qualifier in the finals at 9 years old. He is a 4th grader at Rivercrest Elementary in Bogota. Hunter has been coonhunting for around a year. He got into coonhunting around this time last year when turkey season was over and he asked his dad what else could they hunt. His dad suggested coonhunting and as they say, the rest is history. Holden’s favorite part of coonhunting is shining the tree and finding the coon. Holden is the only youth in the series this year to hunt on every cast at each qualifying event. He qualified in the number two position with 250 points and 3 cast wins. Holden will be hunting his treeing walker female Squaw in the final cast. He says Squaw is a really nice dog. When asked why he liked Squaw his comment was “She likes children and she was trained by Mr. Randy (Norris). He thinks the final cast will be a good cast and feels they will tree a lot of coons. He likes the Breaking Curfew hunts because he likes to travel to the hunts and hunt with other kids. In closing comments, Holden says “It is a privilege to be in the finals and to get to hunt with the older kids.” Good luck Holden!

[Ben Eubanks]

Today we are highlighting our oldest hunter in the final cast of the Texas Breaking Curfew Championship that will be held this Saturday in Buffalo. Laret Manning is an 18 year old Senior at Elkhart High School. Laret is no stranger to the Breaking Curfew Series finals. He has been in the finals every year the series has been held. He won the series one year, and was co-champion another year. This year he has qualified for the final cast in the number 3 spot with 230 points and 3 cast wins. Laret has been coonhunting since as long as he can remember. I can personally remember packing Laret across creeks when he and his dad, Joe, would come hunt with me. Laret’s favorite thing about coonhunting is seeing the dogs work and having a good time. Laret will be hunting Hank, an English male, in the final cast. When asked about Hank’s style Laret said “ He doesn’t say much on the ground. He hustles and works fast. He is very accurate and will have a coon when he trees”. Laret feels the final cast on Saturday is going to be tough as all hounds are good dogs. He has been beat by Squaw and Grace so he knows that his work is cut out for him and it will be an exciting cast. Laret says he enjoys the Breaking Curfew hunts as he enjoys hunting with other kids. Laret would like to thank everyone that has helped put on the Breaking Curfew hunts. Good luck Laret!

[Ben Eubanks]

The spotlight today turns to Dawson Pope. He is 15 years old and lives in Timpson, Texas. Dawson landed the 4th and final qualifying spot with 170 points and 2 cast wins. Dawson has been hunting for as long as he can remember. He can remember his dad snapping a lead to him so he didn’t get lost in the woods. He enjoys listening to the dogs and watching them work. When asked what his favorite part of cooonhunting is he said it would be going to the hunts where there are other people that share the same interest. He says that the feeling knowing your dog has a coon and you have just taken the lead in a hunt is also at the top of his list as well. Dawson will be hunting Mastercard’s Ace in Saturday’s final cast. Ace is a Treeing Walker male own by Kip Adams. Dawson explained that Ace is generally going to be by himself and is very accurate. When he trees he is going to have the coon. When asked about the cast on Saturday he said ”It is going to be pretty interesting, dang good cast. If Ace can split by himself and have a coon, we will be alright. All dogs are independent and we should tree some coons.” This is Dawson’s first time hunting in the Breaking Curfew series but he says he as really enjoyed it. He would like to thank Kip Adams for letting him hunt his dog, PKC for putting on the hunts and all the sponsors for helping make the Breaking Curfew series possible. Good Luck Dawson!

[Ben Eubanks]

Today our last feature of our final four is Mallori Oliver. Mallori is 16 years old and attends Central High School in Pollok, Texas. She has been coonhunting since she was 8 years old and competition for around 5 years. The last 2 years she has ran the competition circuit pretty hard. Currently Mallori is leading the national youth race. Mallori’s dad and uncle have always coonhunted. One day Mallori asked about her dad about coonhunting and went with them one night and was hooked. Mallori’s favorite thing about coonhunting is watching a dog work and progress. Mallori will be hunting Grace, a treeing walker female, in the finals on Saturday night. Mallori describes Grace as a high end, quick moving strike dog that is able to move a track well. When she parks you are going to see the coon. She believes the cast on Saturday is going to be tough as there are a bunch of nice dogs in the finals and feels they will tree a lot of coons. Although Mallori has always hunted in the Breaking Curfew series, this is her first time to be in the finals. She qualified for the finals in the number one position with 280 points and 4 cast wins. Mallori really likes the Breaking Curfew hunts as it gives the kids the opportunity to hunt with other kids. Mallori would like to thank everyone that has a had a hand in putting on the Breaking Curfew series. Good Luck Mallori!

[Shannon Stafford]

Thanks Ben for conducting these interviews and posting them for us to read. Tomorrow night’s championship cast should be a good match up. All four of the dogs hunting have no problem getting off to themselves and treeing some coons. May good dog work and sportsmanship prevail. Again congratulations to you four on getting qualified for the championship and good luck tomorrow night. Also their will be a $500 added purse youth open event tomorrow night as well as the championship cast. So youth hunters make your plans to be in Buffalo, Tx tomorrow night.

[Shannon Stafford]

The 2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Youth Champion is Mallori Oliver. Mallori and Grace got the job done with 400 plus. Congratulations Mallori on your big win.

[Tim Green]

Awesome Team! Congrats to you guys. Super proud!

[Shannon Stafford]

Also congratulations to Derrick Owens,Jr on his cast win in the open event, scoring 275 plus.

[Shannon Stafford]

The 2021 Texas Breaking Curfew Series is now in the books. It was another great series with more opportunities for the youth to hunt. Even though only 4 can make the championship, this year there were more youth that picked up cast wins and earned a little extra money. Even though the series has ended, the memories made will last a lifetime, and a new series will be back around before we know it. I would like to thank everyone involved in making the series a successful one. I would like to thank all host clubs, hunt directors, judges, guides, planners, preppers,donors, cooks, parents, mentors, and the youth hunters who came out to compete. Until next year.....