2016 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Final Four Interviews

The dogs, owners and handlers listed herein have won a prestigious PKC Truck Hunt in the years indicated.

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Jerry Moll
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2016 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Final Four Interviews

Postby Jerry Moll » Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:32 pm

By PKC National Youth Director Amy Thomas

What an interesting Final Four this evening. Will a father/son duo take home the truck this evening? We have Cody Stallard heading to the woods against his father Jeff Stallard. We also have Jake’s Highway trying to win the grand prize just a month after his sire Parsley’s Wipeout Jake left Lula, Mississippi in the truck from Lynn Layton Ford of Decatur, Alabama. Or will Layne Leverette and Clone, the only female in this cast, be the ones to leave them all behind in the rearview mirror tonight? We are about to find out, but first let’s take a closer look at these handlers and hounds that have made it to this last and most important round of the 2016 PKC Pup Shootout co-sponsored by PKC, Purina, SportDOG, and the Isle and Capri Casino.
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Union Thug
Owned by Stallard/Johnston
Handled by Cody Stallard

Being in the Final Four of the Truck Hunt is not something new for Cody Stallard; he has been in this position before. However, this time, Cody is hunting a pup off of the dog that took him to this spot before. To top that, he is a part of PKC history by being in the Final Four hunting against his father. There is a 50 percent chance that a Stallard could win the truck tonight. Those are pretty good odds for a night at the casino!

Three year old Union Thug is off of Hillbilly and Misty, a Lipper’s Stylish Rank and Delta Rebel bred female. Jody “The Legend” Schlosser raised him. Jody called the Stallards when Thug was a year old to see if they were interested in the lightly started male. That was an affirmative and Cody was soon running behind another generation of Hillbilly blood.

Last year, Don Johnston came in with the Stallards as a co-owner on Thug. Don has known the Stallards since the World Hunt was still in Aurora. Now Don will be sitting in Lula hoping to see what Cody and Thug will be able to pull off.

Thug’s success has been a group effort. Another person who has helped get Thug to where he is today is Travis Synder. Travis got him ready for the Spring Classic. Before then, Thug was not hunted in many hunts and winning a Truck Ticket was not a plan. Travis hunting off the Final four at the Spring Classic is what got Thug the chunk of money that gave him the boost to get a ticket at the end of the month in April. Jeff finished things off by hunting Thug in a couple more hunts and cinching the ticket.
When asked what it is about Thug that he likes, Cody said, “He usually stays to himself and gets through the country.”

There is a secret weapon that the Stallards showed up to Lula, Mississippi with and that was ‘trainer’ Jimmy Ridgeway. Jeff shared, “Jimmy has to come. He came with me and I got in with Bill, he came with Cody and he got in, then he came with a neighbor and they got in. He is also a trainer, but only part-time; he only does the heavy stuff.”

Co-owner Randall Drew added in, “I was a skeptic about Jimmy being a good luck charm, but now I am a believer.” For their first cast of the evening, Cody and Thug found themselves competing against Money Maxed Out with Kevin Cable Jr handling; Mojo’s Money with Wes Hamilton handling; and Coon Collector Slim with Rodney Himes handling. They won that cast with 25 plus.
Cody discussed how the early round went, “It was not a good round. Three of them were on a slick and mine was there. One of the dogs was split on a den. Thug ended up treeing a coon, some of the others treed a coon, and then they made some bad trees and that is how it happened.”

The first round may have not been very pretty, but luckily things were going to be better on the late cast. Their second round of the night was won with 375 plus against WCH Wipeout Hell on Heelz with Eric Henry; Junkyard Worm being handled by Will DeLoach; and Full Throttle Melt Down being handled by Dustin Weed.

Cody talked about that cast, “It was better than the first one. He treed a coon right out of the truck for 50 and 100. The others all kept running. Down treed a coon and we pulled off that. Thug and Heelz got treed with a coon. Down was treed again after we pulled off that. When we got there, the coon was two trees over and he was minused. When we pulled off that, Heelz was treed straight in and I treed Thug way right-handed. Heelz had a den and Thug had a coon.”

Hillbilly and Cody have been in this spot before and now Cody is in again with Bill’s pup. Cody and his dad had been in the Final Four of the Truck hunt in back to back years, but they were never in it together until now. This is a first for PKC history. Cody shared his feelings on being in this spot, “We never win it, they just tease us.”

When asked what strengths he feels that Thug will be bringing into this Final Four, Cody replied, “Hopefully he will get lucky.”
Cody had a few more words when it came to those he would like to mention, “I want to thank my dad. I also want to mention Don Johnston, Thug’s co-owner. We met through my Dad. I also want to mention Travis Snyder. Travis is the trainer and he got him ready. He handled him in the Spring Classic, hunted off the Final Four, and won it.”

Don had some words of his own to share, “I just want to say how much I appreciate Cody and Jeff for both handling my dogs for me. They help me out and I truly appreciate it. They have been great friends.”

The time is almost here to see if Cody and Thug have what it takes to win this cast even if it means beating his father. Though Cody says all his dogs are common and cannot tree coons, he is once again in the Final Four of the PKC Truck Hunt at the Isle of Capri Casino. He may not be old enough to play a slot machine there, but luckily he is old enough to drive from Mississippi back to Ohio in a new truck if Thug gets lucky like Cody is hoping!

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Posted Land Bone
Owned by Drew/Stallard
Handled by Jeff Stallard

Coon hunting is a sport that many fathers enjoy with their children. Jeff Stallard has been able to spend time with all of his children in the woods. It has just been an added blessing that his sons Cody and Casey have flourished in competition coon hunting just like their father. Jeff has to be really proud at this moment as he gets ready to head out tonight joined by his oldest son Cody to try to win the truck. Though they are technically competing against each other, no matter how it works out in the end, it is win for the Stallards to make PKC history by being the first father and son to be in the Final Four of the PKC Truck Hunt.

Jeff has been in this position before, but this time the hound that has brought him to the very edge of the ‘big win’ is Posted Land Bone. Bone just turned four years old and is off of Bone Collector and Truman Lake Wendy. This has previously been a successful pairing. Jeff gave a little history on it, “They made this cross three or four times and it was a good one. Adam McGuire, who is just a little short guy from Ohio, has Spur, who is a litter mate. We got Bone from Adam also. Adam is about as good of a dog man out there as there is.”

When asked when he got Bone qualified, Jeff said, “Last year. March. After the Truck Hunt, I only ran him half of the month in $30 hunts. He won $800 on three legs. He hurt his leg, but he has a big motor to make up for it.” That motor is exactly what Jeff likes about Bone. Jeff shared, “Bone is a crazy hunting dog. He hunts so hard and fast; he is just a freak! Seriously, he has a big motor. He also has real live raccoons and is a loner.”

Before this Final Four tonight, Bone’s most noteworthy accomplishment was winning second in the Super Stakes. Luckily, Jeff has many accomplishments as a handler to compensate. That experience would be helpful to most, but with Jeff, you never know what may happen with him. That is what makes Jeff interesting. That may also be why Russell Drew decided to come in on as a co-owner.

Russell talked about how he came to know Jeff and become a co-owner, “I met Jeff when I bought Buck Creek Loud. He was a good one. I came in on Bone two years ago in December. He was the right kind of dog and I liked his style.” It is still unclear though if Jimmy Ridgeway is going to be able to keep funneling his good luck with enough energy to fuel two hounds and two handlers, but it has helped to this point. In the early round, Jeff and Bone found themselves in a three dog cast. They were up against Slow Talkin’ Anna being handled by Chase Stamper; and Stylish Phoebe being handled by Jarvis Marchant. Bone won this cast with 425 plus.

Jeff shared how that cast went for him and Bone, “He treed three coons by himself. He was about a mile every time and had live animals.” For their late round, Jeff and Bone drew out with Wipeout Hell On Wheels handled Bud Hood; Hatcreek Little Sambo handled by Wesley Hamby; and Legends Slim handled by Emilio Galvan. Jeff and Bone won that cast with 300 plus.

Jeff shared how that late round went for them, “Bone had another animal at the end that I did not tree him on. He was treed right before the hunt was over and they could not put the stationary on him. When we got there, he had another coon up a bush. We had a good guide. Granberry guided us and we did not have to drive two hours and fight convicts. We had to drive far on the first round because someone broke out of prison and there was a five mile radius that they were patrolling. He was in for life, so he had nothing to lose.”

Jeff shared how he feels about sitting in this spot tonight, “Pretty good. It ain’t no good though if you don’t win.” When asked what strengths he feels Bone will be taking into this Final Four, Jeff said, “He has a motor like you don’t see anymore.”

That motor has gotten them to this point and hopefully it continues. At this time, Jeff had some people he wanted to mention, “I want to thank everybody. I want to mention Randall Drew for coming in on the dog. I also want to mention our little man Casey. Casey is running wide open for a truck ticket with Image right now. Image has helped train Bone. Casey wants to be here so bad right now. I also have a good woman in Kim, who puts up with me and the boys going hunting all the time. I also want to mention my three girls Kirsten, Kylie, Kelsey; those girls are trainers too. I have to mention Jeff Naugle, who we call old dad. Jeff was my trainer. He taught me what a good coon dog is and that is the fact. I hunted every night when I was little, but it was with junk until I started hunting with old dad.”

Tonight Cody will be heading out there against his own old dad to see if one of them can come home with the new truck tonight. They have both been very close before and now they will be together tonight to see if one of them can get closer than the other by the time the hunt runs out. They will also be hoping that Jimmy Ridgeway’s luck can continue to hold out!

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Jake’s Highway
Owned by Parsley/Morgan
Handled by Jonathan Parsley

It was just a month ago that Jonathan Parsley was loading up Parsley’s Wipeout Jake in the new truck and heading home. This weekend Jon loaded up Jake’s pup Highway into the back of that truck and headed back to the Isle of Capri to see if he could win another truck. Little did he know just how close he was going to be to accomplishing that when today rolled around.
Two year old Highway is off of Jake and Eastfork Tabee, who is out of the old Liquid Smoke and Old South Stylish Rebel bloodlines. Highway earned his ticket for this weekend last August during the Michigan Madness. It was a good thing too since young Highway has not been in many hunts. Jon shared, “I have only had him in about a dozen PKC casts.”

Jon and Jake were busy running up and down the road last year. Little did Jon know back then just how impacting Highway’s ticket was going to be for his breeding program and his history in coon hunting. Getting into the Final Four two months in row is quite the accomplishment for any handler, but especially when the truck was won the previous month with the current dog’s sire.
This time Jon is co-owners with Randy Morgan on Highway. He talked about their partnership, “We are 50/50 on Highway. Randy has done a lot of work on Highway; it was not just me.”

Jon talked about what it is that he likes so much about Highway, “Mainly because he is out of Jake. Highway moves around a lot and is a woods dog. He has a good mouth, but is not a good strike dog. He likes to bark on those trees. Highway is also pretty good about staying to himself.”

There was only one time that Highway was handled at a tree with other dogs and that was on his early cast. Unfortunately, it was not a good one to be at. For that first cast back in Mississippi, Jonathan and Highway were joined by Full Throttle Jiggy handled by Chris Holmes; Co Line Tree Jammin’ Dan handled by Dustin Kern; and Midnight Fly handled by Nathan Pardue. They would win the cast with 75 plus points.

Jon described that cast, “It was kind of tough. The dogs made a blank out of the truck and that was the only tree that Highway was handled at with other dogs. After that, Highway had a den by himself and then had a coon by himself.” It may not have been an easy cast, but Highway got the job done. They would be heading out late to hunt against Rocket Man’s Hot Sauce handled by Jason Keck; Z3’s Bailey handled by Larry Clifton; and Zeek handled by David Brown. They would win that cast with 200 plus. Jon talked about his round, “Highway treed a coon and then had two dens off to himself.”

Being by himself paid off and Highway is now sitting in the Final Four. It is a feeling that Jon can easily remember. He shared how he feels being in this spot again so soon, “Honestly, I am just tickled. Cody Stallard and I both have pups in that that are out of our dogs. We both raised the dogs at our house; it really makes a difference to you.”

Jake used his talents to get the job done last month for Jon and now it is Highways turn to see if he can bring to this cast what it takes to do it again. When asked what strengths Jon feels Highway will be taking into this Final Four, he said, “I am sure we are going to tree a lot of dogs on trees by themselves. It is going to come down to who trees the most coons or who spends the most time leash locked.”

With this accomplishment, Jon had some people that he wanted to mention, “I have to mention Dan McVey again. He is my hunting buddy from home and he helped me raise Highway and got him going for me. I would also like to thank everyone who has supported us. I really appreciate Randy Morgan for his friendship and for all he has done with Highway. He means the world to me. I appreciate Reagan for her support and for being here for me tonight. I also have to mention Casey Stallard. He is not here, but he is much better looking and funny than these two that are. I have a lot of fun with him. It is kind of wild to have three guys from Ohio in this Final Four. The dogs are not all Wipeout bred either.”

Jonathan Parsley will be heading out tonight with nothing to really lose since he has the bragging rights of winning this event last month. However, he does have everything to gain. In addition to having the chance to win another truck, he also has a chance to make history by winning the event twice in a month and with a father/son combination!

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Fireproof Clone
Bob Dudley
Handed by Layne Leverette

Fireproof Clone comes from a long line of PKC winners. This cross off of Mojo and Georgia Cyclone has produced some big winners in Thousand Dollar Bill, Jess Jane, the Whole Nine Yards, and Cadillac Style. Clone is fixin’ to try to add her claw marks into the side of this family tree with a big cast tonight.

Clone is our only female in the cast tonight making her the dark horse, but Layne Leverette is not the odd man out on our father/son theme. This memory in his lifetime, no matter what the outcome, is dedicated to his father who has been battling cancer the past few years and cannot be here to join him.

This month’s trip to the PKC Truck Hunt is Layne’s third trip and three is obviously a charm for him. He has never made it past the early round until this weekend and now that he has – he has made it to the Final Four! At least if Layne was going to break his tradition, he did it in a BIG way! He owes this change to Fireproof Clone.

Bob Dudley bought Fireproof Clone from Troy Gannon around this time last year. Bob was in the market for a good female to breed and wanted one off of Georgia Cyclone in particular. At that time Bobby and Zach Burden were hunting her for Troy. Marty Warren was the one who found her and put the deal together.

When Bob called Layne to ask what he thought about Clone, Layne made a comment that he would come to quickly retract. Layne shared, “I told Bob that I had drawn her two or three times and I did not like her and wanted nothing to do with her. Bob told me to go up and hunt with her anyway and if I liked her, then buy her. I had to eat crow because that night she looked good, treed three singles, and impressed me. Bobby told me, ‘Sooner or later, this gyp will win some big hunt, you can believe that.’ The rest is history.”

Layne talked about what it is about Clone that he has enjoyed as her handler, “She is a coon treer and makes my job easy. Most of the time, she trees coons and stays by herself. You are never out of the game with her. You can be down one minute and up the next and vice versa some times. Since I have been handling her, we won the Pro Classic in Shellman, Georgia. We also won two rounds at the Super Stakes. She had about $1000 won when we got her and now she has about $9,000.”

If Layne and Clone can pull this off, it will be there biggest accomplishment. Layne has been in semi-finals, three rounds of the World, but this could be his biggest achievement to date. He shared, “I am always knocking at the door.”

On their early cast Layne and Clone drew out against Slow Talking Gilbert handled by David Falls III; Mini Skirt handled by Mathew Michael; and Redneck Backwoods Shack handled by Cheyenne Cummings. They won with 25 plus.

Layne discussed how that cast went, “Right out of the truck, Clone had 25 strike and 100 tree points right out of the truck on the only coon we saw that night. Skirt kept going back to her tree and the other guy withdrew. After that, mine came treed in there, but moved and drew minus. It was down to the last two trees. Shack was one way treed and she was the other direction treed. He needed a coon to beat me. They both had circle and I won.”

Clone took Layne past that cursed early cast. On the late round, they would draw out with Tar Screamin’ Monster handled by Justin Davidson; Ohio River Rowdy handled by Dave Lindauer, and Blue Boy Thunder handled by Blake Beal. They won with 275 plus.

Layne shared how this round went for them, “It was one of the best casts that I have ever been on; it was a real nail biter. Jeff had his hands full. We cut and Monster struck for 100, the Blue dog got in for 75, Clone was in for 50, and Rowdy got in for 25. Rowdy treed for 100 one way and I treed Clone for 100 the other. We both had coons. By the time we got done shining, the other two dogs were treed. All the dogs were split about a mile apart. We cut mine loose. Then Monster was treed and he had a coon. That gave him 200. Rowdy drew some minus. The Blue dog got his first coon. As they headed in, I treed mine back through the country. I went to her and handled her. They left the Blue dog’s tree to come to me. Clone had a coon. There were four minutes and he treed Monster. There was a big roar of dogs all treed in that area together. Rowdy was retreed and Monster was with him on a closed tree. If he was by himself, I was beat. The stars were in line for me on that cast.”

When asked what it feels like to be in this spot, Layne said, “Pretty good. I kind of feel funny since I do not have my side kick with me. Eli is my world and pride and joy; I am missing him right now.”

Now Clone is looking at heading out against three male Walkers and two Stallards. Layne was asked what strengths he feels that Clone could be taking into this Final Four and he replied, “Who knows. If she is on her game, she will be tough and be by herself with a coon. If she is not, you have to hope all goes your way. She is a ball of fire and never tires.”

This is the first time that Layne has made it past the early round and with this big Final Four, Layne had some people that he wanted to mention, “I have to thank the good Lord. I also have to thank Bob Dudley. Without him, we could not do this. He has been a real great influence in Eli and I’s life. Bob is a great man. He supports us and sits on the sidelines so we can all have all our fun. I owe all the thanks to him. I also want to mention my father. He used to go to all the hunts with Eli and me. The last couple years, he has been fighting a hard battle with cancer, but he follows us and reads about everything we do. I wish he could be here, but I want him to know that win, lose or draw – this is for him. I know he will have that computer in his lap and he will be right here with us. I also want to mention Bo Thrift and Darrell Guess. We all hunt for Bob and are like family.”

So even though Layne looked like he might be missing out on the father/son theme, he was right in there in his own right with the dedication of this accomplishment to his own father along with all the things that Bob Dudley makes possible for him and his son Eli. However, if Layne wins this truck, he may need to get a personalized license plate that say, “8 CROW”. This would be the best dish of crow ever served up and Clone would be the one doing the cooking for Layne!

Tonight is going to be an interesting cast indeed with a lot of history making potential. Will one of the Stallards be going home in a new truck? Will Jonathan Parsley be winning his second truck in a row? Will Layne Leverette defy all the odds and have the ‘door’ to the truck opened for him with the only female in this cast? Only time will tell and we are about to see what the minutes of the cast produce – after all, it is not over until that last second has ticked away! Good luck to all these handlers, owners, and hounds!

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Re: 2016 PKC Pup Shoot-Out Final Four Interviews

Postby Brandon Glass » Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:37 pm

Bill & Jane are off Zeb 3 and Clone but anyways great group of dogs and handlers! Good luck to all of them should be a good one!
GCH Little Miss Dottie
WCH Thousand Dollar Bill


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