g at the 4:00 o’clock deadline, twenty-one more than on opening night. Each came to Parsons hopeful that the pup they were hauling would perform in strange territory and in the company of other pups from across the nation. Some did very well, as the following list will attest. Others found themselves back in the entry lines at the Decatur County Fairgrounds for the final opportunity to put two cast wins together.
Coon populations have been an item of discussion since the Parsons location was announced. Some feared the combination of hilly terrain and moderate coon populations would adversely affect the performance of their puppies. Others who live in this neck of the woods say the hunting is good, better than most places. Post cast stories have been generally of the opinion that the coons are here but are moving better in the early rounds as can be expected. As you will see, very few late round casts were won with anything other than plus points. One hunter, Floyd Ledman of Illinois reported 5 or 6 coons seen on his cast but the pups couldn’t nail them, evidence they had traveled early. At any rate, a pup has to get the coveted “cw” early and late to advance to the semifinal round on Sunday night.
Here are the successful pups from the Friday night hunt:
SENIOR SUPER STAKES
Cast 2001
Bones
Dale Holt, owner
Wayne Smith, handler
125 plus
Cast 2002
Harry II
Ray Gillespie, owner
Shawn Gillespie, handler
100 minus
Cast 2003
Blue Girl
Greg Holbrook, owner
Jeff Thompson, handler
100 plus
Cast 2004
Squaw
Helton or Morris, owner
Barry Kiddy, handler
175 plus
Cast 2005
Tom
Ratcliff or Gentry, owners
Steve Ratcliff, handler
125 plus
Cast 2006
Ruthie
Richard Vogel, owner/handler
300 plus
Cast 2007
Dixie
Roy Brasher, owner/handler
Zero
Cast 2008
Driver
Ray Phillips, owner
James Thomas, handler
150 plus
Cast 2009
Babe II
Joe Lewis, owner
Jeff Seymer, handler
Zero
JUNIOR SUPER STAKES
Cast 2001
Rudy
Steve Dover, owner
Michael Johnson, handler
150 plus
Cast 2002
Rebel
Shawn Allen, owner/handler
Zero
Cast 2003
Chance
Brian Turner, owner/handler
125 plus
Cast 2004
High Rise
Dwayne Williams, owner/handler
100 minus
Cast 2005
Pride
Charles Kelly, owner
Kevin Kelly, handler
125 plus
Cast 2006
Daisy
Clint Smith, owner
Charles Roberts, handler
50 minus
Cast 2007
Stormy
Jimmie Herring, owner
Robbie Stout, handler
100 minus
Cast 2008
Thunder
Pratt or Creasy, owner
Timmy Pratt, handler
75 plus
We congratulate these winners and at the time of this report, the headquarters building has been cleared of the hunters who have gone to the clubs at Crump, Gibson, Camden, and Leoma – all in Tennessee. The Saturday night entry, being the least of the three nights at 184 hounds saw a handful of casts hunting out of Parsons.
We’ll be reporting the Saturday night winners on Sunday as we set the stage for the semifinals. We’ll be reporting the payoff for this year’s hunt in our Sunday report.
PKC – On night number three, IN is where you want to be!
