1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Riggs 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 2: I want you to stay. 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: A while as I share my stories and the country 5 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: skills that will help you beat the system. This Country 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: Life is proudly presented as part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: bringing you the best outdoor podcast. 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 2: The airways have to offer. 9 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: All right, friends, pull you up a chair or drop 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: that tailgate. 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 2: I think I got a thing or two to teach me. 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: Coon hide and Seek in the UKC. Last weekend, I 13 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: drove down to Baitsfull, Mississippi for the UKC Winter Classic 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: Coon Hunt. I wasn't hunting in it, just taking in 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: the annual event that's been taking place since nineteen eighty eight. 16 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: Saw some old friends, made some new ones, and I'm 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: going to tell you all about it. First, I'm going 18 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: to tell you a story. The story is called Jacques 19 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: coon Stove last spring, Michael Rosevean, Brad Clark, Randall Whitmore 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: and Irall Coonuting. 21 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 2: It was May the twentieth. 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,279 Speaker 1: I know this because I have the time stamped video 23 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: to prove it, and I'm going to share it on 24 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: my Instagram feed. But don't spoil it. Listen to the 25 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: story before you go over and check it out. Anyway, 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: Whaling struck a hot track and took off like he 27 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: was late for work. Now, old Whaling isn't a dog 28 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: that barks much on the track unless it's really hot, 29 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: meaning really fresh. Lots of times he may open up 30 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: a little as he goes along, but generally, if the 31 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: track has any age to it at all, he's just 32 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: liable to commence to treat you. He's just not going 33 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: to help himself out in a competition hunt with being 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: a first strike dog, which means the dog that barks first. 35 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: That's not a real good trait to have if you're 36 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: competition hunting. The dogs that bark first and finish the 37 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: track to a tree with a coon get way ahead 38 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: with points over the dog that only barks when he 39 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: comes tree, because you get points for doing both. And 40 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: there's a lot more that factors in there. But ideally 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: you turn your dog loose. He starts barking at the 42 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: scent of a coon pretty quickly and continues until he 43 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: comes tree. Do you walk over see a coon looking 44 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: back at you, then you cut him loose and do 45 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: it all over again. These type dogs are valuable if 46 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: they can do that consistently and have a coon when 47 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: they tree. What Whaling lacks in barking on the track, 48 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: he makes up for an accuracy. Michael has told me 49 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: more than once that he's one of the most accurate 50 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: dogs he's ever seen. If he's treating, you can just 51 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: almost bet there's a coon in there. As a matter 52 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: of fact, Whaling is now four years old, he'll be 53 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: five in August, and he has slick treed, which is 54 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: when you're absolutely positive there's no coon in the tree 55 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,639 Speaker 1: that he's barking on. He's done that less than fifteen 56 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: times out of the hundreds, if not close to one 57 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: thousand coons that he's treed by now. Now. I stopped 58 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: counting confirmed treed coons over a year ago, and he 59 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: was over five hundred then. And I hunt with people 60 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: who have younger dogs that have treed more than Whaling. 61 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: Michael's dog, Heck, is one of them. But this story, 62 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: it isn't about numbers or how good of a dog 63 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: Whaling is. I'm not bragging on him at all, the promise. 64 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: I'm just laying the ground work of what kept me 65 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: from doubting him. And having enough faith in him to 66 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: look closer at what was about to happen next. So 67 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: Whaling is singing to us. As he rolled down through 68 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: the bottoms. The weather was warm, but not hot. The 69 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: mosquitoes weren't bad yet, the wind was minimal, and you 70 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: could hear that joker trying. 71 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 2: To blow the leaves off the trees. 72 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: As he drove that coon out of the bottoms and 73 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: over the White River levee, he was barking his brains out. 74 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,839 Speaker 1: More barking you heard correlated right along with how hot 75 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: the track was. 76 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 2: And this track was so hot. 77 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: We were joking around thinking maybe he was seeing the 78 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: coon make the tracks as he was running, and that 79 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: probably wasn't far from the truth. We rode up on 80 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: the levee and heard him start barking like he was 81 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: baying him on the ground. I know it sounds a 82 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: little weird, but the folks that don't know there's a 83 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: difference in how they bark and when they bark. The 84 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: sounds they make and how they make them will tell 85 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: you a good story of what's going on if you'll 86 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: just pay attention to what the dog is saying. Now, 87 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: this only comes after hours and hours and hours of 88 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: learning how a dog hunts and watching the mannerisms and 89 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: how they deal with different situations. At this point, Whaling 90 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: and I had been hunting together for three years, a 91 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: minimum of three nights a week and sometimes five or six. 92 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: I know this dog and I could tell he was 93 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: on a coon, and where he was now is where 94 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: the race had ended. We bailed off the levee and 95 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: walked into an area that was holding water, willow trees, 96 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 1: and beaver runs. There wasn't a tree in there big 97 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: as my arm close to where Whaling was raising all 98 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: the rugues, so I assumed he'd just had one bade. 99 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: Now that means the coon has gone as far as 100 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: he was going to go, and Whaling more or less 101 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: had him cornered but not captured. Whaling hates a coon, 102 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: but he ain't no killer. I've seen more than one 103 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: coon give him a good watch for. He ain't scared 104 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: to take a butt whooping either, But he also ain't 105 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: gonna run away after he gets one. He's got a 106 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: lot of try in him, I'll say that. So when 107 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: I walked into where he was, I could see him 108 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: barking and chew it on an exposed clavery from a 109 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: falling tree, and I couldn't immediately see the coon. I 110 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: felt disappointed. All that build up of adrenaline listening to 111 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: him blistering down through the woods chasing that coon had 112 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: culminated into my dog barking had a big dirt clod, 113 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: like he lost his mind. It was also the embarrassing 114 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: they say a man's ego was a heavy load for 115 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: a dog to tote that I was about to see 116 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: that play out in spans. In the video you can 117 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: see as I start walking up to him that he's 118 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: chewing on the root between barking at what seems like 119 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: the edge of the water where it meets the clay root. 120 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: I laughed because he looked insane, barking in dirt that 121 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: didn't have a place big enough to hide a baby coon, 122 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: much less one big enough to let him on that 123 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: duke's of hazard chase we had all just witnessed. But 124 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: he was convinced that the coon was there, so I 125 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: got closer, looking for a whole. When the clay root 126 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: the coon had crawled into nothing, no hole. Whalen was 127 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: telling me, with all the vigor he had, that the 128 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: coons right there, Boss, you got to believe me. My 129 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: first inclination was just to lead him away and cast 130 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: him again and chalk it. 131 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 2: Up to Hayter. You know, they make mistakes just like 132 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 2: we do. 133 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: But this hound was giving me the best argument I'd 134 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: ever heard that he didn't make a mistake, and that 135 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: all I had to do was trust what he was 136 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: telling me. So I looked closer, and Whaling kept barking 137 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: like his life depended on it. And finally I saw 138 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: what looked like a glowing eye looking back at me 139 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: from under the water. Then I saw the other eye. 140 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: The coon was looking at me from beneath the surface, 141 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: completely submerged. I thought, well, all swan Whaling killed him 142 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: before we got here. I had it in my mind 143 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: to reach down and pull him up from under the water. 144 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: And then I saw him poke his nose and mouth 145 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: up and get a breath of air, then pull his 146 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: head back down under the surface, watching me and Whaling 147 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: the whole time. Now, I have seen some crazy things before, 148 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: but I swear I ain't never seen anything like a 149 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: coon laying under water, poking his nose up every once 150 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: in a while to get a breath of air like 151 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: a snorkel, but not only did I see it. I 152 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: felmed it. I put the leash on Whaling and someone 153 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: held him back. I jobbed that coon with a stick 154 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: i'd picked up, and he come up from under the 155 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: water and left on his own accord, and we let 156 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: him go. That coon was special, but he came in 157 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: second place that night in his and Whaling's game of 158 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 1: Hide and Seek. I like to think that he's the 159 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: same coon that Whaling bade underground later that winter. If 160 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: you hadn't heard that story, you'll want to go back 161 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: and listen to episode one seventy nine of This Country Life. 162 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 2: Now was it the same coon? Who knows? But if 163 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 2: it wasn't, I bet they were friends. And that's just 164 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 2: how that happened. 165 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: Last Saturday, at the urging of my friend Michael Roseman, 166 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,079 Speaker 1: I made the three hour drive from Central Arkansas to 167 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: Bates for Mississippi for the United Kennel Club Winter Classic 168 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: Coon Hunt. It rained hard, and every swipe of the windshield, 169 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: Wifer was telling me to turn around and go back home. 170 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: I'm not a competition hunter. Me oh waiting have been 171 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: the five UKC Club hunts and we've won two of them. 172 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: That's pretty good average, but the allure of the competitive 173 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: life just wasn't there for me. Basically comes down to 174 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: being lazy and official hunts. You can't ride a side 175 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: but side or use a four wheeler. You gotta walk 176 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: my dog trees a mile west of where we're standing 177 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: and yours trees a mile east of where we're standing. 178 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: We got to walk to my dog first and then 179 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: walk back to your dog. Also, there's probably two other 180 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: dogs making a four dog cast the official limit on 181 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: how bige the cast is. Being lazy is not really 182 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: the reason I don't competition. 183 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 2: No, yes, it is. No, it's not, well maybe okay. Anyway. 184 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: The cast is what you call the group of dogs 185 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,679 Speaker 1: that are in the contest that are given location when 186 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: you hunt. Now, you could have any number of dogs 187 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: in the overall contest, but the total number of dogs 188 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: is broken down into groups of four the closest to 189 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: it without going over. 190 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 2: The dogs are. 191 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: Further separated by accomplishment. Dogs reach certain graduated titles by 192 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: the number of cast winds they have. The more winds 193 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: they have determines who they're grouped with, and a cast 194 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: going forward makes it more fair for younger or more 195 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: inexperienced house to go against each other, while the more 196 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: experienced and upper echelon of dogs compete head to head 197 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: in a different location. There's a laundry list of rules 198 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: that have to be adhered to during the competition. Each 199 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: dog is evaluated and scored according to a point system 200 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: that is recorded by an official judge, who get this, 201 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: can be hunting in the same competition. Now, that kind 202 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: of sounds like letting a Major League baseball manager be 203 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: the home plate umpire and call balls and strikes for 204 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,959 Speaker 1: both teams. What separates this from that is these rules 205 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: are called honor rules. And I can honestly say that 206 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: in the five UKC hunts that I've been in, that 207 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,199 Speaker 1: all the judges hunted, and every one of them judged 208 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: those hunts fairly and explained each and every call they 209 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:56,079 Speaker 1: made to all the participant satisfaction. If it didn't work, 210 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be as strong as it is today. There's 211 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: good and bad and everything, and someone is always angling 212 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: for advantage, sometimes by breaking the rules. The UKC has 213 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: tailored the rules over the years to address these things 214 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: that come up in the field and to prevent things 215 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: like that happening. My dad always told me that padlocks 216 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: only keep honest folks honest, a thief is going to 217 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: be a thief regardless. The honor rules of UKC worked 218 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: the same way. I rolled into baseball parks and strolled 219 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: inside the convention Center into a sea of folks that 220 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: all shared a common interest, family and hound dogs. There 221 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: was vendors there from all over the country. That's why 222 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: Michael was there, selling and servicing the sun. 223 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 2: Spot lights, the lights we all use at meat eating. 224 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: The light my friend Rex Whiten was using before I 225 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: ever met Michael. Now, Michael is one of my best friends, 226 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: and I owe it all to Coonan. I was going 227 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: to see some other friends and make some news that 228 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: I want to tell you about while I was there, 229 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: But first let's talk about UKC. United Kennel Club was 230 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: founded in eighteen ninety eight. That's one hundred and twenty 231 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: six years ago. That's five years older than Major League Baseball. 232 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,559 Speaker 1: So let's do some math. My most favorite math teacher, 233 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,719 Speaker 1: Miss Brendan McDougall, just raised both of her eyebrows right now, 234 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: waiting to hear what I'm fixing to say next. I 235 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: credit her for single handedly getting my attention at an 236 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: early age by loving me enough to hit me with 237 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: a board when I needed it, and by showing me 238 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: that the reason I was more comfortable standing and sitting 239 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: was my own doing. She also showed me how much 240 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: she loved me by never giving up on me. I 241 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: can do a whole podcast about her. That's for another day. 242 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: Back to the math. Not count little league, just high 243 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: school baseball players. Only one out of two hundred get 244 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: drafted into the major leagues. Only five out of that 245 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: one hundred drafted ever play one game in the majors. 246 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,679 Speaker 2: What am I talking about? This is what I'm talking about. 247 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: What I'm saying is this, statistically speaking, if competition coon 248 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: hunting is your thing, your chances of competing at the 249 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: highest level is a whole lot better than playing baseball. 250 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: Now whole there were whole families walking around together, visiting 251 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: with folks, buying dogs, supplies, eating and having fun. This 252 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: event actually starts earlier in the week. They have what 253 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: they call warm up or slam hunts that they don't 254 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: count towards the Winter Classic win. But they do give 255 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: hunters who've traveled a long ways the opportunity for their 256 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: dogs to get acclimate it to the new areas. You know, 257 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: these dogs, They're not machines. Different environments requiring adjustment period, 258 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: and you want your hound to be acclimated as soon 259 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: as possible to his new surroundings. In theory, the sequels 260 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: to playing field for locals and out of towners. Now, 261 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: I can speak from experience that when I'm traveling with 262 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: Old whaling somewhere, any change to his routine will affect 263 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: his production in the woods. They have to get used 264 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: to it. There's so many factors that go into it 265 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: that I'm having to just really skim over the surface. 266 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: Environmental changes and the effects on a dog's performance could 267 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: be its own episode. It'd probably be as born as 268 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: listening to Clay tell someone else how the mountains in 269 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: Arkansas were formed for the coabillionth time. Anyway, as a bonus, 270 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: UKC has added some prize money to those warm up hunts. 271 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: They call them slam hunts, and if your hound winds, 272 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: you can put a little jingle in your pocket. If 273 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: nothing else, you get to meet you competitors, fellowship and 274 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: go hunting. What's not to like, Well, the walking part, 275 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 1: but it's good exercise, good exercise. 276 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 2: That's an oxymoron. 277 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: Anyway, I hadn't gotten inside good when a man approached 278 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: me and introduced himself. His name was Michael Bradley. He 279 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: was there with his son, Jacob and his son in 280 00:15:56,120 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: law Jacob. Michael was familiar with some of the content 281 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: that I've been involved with and he wanted to visit. 282 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: That's what I was there to do. Turns out Michael 283 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: is a coon hunter. 284 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 2: I know. 285 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: Shocker right, me running into a fellow coon hunter at 286 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: the first Big UK Sea Hunt of the year, the 287 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: first of three that make up the Triple Crown, starting 288 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: with this one, the Winter Classic that started in nineteen 289 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: eighty eight and officially starts the competition season, followed by 290 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: the second jewel of the yearly crowned autum Okes that 291 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: began back in nineteen sixty and is held yearly during 292 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: the Labor Day weekend, culinating with the World Championship in 293 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: early September that hosts dogs from the US of A 294 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: and our hockey loving neighbors to the north in Canada. 295 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: But what are the odds that I would meet another 296 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: coon hunter here? Well, Miss Brenda, and I would say 297 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: the odds were heavy in my favor of doing just that. 298 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 2: I would have been. 299 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: Hard pressed to have chunked the yard dart backwards over 300 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: my shoulder, not stabbed a fellow coon hunter at this gathering. 301 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: Trying to do that, I hit a fellow that still 302 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: coon hunts off from mew. Now that's where the odds 303 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: fall in favor of the house. My friend Luke McFadden Instagram, 304 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: hero crab fishing prodigy and President of Maryland was down 305 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: coon and squirrel hunting with me, Bear and Clay Nucombe 306 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: last weekend. We were riding mules with the Ozark squirrel 307 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: hunting and Luke asked me if folks hunted coons from mules. 308 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: I told him that back in the nineteen seventies up 309 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: and until the early eighties, that it was the thing 310 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,119 Speaker 1: to do, although I'd never personally owned the mule to 311 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: coon hunt off of it. We hunted squirrels off horses 312 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: and walked coon hunting, but that I don't always wanted one. 313 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: The mule thing was popular where I was from, but 314 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,920 Speaker 1: it all but died with the advent of ATVs, which 315 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: brings me back to my new. 316 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 2: Friend Michael Bradley. 317 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: It was about the third thing out of his mouth 318 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,439 Speaker 1: while we talked, and I was amazed that there was 319 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: still anyone doing it. 320 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 2: I'm going hunting with him soon if I have to 321 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 2: rent one. 322 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: He's also from Arkansas and in a live tradition that 323 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: I thought was gone. I talked to him on the 324 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: phone today and he told me that he'd been coon 325 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: hunting off mules for the majority of his life. 326 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:10,479 Speaker 2: Man, I love that stuff. 327 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,120 Speaker 1: Made my heart feel good that the old ways were 328 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: still being practiced, even one that I never participated him 329 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: those things are important to keep around for the next 330 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: generation to side that they want to partake. I can't 331 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: blame anyone for saying no to it, but at least 332 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: they'll have the opportunity thanks to Michael and folks like 333 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: him that find value in the old ways. It's also 334 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: hard for me to think of the seventies as the 335 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 1: old days, but nineteen seventy was fifty five years ago 336 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: I have heard just thinking about it. Then I met 337 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: up with Michael Roseman and his band of Untouchables at 338 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,359 Speaker 1: their booth and just soaked in the atmosphere that was 339 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: teeming with folks all talking about hound dogs. My friends 340 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 1: Randall Whitmore and Brad Clark for their school opened out 341 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: the scene and we walked over and watched the UKC 342 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: Bench Show. It was fantastic. Let me tell you, there 343 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: was some good looking dogs there. The bench shows are 344 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 1: run like the ones you see on TV following the 345 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The one on TV is put 346 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,120 Speaker 1: on by the Westminster Kennel Club in New York. You'll 347 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 1: see every kind of animal purported to be a dog 348 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: on that one. But the bench show with the UKC 349 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: Coon Hunts event are all registered coonhounds. There was a 350 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,959 Speaker 1: representative of all six breeds, a Coonhound, Tree and Walker, 351 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: Black and Tan, English Blue, tig, Plot, Leopardhound and redbone. 352 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,719 Speaker 1: Now the dogs are judged against a set of a 353 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:46,680 Speaker 1: group of individual breed standards height, weight, color, earlinked bill 354 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: just to name a few, and all these different criteria 355 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: must fall into the parameters that have been set up 356 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:56,399 Speaker 1: as the standard for each particular breed. At this level, 357 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: all that equates to is a group of beautiful dogs 358 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: are prime examples of what each should look like. There 359 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: was one dog that stood out to me when I 360 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,400 Speaker 1: first laid my eyes on him. Boy was he forever 361 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,919 Speaker 1: more pretty? Brad and Randall and I sat there watching 362 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: as the handlers trotted him in the ring and put 363 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 1: them up on the benches to pose. I picked that 364 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,920 Speaker 1: rascal as the winner before the event ever started. Let 365 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: me tell you, the other dogs in that mix were 366 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,679 Speaker 1: just as pretty in their own right, but something just 367 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: kept bringing my eye back to that dog, and wouldn't 368 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: you know it, before he left there. He wound up 369 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 1: being the top ten bench show over all winter. And 370 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,880 Speaker 1: he was a red bone named Wabash River Lost Highway. 371 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: Now it's his registered name, but he answers to Hank, 372 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:48,479 Speaker 1: which is a lot easier to remember. Hank was handled 373 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: and on by the Pride of lake Lord, North Carolina, 374 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,439 Speaker 1: Missus Andy Emery, and in her husband Keith. Ain't rookies 375 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: when it comes to winning, and neither is Old Hank, 376 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: and neither his Hank's son McGraw or Hanks. Mama Rosie. 377 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: Now we got a Jack Russell named Rosie that we've 378 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: had for over twelve years. The only thing she's everyone 379 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: is the crop dusting dog Hair World Championship as she 380 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: floats from room to room with Alexis and the vacuum 381 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,679 Speaker 1: cleaner in hot pursuit. But the cool part about that 382 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: story is how families are all involved. UKC will tell 383 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: you that In the beginning, the folks showing the dogs 384 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: were all men. Now men are the exception in the 385 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: event that's dominated by women. Hey, I don't get your 386 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: feathers all ruffled. I know lots of ladies that like 387 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: to coon hunt too. My wife, who loves my coon 388 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: dog more than me, is not one of them. But 389 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,440 Speaker 1: parading him around for other folks to look at and 390 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: ogel over, well that's her game. If Whalen was a 391 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: show dog and had she been so inclined, it's not 392 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: just hunting, it's a whole lot more. I saw kids 393 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: of all ages there. That was what was so easy recognizable. 394 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,680 Speaker 1: It was one being family gathering. I got to visit 395 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: briefly with my friends Alan Gingrich and Trevor Wade. Allen 396 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: is the director of the hunting operations at UKCE and 397 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: Trevor is a coop Now programs manager. Now, those boys 398 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,199 Speaker 1: were busier than a cat in a sandbox. They, along 399 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: with a squad of other UKC employees and volunteers, were 400 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 1: coordinating everything you can imagine that involves three hundred and 401 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: fifty hounds, the folks hunting them, the judges and the 402 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: guides man. It's a big operation. Also ran into Bryce 403 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 1: Matthews and sat down with him and Stephen Basham, the 404 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: cats from the Simper Dog and podcast and visited with them. 405 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 2: For a little bit. 406 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: You can hear their podcast just about anywhere you can 407 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: listen to this one. They wanted me to tell a story, 408 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: so I did. That was the common theme throughout this 409 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: whole event, people telling stories, whether it was about old 410 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: dogs or old hunters or new ones of each. People 411 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: were talking about last night's hunting, anticipating hunt that was 412 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 1: only a few hours away, the last rounds that would 413 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,959 Speaker 1: decide who'd be the overall champion of the twenty twenty 414 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,160 Speaker 1: four Hunt. Now, once the dust settled and the scorecards 415 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: were turned in, a Tree and Walker named Wade's Lockdown Playboy, 416 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: owned by Carl and Tracy Wade, told the overall Hunt 417 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,199 Speaker 1: Winter trophy home with them to Alabama. You hear that 418 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: Clay Bow, a tree and Walker one that wasn't the 419 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,479 Speaker 1: only person there that wasn't a competition hunter. Johnny Smith, 420 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 1: a strapped mule man and pleasure coon hunting from Mississippi, 421 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: was walking around in there with an official Gary Nukel 422 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: bar grease believer had on. Man. It was just like 423 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: being at home. These are my people and we got 424 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: plenty of room for more. It's a family tradition for 425 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: a lot of folks and a new one for others, 426 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: including me. And best of all, it's a another opportunity 427 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,199 Speaker 1: to share something outside with dogs and folks you're partial 428 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,439 Speaker 1: to being around of any age, that's good. That's a 429 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 1: constant theme with me in this program, getting outside with 430 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: loved ones, and that's good for everyone. I hope y'all 431 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 1: have enjoyed this competition coon hunting episode. I've gotten some 432 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,439 Speaker 1: ideas for others along this vein if there's enough interest 433 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,640 Speaker 1: from the folks that listen, and y'all don't revolt. If 434 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: you want to tell me in person to knock it 435 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,680 Speaker 1: off with the coon hunting episodes, come see me at 436 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: the Black Bear Banansa on March ninth in Bentonville, America, 437 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: and tell it to my face. Www dot Blackbear Bonanza 438 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,720 Speaker 1: dot com will get you all the info you need. 439 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: It's gonna be a good time and that'll be here 440 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: before you know it. Better get you to us now 441 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: until next week, This said Brent Reeves, signing off. Y'all 442 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:03,880 Speaker 1: be careful, hadn't done the thing