2023 UKC Triple Crown Winner: GRNITECH 'PR' Willy's Little Ann
Congratulations to Ellis Keen on this accomplishment
October 11, 2023
Source: Trevor Wade
Job Title: Coonhound Program Manager
Email: twade@ukcdogs.com
GRNITECH 'PR' Willy's Little Ann, owned by Ellis Keen, of London, Kentucky
DOB: December 28, 2019
Breed: Treeing Walker Coonhound
Sire: WLDNITECH GRNITECH(2) 'PR' Gray's Rack Em Willy
Dam: 'PR' Wipeout She Squirms Alot
- Winter Classic - 50 points for each cast win. Max 100 points.
- Autumn Oaks - 50 points for a cast win. No points for Grand 16 cast wins. Max 50 points.
- World Championship Zones - 25 points for each cast win. Max 50 points.
- World Championship Finals - 10 points for each cast win. Max 40 points.
The UKC Triple Crown Challenge, sponsored by United Kennel Club, rewards the outstanding coonhound who earns the most Triple Crown points at the Winter Classic, Autumn Oaks, and the World Championship. The winner receives $3,000 and a jacket courtesy of UKC. A dog must have participated in all three events to be eligible for the award.
After the first leg of the Triple Crown, the double cast winners at the Winter Classic held in Batesville, Mississippi would set the pace for the 2023 Triple Crown Challenge. Five Black & Tans, two Blueticks, four English, and fifteen Treeing Walkers made up the 26 frontrunners, all tied with 100 Triple Crown points.
Then came the second leg at Autumn Oaks in Richmond, Indiana. Out of the 26 double cast winners at Winter Classic, only five hounds were able to add a cast win and 50 points to their resume at Oaks. Those five hounds were GRNITECH 'PR' $$Black River Lefty$$ owned by Ike Rainey, Chad McCoin, and Malcolm Rains of Ocala, Florida, GRNITECH 'PR' Huggins' Carman owned by Ben Huggins of Cordova, Alabama, GRNITECH 'PR' Willy's Little Ann owned by Ellis Keen of London, Kentucky, GRNITECH(2) 'PR' Willy's Insane Scar owned by JR Gray and Ellis Keen of London, Kentucky, and GRNITECH(2) 'PR' True Grit's Liquid Steel owned by Dustin Brummett of Crab Orchard, Kentucky. At this point, there were 24 other hounds tied with 100 points that were still within shouting distance going into the last leg of the yearly series.
Just two weeks later, the four Treeing Walker hounds and the lone Black and Tan were heading into the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, the World Championship, starting with the Zones. As we sometimes see in this points race, there was one of the hounds, Carman, that was not qualified for the Zones and therefore eliminated from the competition. There would be a lot of eyes on the four remaining hounds, Lefty, Ann, Scar, and Steel, all of which were entered into the Portland, Indiana Zone.
As Friday night at the Zones came to a close, both of the London, Kentucky dogs, Little Ann and Scar, saw their lead grow by winning their casts as Lefty and Steel came up short. On Saturday night, Ann and Scar stayed hot by winning their casts again, and this night Lefty was able to get a cast win as well. With their double cast wins not only did both of the Willy pups secure their spot in the World Finals, but they also took the lead in the Triple Crown race with 200 points total each. Lefty, with his single cast win at Zones raised his total to 175 points and was able to secure his spot at the World Finals and give himself a fighting chance against the females. Steel, unfortunately, lost both casts and was now out of contention.
In Thursday's Round 1 at the Finals, both Scar and Lefty had good showings, but both came up just short of winning their cast. Little Ann, however, was able to continue her cast winning ways and won her cast with 350+. Her run would come to an end in Round 2 but her Round 1 cast win gave her 210 points total and secured her Triple Crown title!
Congratulations to Ellis Keen on his accomplishment with GRNITECH 'PR' Willy's Little Ann the 2023 UKC Triple Crown Champion. They join the following elite group of hounds and owners who have won this award:
| Year | Dog | Breed | Owner(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 2000 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) STEVE BURKHOLDER, JERRY MCAVOY |
| Year 2001 |
Dog |
Breed ENGLISH COONHOUND |
Owner(s) CHAD BUTCHER, DEAN THOMPSON |
| Year 2002 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) KEVIN PHLLIPS, BT LOVE |
| Year 2003 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) RON TAYLOR |
| Year 2004 |
Dog |
Breed AMERICAN B&T COONHOUND |
Owner(s) TED FRODERMAN |
| Year 2005 |
Dog |
Breed REDBONE COONHOUND |
Owner(s) SHANE MARCYES |
| Year 2006 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) DANIEL GLISTA, ED MEAD |
| Year 2007 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) KEVIN PHLLIPS, BT LOVE |
| Year 2008 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) ROBERT RAXTER |
| Year 2009 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) ROBERT RAXTER, SCOTT ENGLE |
| Year 2010 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) LOGAN BURDWELL, MOLLIE BURDWELL |
| Year 2011 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) WILLIAM READ, DOUG READ |
| Year 2012 |
Dog |
Breed ENGLISH COONHOUND |
Owner(s) JODY JESSUP, PENNY JESSUP |
| Year 2013 |
Dog |
Breed AMERICAN B&T COONHOUND |
Owner(s) DEAN MILLER, TIMOTHY WATERS |
| Year 2014 |
Dog |
Breed ENGLISH COONHOUND |
Owner(s) JACOB BARTON |
| Year 2015 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) EDDIE HARP, LARRY HAMLIN |
| Year 2016 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) NICK BRADY, PHIL PETERSON |
| Year 2017 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) WESLEY HASTINGS, JOHNNY BROWN |
| Year 2018 |
Dog |
Breed AMERICAN B&T COONHOUND |
Owner(s) MICAH AYERS |
| Year 2019 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) MICHAEL SHEPPARD |
| Year 2020 |
Dog |
Breed BLUETICK COONHOUND |
Owner(s) MARK VANDEVENTER |
| Year 2021 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) WILLIAM WOOD, JUSTIN WALLACE |
| Year 2022 |
Dog |
Breed ENGLISH COONHOUND |
Owner(s) GREGORY WALLACE |
| Year 2023 |
Dog |
Breed TREEING WALKER COONHOUND |
Owner(s) ELLIS KEEN |
| Year |
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