UKC Coonhound Weekly Bulletin, Edition 23
September 30, 2025
Source: Trevor Wade, Coonhound Program Manager
Email: twade@ukcdogs.com
Welcome back to the weekly UKC coonhound bulletin! We are coming off an exceptional weekend in Portland, Indiana at the 2025 UKC Coonhound World Championship. All of your support has made this a great early fall season for our team. I am going to share here my post from my personal social media account below, thanking those involved in the weekend (in hopes I dont leave anyone out).
First, as always, thank you competitors. This was all done to put on the best event for you all and I appreciate all your support during the year. There were 3,311 entries in Regional Qualifying hunts during the year with 808 dogs getting qualified, and 531 being entered into the Zones. In the show ring, there were 1,318 entries in Regional Qualifying shows during the year with 716 dogs getting qualified and 171 entering the World Finals, the most since 2018.
Second, I have to thank UKC's partners and sponsors for this event that made it all possible. Among them are Bright Eyes Lights which gave a brand new light to each of the Top 27, Coondog Wear, Razor Hunting Gear who helped with awesome vests for the entire Top 108, Dan's Hunting Gear, Houndsman Advantage who enhanced the whole event with their app, Dakota 283, Easy Loader Dog Kennels, and Eukanuba, the Official Performance Dog Nutrition Partner of UKC. Also, I would like to thank Diamond Flagging for Thursdays meal.
Next, I want to thank the host club, Limberlost Coonhunters Club and the other area clubs in both Indiana and Ohio that offered up guide and judge support. You guys were awesome. The club members were there when we pulled in, they were there when we pulled out early Sunday morning, and every minute in between, always lending a helping hand.
I sure appreciate all the judges for the weekend. We didn't have a question, which shouldn't be a determining factor of success because questions aren't a bad thing, it's the type of questions and the way they are presented which can sometimes be problematic. However, we didn't see or hear any of that this weekend. Thank you goes out to Chad Showalter, Terry Tappy, Derek Bryan, Deric Compton, Jason Bowling, Bryce Matthews, Elmer Stolzfus, Cody McCracken, Dustin Feaster, Shorty Tinsman, Matt Lingo, Jeff Ricklefs, Kerry Oswalt, Brad Kelly, Nate Collins, Rob Ewry, Logan Douglas, Ben Banks, Tyler Showalter, Kevin Cable, Dylan Eberle, Garrett Brown, Bryan Smith, Jared Miller, Seth Mason, Jack Bingham, and Jeremy Kidd.
Also, big time shout out to the guides. Over 40 casts this weekend, 223 raccoons were seen and 176 were scored. That is 4.4/cast. A lot of the names above guided as well but in addition to them, there was also Ryan Davidson, Ryan Cheeseman, Randall Winchester, Darren Ridge, Rodney McCracken, Brad Wendel, Jeremy Hurst, Mike Sorg, Doug Sommers, Tim Manor, Brent Carr, Sid Taylor, Zane Shauver, David Shauver, Noah Wengered, Eric Keifer, Charlie Brunswick, and Eli Hamerick. We also must give our appreciation to the landowners for allowing us permission to hunt on their land.
I want to thank the Field Reps who served as officials over the weekend. Doug Cundiff of Indiana, Curtis Sparks of North Carolina, Philip Foster of South Carolina, Jamie Estep of West Virginia, and Brandon Scalf of Kentucky. They are the best in the business.
Next, I want to thank some more people who were key contributors for the weekend. I want to thank the Bench Show Judges, Sarah Lingo and Katina Childers. I want to thank the photographer for the weekend, Tracy Chilson. I want to thank our live show talent, Jamie, Rick Stretch and Steve Burkholder. I want to thank Bryce Matthews for capturing some awesome moments from the final cast and helping me out during the hunt. And I want to thank our live show crew, Rick, Jeff, Lars, and Mike. Man, I know we wanted to get more live coverage from the field for the final cast, but you can't always control everything in the woods and the single most important things are making sure our hunters have safe woods with plenty of game to score on. I can assure you that we used the best equipment available to try to stream back live footage, it just didn't work in some areas. I have watched both and thoroughly enjoyed both live shows.
Lastly, I want to thank the staff who had a part in the weekend. Annie and Andrea with Media/Marketing, Nicole and Holley who are the key cogs in our National Events Team, Danielle Champ who was a big help, Lacey Merriam in Hunting Ops who is always a huge help for me even when she is four hours away, and of course Allen Gingerich.
Plans are being made for next years event. Get those hounds qualified and I look forward to continuing the proud history of the UKC Coonhound World Championship next year.
If you read all that, bless you. Lets jump into the bulletin.
PAST EVENTS
There was no shortage of coverage from this weekends World Championship. Here are some places you can find it:
- UKC Coonhounds Facebook Page (All kinds of content available)
- UKC Coonhound Standings/Results Page (Cast breakdowns and results from the Nite Hunt and winners from the Bench Show)
- UKC YouTube Channel (For live shows from the event including Thursdays Midnight Mayhem, Saturdays Bench Show, and Saturday's Final Cast)
- UKC SmugMug (For photos from the event)
UPCOMING EVENTS
October is a big month on the Major Event and Youth Championship Schedule. This weekend kicks it off right with a breed day event, two state championships, and a youth state championship. Lets see what you might be able to attend
- North Carolina State Championship in Albemarle, North Carolina
- Indiana State Championship in Liberty, Indiana
- BBCHA Fall Round Up in Miami, Oklahoma (includes youth hunts and shows, here.)
- Arkansas State Youth Championship
Good luck and safe travels to all attending these events!
WHATS HAPPENING?
With Autumn Oaks, the Zones, and the World Championship in the rearview, its time to focus on some other things we have going on the rest of this season and preparing for 2026. Over the next few weeks, we will work on finalizing some changes on the Major Event schedule, the RQE schedule, and getting in writing new Zone and Final locations. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
This is the last month to accrue Top Ten points for the series year. Each year runs from November 1st October 31st. Once that period ends, the Hunting Ops team will work quickly to get in all remaining Bench Show reports from that time period in and processed, finalize the list, and get invitations out by January 2026. As it sits today, here are the standings, which are update every other Tuesday: Top Ten Bench Show Standings
Entries opened this morning for the MS State Pro Slam. It will be hosted by the Mississippi Raccoon Hunters Association on Thursday night of their State Championship. I'll update you all on an entry list weekly, as we close in on the event.
MS State Pro Slam
October 30, 2025
$300 Entry Fee, 16-Dog Limit
Event Ad (click)
Entry List:
1) Jeremy Purvis
2) Chris Miller
3) Steve Sikes
4) Draven Sullivan
5) Blake Johnson
6) Blake Johnson
7) Zane Jacob
8 ) Dyke Parnell
9) Dyke Parnell
10) Ross Manns
11) Billy Dwyer
Speaking of winning money, after the World Championship, the Coonhound Money Winners list has shifted yet again. Each of the Top 9 hounds earned money that went towards their earnings, which tracks money won in UKC World Championships since 2019, the UKC Tournament of Champions since 2021, and all UKC Pro Slams that have happened.
In this update, seven hounds made their first appearance on the list. Arnetts Bushwhackin Style jumped way up the list, increasing his $1,000 to $2,500 with his Top 9 finish this weekend. And last but certainly not least, Willys Little Ann has dethroned Hobo and is now the All-Time Top Money Earner for UKC, with her Tournament of Champions and World Championship wins giving her $60,000 earned! For a full list of UKC Money Earners, click here.
DOG OF THE WEEK
Last week we looked at Diamond Cutter who is one of two dogs that have won the World Bench Show Championship and also achieved the GRCHHOF title. This week, we are going to discuss the other to achieve that impressive feat, NGRCH WSHOWCH DGCH GRCHHOF 'PR' My Dog I'm Calling Dibs HTX2. Lets find out more about him.
Name: NGRCH WSHOWCH DGCH GRCHHOF 'PR' My Dog I'm Calling Dibs HTX2
Breed: Plott Hound
Date of Birth: 6/13/2017
Owned by: Wayne Steele of Wakefield, Virginia
Bred by: Wayne Steele
Three-Generation Pedigree:
--- NITECH CH'PR'MIDNIGHT BRINDLED BLITZEN HTX
- WSHOWCH GRCH'PR'MIDNIGHT BRINDLED DONNER
--- GRCH'PR'MIDNIGHT BRINDLE BAMBI
NGRCH WSHOWCH DGCH GRCHHOF'PR'MY DOG I'M CALLING DIBS HTX2
--- GRCH'PR'SUNCREST STANDING ONTHE PROMISE
- CA GRWCH GRCH CGRCH'PR'MY DOG HONEY BEE
--- 'PR'RACK ISLAND COTTON'S JENNY
Dibs is a hound that left a mark on me early on. In my first year at UKC, Dibs was the first Bench Show World Champion I saw crowned. But his competition career started over a year before that, having won Class and Breed as a 15-month-old at the 2018 Autumn Oaks. He did the same at the 2019 Grand American and finished out to CH in March of 2019 at the South Carolina State Championship. At all major events, Dibs finished to GRCH in August of 2019 at the West Virginia State Championship. It was a month later in Marshalltown, Iowa that Dibs joined the history books, winning the 2019 World Championship.
Dibs stayed on his hot streak to start 2020 by winning the Grand American in January and then winning the Winter Classic in February. After Plott Days in 2021, Dibs took a break from showing with 16 GRCH wins on his record. Then, all the sudden, Dibs came back on the scene in July of 2024 racking up GRCH win after GRCH win, including a GRCH of Breed Opposite Sex at the 2024 Autumn Oaks. It was in April of 2025 that Dibs got that coveted 40th GRCH win to finish to GRCHHOF in Aylett, Virginia.
It was just a few weeks ago that Dibs achieved the last win I see on his win record, which was winning Autumn Oaks and being now recognized as a National Grand Show Champion. I cant tell you with 100% certainty that this is the case, but I am pretty confident that he is the only hound to win the World Show, Autumn Oaks, Winter Classic, and Grand American. And when you add in the GRCHHOF title, you have one of the most accomplished hounds in this registrys history.
UKC HUNTING OPS PODCAST
On this past weeks episode, Allen sat down with Duke Proulx of Connecticut in the next of his Undisputed series. Youll enjoy hearing Duke run through several of his favorite hounds of all time. Give it a listen.
UKCS ALL-QUARTER CENTURY CAST
Results are in and we got a lot of votes in this weeks poll! After six weeks of Autumn Oaks voting, it is NGRNCH GRCH GRNITECHHOF 'PR' Redneck Backwoods Shack that is the Autumn Oaks representative receiving 41.97% of your votes in the Autumn Oaks Finals. He now joins WLDNITECH GRNITECH(3) PR Willys Little Ann and GRNITECH PR 7 Oaks Hardtime Lola on the All-Quarter Century Cast.
To find the 4th and final dog on the cast, we are going to sort through the past 25 years of World Champions, starting with the 2000-2004 winners. You will have five Treeing Walker males to choose from in this weeks vote to see who moves on to the World Championship Finals. Here are your options:
2000 Winner - WLDNITECH CH GRNITECH PR Jimmy Ds Handsome Hank
Treeing Walker Male
Last owned by Terrell Delaney of Emerson, Arkansas
Out of NITECH 'PR' House's Bruno & Deweese Cache River Shoestring
Born 7/22/1994 and bred by James Ray
- 2000 UKC World Champion
- Qualified for World Zones 1 time (2000)
- Cast wins at 2000 World Zones
- 10 cast wins on record
- 7 wins have scores recorded totaling 2,500+ averaging 357.1+ in those cast wins
2001 Winner - WLDNITECH GRNITECH GRCH PR X Jr.
Treeing Walker Male
Last owned by Jess Dickerson and Russ Meyer of Garden City, Missouri
Out of GRNITECH 'PR' Nocturnal Skipper & GRCH GRNITECH 'PR' Hardie's Bigtime Trixie
Born 3/19/1997 and bred by Troy Hardie and Paul Gregg
- 2001 UKC World Champion
- Qualified for World Zones 2 times (2000, 2001)
- Cast wins at 2001 Kansas State Championship, 2001 Treeing Walker Days, 2001 World Zones
- 13 cast wins on record
- 10 wins have scores recorded totaling 5,000+ averaging 500+ in those cast wins
2002 Winner - WLDNITECH GRCHGRNITECHPR Rock River Gap
Treeing Walker Male
Last owned by Alan Snedgar of Vermontville, Michigan
Out of GRNITECH 'PR' Babes Stylish Banjo & NITECH 'PR' Schmersal's Stylish Rose
Born 1/9/1998 and bred by Daniel Dodge and Charles Schmersal
- 2002 UKC World Champion
- Qualified for World Zones 1 time (2002)
- Cast wins at 2002 World Zones
- 11 cast wins on record
- 5 wins have scores recorded totaling 3,750+ averaging 750+ in those cast wins
2003 Winner - WLDNITECH NITECH PR Little Woods Scar
Treeing Walker Male
Last owned by Kenneth Hill and GK Stevens of Bryant, Alabama
Out of GRNITECH 'PR' Fletcher's Stylish Jake & GRNITECH 'PR' Loose Tin Stylish Annie
Born 6/28/2000 and bred by Elbert Vining
- 2003 UKC World Champion
- Qualified for World Zones 2 times (2002, 2003)
- Cast wins at 2003 World Zones
- 11 cast wins on record
- 7 wins have scores recorded totaling 1,850+ averaging 264.3+ in those cast wins
2004 Winner - WLDNITECH GRNITECH PR Bates Crytical Chuck
Treeing Walker Male
Last owned by Tom Bates of Newcomerstown, Ohio
Out of NITECH 'PR' Douglas' Caesar & 'PR' House's Kentucky Cookie
Born 8/2/1997 and bred by Joe House
- 2004 UKC World Champion
- Qualified for World Zones 4 times (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004)
- Cast wins at 2002 World Zones, 2004 World Zones
- 15 cast wins on record
- 9 wins have scores recorded totaling 4,550+ averaging 505.6+ in those cast wins
You will have until Monday, October 6th at 11:45 PM ET to cast your vote. You vote right here: VOTE NOW
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