UKC Hunting Ops Podcast

In this week’s episode, Domenick is at the National Bird Dog Museum on the night before the first brace of the 2025 National Championship running. Now in its 126th year and possibly the largest total ever, this traditional horseback trial will showcase 55 dogs and assign one overall champion winner.

First, we hear from Ames Plantation Director, Matt Bakas, who works hard all year to maintain the viability of the grounds and healthy habitat for quail. He teases out a new agreement that will bring a huge boost to the facility with a goal to begin running the event on wild birds. He also gives some useful tips on how to help birds on your own property. Matt is joined by Dr. Stan Wint who shares his thoughts on how to make improvements to increase quail populations and how to bring more participants to this prestigious event.

Next up is judge Rich Robertson who shares his story about how he became a judge. He mentions what he’s looking to see out of the dogs and what motivates him as a judge. He’s been in the bird dog game a long while and grew up competing at Ames. We touch on what a training regime looks like to get to the big event and Rich shares a touching tale of his most memorable moment running at the National.

Lastly, we hear from National Championship reporter Tessa Hughes. She also judges events and compares the two different styles of observing a brace. She talks about the challenges of reporting on the National which is so much different than other stakes. We also learn how she coordinates getting reports and content to those eagerly waiting to consume it. She closes out with some helpful advice for anyone looking to write a great field trial report.

To catch up on the event, visit: https://www.amesplantation.org/

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In this week’s episode, Domenick is reporting from the National Bird Dog Museum in Grand Junction, Tennessee to check in on the 2025 Hall of Fame (HOF) Inductions.

We first hear from Greg Blair who shares his experience and gives some great advice for anyone looking to get started in pointing dog trials in the UKC/American Field pointing dog events. We also compare the differences between how dogs run in walking vs horseback stakes. Greg also talks about what a National Shoot To Retrieve Association event looks like—if you’re brand-new to pointing dog sports, this is a great place to start!

Next up is Sean Derrig, owner/trainer of HOF Erin's Hidden Shamrock, “Jack,” an English setter. Sean set a goal for himself to become the only handler to have bred and trained both a pointer and a setter to reach the HOF. He talks about his background and his motivations to breed, raise, train, and campaign dogs in the 1%. He also shares some exciting stories about hunting birds with a pointer, a terrier, a hawk, and a horse!

Lastly, we hear from the Smith family, on-site to celebrate the induction of the late Larry Smith. His wife, Linda, shares several stories from his busy field trial life. Larry had a love for the sport of pointing dog field trials, hosting events, and raising puppies.

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Welcome to our 2025 miniseries update on the top coonhound reproducers. This time we’re talking about the top ten males and females of each breed of all-time and ranking them by the number of hunt-titled dogs they’ve produced.

Here in part one, we go over the black & tan, bluetick, and American leopard hound breeds. We also cover the top hunt title-producing dogs of the 2024 calendar year to highlight those up-and-coming hounds making their way up the ranks of all-time reproducers. If you’re a coonhound fancier, you’re going to want to tune into this multi-part series.

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In this week’s episode, Allen and Trevor are reporting on the 2025 Winter Classic coonhound event. Tune in to hear from the guys as they recap last weekend’s festivities along with sharing some exciting interviews from overall bench show winner, Hunter Booth, top ten bench show winner, Amy McDonald, and overall Nite Hunt winners Jared Lehman and Kyle Stoops. We also mention the final fours and winners of our Warm-Up Slams and Pro Slams.

We want to thank our sponsors and partners who made this event happen.

Head to the UKC Coonhounds Facebook page to see the complete list of results along with photos and videos from the 2025 Winter Classic event: https://www.facebook.com/UKCcoonhounds/

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In this week’s episode, Allen and Trevor hop on to talk about the 2025 Top Ten Bench Show. The big event will be held on Friday, February 7, 2025, at Winter Classic at the Civic Center in Batesville, Mississippi. We discuss which dogs are heating things up heading to the show and what it takes to get into the spotlight and on the big screen to become the overall winner. We also mention our judging panel and the $15,000 payout distribution. We chat through a few trends from the various coonhound breed associations and list off the qualifiers from each breed who will be making their way to the big stage. We’ll see you soon for food, fun, and festivities!

To learn more about the Winter Classic event, visit: https://www.ukcdogs.com/winter-classic

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On this week’s episode, Allen and Trevor are back in the studio to begin a series discussing our updated running rules for our Hunting Beagle Program. In Part 1, the guys discuss Rule 1 (point system), Rule 2 (plus points), Rule 3 (minus points), and Rule 4 (circle points). If you’re a hunting beagle fanatic, this series is surely one not to miss!

To learn more about our Hunting Beagle Program, visit: Beagles | United Kennel Club (UKC)

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This week on the podcast, Allen and Trevor's journey through the coonhound running rules wraps up with a discussion about Rule 14 (questioning a judge), Rule 15, (electronic and controlling devices), and a section on panels and appeals. If you're a competition coonhunter, this is part of our coonhound running rules series not to be missed!

To learn more about the UKC Coonhound program, visit https://www.ukcdogs.com/coonhound-about

To learn how to join the United Kennel Club, visit https://www.ukcdogs.com

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In this week’s episode, Trevor and Allen are back in the studio to chat about the upcoming 2025 Winter Classic, occurring on Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8. Find out what makes this show so special, now in its 38th year and its 13th year in Batesville. We kick off the episode by reflecting on last year’s event then discuss the distribution of the coonhound breeds and ponder which breeds will do well this year. Interested in the back story behind the Winter Classic, head back to Episode 34 where we go deep into the history books for the entire event.

The 2025 Winter Classic will feature two separate two-hour Nite Hunts for both registered and grand divisions and one bench show over the two days. They guys also talk through how we get to overall winner and reserves and outline the awards portion across the divisions. We also mention details on how to complete your entry and confirmation and how to get in with your walk-up registrations. There’s a Pro Slam as well as two Warm Up Slams on Wednesday and Thursday nights with added purses each night provided by Coondog Wear.

DON’T MISS OUT! The advanced entry deadline is January 20th for both Nite Hunt and bench show competitors. Sign up and learn more at: https://www.ukcdogs.com/winter-classic

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On this week’s episode, we’re fresh from the 2025 Grand American Coon Hunt. Tune in as Trevor Wade, UKC’s Coonhound Program Manager takes us through the exciting weekend in Orangeburg where hundreds of dogs competed in the woods and on the bench. If you’re a competition coonhound enthusiast, you won’t want to miss this one!

First up is Mack Tallent from Missouri who loves to coon hunt along with guiding big game hunts out West. Next is Jason Roberts who travels a bunch with his Quinn dog, and they’ve had good luck at major events, including taking the title at Grand American in 2022. Then it’s Chris Speer, his handling partner, and his son who won the cast on Friday night. Next up is our Field Reps, Curtis Sparks and Philip Foster, to share their take on returning to this iconic event and what they saw over the weekend. Then it’s on to the bench show champions, Penny Turner and Rhonda Brown, and finally we hear from Eric Brown who was the Overall Nite Hunt Winner.

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In this week’s episode, we slow things down and lighten them up a bit to talk about a very important topic for hunting dog owners—trucks! Todd, Allen, and Domenick are in the studio to have a light-hearted discussion about what makes for a good hunting rig. We compare our definitions and what we need in a hunting truck. We swap stories and share some of our favorite setups from over the years. We also trade notes about the different types of hunting dog owners (houndsmen, bird doggers, waterfowlers, beaglers, etc.) and how they haul their dogs in various ways using crates/kennels or dog boxes for competitions, training, and pleasure hunting. We also get into gear, and mention some of the essentials we keep in our trucks. Finally, we share our preferred snack choices. Tune in to see how your preferences line up with ours!

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