Gerald Smith wins Remington truck!
5/10/2009 1:22:46 AM
Greensburg, IN - A truly amazing finish to an outstanding coonhound event came on Saturday night with the running of the final four at the 2009 AKC National Championship. The cast scored on six raccoons and finished in a real nail-biter that literally went right down to the wire and may easily have been the greatest final four cast of all time!
Winning the National Championship and the coveted grand prize Remington Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 pickup was Gerald Smith of Valley, Alabama hunting a six-year old Treeing Walker male named CNC Rocky Rolex Rex. Rex was sired by Teflon Don, owned by Bob Dudley of Opelika, Alabama and was out of Rock River Pearl. He scored 375 plus points in the winning effort.
Finishing in a close second with 325 plus points was Dean Miller's CSGN Bad to the Bones Black Hawk, a three-year old Black and Tan handled by Steven Gambel of Senatobia, Mississippi. Dean Miller lives in Berlin, Ohio.
The third place finish was decided after the hunting time expired when CNC Joinertown Wipeout Zep 3's tree was scored. Zeb 3, owned by Brad Mitchell of Tennessee Ridge, Tenn., and handled by Jeff Travis of Madison, Tenn., had a coon moving his score to 300 plus and edging out Blaise Bauer's CNC Kansas Marti by just fifty points to take third. Marti finished fourth with 250 plus. Blaise Bauer lives in Girard, Kansas.
The cast was judged by Rick Shafer, Dudley Jones and Spencer Seals and was guided by Troy Benge. Benge really put the cast in coon. Indiana Master Conservation Officer Chris Powel l accompanied the cast to the woods and was able to hear the entire cast from start to finish including all the split trees, right from the starting point at the trucks. Powell, a coon hunter himself said, "This was the best cast I've ever seen, bar none."
Our sincere thanks goes to the Rushville Coon Hunters and the Clifty Creek Coon Hunters for hosting the event in such a professional and friendly way. These folks are great to work with in every way.
We also deeply appreciate the efforts of Melanie Maxwell with the Decatur County Chamber of Commerce, without whose help the AKC National Championship would be much less of a success.
And we especially want to thank the sponsors of the AKC National Championship, and especially Remington Arms Company for making the grand prize Remington Dodge truck a reality for our National Championship. Other major sponsors for whom we are especially thankful include:
Garmin International
Tri-tronics, Inc.
Diamond Deluxe Dog Boxes from Jackson Creek Supply
Bright Eyes Lights
American Cooner
Photo: L-R: Troy Benge, Gerald Smith, Dudley Jones and Rick Shafer with 2009 AKC National Champion CNC Rocky Rolex Rex.
View the Final Four online scorecard:
http://www.akccoonhounds.org/asp/playbyplay/viewscore.asp?action=display&psubid=64
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