I've listened to all the BS about Jena being low on game, taking hours to jump, not seeing coyotes and all that other crap, and it's just that CRAP! I have spoken every week with friends, whom i trust, that have been running over there regularly, and all reports have been good, other than maybe little spotty, summer time running.
Well, i've waited til i went myself to make any comments and now i can. Me and many others went Saturday morning to run at Jena. We cast right at 90 hounds and 4:00 a.m. and were in full cry in just a few minutes. The running was good, coyotes were seen, some not being ran, and things were in order. We also ran several fox which Jena typically keeps several for all you East Coast boys!! The pen is a little thicker than normal right now, but hey, it is summer time. But, i didn't see any evidence of low game. As a matter of fact, this week there will be a pile of coyotes turned loose and this will continue til closer to the hunt.
Let's not make a bunch of excuses because few don't want to come to Jena. Get em ready, the running will be there, all you have to worry about is if you have what it takes to compete with some of the best hounds in the country that aren't scared to be there!!!
P.S. - the pen is open on Saturday mornings, all you have to do is load up and come see for yourself. Also, if you are one of those that bashed the pen cause yall took forever to jump or had bad running, all i can tell yall is quit deer dogging and get some wolfhounds, cause there were 90 of them there Saturday that rocked and rolled!!!

Thanks Cary Don. I know Russell will appreciate your remarks.

NOW THATS A GOOD POST RIGHT THERE CD I GOT A CALL FROM SOMEONE ELSE THAT RAN THERE SAT AND SAID BASICALLY THE SAME THING --LUKS LIKE ITS SHAPING UP TO BE A GOODUN -DB

Heck cd i think them east coast boys is scared to leave that comfort zone it couldnt be any worse than swainsboro last year??? Cause they are going to see a wolf race here

carey don, this get something straight about the pen, noone was bashing the pen. i had a discussion with russell approx. 6 weeks ago about the game in the pen. he ask my opinion on the game. i told him he had good game but i thought he needed more to handle 250-300 dogs. we had no discussion about the running. i told him i saw at the world cup at grapevine what went on with 140 hounds so i rec. he put more game. then about two weeks later i hear what some hunters were running off at the mouth about mainly david bates. i gave russell my honest opinion to help make the hunt successful. then you and bates go to running your big mouths when neither one knowes what was discuss. i run a pen for 12 years so i have some ideals about what he take to have enough game. i know what trent told steve ducote and it was about what i told russell. therefore there are people running off at the mouth and do not know the fact. i had this discussion with paul about a week ago, so this is not news to him. it funny in a way,because russell apparently took my advice because he had approx. 25 to turn loose this week. it no doubt that russell will have it in top condition. hope you and bates know more about your hounds than you do about the facts about the pen.

Leroy,
do you have a guilty conscious? I just posted what i was told and what i know from my own experiences. Not once did i mention anyone's name, for that matter, no one ever even mentioned your name to me, so thanks for letting us all know!!!! Since you decided to talk trash to me and Mr. Bates, i'll continue this discussion for today and today only. Russell and Paul have put on a few hundred hunts, so i think they know what is needed to have a good hunt. You have 1 maybe 2 little hunts a year in your pen, and that does not make you an authority on what it takes to get 1000 acre pen ready for a big field trial, heck, you don't even go to field trials for that matter! I have respected you since i've known you, but your calling me out on here puts that in question. The facts are people, again never mentioning any names, have talked poorly about the readiness of the Jena pen and i wanted to set the record straight, by my opinion and evaluations. No one has to listen to me. But, the rumors were flying all over the United States and needed to be clarified by some other opinions. You too are welcome to come run when we all go and enjoy the finer fruits of foxhunting in the Plantation Fox Pen!!

P.S. - I like the way you took credit for them getting game after your friendly advice!!
One more thing, just because you chose to talk trash to me on here, doesn't mean i don't like you anymore, i'm a big boy and i can take, CAN YOU??

Leroy or his boy would no a dog of it hit them in the ass !!! They don't even come up there unless its a dog trade !!!

funny, i might not know much about a dog but i will have the back bone to post my name.

carey don, i did not start this. bates has been running his mouth. i have been hearing this for a few weeks and i know noone has bash the pen. it no doubt russell know what it take to get the pen ready. he does not need my opinion but he ask me. i do not put on any big hunts but i do know more about running a pen than those running their mouth. i respect your opinion about the amount of game in the pen. hope you do well at the hunt. happy hunting.

I have been to the Jena pen the last 2 friday mornings, had good running both times.

Lee Roy, just got home and read your posts. If you got anything to say to me give me a call. You know my number. The only one I see running there mouth on here is you. That's all I got to say here.

All i got to say is jena is probally one of the best pens i have been too, love it.i also love the bbq joint there because i can tear up some crawfish i have been there 4 times and never have i not heard races going on even after catching game.i dont believe they wouldnt have it stocked.im hoping to attend this one to see for myself

Easy CD. And you too daddy Bates. Had a great time hunting with yall. There were a lot of great hounds there. Can't to hunt with yall again. Great running . A trotter will have to get another gear in the Top Gun hunt that's for sure.

Cary Don I didn't see you at this hunt, we know not to take your word on a pen again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work and my son's birthday was the reason for my absence from the Top Gun. The pen conditions had no bearing on my decision. Was there running? Was there game in the pen? Is there still game in the pen? Then quit ******** cause you probably got your butt spanked, i'm not the scapegoat!! I'm sorry you missed me!! As far as my word on a pen, if i tell you something, that's the way it is to the best of my knowledge and understanding and you can take that to the bank Mr. East Coast Hunter!

Don't start crawfishing Cary Don !!!! You can't use the excuse summertime heat or deer dogs about the running its called game wasn't in shape & not near enough for this caliber of hunt but thats this pen every time it holds a major hunt ! you can put what ever spin you want on it sir

To " the one that was there" & East coast hunter. Y'all grow up and don't be scared to put your name on the post! If you wanna bash the pen be man enough to write your name. Simple a that! Y'all are worse than a bunch of **** women!!!
Thanks. Morgan West

Morgan dont let them ruffle the feathers i dont see jeff lucas crying east coast oh he traveled and placed my bad.i have been to several big hunts that may of been low on game,not enough judges etc.etc thats the way it is everone has the same advantage.eastcoast shouldnt of braught a god **** grey fox dog to a wolf race.

I was there, carried two hounds--1 finished, 1 didn't. There was running all 3 days from cast to call-off, the bigger packs and coyotes that lapped the pen along with the gravel roads took a toll on the hounds and their feet. The pen is a nice facility,the hospitality and food was outstanding. Anyone that placed or even finished should be proud, it was a strong group of hounds and hunters in a tough 3 day trial.

Well said Danny!

Those complaining are the owners of the dogs that slung gravel in the ditches everyday !!!

In defense of the running at the Plantation preserve I will say that if you look at the score sheets on some of the top hounds you can see that they were scored in every hour of the hunt (even the last hour). That means that there was running during every hour of the hunt. There was not running every minute of the hunt and there were not multiple races going on all the time but the running did hold up throughout the hunt and there is still game in there to be run right now that was slipping around after call off. Honestly, the running was exactly what I was expecting when I decided to go. I have always been told that at Jena there is going to come a time when every hound has to fight to get in one race. That certainly happened. We had times where there were 150 hounds trying to get in one race. It isn't like Pamplico or Creedmoor or even Ellsinore where just about every hound has his own piece of game. I like those over stocked pens myself also because I think it favors a driving hound that stays in running for 15 hours. Those pens don't favor speed. Jena has always been advertised as a speed pen and the only way to test the track running speed of the entire field is to force them to get in a big race and compete. The thought of that competition made me reach for the Pepto for a month before the hunt came around. I was wishing for conditions that would favor my hounds and I did not think they were fast enough to compete in a true test of speed. The way things turned out I think we did have a true test of track running speed. I was watching the Garmin quite a bit during the hunt and on the third day I can speculate that there was a coyote lapping that pen for about an hour and a half. There were also quite a few grey fox in the pen too. There were some seen by the judges and spectators. I also think one of our hounds spent most of the second day messing with a grey in a block of woods because she went round and round making circles and figure 8's and she never crossed a road for a couple hours. If she hadn't been bumping something around she would have hit a road and done some traveling. The kind of running we had makes for an ugly scoreboard. Some said it was the ugliest scoreboard of any major Masters hunt. I agree it was pretty close to the worst I have seen, but that is what happens when the hounds run in big packs. Only a few hounds are getting scores while most are just pulling to the race. A lot of hounds never get close enough to the front to get a score, especially if their feet are sore from the day before. The conditions were dry and warm and that didn't help anything either. A lot of hounds were not interested in looking for anything to run. Even the #17 hound which I think highly of was starting to trot the gas line back and forth by the end of the last day.
Jena is never going to be like Dr Graham's Pamplico. The economics don't work out in LA like the do in SC. How can a pen manager afford to maintain that amount of game without a large base of local hunters to support the pen with weekly running? I know we all want tons of running but it just isn't realistic to expect it in every corner of the country.
At the end of the day is there anyone who thinks we didn't pick the best hound as the winner of the 2012 Top Gun?
I think she made it pretty clear.
At Creedmoor at the 2009 Masters you could score nearly 1000 points and that would get you inside the top 100 hounds. It makes you feel better about finishing in 100th place if you score 1000 points but you are still in 100th place. The most important part of the field trial scoreboard is those hounds at the top and I think we had adequate running to sort them out. Of course I am biased because Sir Bill finished high in the hunt. I could complain and say with more running he could have won it on the last day but I'm pretty sure Black Pearl was going to keep putting up more points and keep staying ahead of the field no matter how much running we had.

Heath very well put and im happy for you and sir bill the only concern i have is the picture of you and him on the pic post??he looks good but im sending you a razor to shave.... lol i had to double take it to make shure that was you...pour bill...lol.congrats to all i shure hate to miss this years top gun especially when runt kidd,danny morris are in the same facility.

Heath, thats an awsome post!

Heath, Good post. Big packs will always mean less scoring. Over-stocked pens provide continual running and need to be over-stocked if the pen is heavily used. However, trials in those pens favor a steady, track-running, medium-speed hound as much as the fastest hound in the pen, if he can find the right group to run with (or alone).
Big packs mean the fast hounds will bump heads and you may be able to pick the fastest one over that three days. It also means you may have a sudden breakdown of all running and then you find out which speed burners will hunt. However big pens with small amounts of game are not sustainable for large numbers of trials or commercially.
The 2009 Masters at Tar River is the best hunt I've ever been to. Sustained running, numerous packs, great scoring. The only thing I regret is that there were several exceptional hounds there and you didn't get a chance to see them knock heads.
The amount of game in a pen definitely affects the type of hound that has a chance to win it. There are pros and cons to both and should be one of the factors we consider when choosing a hunt to go to.

To Russell, Paul and Morgan,
Hats off to each of you for sustaining a top notch facility, providing excellant hospitality and serving some of the best food/steaks I have eaten in a long time. You have a great place to hold a field trial. This was my second trip to Jena over the past few years and I have had a great experience both trips. It was wonderful to see old friends and you can't beat the fellowship of the hunters from LA, AK, TX, MS, etc. I had a great time and look forward to my next trip back. I might not have finished in the Top 10, but I ain't scared and will be back to compete again. That being said, all of you have been in this sport for a long time, and are well respected. You know not to get offended by the whinners and listen to all of the BS because no matter what happens at any competition, anywhere in the US, someone is going to go home a loser and then complain to make excuses for themselves. That's a fact. No one that was there at the pen during the hunt for all 3 days can say the scores were low because there was no running. There was in fact, outstanding, hard running. Very tough on the hounds for 3 solid days, thus, the reason only 37 finished. Everyone at the camp heard plenty of running, witnessed crossings and prayed when the races came by the camp their hound was up front. But, the fact is with the large packs, everyone knew in their mind, it was going to be harder to get to the front and definitely harder to hold the front and thus lower scores. The competition level at this hunt is already a notch above most hunts, thus, a hound has to excel even more to prevail and finish into the top 10. Black Pearl placed at the Masters and has now won the Top Gun proving she is an outstanding hound. Congratulations to all.
David and Robin,
Congratualtions on another very successful Top Gun. Everything was well planned and went very smooth. We couldn't have asked for better weather, a better facility, competition, fellowship and I look forward to getting ready and seeing everyone in 2013.

C. D. --You best be careful lest you get those Hatfields riled up again!!