The Hunter’s Horn April, 1966 Page Sixty-six Notes on U.S. Open History Buck Branham Mooney By Arthur Cook, U. S. Open Secretary, Box 434, Florence, Alabama The second U. S. Open field trials came to a happy ending for W. V. Mooney and his son Billy of Kernersville, N.C. At 5 o’clock Friday afternoon, Nov. 28, 1947, the score sheets were posted in the lobby of the Reeder Hotel in Florence, Ala.  Billy Mooney had won first place with his entry, Buck Branham Mooney.  W. V. Mooney had placed second with a half brother, Bill Branham Mooney, also 10th with his mate Buster Branham. The entries dropped from 101 at the first USO to 67 in this the second year, with 49 memberships.  This was due to running during Thanksgiving week, as most hunters like to and should be home with their families on Thanksgiving.   It was decided at the business meeting to move the date up to the first full week of December.  This date has been kept ever since. This 1947 USO was probably the best judged field trial in history, up to that time.  Emmet Guy mastered the trials with the assistance of H. R. Belew and 14 well mounted judges, namely Lewis Summey, Capt. W. N. Bucker, Byrd Haines, T. T. Walker, Charlie Lyles, L. A. Harris, Ralph Shields, T. D. Owens, Buck Tatum, Sowell Yates, Henry Bell Covington, James Pennington, Herbert Austin and Eugene Torbett. The first cast was made under a strong east wind with all 67 hounds answering roll call.  They were keyed up and ready to go.  Many red fox were sighted, and lots of hound work was turned in but not very many speed and driving scores.  Four hounds were eliminated for loafing and four for babbling.   The second cast was made under the same weather conditions, with about the same running.  Four hounds were caught loafing.  The third day was a duplicate of the two previous days, as the hounds just couldn’t get the big reds lined out.  Some of the hounds were getting tired, as 18 were eliminated for loafing, two babbling, and one answered lost. Friday morning, the fourth and last day, broke bright and clear.  As the morning progressed, it proved the scenting conditions were very good.  You could hear hounds running in almost every direction.  Continuous running continued for the full five hours. For the four days of running, 32 hounds were loafing, 13 babbling and one answered lost, a total of 46 eliminated from 67, leaving 21 hounds to finish the hunt.  The top 10: 1.        Buck Branham Mooney (Tom Branham M. ex Lightning Mooney) Bill Mooney, Kernersville, N.C.; 2.        Bill Branham Mooney (Tom Branham M. ex Minnie Pearl A.) W. V. Mooney, Kernersville, N.C; 3.         Lady (Dr. Hi Stride ex Bird) Reeves Hughes, Germantown, Tenn; 4.        War Loan (War Buzzard S. ex Anna Crowe) John Allen, Iuka, Miss; 5.        Pine Ridge Ike (Pine Ridge Slick ex Pine Ridge Mitchie) L.O. Parker and Dr. L. H. Robertson, Salisbury, NC.; 6.        N. FCh Hill Top Hustler (Rock K. ex Scona Judy) Lamar Taylor, Maryville, Tenn.; 7.        Hill Top Billy (Big Doctor Hi ex Taylor’s Sadie) Lamar Taylor; 8.         Black Joker (Big Joker ex Benny Wings)  Bill Welch, High Point, N.C.; 9.        George K. (Tom K. ex Maybelle) Jim Reed, Dalton, Ga; 10.       Buster Branham (Tom Branham M. ex Minnie Pearl A.)  W. V. Mooney Personally, I am most interested in the last day’s scores at the USO.  Some hounds score a lot in the first couple of days and seem to run out of steam the third and fourth days.  Of the 21 hounds that finished the 1947 USO 640 points were scored in hunting, 400 points in trailing, 500 in speed and driving and 310 points in endurance, the last day.  With the 14 competent judges, you can see the 21 hounds that finished were well covered, with 1 ½ hounds per judge the last day. I have a five generation pedigree before me of the 1946 USO Ch Coy Jr. and the 1947 USO Ch Buck Branham Mooney.  Coy Flowers, sire of Coy Jr., is a mate to the dam of Buck Branham Mooney, Lightning Mooney.  Coy Flowers and Lightning were sired by Billie Bristol.  Tom Branham M., the sire of Buck Branham Mooney, and Jean Flowers, the dam of Coy Jr., through John Branham run back to Hub Dawson.  Both Coy Jr. and Buck Branham Mooney are strong in the blood of Hub Dawson, Champ Clark, Ch Lafayette, Big Stride, and Imp. Marksman, through the Flying Cloud, John Branham, Lotta Trouble and Blanton hounds. John Allen and Bill Beard were president and secretary for the first two years of the USO. While I was preparing these notes, Hoyt Longshore of Florence, who was the right arm of the USO while it was held here, came by my place.  You oldtimers who ask me about Hoyt so many times will be glad to hear that we relived the early U. S. Opens, and remembered each of you who attended the trials here.