2025 Winter Classic Bench Show Judge Announcement

February 7-8, 2025

December 11, 2024

Source: Trevor Wade, UKC Coonhound Program Manager
Email: twade@ukcdogs.com

The UKC Winter Classic bench show is one bench show held over two days.

• Friday is Registered and Pairs (judged by Scott Rosson).
• Saturday is Champions and Grands (judged by Sid Underwood).

The Top Ten Bench Show will take place Friday evening and be judged by the panel of all three qualified judges together: Scott Rosson, Sid Underwood, and Alan Kalal.

Overall Top Ten Bench Show Winner: $3,000
Six Breed Winners from the Top Ten Bench Show: $2,000 each

Meet the 2025 Winter Classic & Top Ten Bench Show Judges

SCOTT ROSSON
Assignments: Top Ten Bench Show Panel Member on Friday, Winter Classic Friday Judge for Registered and Pairs.

Hello, I am Scott Rosson one of your bench show judges for this years UKC Winter Classic. My wife Amie and I live on a small hobby farm outside of Nauvoo, Illinois where we have hounds and livestock. We have three great kids that I am very proud of and two wonderful granddaughters. I have been working in Law Enforcement for over 24 years.

I am no stranger to the hound world and have been very active over the years competing with my hounds in nite hunts and bench shows since I was a little boy. I currently have Plott Hounds and a couple of Fox Hounds. I have been very successful in breeding, raising, and training hounds and feel blessed to have done so. I am currently the President of Mississippi Valley Coonhunters Association, a Director for the National Plott Hound Association and on the Illinois State Coonhunters Association Board. In my career I have judged several bench shows at the local, sectional, state, and national level events in all the major registries. I also judge a few horse shows a year.

I have really enjoyed being a part of the hound world. I have met several great people over the years that I am proud to call my friends and family. My family jokes all the time saying we can't go anywhere without me knowing somebody or them meeting somebody who knows me from the hound, horse, or rodeo worlds. Sometimes, they are all tied together in some way. Thanks to the United Kennel Club for asking me to be one of the judges at the Winter Classic it is truly an honor and hope to see you all there. Thank You!

SID UNDERWOOD
Assignments: Top Ten Bench Show Panel Member on Friday, Winter Classic Saturday Judge for Champion and Grand Champions.

Sid Underwood was born in Fort Worth, Texas and grew up in the Florence Hill community of southwestern Dallas County (where Fish Creek flows). He is a graduate of Arlington Sam Houston High School and the University of Texas at Arlington. He has four children and six grandchildren.

In his life, he has had many hobbies and passions. He has been a season ticket holder of the Dallas Cowboys since 1969. He has also attended four Super Bowls in person. He also happens to be a published author, having written Depression Desperado, The Chronicle of Raymond Hamilton (1930s West Dallas outlaw who ran with Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker). Sid is retired property manager with the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Glen Rose. He currently resides in Lamar County and is a substitute teacher in his semi-retirement.

Sid has coon hunted since 1962. He cofounded Fish Creek Treeing Walkers with James Higgins in 1966 and then merged with Tom Froeses Swampthing Treeing Walkers in 2017. He has served the coonhound breed in many capacities including having served on the boards of the Texas State Coon Hunters Association and the Treeing Walker Breeders & Fanciers Association and having served as a UKC field rep in the early 1980s. He is a distinguished Lifetime Member of the TWB&FA and was designated a Living Legend by them in 2019. He has been a Bench Show Judge since 1972 and has judged the following shows multiple times: Autumn Oaks, UKC World Finals, Texas State Championship, Bluetick Fall Roundup, Ada Oklahoma Walker Days, Ada Oklahoma Battle of the Breeds and the National Treeing Walker Days.

ALAN KALAL
Assignment: Top Ten Bench Show Panel Member on Friday

My name is Alan Kalal from Faribault, Minnesota. I have been married to my beautiful wife Kristi for 26 years and have three stepchildren, Kylie, Logan and McKenzie and five grandchildren, Caden, Harper, Charley, Hendrix and Leona. I work at an asphalt company named Bituminous Roadways as the company's Maintenance Supervisor and am looking forward to retirement in one to two years. To allow more time for family, travel and enjoyment.

I have been hunting and showing Treeing Walkers for over 50 years. In the past I have been honored to be asked to judge several State Championships, Breed Days along with the Grand American, Winter Classic, Autumn Oaks and UKC World twice. I am currently serving as the President of the Treeing Walker Breeders and Fanciers Association, along with being a UKC Field Rep. The dog world has been extremely great meeting so many great people and friends through the years. Being asked to be one of the judges for the 2025 Top Ten is very humbling and quite an honor as well. I am looking forward to it and it will be good to see everyone at Batesville, Mississippi in February.

Guided by the belief that dogs make a difference by being the best partner a human can have in the field, on the job, or in a competition event, UKC is a community for people and dogs to pursue excellence together. Founded in 1898, UKC has been dedicated to enhancing the lives of Dogs That Do More, and their owners, by providing essential resources to help owners and breeders make informed decisions. The dog-human bond is celebrated through family-friendly programs highlighting the instincts and heritage of purebred and mixed-breed dogs alike at over 18,000 licensed events annually.