Montanna Edwards, a Surry County native and student of Surry Online Magnet School, recently competed in the Prohound PKC World Youth Championship competition in Salem, Illinois, securing a third-place ranking on the national charts.
Montanna started hunting when she was around 5 years old when her dad, Michael Edwards, and brother, Shane Hawks, encouraged her to raise a dog of her own. She had been hearing stories from them of their hunting experiences and had grown curious and eager to be involved. She won her first competition with her dad’s dog Jack when she was 12 years old.
Montanna became hooked on competing and has been hitting the charts ever since. In March she won the 2021 PKC Virginia Youth State Championship in Aylett, Virginia, with her dog Sandy, a Walker Hound. On Oct. 7-9 she competed with her other favorite dog Hard Time Smoke, a Blue English Hound, at the youth world championship, winning third place in the youth world nationals.
Montanna begins her training and preparation for next year’s competition by hunting nearly six nights a week. As a high school sophomore, she is grateful to have applied and been accepted as a student of Surry Online Magnet School. She says that she wanted to do online schooling so that she could pursue her dream of competing more at higher levels and in various locations. Being in an online school gives her flexibility for scheduling the time she does her coursework to coordinate with her training schedule.
“This online stuff is more challenging and it builds responsibility,” she said. “I like that I can make my own schedule and my teachers are understanding and flexible and are always there when I need help.”
Montanna’s favorite part of her sport is building a bond with her dogs, commenting that they are her priority. She competes with them on average six times a month, hoping to earn the required points for her ranking in order to compete in next year’s state, national, and world championships.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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