| June 14th - our first visit to see the kittens and make our choices. They are 6 weeks old now and looking so cute. We have decided on one of the lilac females and the red male. Still a while until they can come home with as as pedigree kittens stay with their mother until they have completed their full course of vaccinations at 13 weeks. |
| June 8th - horrible weather for 3 Counties show at Malvern making it very difficult to keep Scarlet and Amber clean. Amber was 3rd in limit but Scarlet was our star of the day winning Best English Setter puppy and getting shortlisted in the strong Gundog Puppy group.
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| June 6th - a day out at Staffordshire Agricultural Show with neighbour Jane and her Border Terrier Ronnie who won his class. No English Setter puppy class today so Scarlet was in Junior and although she didn't win this class she was still eligible to compete for Best Gundog Puppy later in the day and was awarded Puppy Group 4. Thanks to Jane's friend Alex for the lovely photo.
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May 2012:
End of May - at last, Karla has learnt to swim! After many months of hesitant attempts she has now gained confidence and is swimming strongly to retreive. I think the hot weather helped - not so sure she will be as willing when the water is cold.
May 26th - back from the north east in time to get the dogs ready for Bath championship show. A really hot and sunny day. Star of the day was Luke who won best English Setter puppy and then third place in the Gundog puppy group. Amber was feeling the heat and wasn't on best form but still managed a 4th in limit, Sonny was 2nd in Graduate and Lottie won her Post Graduate GSP class.
May 21st - travelled up to Northumberland yesterday evening as soon as I was back from MESS show. This is the first time Luke and Scarlet have been to the coast and it was all very exciting for them! On the whole all of the dogs behaved very well and we were so lucky to have fabulous weather for the 5 days we were there.
the beach is full of seaweed but, of course, Luke and Scarlet both want the same piece!
May 20th - Midland English Setter open show. Too cold for judging outdoors so all inside at Baginton village hall. A very succesful day with Luke winning Best Puppy in Show and his half brother Bramstorm Walk the Line (another son of Sh Ch Wansleydale Cloudberry at Bramstorm) winning Best in Show - well done Stella and Austin. Scarlet won reserve best puppy in show and Barbara handled Sonny to first place in the yearling class!
BIS line up. Luke - far left, Austin - centre. Many thanks to MESS for the photos.
May 16th - sunny and dry so a lovely day to enjoy a walk in our local woods with some of the dogs. It's bluebell time again and the woods are so pretty at this time of year.
We have both missed having a cat around the place and on a recent visit to Bob & Lyn Sketchley's David was very taken with their Burmese who were so friendly. So, I decided to order him one for his birthday. Somehow one has turned into 2!. They won't be with us for some time yet as pedigree kittens are not allowed to go to their new homes until they are over 12weeks. Not sure yet what colours we are having but I am sure they will all be lovely.
Mum and 2 week old lilac female kitten
May 10th - off to the National Dog Show at Stafford. At last a relatively sunny day so managed to keep the setters clean and dry on the way into the show. Good start to the day with Luke winning both of his classes - the judge liked him so much he was one of only 3 males to be seriously considered for Best Dog even though he is only 10mths old. Sonny was first in his class, Lacie had 2 seconds and Amber was placed 3rd in limit. To finish off the day Luke was awarded best English Setter puppy and was then shortlisted in the Gundog puppy group.
May 1st - a visit from stepdaughter Rachel and her 3 little ones - twins Evie and Jess are celebrating their 4th birthday this week and younger sister Tilly was 2 last January. The girls always made a huge fuss of Domino the cat whom we lost earlier this year and so we needed a "substitute". Karla was called into service and spent the afternoon being decorated with necklaces and stickers!
Karla with Jess and Tilly
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April 2012:
Finished April with an extremely cold, wet day at WELKS show held at the 3 Cos. showground, Malvern. No classes here for English Setters so it was just Karla today. She hates showing indoors and as the weather was so appalling all breeds were exhibited inside in the cattle sheds. It was noisy, over crowed and damp and although she wasn't enjoying her day out she did get a 4th place in a really strong limit class - one place higher than her 5th place at the recent German Shorthaired Pointer Association championship show.
April 22nd - English Setter Society championship show at Stonleigh . A good example of the vagaries of dog show judging - bitch CC at Crufts for Amber only 6 weeks ago but barely a glance from the bitch judge today! First time that I can remember when Amber hasn't come home with at least a card. Scarlet didn't fare much better but Nigel did win minor puppy bitch class with litter sister Lacie.
Pleased to say we had better luck with the dog judge - Luke won both of his classes and also Best Puppy Dog
Thanks to Nick, Ann and Eddie for the photos.
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| April 18th and I was judging pointers, gundog varieties and Best in Show at Windsor Gundog's premier open show. It was a long drive down to the venue, Kempton Park racecourse, and the weather was terrible and traffic very heavy. Judging was outdoors, albeit under a canopy, but it was still cold and wet for the dogs. Needless to say the pointers, along with the other short coated breeds really felt the chill and this certainly affected some dogs performances and consequently their placings. There were some really good dogs present and some very promising puppies.
I awarded Best in Show to an impressive weimaraner - Show Champion Sharnphilly Awesome. Despite the cold he put up a fine performance and outmoved all other exhibits today. Best Puppy in Show was a real baby English Springer spaniel, Peasblossom Jester. He was only just over 6months old but such a showman and seemed totally unaware that it was cold and wet!. |
Mid April and off to Newmarket for the KC training day for pointing dogs. Only 4 in my group and we were fortunate to have Peter O'Driscoll as our group's trainer. We all had a great day and although the game was somewhat elusive it gave the dogs the opportunity for some serious hunting.
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| Karla quartering the ground | "Dropped on the whistle" |
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| Scenting partridges | Eager for her next "run" |
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| Caroline O'Neill's pointer,Leyla | Group photo at the end of the day |
Thanks to Linda Westron for the great photos.
On a much happier note our 2 new puppies, Luke and Scarlet (who are both Blackbird's great grand children) made their championship show debuts at the English Setter Society of Wales show. It was a very succesful day for us with Scarlet winning her minor puppy bitch class and her sister Lacie gaining second place.
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| Linda with Scarlet | Nigel with Lacie |
Thanks to Nick Darley for the photos.
Luke won his dog classes and then amazingly went on to win Best Puppy in Show. Not to be outdone by the puppies the older boys also excelled - Sonny won the yearling class and then the star of the day was his sire, W. Loganberry at Jolymore, who won limit dog and also the dog CC ! This is his 2nd CC so fingers crossed he soon gets his 3rd.Congratulations to Logan and owners Barbara & Graham. Also keeping it in the family, reserve dog CC was awarded to Oliver's Bramstorm Walk the Line - Austin is also a great grandson of Blackbird!.
W. King of Hearts at Bramstorm & W. Loganberry at Jolymore winning BPIS & Reserve BIS at ESSW
A very, very sad start to April as the time had come to say goodbye to Faith, Sh Ch Wansleydale Blackbird.
Faith after winning her 2nd CC at Driffield, October 2000
Faith had her 14th birthday at the beginning of the year and although she developed a minor heart complaint in her later years she was fit and happy throughout her life. She was a prolific winner for us and appealed to most judges - not heavily campaigned she won 15CC, 12 Best of Breeds and 7 res CCs, group 2 at Manchester in 2001 and shorlisted in the group at Crufts 2002. It was dissapointing that we only managed one litter from her - when mated for a second time she developed a womb infection and had to be spayed. However, from her litter came our Sh Ch Wansleydale Blackberry who not only excelled in the showring but was also one of the breeds top top brood bitches producing, to date from 2 litters, 5 show champions with a further 3 offspring who are CC OR res CC winners. Faith's other well known daughter, Wansleydale Songbird at Bramstorm, was unlucky not to gain her title and finished her show career with 1CC & 11 res CCs.
Faith and grand daughters Sh Ch W. Cloudberry at Bramstorm & W. Mulberry taken summer 2011
A very special lady who will always be remembered not only for her show successes but also for her super temperament - she epitomizes for me all that is require in an English Setter.
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Bitch CC winner Crufts 2012 Moorbrook Golden Girl at Wansleydale with reserve CC winner Sh Ch Mariglen Francesca Fenston and judge - Keith Smith
February 2012:
Came home from the holiday on 7th Feb and this time there was still lots of snow around on my return. Coming home to temperatures of -10c when it was 32c in Borneo certainly makes your eyes water!
Home just in time to start the battle with Scarlet to get her bathed and trimmed for her debut show appearance at Leicester Gundog Society's open show on the 11th of Feb. She behaved reasonably well considering she is only just over 6 months old and has had very little ring training - I was delighted when she won the puppy class. By this time she was getting tired and it was very cold so I decided not to wait to compete for best puppy in show.
Sister Lacie also began her show career this month and certainly started with a bang - Best Puppy in Show at Mid Western Gundog show along with a 2nd place the following day at Midland English Setter Society's championship show. Congratulations to Nigel and Jane - I can see Scarlet will have some stiff competition!.
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| Scarlet after Leics Gundog show | Lacie at MESS |
I was not entered at this show as it was originally due to be held when I was on holiday but due to the snow it was postponed and rescheduled for mid February. Disappointing not to be able to take Luke and Scarlet. However, I did show Sonny and he won the Yearling class.
 Sonny maturing nicely and winning his class at MESS.
January 2012:
Just managed to fit in Boston show before jetting off to Australia for a week and then onto a cruise for a futher 3 weeks travelling up through the Barrier Reef and then onto Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and finishing up in Borneo. My only dog entered at Boston was Lottie - and she won 1st in Graduate so hopefully will continue to carry on her winning ways after her succesful 2011.
The 4 weeks in the sun were great and while in Australia we had the opportunity to visit family and also Sandra & Alan Farmer who emigrated out there about 4 years ago. Many of you will remember they had the Bellesett English Setters here for many years.
 Just one of the lovely beaches we visited.
December 2011:
December started with a trip to Northern English Setter Society. It was a rare show outing for Flint who really enjoyed his day out but failed to catch the judge's eye although he looked good to me and moved very well!.
Amber did better in the bitch ring winning her first limit class and with it her Kennel Club stud book number. The weather has been awful and the dogs are constantly covered in mud on their walks - for example Amber!
 Good job she scrubs up well for the shows!
This show was soon followed by the last championship show of the year - LKA held at the NEC. I managed to miss the closing date for entries at this show so just went along as a spectator and showed Sonny who finished his year in style by winning his last class in Junior. 2012 will see him joining the big boys!
Time to do some shopping at the show - I need to buy a dog coat and grooming tool for a friend's Cavalier before stopping off at the Eukanuba stand for a welcome cup of tea and mince pies.
November 2011:
A quiet month - I only attended 1 show, Midland English Setter Society, but we had a good day with Sonny going home with a handfull of cards and Amber winning reserve best bitch. Sonny had also been to Setter & Pointer and Southern English Setter Society championship shows with Barbara and Graham and won 1st and 2nd prizes.
 Amber bathed up and ready for MESS show
The pups continue to grow well and are going to ring craft every Thursday. Hopefully they will soon be able to stand for a decent photo!
October 2011:
Inca's pups are now 8weeks old and it's time to decide which to keep. Both are lovely and I can't make my mind up. The one I do not keep is going to Nigel and Jayne ( Anlory Setters) so I decide to let them take which ever they prefer. It takes them ages to decide but eventually the choice is made and they go off with Lacie - Wansleydale Ribbons 'n Lace over Anlory. I am sure those Irish setters at Anlory are going to wonder what's hit them! It's always said that Irish Setters are "mad" but Nigel's are very calm and these pups of Inca's are 2 of the livliest pups I can remember. I have decided to call my puppy Wansleydale Scarlet Ribbon - Scarlet as her pet name. Lucky for us she has Luke to play with although we have to watch she doesn't bully him too much even though he is 4 weeks older than her.
Highlight of the month show wise has to be Sonny ( Wansleydale Tribute to Jolymore) winning the reserve CC from the Junior class at Midland Counties show.
 Well done Sonny!
September 2011:
September 4th - had a lovely day judging English Setters at Birmingham championship show then home to pack for our weeks family holiday in Rhodes. Inca and her pups are going to stay for the week with Stuart and Yvonne who own Sam, the pup's sire. They have never looked after pups this young ( 5 weeks old) and seem under the misapprehension that they will be asleep most of the time. They are going to be in for quite a suprise! Some of the others are staying at home with Anne, a friend who helps out with dog sitting, and some including 9 week old Luke are going for their holiday to the Anlory Irish Setter kennel.
The holiday was lovely - nice to have a dog free time now and again. Collected all the dogs - everyone OK although I think Stuart and Yvonne aare somewhat shell shocked!
Finished September on a real high as Karla amazed us by winning the bitch CC and Best of Breed at Driffield at only 17mths!
Steve Nesbitt, a well known dog artist, has done this lovely painting of Karla. Check his website for limited edition prints from his wide range of artwork of many breeds of dogs - www.stevennesbitt.co.uk
At last the hard landscaping in the garden is complete - just needs all the planting sorting out next spring!
August 2011:
A busy start to the month as Inca ( Moorbrook Blue Ribbon at Wansleydale) is due to whelp. She has been mated to Sh Ch Wansleydale Magic Star and disappointingly is only scanned for 2 puppies. Eventually, a few days late, she safely delivered 2 pups - both bitches and with black ears so certainly not orange. Perhaps I am going to get my tricolour bitch after all.
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| Pups 2days old | Head study of mum, Inca |
Due to our garden revamp we were kept mostly at home. Haze was getting fed up with her puppy, who we had decided to call Luke, and so Havoc took over the babysitting duty amid the builders rubble. I continued to look for orange spots appearing on Inca's puppies, but to no avail - both are blue and look like 2 peas in a pod!.
 Should look good when it's finished.
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| "Auntie" Havoc and Luke | One of the terrible twins at 4weeks |
A quiet month show wise. However Sonny won 2nd Junior at Paignton ( and his sire Loganberry wonnning Open dog )and 1st Junior at National Gundog.Karla won reserve in Junior and 2nd in Novice. The month finished on a high with Lottie winning the final points for her Junior Warrant at Leicester open show.
 Lottie after winning her JW
| July 2011:
Early July saw the arrival of Haze's ( Sh Ch W.Cloudberry at Bramstorm) 1 puppy - we knew she was only having one as she had been scanned 5 weeks after mating her to Flint ( Sh Ch W. Royal Flush). As is often the case with single puppies a caesarian section was necessary and my fingers were crossed that all went well for Haze and that we would have a healthy tricolour bitch puppy. I was so optomistic about the pup being female that all the towels, hotwater bottle etc I took with me to the vet's were pink. It was not to be - I went home an hour later with a groggy Haze and a strong, noisy pure white dog pup. He's sure to be orange! |
As you can see I did change his vetbed to blue!
| On the show scene Lottie won her classes at Windsor, Peterborough and Leeds and Karla gained 2nd place at Peterborough.Amber kept the "setter" flag flying with a 2nd in limit at Leeds - her only show this month.
On the working scene Karla had a training day at Rory Major's kennel which was a great experience and then later in the month her first taste of gundog working tests. She suprised me by doing quite well - I knew she wouldn't be in the cards as she is still a reluctant swimmer and one of the tests is a water retreive. True to form she refused to go in so more swimming practise is definitely needed. |
 Karla on point
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