Wansleydale ~
Latest News "Our Dogs" Top Breeder, Top Stud Dog & Top Brood Bitch 2017, 2018 & 2019
| November 2021:
An enforced break from the shows for a few months as I recover from another bout of hand surgery for Dupytrens contracture. But a return to the show ring in November to introduce our latest recruit, Guy ( Wansleydale Maybee) the blue dog puppy we kept from Martha's litter in the summer. At just 6 months old it was a steep learning curve for him but he coped with the long journey to Swindon and behaved well enough to win 2nd in his class at the Southern English Setter Society championship show. Think he really enjoyed his day out!
Guy practising his stand the week before his first show
|
August & September 2021:
Our latest show champions - Wansleydale Quicksilver JW and Wansleydale Margarita.
 |  |
| Dash | Margo |
Dash and Margo bring our total of UK bred or owned English Setter show champions to 28 - in addition we have also bred 4 International Champions and a further 3 overseas champions. And of course we must not forget our beautiful German Shorthaired Pointer Show Champion, Sh Ch Barleyarch Ostria at Wansleydale (Havoc)
After all of the shows were cancelled over the last 18 months due to covid, many of the society's have rescheduled now that the lockdown restrictions are eased. This has resulted in many shows over a relatively short period of time, in some cases 2 shows on one day.
All Wansleydales (in other ownerships) shown were in the cards - their placings far too many for me to list! There were show debuts for Kim's W.Skyfall (Gilbert) and his litter sister, Catherine's W.Sky Angel at Felsett (Georgia) and special congratulations must got to Jeanette with Wansleydale Goldsmith and Ann with Wansleydale Bedazzled at Caleydene on their reserve CCs.
The resumption of shows has also given me the opportunity to see some of Dash's offspring in the ring. All have been well placed, several have Best Puppy awards and we were delighted to see 2 of the yearling girls already winning top awards - a reserve CC for the McCabe's Rachdale Ribbons of Pearls and the CC for the Watkin's Valsett Starlite Night Sky. What a start to their show careers.
 |  |
| Gilbert | Catherine with Georgia - Wansleydale Sky Angel at Felsett |
 |  |
| Jeanette with W. Goldsmith (Jos) 1CC & 4 Reserve CCs, winning at Paignton | Wansleydale Bedazzled at Caleydene - Daisy |
However the highlight was Margo gaining her title at NESS championship show and the added bonus of being awarded BIS. The timing couldn't have been better because a few days after this show I was having more hand surgery for my Dupytrens contracture which meant showing is now curtailed for several for several months.
 |  |
| Margo winning Best Bitch | NESS line up, all top awards won by bitches! Margo BIS, Rebecca with the RBIS & Jane with Best Puppy in Show ( Mariglen Unwrapped who happens to be a Dash puppy!) |
Shows have also started up again across in Europe and Wansleydales over there have been doing very well. Over July and August Ch W. Maraschino (Robin) litter sister Jude (Ch W. Strega) and Int Ch W. Orzack Gold (Bonnie) have all been awarded top awards including Best of Breeds and Best in Show. Bonnie's daughter, Brie, sired by Robin has also made a great start to her show career with several Best Junior awards.
 |  |
| Zibby with Bonnie and Kinga with daughter Brie winning BOB & BJ at British Wyzla Klub show | Dorota with Robin on the move
|
 |  |  |
| Robin - BIS & BIS111 at the two setter club shows | Pol Ch Wansleydale Maraschino (Robin) | Lovely head study of Robin |
|
| July 2021:
24th July - special day today. Leeds Championsip show and Dash wins that all important 3rd CC to make him a Show Champion. He was also awarded Best of Breed and later in the day was shortlisted in a strong Gundog Group.
 <>
11th July - most of Martha's pups are off to their new homes today. I look forward to receiving updates on how they are settling in at the their new home in due course. For the time being at least 2 are staying here with us - meet blue boy Guy and his tricolour sister Mayzie.
 <>
10th July - East of England championship show. A first for Linda and Rupert (W. Dorian Grey) and a second for Louise with Rosie (W. Amaretto). Winning his second CC today was Dash. Just one more to go to gain his title!.
|
| June 2021:
30th June - hearing tests today for Martha's litter - all passed with normal hearing in both ears.
26th June - well, a shock to the system! Early start for a trip to Newbury for our first show in over 16 months thanks to Covid. Picked up Stella and her girl Matilda on the way and although we both had concerns about being out and about with the general public after so many months of lockdown we really enjoyed meeting up with old friends again.My first opportunity to see any of Dash's puppies in the show ring - 4 were there today and all went home with placecards as did all the older Wansleydale bred dogs; Dorian Gray, Beguilded at Loonbrae and Amaretto
However our star of the day was Margo who won her class and was then awarded the reserve CC. Lovely to win this after such a long break but what we really wanted was the CC as this would have given her title! Fingers crossed for the next show.
5th June -Keeping busy with Martha's pups, just starting to get their colouring through and we are suprised to find we have 4 blues and 4 tricolours in this liter but no oranges! Two of the girls at 3 weeks old.
|
| May 2021:
16th May - Martha whelped 10 puppies, sadly one was a still born and one that was very weak only lasted a fews days. Others seem strong and we have 2 boys and 6 girls.
|
| April 2021:
22nd April - successful ultra sound scan with Martha this morning - confirmation that she is in whelp and with at least 8 pups!
Followed by a lovely walk and afternoon tea in Shipley country park with Jennifer and her cockerpoos.
 <>
|
| March 2021:
16th March - well, as expected, Martha is in season and we are off to visit the chosen stud dog today. Successful mating with the handsome Ollie, (Mariglen Royal Flame) who is a son of our lovely Flint (Sh Ch Wansleydale Royal Flush)
 <>
|
| February 2021:
25th Feb - BAER hearing test today for Martha. Passed with normal hearing in both ears. Also now received her BVA HD score - 6:5 giving a below breed average total of 11 so now with both health tests successfully completed just waiting for her to come into season ready for mating.
|
| January 2021:
Well, we go into 2021 still with covid restrictions.
Highlight for this month is snow - something we rarely seem to have here in Nottingham.
 <>
|
| November 2020:
9th November -Appointment today at Breeder Imaging Services in Holbeach for Martha to have her hips xrayed for Hip Dysplasia prior to hopefully mating her early in 2021. All went very smoothly and the xray plates looked good so we are expecting a breed average, or hopefully below, score when we receive the results after they have been assessed by the BVA in the next month or two.
|
October 2020:
A sad month as a long time friend and fellow English Setter exhibitor, Ingrid Young, passed away on the 21st October. Over the last year Ingrid has battled with the asbestos related disease, Mesothelioma. It has been a difficult 12 months since her diagnosis, made worse by Ingrid having to shield due to covid 19. We did manage a summer break with the dogs in Northumberland and whilst there took the opportunity to visit the McCabes and their Rachdale Setters and a few weeks later had a lovely afternoon with the Watkins and the Valsett setters.
Disappointingly due to further covid lockdowns and Ingrid's condition worsening we were unable to tick anything else of her " bucket list".
Ingrid had setters for many years, her final 2 - Acer and Silva, were litter mates to our Alice. Luckily the MacMillan hospice at Derby were happy for me to take Silva to visit Ingrid which really brightened her final days.
 |  |
| Silva making herself at home on the bed | In happier times, Ingrid with Acer and Silva in her lovely garden |
|
September 2020:
Well, at the moment lockdown still lifted and we are off for our week at the Granton Arms hotel on Speyside. In previous years when visiting this hotel it has always been the 2 German Shorthaired Pointers who accompany us but as we sadly no longer have Lottie it is Alice who is accompanying Karla.
As usual we have had a great time and thankfully Alice didn't get too tangled up in the heather.
 |  |
| Alice enjoying the heather on Cairngorm | I definitely needed a sit down - Alice giving me encouragement to go on! |
 |  |
| Karla kept finding these strange piles of rocks | A trip to Chanonry Point, north of Inverness, to see the dolphins
|
|
April 2020:
26th April - well with no shows and little opportunity to get out and about there is very little to report.Sadly we have bad news, today we had to have Lottie (W. In A Pickle) put to sleep. Such a shock as she has not been showing any signs of being unwell and it was all over within just a few hours of her collapsing at home. Luckily we had immediate access to a vet even though we are in lockdown, and blood tests, scans and xrays showed a large growth around her aorta so there was no option. Very kindly the vet let me be with her at the end.
 |  |
| Lottie 6 weeks old | Lottie in the showring |
Lottie with sister Karla enjoying a holiday on Speyside last year
|
March 2020:
16th March - well it appears the coronvirus has well and truly arrived in the UK and we are going into "lockdown" so no more shows for the foreseeable future!
7th March - as I didn't make it to Crufts yesterday, Kinga, Dorota and husband Chris came over to spend the day with me. Sadly Zibby had to go home straight after Crufts so no chance to meet with him amd Bonnie. It was great to see them and of course it gave me the opportunity to meet up with Robin and Jude who I hadn't seen since they left me as 16 week old puppies for their long journey to their new homes in Poland back in November 2017.What a pair, full of fun, maturing so well and in lovely condition - a credit to their owners. We went off for a long walk taking their mum Margo and our youngster Martha with us so that they could burn off some energy before they were back in the car for their return trip tomorrow.
 |  |
| Martha chasing after Jude and her mum Margo | Margo - W.Margarita, Martha - W.Bizzie Bee, Jude - Polish Ch. W. Strega & Robin - Polish Ch W. Maraschino |
6th March - Gundog day at Crufts but just couldn't face another early start and long day after only getting home from Crufts yesterday at 8.00pm. So a lazy day at home and looking at the show results glad I didn't bother as I don't think the judge would have liked my dogs if her class placings were anything to go by! Most of the Wansleydales there today went home with a card, including the reserve CC for Tereza and Star but sadly the "Polish Wansleydales" were not so fortunate. A long trip for them but I think they enjoyed the experience.Can't remember the last time I didn't show at Crufts.
 |  |
| Polish Champion Wansleydale Maraschino (Dorota with Robin) | W. Amaretto (Louise with Rosie); litter sister Pol Ch W. Strega (Kinga with Jude) litter brother Pol Ch W. Maraschino & Int Ch W. Orszak Gold (Zibby with Bonnie) |
5th March - Crufts "Vulnerable Breeds" competition day. This show case is for British native breeds that have waned in popularity and have an annual puppy registration of less than 300. Sadly this has applied to English Setters for the past few years. As Margo won Best of Breed at the National Gundog championship last year she was invited to represent English Setters today. Unfortunately this event was scheduled for the first day of Crufts which is not the day Gundogs are to be judged this year so friends at the show to chat to!
|
| February 2020:
19th Feb - Whisper's pups are 7 weeks old today and off to Pride Vets at Derby for their BAER deaf testing appointment. Pleased to say that they all passed with normal hearing in both ears.
16th Feb - back home in time to judge today at Matlock and District show. Some lovely dogs for me to go over and so pleased to see that my Gundog Group winner, the Pointer, went on to win Reserve Best in Show.
7th Feb - exciting day as a small group of us "English Setter ladies" are jetting off this afternoon to New York for a week to visit the famous Westminster dog show.
First stop was a few days at the Hilton hotel at Rye for the English Setter specialities. This was a great opportunity to meet the American exhibitors and discuss grooming, breeding etc as well as watching them exhibit min 2 club shows a day over the weekend. Bonus for me was it was also the speciality shows at the same venue for German shorthaired Pointers. It was a great experience with a fabulous atmosphere and the opportunity of sitting in comfortable chairs right at the side of the rings in luxurious surroundings - deep pile carpets underfoot and extravagent chandeliers overhead. Quite different from a plastic chair in a cold draughty cattle shed at one of the UK agricultural venues! An added advantage was that as we were staying in the same hotel you could easily pop back to your room or to the bar for a drink.
The American bred dogs certainly have some differences in confirmation and type to ours but they are still quality dogs and immaculatley groomed, albeit again in a slightly different manner. For me one of the most impressive sights was the standard of show handling - if only Dash would behave like that!
 |  |  |
| US champion - orange male | US champion - tri male | US champion - orange bitch |
All 3 were Best in Show winners at the Specialities, with the beautiful orange bitch also winning Best of Breed a few days later at the Westminster show.
After the shows it was time for a bit of sight seeing, a lot of eating and of course retail therapy at Macey's!
 |  |  |  |
| Jane, Glen, Stella and me at Grand Central Station | Statue of Liberty - bit shaky taken from the ferry | Stella enjoying Times Square | My all American breakfast - this is just a half portion! |
3rd Feb - Whisper's pups are now just over 4 weeks old - the girls on the right and the boys on the left.
2nd Feb - Midland English Setter championship show, the first breed show of the year and one of my favourite shows.
Sonny, Rupert, Jos, Daisy, Star and both Rosies were all in the cards for their owners today with our Dash and Martha both winning red rosettes. Sadly our lovely Lizzy failed to catch the judge's eye but Martha suprised and delighted us by being awarded the reserve CC. She is the youngest Wansleydale to achieve such high honours.
 |  |
| Dash - Wansleydale Quicksilver JW | Martha - Wansleydale Bizzie Bee |  |  |
| Star - Sh Ch Wansleydale Star Queen of Glenmaurangi | Rosie - Wansleydale Amaretto |
1st Feb - Isle of Ely open show near Grantham and Martha wins her class, her points tally for her Junior Warrant is coming on well.
|
January 2020:
26th Jan - Needed to go to Stonleigh today for the ESA committee meeting at the village hall. Managed to fit in a quick show with Martha at the Stonleigh Exhibition centre just beore the meeting started and won her class and another point towards her Junior Warrant.
19th January - Manchester championship show at Stafford - our first big show of the year and a good start to 2020.
First place for Martha in Junior and then Margo also wins her class and the Reserve CC. Also placings today for all the other Wansleydales shown.
10th Jan, Boston Championship show. Lovely 1sts in Post Graduate and Special Beginners for Louise with Rosie (Wansleydale Amaretto)
Jan 5th, a quick trip across to Newark with Martha for the Dukeries Gundog show. First place in Junior and then a lovely hour sitting in the cafe with the dogs and a group of friends having a good old chat!
Jan 1st, well the year started with a bang as Whisper whelped through New Years Eve and the early hours of New Years Day. She safely delivered 6 puppies, 3 males and 3 females.
return to
Homepage
return to Latest News Pages
|