My involvement in the Dog World, started in the Sixties when having seen a Basset Hound on a TV programme, I decided I had to have one.
My first Basset was given to me by a friend and bred by Harry and Margaret Spira.
Living in Newcastle at the time and the Newcastle AH & I being the biggest event in the Newcastle calendar, "Daphne" as she was called was entered, and I turned up on the day with no lead or training. After all I had been to a Cat show and they just sat around in boxes, didn’t they? After being lent a lead, we both began the longest triangle of my life. As we were the only ones we were awarded a first and I was bitten by the bug.
Two more Bassets followed, one from the Poultons and the other from Carol Woolcock.
I used to sit in the little grandstand at the Newcastle Showground where all the shows were held, and watch the General Specials. I decided that if you wanted to do well you had to have a popular breed of dog with the judges. Unfortunately Bassets were not popular but Cocker Spaniels did a lot of winning, so it was one of them that I decided would be my next show dog.
After perusing the Woolworth’s notice board - there it was! "Cocker Spaniel Puppies, - Show or pet, phone ....... So I phoned and went to see the puppies and decided on the first one that walked towards me! Jedda or Ch Norbruc Jedda was a blue roan bitch and yes I did make her title and even won Open Bitch at the Royal with over 40 entries in the class.
My second purchases were better planned, having seen Ken and Laurel Daniels with their "Feenix" Cocker Spaniels taking out many Best in Shows. It was from there that Ch Feenix Fly By Night and Ch F. Flower Power came from, with "Fly By Night" taking out many Best in Shows. His other claim to fame was when Mac Formston ("Brightleaf Kennels") used him at stud on Ch Brightleaf Be Gracious and produced the legendary Ch Brightleaf Bewinged.(Owned by Mac Formston and Barbara Killworth)
"Wings" was a great show dog, who not only won close to 20 BIS, five Royal Challenges, and Best in group at both Sydney Royal and the Spring Fair, but has proved to be the greatest Stud dog that the breed has produced to date with well over 60 Champion children.
Most of the top parti coloured Cocker Spaniels would have some evidence of him in their pedigrees even today, and I had the honour of owning him and campaigning him throughout his show career
The Prefix of Cabal came about after all the lovely English names had been rejected, as it was short & I though why not.
Over the years my Cabal prefix has appeared in the pedigrees of many of our top winning dogs but I suppose the special ones that I have kept myself would have to be firstly Ch Cabal Stare & Whisper, “ Gay" who still hold the record for the most Royal challenges of any English cocker bitch (7) , and my beautiful Ch Cabal Katarina, “Kitty" a Best In Show winner on many occasions both at Specialty & All Breeds level.
Cabal Cocker Spaniels have also won between them 27 Royal challenges for both me & other people. With close to 50 Cabal Champions the last one was made up in 2003 in New Zealand NZ Ch Cabal On The Boardwalk.
I had the honor of campaigning Grand Ch Lovlang Night Nonsense “Abbey" bred by Geoff Love & shown in joint partnership, and her daughter Ch Showcasing After Midnight “Isabel" also owned by both of us in our joint prefix of Showcasing.
In 2001 after the premature death of Night Nonsense I decided to switch breeds & started to campaign my first Cavalier ,leased in joint partnership with his breeder Kym Brooksby (SA).
“Jason" Grand Ch Cavashon Kindrum Spirit took just two years to make this title & along the way two bitches made the titles for Kym. I didn’t really ever leave spaniels these are just smaller and have longer tails to wag.
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This site was updated on 11/6/2008
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