26 Breed Notes – 3 Cities, Border Union & B’pool 2025

Miss a week with the notes and before you realise there are three shows to write about – so it’s a bumper issue this week!!

The championship shows season is now in full swing; as apart from a couple of show ‘free’ weekends between Windsor and Leeds and the August Bank holiday (Keesies have no classes scheduled at Driffield this year) for the next three months there’s one being held every weekend. September not only has 4 general Ch shows with CCs on offer, it also has both breed club’s ‘extra partnership’ Ch shows as well.

I’m always going on about value for money (or the lack of it re the general Ch shows) and now this is being shown with people voting with their feet as they aren’t prepared to spend their hard-earned money just to ‘make up the numbers’. This has been reflected for a while now in the low number of entries some shows are attracting; with the judge being the major deciding factor, whether it’s on a week day or not and the travelling involved being secondary.

The Kennel Club’s ‘solution’ of seemingly passing anyone to award CCs in the breed; despite them have never attended a BAD or breed seminar or taken any interest in the breed at all, most certainly isn’t going to improve matters either. Why do they even bother to ask the breed clubs their opinion of a ‘new’ judge if they are going to be totally ignored?? Where is the achievement of winning a CC if there have only been 3 dogs of the same sex present? The days of Keesies having entries in triple figures at a show are long gone and won’t return – certainly not in the foreseeable future.

In 1996 the breed’s lost 7 lots of CCs taking the number available down from 27 to 20 sets per year. Although there was some grumbling, mainly about the resultant geographical spread; the general consensus amongst exhibitors was that there were too many tickets on offer and until registrations improved there wasn’t any justification for an increase – and that’s when 149 puppies were registered in 1996!!

With only 22 puppies born so far this year, things aren’t going to change anytime soon either. With an ever-dwindling number of exhibitors and ever-increasing costs; I personally think that our current allocation of 25 CC’s is well overdue for a serious ‘prune’. The Kennel Club’s ‘solution’ to dwindling show entries of increasing the number of CCs on offer will never work – if dogs aren’t being born, then they can’t be shown.

There were no CCs on offer for the breed at Three Counties so it was past 2.00pm before Keesies were in the ring for Judge Louise Paterson, as we were 3rd in the ring after 57 Boston Terriers and 42 Bulldogs. Louise had drawn an entry of 11 dogs with 2 absentees. There were no entries in Post Graduate Dog, Junior & Veteran Bitch and the Puppy Bitch was absent and it was all done by 3.15pm.

Best Dog with Best of Breed was Cullen’s, Miles and Dean’s Skyline’s Outlander at Lekkerbek (imp USA)(Am Ch Windrift’s Dirty Hairy x Am Ch Skyline’s Mine Eyes Have Seen) and Reserve Best Dog was Hickson’s Ch Only The Lonley (Bert von Ricara (imp Den) x Kichigai Special Edition) from Veteran.

Best Bitch was Marshall’s Devonia’s Hakuna Matata JW (Serenaubach Lleuad Titan x Devonia Black Pearl) from Post Graduate with Reserve Best Bitch going to the Open winner, Vikki & Sean’s Devonia Black Pearl (Arabesque at Devonia (Imp Russ) x Torrikees Made In Heaven at Devonia) Best Puppy was the Roses’ Amikirs Uncle Fester (Quest’ Eastkees Del Monte Dragnone (imp Ita) x Amikirs Doubly Delicious)

The next week it was Border Union where judge Jane Usher was awarding CCs in the breed for the first time. and she had drawn an entry of 15 with 2 absentees. Keesies were second in the ring after 42 Tibetan Terriers, so judging didn’t start until 11.45am. There were no entries in Puppy, Junior, Graduate, Post Graduate Dog; Junior Yearling and Post Graduate Bitch and judging was over an hour later. Utility day was the Sunday by which time the weather had improved, sunny, overcast ideal for showing in the outside ring.
The DCC was Hickson’s Ch Only The Lonley (Bert von Ricara (imp Den) x Kichigai Special Edition) from Veteran, with the RDCC going to the Open winner, Gill Brunt’s Ch Divnyi Drug Dar (imp Russ) (Russ Ch Cinerus Artic Prince of Star x Russ Ch Divnyi Drug Gusja Lebed).
The BCC with Best of Breed was Gate’s Ch Winklestar Alsephina via Lacetrom (Vivids Majestic Prince of Winklestar (imp USA) x Winklestar Serendipity) handled as usual by Michelle Wright. The RBCC went to second in Open, McKean’s Ch Kichigai It Takes Two at Yawren (Ch Neradmik All About The Boy for Watchkees x Kichigai Lilac Wine) Best Puppy was Caron Bell’s Allforus Miracle of Love (Torrikees Crazy Love x Allforus Game Set N’Match)
Five days later across the country with the temperature on the rise again, it was the turn for a hot and humid day at Blackpool; where our judge was Liz Dunhill awarding CCs for the second time (her first appointment was Manchester in 2019) She had also drawn an entry of just 15 Keesies with 3 absentees and we were third in the ring with a ‘not before time’ of 12.00pm.

Judging eventually started at 12.45pm and was held in the shade under an open sided marquee; with no entries in Junior Dog & both the Post Graduate classes it was over by just gone 2.00pm

The DCC went to Mel Harris’ Ch Amikirs Lover Boy for Watchkees (Ch Neradmik All About The Boy for Watchkees x Ch Amikirs Bubblelicious) with the RDCC going to the winner of Veteran, Hickson’s Ch Only The Lonley (Bert von Ricara (imp Den) x Kichigai Special Edition)
Winning a second CC with Best of Breed was a delighted Gill Brunt with Zandvoort Grace’s Secret (Divnyi Drug Dar (Imp Rus) x Almaznyi Istochnik Tropicheskaya Noch (Imp Rus)) from the Limit class; who also got short listed in the group by Derek Smith. RBCC was the Gate’s Ch Winklestar Alsephina via Lacetrom (Vivids Majestic Prince of Winklestar (imp USA) x Winklestar Serendipity) handled as usual by Michelle Wright.

Best Puppy was Dawn Gregory’s Amikirs Karrie (Quest’ Eastkees Del Monte Dragnone (imp Ita) x Amikirs Doubly Delicious)

Anji Marfleet