BREEDINGS WHICH DIDNT WORK OUT - AND SOME THAT DID.
CH RED WULLY OF EAGLESCRAG TO BUCKHURST THERESA
"Wally" was the first dog we ever used.In the old fashioned way we took Tessa over to Wales and left her for a week with the owner of the stud dog, waiting for the phone call to say the deed was done and of course paying a full stud fee when we went back to collect the bitch. After Tessa missed we booked Wally's son Fintan ( later ch) for the traditional free return service.He was a charismatic hound, really outgoing and winning groups and BIS as a youngster. When we drove up to the farm Ruth Jenkins took us to see a penful of older puppies by Ch Caio of Eaglescrag. These red brindles were exactly what we had hoped for from Fintan ( long legs, bone, great heads, outgoing) so we switched to Ch Caio on the spot, as he had proved he was producing the goods.
IARLA OF PENNYFARTHING TO CH MOCHRAS BANRION
I really wanted this dog, having heard about him from Eva Soderqvist, who would have imported a Branwen relative if she could. He was a stunningly shaped cream hound who was fully capable of running with salukis and afghans on level terms and could clear a 5 foot wall at a leap. His movement was something else and I had never seen a hound like him for construction and activity. He was shown once or twice and I think he took a CC. Cynthia Boissevain ( Branwen) moved to Wales with all her hounds from Spain. Iarla lived as part of a pack of sighthounds, so I did excuse his acute shyness ( I never got close enough to pet him) thinking house rearing and my own females with solid characters would probably change this. No puppies, so I never did get to test nurture over nature there. Iarla never sired a litter.
cynthia madigan ( Boissevain) with two Branwen hounds in 1966, ch isolde is one of them.
CH EAGLESCRAG LYSANDER TO CH MOCHRAS BANRION
I left this one too late and regretted it later. To think I was worried about getting ring tails - as both parents had these. Of course, there are worse things. Rosie was outgoing and would have complemented Sam, who could be reticent but had great presence. He sired four champions in his first five litters and was also a reliable sire of excellent broods.
Dagmar Kenis ( Pordham) with Ch Eaglescrag Lysander
CH ERINDALE TRISTON TO EAGLESCRAG LARKSPUR OF MOCHRAS
Also his famous kennelmate and ancestor Jason of Sunningdale - Lark and Gaeltara both made the long trip to Kent to be mated to these hounds, very interesting visits as at the time this kennel was producing huge numbers of puppies and selling them easily to interested buyers at the height of the wolfhound boom. I took lots of photographs of their brood bitches and young stock too.Many of the Erindale hounds went on to found notable kennels at home or abroad.
ch Erindale Triston with Marjorie Saunders. Another very beautiful but slightly shy dog and of course he was a woolly - but for size, bone, head, curves and action, what a dog.
Jason of Sunningale as an old boy at home. He wasnt shown as he had a completely docked tail after injury- the one show he did attend was to pick up the stud dog trophy. He had a long stud career and his daughters in particular were full of type and shape. This candid doesnt do him justice - he was a lovely moving hound and very typical and confident, many of his descendants had long lifespans.
FRANSHAW BRANNIGAN TO EAGLESCRAG LARKSPUR OF MOCHRAS
This litter did result in two puppies, both born dead and prematurely with thin torn skin,which I would now investigate for von willibrands disease. A very sad event, not least as Brannigan lived to over ten and had many good characteristics. I used him despite knowing he had been operated on for OCD, as he didnt sire many affected with this. At the time the condition was newly understood, the previous generation had been "rested" to " grow out of it". The picture is of Brannigan a week or so before he was put to sleep, as his owners went to Canada and decided not to rehome him or put him through the stress of the long journey, as I learned later when asking how he had settled in.I look at this head study now - Brannigan seems to know.
After all these misses in the same period I discovered antibiotics and ovucheck was invented..... but we had another miss later,
LAINSTON BARRYK OF DRAKESLEAT EX CLONARA ALIA
this could have been the attraction of opposites - barryk was tiny and alia a giantess. I wanted the genes of his dam Beltane vd Ruempol, she was tiny but had the most fabulous construction and was a wonderful brood bitch when bred to Ch Sovryn of Drakesleat for all her earlier litters. Barryk had produced some small and great fronted puppies in Lainston Nearco and his sisters. I thought the Clonara great size might mix well with the shapeliness, as they had the same basic bloodlines behind them. Maggie Wilkins did a similar breeding, and had more sucess with it, exporting a good bitch to Ruempol.
AND MISSES TO MY STUD DOGS?
two very memorable ones !
CH SEPLECUR MEGAN TO BUCKHURST MCCAFFERTY
I dont know why Gordon Crane chose Mac for his beautiful bitch, he never went outside the "Sulhamstead family" subsequently, but we did not get a breeding here.
BELTANE VD RUEMOL TO WESTMOUNT XILE OF MOCHRAS
Maxine Sheehan brought this great brood bitch to "Kobben" for a last litter - but it wasnt to be. Beltane produced Champions galore to the sire of her first three litters so it might have been interesting to see what came from an outcross - but on the other hand, if there had been fantastic offspring the breed would have that many more PRA carrier lines to worry about subsequently ( q.v).