28 January, 2007

The Imports

Denise Wainwright - December 2000

Australian Cattle Dogs do have a long history and quite a wide gene pool; it's just that they are on the other side of the world.  The influence of imported dogs in this country is obviously total.  Every ACD in the UK traces its pedigree to scarcely a dozen original imports.

Anyway, as is well recorded, the Holmes saw the breed in Australia, admired it, and decided to import Aus Ch Landmaster Darling Red in whelp to Ch. Landmaster Eureka.  When Honey arrived in this country John and Mary discovered that Malcolm Dudding had imported two blue puppies, Lenthel Flinton and Lenthal Darlot, just a few months earlier.  Later the Holmes imported Pwca Blue Boomerang from Europe to breed to Honey.  So now we had the Holmes' Formakins and Malcolm Dudding's Swordstones and inevitably, indeed with no real alternative, these lines were mated together.

Next on the scene were Sue Huntingdon's two Rokeglen bitches, Blue Mankara and Tarlaga.  Sue already owned Kapia Red Gum, a combination of the Formakin/Swordstone breeding who was used on her bitches.  I think it is fair to say that these half dozen dogs form the backbone on the breed in this country.

Earliest showing successes were achieved by results of the Darling Red/Boomerang mating, with Formakin Kulta and F. Brogla doing the double in AVNSC classes at Crufts.  Few of the Darling Red/Eureka litter were bred from, but Sonia Wright used one of the litter, Formakin Digger, on her Swordstone bitch.  This produced a lovely blue dog, Slipwood Yippee, who sadly died young having sired, like his father, just one litter.  Ros Cartwright owned another of the Darling Red/Boomerang litter, Formakin Kimba, and it was she who was mated to Yippee, for the first time combining the Swordstone line with Boomerang and Eureka and doubling up on Honey.  This proved an influential mating, producing the brothers Drenoss Red Impudence and Drenoss Red Wyola.  Red Impudence with his owner Colin Smith proved a great early ambassador for the breed in the show ring and was breed leader for about three years, but never sired a litter.  Red Wyola was also successful in the show ring, breed leader, Crufts BOB, three times BIS at the ACD show (last time aged nearly 11) but he was also used several times at stud.  There were 59 cattle dogs entered at this year's Millennium show.  According to my calculation, about two thirds of these are descendants of Darling Red, but three quarters of the Honey descendants go back through Red Wyola.

Drenoss Red Wyola - Photograph by Alan V. Walker

Another really influential import was Kristad Eureka Digger, also imported by Sue Huntingdon and owned in partnership with Lyn Chesterfield.  About a third of the dogs entered at the above mentioned show are descendants of Digger, who is still only 9 years old.  Digger sired, ex Rokeglen Blue Mankara, Warrigal Blue Sydney, who was breed leader and also 3 times BIS at the ACD show before his owner stopped showing.

A daughter of one of the Formakin/Swordstone matings (her dam was F. Brogla) was Titchwell Blue Ribbons and she was mated to Red Wyola.  Dave Hold bought one of this litter - Blue Inxs at Rafaell.  He was another breed club BIS winner and BOB at Crufts for the first time the breed had classes, when John Holmes was the judge.  Dave also bought a daughter of the Holmes' final import, Baiamul Blue Dinki Di at Formakin. (Dinkidi, owned in partnership with Edith Nicholls-Miller, went on to be influential in Edith's own Garreg Ddu kennels)  These two were successfully mated to produce the Chetwynd's first ACDs Rafaell Shades of Blue and Rustique Red, to whom they added the Curdeleon prefix.  These were, and are, winners in their own right but it was the mating of Rustique Red to Warrigal Blue Sydney that really struck gold.  Every one of the original imports, with the exception of Rokeglen Tarlaga, is included in this pedigree, which was to produce Curdeleon Blue the Boy Wunda in the Chetwynd's first litter.  Boy Wunda, as is generally acknowledged, is a dog of highest quality; he was BIS at the club show and breed leader fro the last 3 years, in which time he has seldom been beaten.  His red sisters have also done well.  Red Velvet for the home kennel and Lady in Red becoming the foundation for Kimberley Jebsons' Austmans kennel.

There are a couple more imports I must mention, who have not entered so widely into this country's gene pool.  Rob Marchant's Ravenswing Flint was used once only at stud, by Merrick Stephens for his Bryblue line.  Merrick's original foundation was Swordstone breeding and this combination is behind some of Stella Smyth's Morrow breeding.  Stella also imported a bitch, Boomerang Blue Alberta, who sadly never produced puppies in this country.  Julie Horne imported a bitch from Kenya, and whilst I know she and her daughter were bred from, I have not heard much further from these lines.  You may be familiar with Harry Baxter's Scrotti Blue Kamini from this line, who was last seen at the ACD show at a very advanced age.

Pamela Harrow acquired Coomablue Bola Boy, having a long wait before she was able to get hold of his papers.  Alison Skipper and Stella Smyth brought in Am Ch Bryn Mawrs Sundance Kid and Kimberley Jebson imported Pavesi Read McCoy.  These dogs have all sired puppies, but they are as yet quite young and their influence is yet to be tested.

Dogs Imported after the above article was written