| My love of Rough Collies began nearly 40 years ago when I was a small child, I used to spend holidays on the farm of my Grandparents. Grandad had a cross collie called Major who I loved very much even when he pushed me in a bed of stinging nettles. I will never forget standing on the kitchen table being bathed in TCP. Major reminds me of a tri Rough Collie and I wonder if this is why they are my favourite colour. We owned our first Collie in 1984, a rescue from the RSPCA in York and began showing a daughter of Ch Abberthorne Arrester in early 1985. How I remember Arrester coming to stay when Jimmy Tait went abroad judging and thinking I had a lion asleep on the settee - he had such an enormous coat. It wasn't until 1986 when Jimmy took Phil to the Mybern's kennel of Mike and Bernice Harris that we became hooked. They had a tri dog puppy for sale who Phil fell in love with and eventually brought home. He was Mybern's Mikado at Pulsar "Cody" and he won many Best Puppy and Best of Breed at Open shows and qualified for Crufts 1987 by winning Minor Puppy Dog at Midland Counties under Mary Tweddle. Sadly Cody died at 3 years of age with cancer of the spleen and it was several years later before we owned another male. We became friends with Sue and John Gardner in 1993 when we were looking for a tri stud dog for our tri bitch Pulsar Photogenic. We used Steelhurst Dark Shadow and kept a bitch Pulsar Black Velvet who was put ot Gwendale Triple Trouble at Steelhurst to produce Pulsar Boozy Floozy who in turn produced Pulsar Chelsea Blue and Bel.Ch Pulsar Cuba Libre who was exported to Belgium with her brother Pulsar Dark Storm. We purchased Steelhurst Shadow Dancer, the sire of Pulsar Dark 'n' Demure,Steelhurst Double Trouble, the sire of Dansar Sleepy Time at Pulsar, Steelhurst Star Edition and Steelhurst Dark Shadow. Steelhurst Star Edition at Pulsar "Della" gained her stud book number and won first places at Championship shows in Post Graduate, Limit and Open including 1st PGB at Crufts 1999 under Jean Lawson and Best in Show at Northumberland and Durham Open show in 199 under Jean Beavin-Ladds. Dansar Sleepy Time at Pulsar "Jenna" was only shown on a few occasions but won the CC and Best of Breed at Belfasy 2000 under Davey McSevenney Jnr. Pulsar Dark 'n' Demure "Dixie" was my little star and although she was not the best show girl she had a lot of admirers. She won numerous Best Puppy and Best of Breeds at open shows, Best puppy Bitch at a Breed Club open show, a Working Group [a day out of puppy] at an open show, Best Puppy in Breed at National Working Breeds 1998 under Mary Farnes and the RCC at Yorkshire Collie under Jean Young.
Sadly we lost Della, Dixie and Jenna through illness at such young ages and felt like calling it a day. The encouragement from our friends and fellow exhibitors persuaded us to carry on. We bought a blue bitch from Goff and Janet Ridley Wenchaela Winter Wonder - "Ripley" who qualified for Crufts 2004 at her first show, a sable bitch Camanna Cher from Anne Hassock and a blue dog Mallicot Ice Blue from Jean and John Catliff. When Phil and I decided to go our seperate ways I moved to Coventry with 4 bitches - Pulsar Boozy Floozy and her daughter Pulsar Coco Loco and the two youngsters Ripley and Cher. Although I do not show as much as I would like due to other committments at the moment I still keep in touch with all my collie friends and catch up with the show results on Collienet. SUE
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