Rushden Black In Style (Rushden New Approach X Flash Of Blue Lightning) has gone to live with Russell Sykes, of the Veredon Whippets in Sheffield. Christened 'Cilla' she has settled in well with her new family, both human and canine, and we are getting regular updates on how she is doing. We wish Russell all the best with her and look forward to meeting up with them both in the show ring in the not too distant future x

Spot the odd one out? ........lol !!

We had a lovely afternoon yesterday (29th Jan.) at The Shih Tzu Club Of Ireland All Breed Limit Show. Breeze 'Mossbawnhill Causin A Stir At Rushden' showed she was back on top form when she went on to win Best Puppy In Show under terrier specialist Mrs Susan Kealy. We couldn't have asked for a better start to the New Year !! 
Various other Rushden hounds and terriers also came home with rosettes (see results page for more info). We were delighted with the performance of our latest home bred whippet youngsters - Ash 'Rushden Black Caviar' and Ruby 'Rushden Don't Push It'. Having only just turned 4 months old they showed really well in the A.V. Baby Puppy Class, taking everything in their stride ........... hopefully both have very bright futures ahead of them !

(Below is a photo of Breeze taken just after she had won BPIS)

We have received this lovely photo of Flash (Flash of Blue Lightning) which was taken when she won 'Overall Whippet Champion' at The Irish Game & Country Fair at Birr Castle earlier this year. The Photo was taken by Deirdre McCoy and features in the Autumn edition of Irish Country Sports & Country Life magazine.......we think it captures Flash and the delight on Tracy's face very well!

Flash has since been on maternity duties !!

Our Dante x Flash litter are growing rapidly ! New photo's of them have been added on our 'Current Litter' page, showing them stacked at 6 1/2 weeks old.
..........There may still be a couple of these pups available to permanent, loving  pet or show homes.  Please get in touch through the 'Contact Us' page on the website if you wish to find out any more information about them.

We have been eagerly waiting to read Lola's critique from Birmingham National, where she won the Bitch CC under breed specialist Bitte Ahrens Primavera. Here it is, we are absolutely delighted with it !!

OPEN BITCH (19 – 2 abs)

1st – JUN CH RUSHDEN OOH LA LA owned by MS J & MISS T DUKE & GILL.

Darker fawn brindle/white bitch of wonderful type and size. The most perfect balance between elegance and strength both standing and moving. Nothing exaggerated . Beautiful smooth curves from the head , neck, top line down to the rear angles. Perfect angulations in front and rear. Nice bone structure and correct feet. So full of superb qualities & very feminine. All this topped by her sound , low reaching and effective side gait, made her win the CC this day! Just a beauty in motion! Thanks for showing her.

Our beautiful blue whippet bitch Flash (Flash of Blue Lightning) gave birth to a litter of 8 puppies on Tuesday, 27th September. The litter is sired by our home bred black with white trim boy Dante (Rushden New Approach) More details and photos of this litter can be found in the puppy section of this website.

The N.I.W.C. held its annual Championship Show on Sunday 25th September. The judge was breed specialist Nicky Warner of the 'Savuka' affix in the UK. Several of our dogs were in the cards. Breeze 'Mossbawnhill Causin A Stir At Rushden' took 3rd place in the Minor Puppy Bitch class, qualifying her for Crufts 2012.
Nico 'Rushden Just A Gigolo' managed to get a very respectable 3rd place in the Limit Dog class.
..... And we are delighted to report that Dante 'Rushden New Approach', handled by Janet, won a strong Open Dog class!
Lola and Tracy also managed to take 1st place in the Members Class.
.......A GREAT DAY ALL ROUND FOR RUSHDEN KENNELS !!!!

We had a great day at Belfast Ch. Show at The King's Hall, on Saturday 24th August.
Hound Specialist Gavin Robertson of the Soletrader Affix  from the UK, judged whippets. We only had Lola  'Rushden Ooh La La' entered under him, and she managed a very respectable VHC (5th) in a strong Open Bitch Class.
Janet showed Mackenzie 'Rushden Mirror Image' in Parson Russell Terriers  and under terrier Judge Kirsten Fox she was delighted to win the Open Bitch Class and then be awarded Best of Breed ~ qualifying Mackenzie for the Terrier Group !

On Saturday 27th August we had an early start to travel down to Dublin to attend the IKC International All Breed Show. It was all made worthwhile when Breeze, 'Mossbawnhill Causin A Stir At Rushden' won the Puppy Bitch Class (3) and then beat the puppy dog winner to be awarded Best Puppy In Breed under respected judge Mr Graham Hill from the UK. She then went on to win the Sighthound Puppy Group, judged by Ireland's Una Rigney and ended up 3rd Best Puppy In Show under Brian O'Hara, also from Ireland.

Breeze has been doing extremely well in the ring....... At Championship & International Championship Shows she has already won Best Baby Puppy In Breed, Reserve Best Baby Puppy In Show, Best Puppy In Breed, Best Puppy In the Sighthound Group (Group 10) & 3rd Best Puppy In Show ........ not bad for a young lady who has only just turned 7 months old!!

The photo's below were taken by Howard Tonks, thanks Howard!

The penultimate event of the season, run by The Sporting Whippet Club N.I. took place on Sunday 21st August. Despite a few heavy showers during the show classes, the enthusiasm of the exhibitors failed to be dampened.
In the ring, judge Michael Western, had many lovely whippets to cast his eye over and had some difficult decisions to make.
Our whippets did us proud again ~ Breeze and Dante both taking 3rd place in the Puppy and Dog classes respectively and Flash went one better in the Bitch Class, being awarded second place. The highlight of our day was seeing Vixen back on top form and racing her way to top spot on the race track, winning the Grade 'A' racing.

Below are a few photo's from the day .........

The sun shone favourably on us at Camlough Charity, Greyhound, Terrier, Lurcher & Whippet Show on Saturday 20th Aug. and there was a great turn out of dogs and exhibitors to support this new event.

In the whippet show classes, Finlay (Fallswater Free Spirit) continued his winning streak by taking 1st place  in the Puppy Dog Class & Reserve Best Puppy! Flash (Flash Of Blue Lightning) won 2nd in the whippet bitch class & then helped Tracy take 1st place in the 'Ladies Handling' class.

The racing at this event had been very well organised and the track covered about 200 yards up a wicked incline........ Vixen as always, put on a great performance, but on this occassion was beaten by a length to come 2nd in her heat.  The organisers had also arranged a'whippet puppy race' - 10 month old Finlay, who has been showing a keen interest in racing, took off up the hill after the lure at great speed, winning the race by several lengths.

Finlay is really proving himself to be a real 'all rounder' !!

We had a very successful day with our whippets at The North West Lurcher & Terrier Club  show held in Donemana on Sunday 7th August.  Vixen delighted us by being crowned the overall Whippet Racing Champion and also took 1st place in the Working Whippet Class. Renoir behaved impecably in the Dog Class and managed to win a second place rosette, and young Breeze won 1st in the Pup Class and was the overall 'Whippet Puppy Champion'.  Breeze then had to go into against the Terrier Pup & Lurcher Pup Champions for overall  Best Puppy In Show to be decided .......... and she beat them both to be awarded ' Supreme Champion Pup In Show'. We couldn't have asked for a better day !!

Breeze 'Mossbawnhill Causin A Stir At Rushden', was awarded Best Baby Puppy Bitch and Best Of Breed Baby Puppy at Bangor & North Down Championship Show on 30th July 2011. The breed Judge was Mr Rafael Escar Tabuena of the 'Torre De Justo' affix from Spain.

Breeze then went into contend for the Best Baby Puppy In Show title, which was judged by Mr Howard Tonks 'Bawnduv'. Against strong competition from some beautiful 4 - 6 month old babies.......... Breeze went on to take Reserve Best Baby Puppy In Show !! We are very proud of our lovely young lady !!

We had a super day at Ballymena & District Dog Fanciers Association Open Show on 13th July. Finlay 'Fallswater Free Spirit' delighted us by winning the Puppy D/B class & Best Puppy In Breed under Miss Fiona Robertson (Sheol~Whippets) and then went Hound Puppy Group 1 under Mr Paul Lawless (Revloch~Belgian Shepherds).
Well Done Young Man !! 
Finlay has only been lightly shown so far as we are giving him time to mature.

On Sunday 10th July we had another lovely day out with good friends and great craic at a Sporting Whippet Club N.I. Show / Race event.
Margaret Martin (Barnesmore Whippets) had been asked to judge the show classes and we were delighted with our whippets placings. Breeze 'Mossbawnhill Causin A Stir At Rushden' took 3rd place in the Puppy Class, moving and standing very well for one so young. Dante, 'Rushden New Approach' came 2nd in the Whippet Dog Class, beating his litter brother Merlin, 'Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss' who was placed 3rd.Our new blue lady, Flash, 'Flash Of Blue Lightning' delighted us when she came 2nd in a strong Whippet Bitch Class.
In the adult racing we entered both Dante & Flash and when graded, Dante qualified with the top A Grade racers while Flash qualified in the C Grade. Both dogs tried really hard but were out ran on this occassion and didn't come home with any trophies. Finlay also put on a good show in the Puppy Racing and we are sure that as he gets more practice he will be up there with the best of them.

Below you can see photo's of our dogs who were placed in the show classes...........

We recently received these lovely photo's of 'Rushden Moulin Rouge' ~ Ozzy from his owner Tina Robb. Ozzy lives over in Yorkshire, England with Tina and her family.  He is from our litter sired by Rushden Mr Bojangles at Sinursa out of our French import bitch 'Tess Du Manoir De La Grenouillere' (1CC), whom we recently very sadly lost to lymphoma. One of Ozzy's litter mates, Lola 'Rushden Ooh La La'  lives here with us at Rushden and has been doing very well in the show ring recently, having won her first CC at Birmingham National Show in May under Bitte Ahren's Primavera (Sober's Kennel ~ Italy)
 
Thanks Tina, for allowing us to use these pics of Ozzy on our website, we hope you share many more happy, healthy years together.

We have a new arrival at Rushden ........

Flash is a beautiful blue lady who has come to join our whippet family. She has a wonderful temperament and the sweetest of nature and has already fitted in really well. She is a true all rounder, a multi purpose whippet equally at home out in the field, on a race track, in a show ring or curled up on a sofa!!!
We would like to thank our dear friends Liz & Eddie McKinstry for allowing Flash to come and live with us and entrusting us with her welfare.

Dante won Open Dog, Best of Breed, Group 1 & then went Best In Show at N.I. Gundog, Field & Show Society Open Show on Sunday 25th June. The judge Mrs Olive Carty from Ireland, who herself has owned whippets in the past, said she would have loved to have taken Dante home with her........ a compliment indeed!! It really was a super day and we would like to thank the judge for making it a very memorable one and appreciating all our other dogs too!

 In whippets, Lola 'Rushden Ooh La La Jun Ch. CJW'08, CW'09, CW'11' won the Open Bitch Class but was beaten by Dante in the challenge for BOB.
 In Parson Russell Terriers, Sky 'Rocfalls Diamond Dust' was placed 1st in the Open D/B Class and then went on to win Best Of Breed and Group 3.

We travelled over to the Scottish Borders last weekend (18th June) to show whippets under breed specialist Bill Armstrong. (Cornstalk whippets, UK) at Border Union championship show. Lola (Rushden Ooh La La) was shortlisted to the last few in a strong Open Bitch class. Nico (Rushden Just A Gigolo), owned by our good friend Janice Mckinley, showed really well and handled by Tracy managed to take 2nd place in the Limit Dog class!

Here is Nico's critique from the show.......

''McKinleys Rushden Just A Gigolo, brindle of excellent quality & type, lovely head & expression, not a small dog but no coarseness &  so very nicely made throughout with everything in the right place. Cast a nice outline standing and moving where he covers the ground very easily.''

We sadly had to say goodbye to our beautiful Emma 'Ir Ch. Barmaud Sweet Shannon', on 21st May. Emma was a truly wonderful whippet who in her prime not only excelled in the show ring, but also on the race field. She gained her Irish Title under judges from across the globe and won several Open Bitch classes at UK Championship Shows.  She loved to race and was the Whippet Race Champion at many  Game Fairs in Ireland ......yelping and barking crazily on the start line when race officials shook the lure infront of her!! In her latter years Emma suffered with arthritus in her joints and took up almost permanent residence in our living room .........apart from when a trip in the caravan was mentioned, Em had to be there with us !!

Rest In Peace sweet Emma........Run free from pain across the Rainbow Bridge. Gone but never forgotten xxx

We are extremely proud to announce that Lola thrilled us at The National Dog Show, Birmingham by not only winning a strong Open Bitch class, but also winning the Bitch Challenge Certificate. The judge, Bitte Ahrens Primavera (Sobers Kennel, Italy) awarded Lola Best Bitch from a quality entry of 204 whippets.

Lola 'Rushden Ooh La La Jun Ch, CJW'08, CW'09,CW'11' has a combination of English and Continental lines in her pedigree as she is out of our late CC winning French import bitch, 'Tess du Manoir De La Grenouillere' by a homebred lad 'Rushden Mr Bojangles at Sinursa.'

Linda Horton took these lovely photo's of young Smoke 'Rushden Where There's Smoke With Mossbawnhill' when he was in the ring at The National Dog Show, Birmingham. Smoke was one of the youngest in the Junior Dog class as he had only just celebrated his first birthday, however he showed his socks off for owner/ handler Pamela Hunter and we are sure you will agree they make a great team !!  

Thanks for letting us use your photo's Linda !

Lola (Rushden Ooh La La - Jun Ch. CJW'08, CW'09, CW'11) did us proud at Crufts by winning 3rd in Open Bitch. In this very strong class with 32 of the top whippet bitches from around the world, Lola was only beaten by the bitch CC & RCC winners. The judge was the well respected breed specialist Magnus Hagstedt of the Signum Whippet Kennel in Sweden....

''Really strong class with several exceptional bitches, a treat to watch and a joy to judge. (3) Rushden Ooh La La, brindle, feminine with a generous outline, make and shape. Sweeping lines all through and a nice mover ! Lovely trio that made a strong impression.''

Whippet males were judged by hound specialist Dagmar Kenis Pordham and the young black and white boy 'Rushden Where There's Smoke With Mossbwnhill' bred by us , owned by Ryan & Pamela Hunter, also delighted us by gaining a reserve (4th) in a very respectable Special Puppy Dog Class of 19. Smoke was expertly handled  on the day by Pamela.

A huge thankyou to both judges for appreciating our breeding. We are extremely proud of both Lola and Smoke for their continued success in the ring.

'Rushden whippets' had a super day at The IKC St.Patrick's Celtic Winners Show on 17th March.
 
Under breed judge Mrs M.R. Parker, 'Rushden Where There's Smoke With Mossbawnhill', owned by Pamela & Ryan Hunter, was 2nd Junior Dog. 'Smoke' also took a 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the Puppy and (Petplan)Junior Stakes both Judged by Mr E. Patterson (Rocksham).
Rushden Just A Jigolo, owned by Janice McKinley but handled in the ring by Tracy,
was a very respectable 2nd in Open Dog.
To top it all our lovely Lola'Rushden Ooh La La - Jun Ch, CJW'08, CW'09' won the Open Bitch Class and then went on to take the Bitch Green Star. As this was Celtic Winners Show, Lola can now add CW'11 to her title.

Lola, although only selectively campaigned in Ireland, now has 6 Green Stars to her name and only needs to win 1 more to gain her Irish Title !!

We have an exciting litter of Parson Russell Terrier puppies at Rushden at the moment. Sky(Rocfalls Diamond Dust) has given birth to 3 dogs and 2 bitches sired by our lovely Mac (Howlbeck Mack In Dee).The photo below shows the babies at ten days old, more info, updates and photo's to be updated soon.....

With great sadness we had to say goodbye to Tess Du Manoir De La Grenouillere (1CC), our French Import bitch, on 7th February 2011. Tess had been diagnosed with Lymphoma a few months ago and had been coping well with her illness until the last few days when her health went down hill rapidly. It was obvious that the time had come to let her go.......

   RIP sweet Tess, gone but never forgotten xxx

Damson did us proud at the Shih Tzu Club Of Ireland Limit Show on Sunday 30th January. Under hound specialist Marion Finney (Gulliagh),  she was awarded Reserve Best A/V Open in Show !!

We are delighted to announce that we soon hope to hear the pitter patter of tiny Parson Russell paws!

Sky (Rocfalls Diamond Dust) is in whelp to Mac (Howlbeck Mack In Dee) and puppies are expected mid February 2011.

This will be Sky's first litter, although Mac has already sired several Irish Champions and a Reserve CC winner (our own Mackenzie 'Rushden Mirror Image')

If you think you may be interested in offering a permanent, loving pet/show home to a pup from this litter then please get in touch through the 'contact us' page on the website.

Sunny & Daka (Rushden Winter Thyme & Rushden Winter Breeze) are litter sister's and the best of friends. These very lucky young ladies live a wonderful life in Slovakia with their owners Lucia Kuzmova & Jurad Nad. Sunny & Daka are from our Rushden Lover Boy X Rushden Hot 'N' Sassy litter. We think you'll agree that the photo below is simply stunning !

Five Rushden bred whippets attended Northern Ireland Hound Of The Year 2010 on Saturday 8th January. Each of them had qualified for this event  by winning at  shows held in Northern Ireland throughout 2010.

Pictured in the photo below, with their owners, from Left to Right :

Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss (1CC, 2RCC's) - Qualified by winning CC & BOB at Belfast Championship Show.
Rushden Just A Gigolo - Qualified by winning Green Star (CAC) Dog  at Newtownards Championship Show.
Rushden Where There's Smoke With Mossbawnhill - Qualfied his first time out by winning BPIS at Hound Club of N.I.
Rushden Ooh La La (Jun Ch. CJW'08, CW'09) - Qualified by winning Green Star (CAC) Bitch at both Bangor & Portadown Championship Shows.
Rushden New Approach (1RCC) - Qualified by winning Res. Green Star Dog at Portadown Championship Show.

(All of these dogs will also be at Crufts 2011.)

Despite the bitterly cold, snowy weather we managed to make the long journey over toThe Whippet Club Of Wales Championship Show on Saturday 4th December. 
There were two judges, one for dogs and one for bitches, both breed specialists - June Cox (Rearsbylea) judged the dogs and Di Morgan (Meandi) the bitches.

Lola 'Rushden Ooh La La', did us proud and showed her socks off to be placed 4th (reserve) in a strong Open Bitch Class. Our good friend Graham Meek was also over showing Merlin 'Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss', and they delighted us by winning the Limit Dog Class. The boys then went in for the challenge and were awarded the Reserve CC !! We are very proud of them both, Graham & Merlin are really turning into a winning team having won 1CC with BOB, 2 Reserve CC's and numerous classes this year alone.

We don't usually mention birthdays on our website but on this occassion we are making an exception ....... Marcus, Khabaray Paco Rabbane At Dumbriton has  today (22nd Nov) reached the grand old age of 12 !! Our lovely black brindle lad, who is now a bit grey around the edges...lol, is a real gentleman. Marcus has sired UK, Irish and Australian Champions, and is the sire, grandsire and great grandsire of several of the whippets here at Rushden. Two of Marcus's grandsons have been doing extremely well in the show ring this year, our Rushden New Approach won the RCC at W.E.L.K.S.  and his litter brother Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss won a RCC at S.K.C. and then went one better to win CC and BOB at Belfast Championship show.

' HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCUS !! '

On Saturday 10th Nov. 'Rushden Where There's Smoke With Mossbawnhill' took the Best Puppy In Show award at the Hound Club of N.I. under Hound Specialist, Lyn Hewson (Rekaylahn) from the UK. This was young Smoke's debut in the showring and he certainly did it in style! We would like to congratulate Pamela & Ryan Hunter on this fabulous win with their Rushden lad........ We are sure it will be the
first of many.

WELL DONE SMOKE !!

The Neil family have kindly sent us some new photo's of Suzie 'Rushden Paparazzi', the dark brindle particolour bitch from our Merlin X Damson litter. Suzie is almost 6 months old now and is clearling thouroughly enjoying her life in Scotland with Jamie & Evonne and their daughters Sophie & Kirsty. Jamie tells us that she loves digging holes in their garden and stealing the girls toys .....oops! I wonder who she takes after......Damson by any chance, lol!!

Here she is at the beach......

We think she is turning into a beautiful young lady and are looking forward to seeing her mature.

Chilli, 'Rushden Kinky Boots', won her first rosette yesterday at the tender age of 5 1/2 moths. At a charity dog show in aid of a local animal sanctuary she was awarded 1st place in the 'small dog' class - winning her first red rosette and a bag of dog food! Well done Chilli, we hope it is the first of many !!

We returned from Portadown Championship Show (IKC) on Saturday 16th October, with big smiles
on our faces!
Having taken 3 dogs (Lola, Dante & Mackenzie) ...... we came home with 3 class wins, 2 Green Stars, 1 Reserve Green Star, 1 Reserve Best Of Breed and 1 Best of Breed !!
(See results page for more info...) 

A very successful days showing indeed !!

We recently received this lovely photo of two Rushden bred whippets who share their lives with the Robb family in Yorkshire. Ozzy 'Rushden Moulin Rouge'(Rushden Mr Bojangles At Sinursa X Tess Du Manoir De La Grenouillere (Imp. France)) and Dante 'Rushden Tumbling Dice'(Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss X Mossbawnhill Smooth As Silk For Rushden CJW'09, Euro JW'09) both have very interesting pedigrees. We think this is a super picture of the boys relaxing together.

The last weekend in September is a very busy weekend for 'showing whippets' in N. Ireland, with both Belfast Championship Show on the Saturday and The NIWC Championship Show on the Sunday................................

At Belfast show Judge Helen Fielden, awarded our Dante, 'Rushden New Approach' 2nd place in a strong Yearling Dog class. His brother Merlin 'Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss' (owned and handled by Graham Meek) won Limit Dog, CC & BOB!!!
We were delighted for Graham and are very proud to have bred such a lovely whippet. We hope that Merlin's next 2 CC's are only just around the corner..................

At the NIWC Championship Show the following day Rushden Whippets were again in the cards. Breed specialist Bob Belshaw (Permadon) was awarding tickets for the first time. Dante again came 2nd in PGD. Nico 'Rushden Just A Gigolo'owned by Jan McKinley but handled by Tracy won the LD class, (thus gaining his Stud Book Number!) and in the same class Merlin was Reserve.In a moment of madness 'Team Rushden'(Graham with Merlin, Jan with Nico, Tracy with Lola & Janet wth Dante) then decided to enter the Breeder's Competition and won it for the second year in a row !!

What a fantastic weekend for Rushden, we are delighted that both judges thought so highly of our dogs !!

We had only one whippet entered at Darlington Championship Show - Dante 'Rushden New Approach'. Our first home bred black with white trim boy has been doing us proud this year and   didn't disappoint at Darlington! Under Breed Specialist, Gay Robertson of the famous 'Moonlake Kennels', Dante was placed 3rd in a strong Yearling Dog Class.

We have received some stunning photo's from Billy Harpur showing Tia (Rushden Hot Gossip) doing what she loves best.........racing! Tia retired from the pedigree show ring several years ago and now enjoys showing and racing at game fairs and sporting events, where she has had considerable success!  We think Billy has really captured Tia's enthusiasm on the race field in this photo below. Thanks Billy!

Graham Meek and Merlin, 'Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss' flew the flag for Rushden whippets at the Scottish Kennel Club Championship Show yesterday (28th Aug)
.........and didn't they do well!!

Under Judge Mark Cocozza the boys won the Yearling Dog class and then went on to win the Reserve Dog Ticket (RCC).We are extremely proud of them both!! This fantastic win means that Merlin has now gained his Stud Book Number and is qualified for Crufts for life.
Congratulations guys !!

(This is the second RCC won by dogs from our very successful Gilnockie Black Magic CW'08 X Rushden Hot Gossip mating - The first being won by our own Dante, 'Rushden New Approach'  at W.E.L.K.S. a few months ago under breed specialist J. North-Row)

Last Sunday (15th Aug.) we attended another Sporting Whippet Club N.I. show & race day at Dunsilly Kennels in Antrim. We decided to take one of the  pups from our Merlin X Damson litter with us for some socialisation. 'Miller', formally known as 'Rushden In The Mood' took everything in his stride ......so much so that we decided to enter him in the Whippet Pup show class. Imagine our amazement when , from a class of 13, the Judge selected Miller as the winner! We were so proud of him, he was only 15 weeks old and up against some lovely pups much older then himself. Here is a photo of him with his first trophy, hopefully the first of many !!

We met up with two more of Damson's babies at The Sporting Whippet Club N.I. event. 'Smoke 'and 'Jack' were both there with their new owners and we couldn't let the day go by without taking some photo's of them both. Here they are aged 15 weeks ..........................

We haven't been to many IKC Championship shows recently but on Saturday (7th August) we attended Bangor & North Down Canine Club All Breed Championship Show at the King's Hall in Belfast. We had four of our whippets entered and were delighted when the judge Dr. Cristian Vantu (Insolens) from Romania awarded Lola, Green Star Bitch from the Open Class. All our whippets were well placed in their classes, and were awarded 'excellent' gradings. (See results page for more details)

Tina Robb has sent us these lovely photo's of 'Rushden Tumbling Dice' on the stack at 13 weeks. Dante is from our Merlin X Damson litter and we think he is looking great !!

On Sunday 1st August we had a lovely day out with some of our dogs at Ballinlough Game & Country Fair. We entered the terrier, lurcher and whippet show and were delighted when all of our dogs were placed. Rosie, one of our smooth parson Russell Terriers, came 2nd in the 'terriers under 12'' class '. In the whippet ring - Tia won a 2nd place in the 'working whippet' class and Renoir and Dante won 1st and 3rd respectively in the 'whippet dog' class. Renoir, handled by Tracy then went on to be crowned overall 'Whippet Champion'. We were delighted that the judges thought so highly of our dogs and came home with an array of rosettes and trophies !!

This lovely photo 'of Smoke' aged 12 weeks, was taken at The East Anglian Whippet Club weekend by Pat Clewes (Shardbeck).  We think he looks stunning and are delighted with how he is progressing.........it looks as if he may have a very promising future with Pamela & Ryan at Mossbawnhill.

We have received this lovely photo of Turbo 'Rushden Special Request', from his new owners. He lives locally and shall be coming to visit us for his holidays later in the year.

Another of the Damson X Merlin babies has gone to his new home. Rushden Tumbling Dice  who has been named 'Dante,' arrived in Yorkshire on Sunday night after a long ferry and car journey. This 'well travelled young man' will be sharing his life with the Robb family and their canine companions - one of whom is also a 'Rushden' whippet! Dante will hopefully be shown by Tina .We wish them well and look forward to seeing them in the ring in the future.

Below are some photo's that Tina sent us, showing Dante settling in to his new home.

Rushden Paparazzi left us on Sunday (4th July) to go to her hew home in Scotland with the Neil family. 'Suzie' as she has been named, has settled in very well with Jamie, Evonne and their two daughters Sophie & Kirsty. 'Suzie' will be a much loved family pet and will hopefully be quick enough to compete on the race field when she gets a bit older.........

Another of Damson's pups has gone to his new home. 'Smoke'(Rushden Where There's Smoke) has gone to live with Ryan & Pamela Hunter at the 'Mossbawnhill' whippet kennel here in Northern Ireland. He will be sharing his life with their other whippets -several who are his relatives, and competing in conformation shows in the future.
We wish them all many happy, healthy, successful years together !

Today (Thurs. 24th June) the first of Damson's babies left for his new home. 'Rushden Special Request' aka Turbo has gone to live locally with the Wright family. We wish them all the very best with him.

We had another super day at The Sporting Whippet Club N.I. show and race day on Sunday 20th June.  Tia, aka Rushden Hot Gossip, won the whippet bitch class and her son Dante, aka Rushden New Approach, won the whippet dog class. Dante was then awarded Best In Show and Tia Reserve Best in Show (for the 2nd time this year) The Judge was Brian Doak of the world famous Rosslyn Deerhounds.

Damson X Merlin's puppies have turned 6 weeks old........ how the time has flown! It seems only yesterday that they were only just born and giving us sleepless nights!

Here are a few 'casual' photos of them taken yesterday (14/06/10) while they were playing in the sunshine having fun.

We will take photo's of them 'stacked' later in the week so please call back and look at the 'puppies page'whenever you have the time.

              Tracy (& the 9 little rascals!)

The Whippet Club Of Scotland held their '5Oth Anniversary' Championship Show on Saturday 12th June. The Judge was Breed specialist Jessie McLeod of the world famous 'Peperone Kennels'.

Our own Rushden New Approach (Dante), handled by Janet,won the Yearling Dog class. Second in the classwas Dante's litter brother Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss(Merlin), handled by owner Graham Meek. 

These two young dogs are a result of our very successful mating of Gilnockie Black Magic  CW'08 to Rushden Hot Gossip , Tia. We thank Jessie for thinking so highly of them both.

The photo below was taken by Pauline Leslie when the boys had just won 1st and 2nd in their class, Thanks Leslie!

Rushden Whippets had a great day at Southern Counties Ch. Show on Saturday 5th June under Swedish judge Dr. Goran Bodegarde.......

Lola (Rushden Ooh La La - Jun ch, CJW'08, CW'09) was placed 4th in a strong Limit Bitch class from a very large entry of 27.

Merlin(Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss), owned and handled by Graham Meek, took 2nd place in Yearling Dog from an entry of 18.

Thank you to the Judge, fellow exhibitors and onlookers around the ring for your lovely comments about these two dogs.

Below is a picture of Graham in the ring with young Merlin. We have no photos of Lola in the ring as the photographer (Tracy) was busy handling!

We are delighted to announce that Mossbawnhill Smooth As Silk For Rushden (Damson) safely delivered a litter of 9 beautiful whippet puppies (7 dogs & 2 bitches) in the early hours of Thursday 29th April. The sire of this litter is Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss (Merlin).This is a very exciting litter as regards the colour of the pups and their pedigree - It combines some of the best UK, Continental and US lines.

(See puppies page for more information & photographs) 
 

Wow!! What a day we had when Janet travelled over to the W.E.L.K.S. Championship Show on Sunday 25th April.
She showed two of our whippets under breed specialist, Mrs Jennifer North-Row (Barmaud). In the biggest class of the day (Limit Bitch),Lola 'Rushden Ooh La La' was placed 3rd, from an entry of 14. Dante 'Rushden New Approach'won the Yearling Dog classfrom a very respectable entry of 13........He then went on to take the Reserve Dog Challenge Certificate !!!!

It's nice to see a black whippet winning the top awards, especially one so young, Dante is only 18 months old.
 
Janet also took young Mackenzie 'Rushden Mirror Image' (Parson Russell Terrier) over to the show. This was 'Kenzie's' first time at a UK Championship Show and she really took it all in her stride! Breed specialist Mr Patrick Dooner, placed her 1st in Minor Puppy Bitch and in 'the Challenge' he awarded her the Reserve bitch ticket (RBCC) ..........WOW, she is not yet 7 months old and on the day was considered by the judge to be the second best PRT bitch entered .... Amazing!!

* These wins mean that both Dante & Mackenzie have now gained their Stud Book Numbers - Qualifying them for Crufts for life ! (Lola already has hers) *

~Thanks to both Judges for appreciating our homebred youngsters, and thanks to everyone for their kind words and congratulations on that fabulous day!

It really was a day we (especially Janet) shall 'never forget' !!!!!!

Our Parson Russell Terrier Howlbeck - Mack-In -Dee (Mac) had a lot to be proud of at Banbridge Show on Sunday, 18th April. Three of his children winning top honours in the breed. Judge Mr B. Leslie awarded Mr & Mrs Dooner's 'Jun Ch. Jappatin Tailormade' 1st OD & Green Star Dog, Tara Hunt's 'Jappatin Fashion Statement' 1st IB & GSB  and our homebred 'Rushden Mirror Image' 1st PB & Res.GSB. To celebrate the event we took a family photo.......

(L-R Jappatin Tailormade GSD winner, Jappatin Fashion Statement GSB winner, Rushden Mirror Image RGSB winner)

On Sunday 11th April, we took Vixen & Tia (Rushden Hot Gossip) to the first 'Sporting Whippet Club N.I.' show and race event of 2010. Surrounded by blue skies, brilliant sunshine, great friends and lots of lovely whippets .......what a great day we had!! 

Both our girls performed brilliantly in the straight racing - Tia finishing 2nd overall in the Grade B racing and Vixen, 'the black bullet', going one better to win the Grade A racing.

We had success in the show ring aswell......Tia won the whippet bitch class and then went on to be awarded Reserve Best In Show.To top it all off Best In Show was awarded to Tia's son, Merlin 'Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss' (owned by Graham Meek).......Making it a real family affair !!




Photo below (by D. McCoy) shows Graham with Merlin (BIS) & Tracy with Tia (RBIS)

At BDSS Open Show on Easter Tuesday Rushden Mirror Image 'Mackenzie' won OD/B, BOB, BP & Puppy Group 2. We are delighted with our homebred young lady as this was only her 2nd time being shown!

(See results page for all our results from this show)

 'Mackenzie' our home bred Parson Russell Terrier Pup - Rushden Mirror Image' (Howlbeck Mack In Dee x Pacolito Schemeing Monkey) made her debut at 'The Easter Classic' International All Breed Dog Show on Saturday 3rd April. Aged just 6 months and 3 days she won the puppy bitch class from an entry of three, with a 'very promising' grading. We were delighted as she really was the baby of the class - her future looks very bright indeed!

Rushden whippets also had an eventful day at the show, see results page for more information.

Renoir makes an 'Impression' at Crufts!

We had a great time at Crufts and it was nice to catch up with so many friends from home and abroad.

We were delighted when dog Judge Terry Nethercott placed 'Renoir' Rushden Impressionist 4th (Reserve) in the Mid-limit class from a sizeabe entry of 22 whippets. Renny, handled by Tracy, loves the big ring at Crufts as it is one of the few places he really gets the chance to show off his excellent movement.

 In Special Junior Dog another Rushden whippet caught Mr Nethercotts eye 'Merlin'   Rushden Cast's A Spell Over Brackaghmoss was also awarded 4th in a class of 20. We are extremely proud of Merlin and his owner/handler Graham Meek who are turning into a real winning team!

Rushden whippets had a great day at Newtownards Ch. Show (Sun. 28th Feb 2010) under UK breed specialist, Sandra Marshall (Lowerdon)

Rushden Hollyberry 'Holly' was 2nd in her Junior class.

'Merlin' Rushden Cast's A Spell over Brackaghmoss (owned and handled by Graham Meek) won the Junior Dog class and his litter brother 'Wilbur' Rushden By Chance (owned and handled by Scott Fallis) was 3rd in the class.

Our own 'Dante' Rushden New Approach (another brother ) handled by Janet was 1st in the Intermediate Dog class.

Then to top it all 'Nico' Rushden Just A Jigolo (owned by Janice McKinley but handled today by Tracy) went on to win Open Dog and then went one better to take Green Star Dog.

Very well done to all concerned !!

Rushden Ooh La La (Jun Ch CJW08 CW09) won Best of Breed at the recent Skye Terrier Club of Ireland All Breed open show, and then went on to win Group 10. Judge for both was Mr G Anthony (Rottzridge)

Merlin goes BOB and Group 3!!!

Rushden Casts A Spell Over Brackaghmoss won Green Star Dog, Best Of Breed and 3rd Group 10 at Cloghran All Breed Championship Show in Dublin on Sunday 15th Nov. The judge for both breed and group was Mrs A Mathers (Metewand).
Merlin is owned and shown by Graham Meek, and apart from already being Crufts qualified, he is excelling both in the field, where he is proving to be a competent worker, and on the race track where he finished last season as runner up in the puppy competition. All this and only 13 months old!!
A true multi purpose whippet!

Congratulations guys, keep up the good work!!

Darcy becomes a Junior Champion!!

Darcy, Rushden By Design, got his final class win to make him an FCI Junior Champion at Portadown Ch. Show. The judge was Editha Newton (Nevedith) UK.