The Autumn season started well in Norway for the Barentsvidda dogs, which pleases me almost as if it was my own breeding. Kleopatra (Kjakan – Giga) was the third dog from that litter to get her 1st Open, while Dolly (Copiad – Giga) got her 1st Novice in her first start. She followed up this weekend by reaching the finale in the Unghund Grand Prix trial (for young dogs with a 1st). This weekend litter brother Sortebill had his debut on Kongsvold, where he was tried for 95 minutes but no birds to be found for any of the dogs. More about Scandinavian pointers at bottom of this page.
An excellent opportunity has arisen in New Zealand, to combine some of the Wingfield pointer breeding from Joy Broughton-Mortensen with a UK-import packed with Scandinavian blood. Zharn Urlich, one of my NZ hunting mates, owns an excellent 5 year old male called Danny of Riverbend (on point in picture above, backed by another pointer owned by Zharn). Danny is proposed mated to a solid black bitch from Ireland, one of several dogs brought to NZ by an Irish couple. Her name is See Bree of Ponsonby and she has had one litter with a Crookrise dog. Zharn had a solid black bitch from that litter on loan last year. See Bree is from Des O’Neile’s trialing blood lines, with many strong dogs behind her. Pedigree follows further down but first a bit about Danny (*Patch*) and See Bree (*Jet*):
I have seen *Patch* in training and also several times hunted with him, from when he was a very young dog. It is a dog with a lot of natural ability, to cover the ground and set birds. He has had a lot of pheasants and quail shot over him, and he is also a natural retrieving ducks in water. His father is Tom Richardson’s Wingfield Chief, an excellent pointer (seen in the video INSTINCT and also in the TV-series HUNGER FOR THE WILD). Chief is the brother of Huw Taylor’s Wingfield Cass, who a few years back was one of the strongest trailers in New Zealand. In Patch’s pedigree you’ll also see Huw Taylor’s UK-import Oxspring Samson. Samson was a hard running dog with nice bird work (see INSTINCT video) and his litter sister bred a litter with a Danish dog, from where several off-springs ended up in Denmark. Also in the pedigree is Tom Richardson’s Wingfield Brogue (who is also displaying some nice work on pheasants in the INSTINCT video). Brogue was from the very strong litter where Joy used Innistona Shoot on Sparkfield Souvenir, which also produced Bonny, Briar and the exceptional Wingfield Banner. To read more about Banner and other Wingfield dogs, see this part of the Mortensen Tribute Website:
There is also an import from Derry Argue called Advie Flare found twice in Patch’s pedigree. She was known to have been a bit soft, but good on birds, and was bred from in three different kennels. I got to know one of her daughters well, owned by the legendary old Danish hunter in the South Island, Agner “Tom” Zachariassen, and I had the pleasure of hunting over her. There hasn’t been much trialing of Advie pointers in Britain for a couple of decades, so it could be difficult to assess what they comparatively have to offer. Though a few years ago I got to know a Swedish woman, Sofia, who in younger years spent a year working for Derry Argue as a kennel hand. When she left she was given a pup called Advie Assar (Advie Annan – Advie Dores). Annan’s mother Advie Dulcet was a sister of Advie Flare imported to NZ. Sofia came from a family of dog breeders but Assar was her first pointer. She won some prizes with him in trials and also had him passing a Swedish Kennel Club mentality test. I arranged for the hard-running Danish bitch Agertoften Vigen to be sent up to Sofia and for her to breed a litter from her, using Advie Assar.
I thought it was a very interesting experiment as the Advie lines were little known in Scandinavia and also not present anymore in British trials. When the litter was born Derry Argue imported one of the pups, a couple went to Denmark, while in Sweden the male Pax Mariae De Facto did well in trials. The bitch Pax Mariae Dux Femina Facti also got merits in trials and I suggested for her to be mated with the Norwegian bred dog Blålyngens Tatzmo. (His mother Metrinelunds Sisse was an excellent trial dog and Sisse’s brother Rolf was an influential sire in Denmark. Sisse and Rolf’s father was a Swedish dog I brought to Denmark as a stud dog when I lived there.) The Tatzmo x Femina Facti mating produced Anneborg’s Kiwi who came 5th in the 2007 Swedish Derby and with several other merits. She is today one of the best trialing pointers in Sweden. I believe we see something similar here in New Zealand – with the strong Wingfield dogs the Advie lines have turned out well and given sensible workers with strong bird sense.
Zharn approaching *Patch*, set on a single brown quail.
Barentsviddas Sortebill (Black Luckys Copiad – Giga) left, Barentsviddas Mafia (Kjakan – Giga) right. Giga centre.
See Bree (*Jet*) imported to NZ.
Litter brother Ballincoher Barcley (*Jalad*).
Echednei Hendi (Italian import).
The solid black colour comes via the Italian import Echednei Heidi. Her sire was a mix of Danish (line bred on Ferreos Tom and Boga-lines via Clastidium) and Finnish via Sasking Mao back to Masterline’s Diamond Ace. Just like all solid black pointers in Scandinavia, also these dogs trace back to Ace… It is a small world indeed! Echednei Hendi’s mother is a mix of della Marciola and Veronello. (There is also plenty of Veronello behind many of the English dogs behind Danny of Riverbend.) Further back also the legendary Italian pointer Sernos del Bocia etc..
Echednei Hendi is found twice in this pedigree. With Slieveanorra The Shifter she produced FTCh Bold as Brass. Bold went on to produce FTCh Sugarloaf Bold, with the Irish Champion Stake winner Flo-Jo. (Two pups from an earlier Flo-Jo litter went to Sweden.) As seen in the pedigree, Bold is See Bree’s father. Echednei Hendi also had a litter with the Brazilian import Apulae Roi, which produced Des O’Neile’s striking top dog Prince of Darkness (top left picture, with his sire Roi below). There is a lot of interesting pointer blood in South America, and in the 1960s Celso Caiuby Novaes often visited Europe and arranged for top blood lines to be imported from France, Italy and Scandinavia. In Sweden he was on good terms with among others Gustaf Björck and Ivan Swedrup. The most important stud dog imported to Brazil in those days was Black Luckys Dart (Mariebergs Garrick – Black Luckys Lola) who won the Swedish Guldpokalen trophy in 1974. Anyway, Apulae Roi came from Brazil but he was pure Danish, from more recent imports. His father was Bredbjerggårds Tim (Rimfaxes Emir – Bredbjerggårds Liva) and the mother was Bogas Katja (Bogas Jaika – Bogas Danillo). Emir and Liva were well known dogs with lots of Boga-lines and Oksby Fly / Ferreos Tom behind, while the pedigrees behind Jaika and Danillo are packed with Bogas Chock and more Oksby Fly / Ferreos Tom etc..
The important English sire FTCh Wishy Washy of Spinningloch is also line bred behind See Bree while FTCh Spinningloch Topper, through Oxspring Samson, is found behind Danny of Riverbend. Through the Sparkfield side behind Danny is also FTCh Max Sparkfield of Dorvalstan further behind, and of course also the heavy presence of the Northern Irish Innistona, which Joy found to be the perfect marriage for her her Sparkfield lines. Joy was one of the great pointer patriots downunder and I very much believe she would have approved of a mating like this. Any active hunter or trialist, wherever they are, are welcome to express their interest in a pup to Zharn Urlich or to the Ponsonby breeders Kath Lodge & Pete Gillott. I’m also happy to provide further info.
As I have stated several times, also on these pages, the only thing that really matters when breeding birddogs is to produce longevity. Dogs of the right quality that survives down through the generations. This time I will focus on pointer lines, which I have been lucky to have been heavily involved with for almost 20 years. I had a very close working relationship with Jørgen Andersen at Agertoften kennels, Denmark. (See more in links.) There were several people who criticized some of the choices we made though several outstanding dogs were the result. In later years Jørgen has focused on line breeding heavily on a mix of Agertoften and the Norwegian Bjørklund kennel. His focus always being efficient bird finders over flashy runners. The Agertoften/Bjørklund combination originates from the mating FTCh Texas av Frygne (Sir Satan – Agertoften Isabella) x Bjørklunds C2 Gaisa (Jo-Kjells Clint – Ylajalis CD), with 1st prize in the Friday qualification, Saturday’s semifinale and Sunday’s finale. An outstanding achievement! In Sweden Cito was bred into Agertoften lines last year, siring litters with Lyngborgs Vi-To and Pax Mariae Dux Femina Facti. I suggested both Cito and Blålyngens Tatzmo (Ylajalis Isak – Metrinelunds Sissi) to be used on Femina Facti. The latter was used first, read more about that on my blog and more about Bjørklunds K Cito on Holmvik’s website.
Cito’s father Kjakan was a dog I tried to encourage breeders to give a chance at stud, without too much response. In fact the only one who at first responded to it was Hans Nikolajsen in Denmark. He used Kjakan on his bitch Mølvads Cleo (whom he later bred with Altegeinos Garm before he did a re-mating with Kjakan). The first litter was born in 2002 and produced at least three very talented young dogs, best known was Hjalleses Kaos – who unfortunately died not long after he had started making his mark in Danish trials. That breeding result confirmed my strong belief that it was a dog to be regarded as stud. Einar Holmvik bred the K-litter from Kjakan in 2004. The following year Kjakan also mated another Norwegian bitch and my mate Geir B. Larssen’s Italian import Giga. Three of the four dogs from the Giga litter, who have started in trials, have achieved 1st Open and their championship ticket. (Aragorn, Mafia & Kleopatra.) I believe Kjakan’s underrated abilities as stud mirrors the status of the Swedish pointer Axelas Bugg, who I brought to Denmark as stud. I certainly got some criticism for that, though I don’t think many today would underrate the progeny he left with the bitch Sorfi. The son Metrinelunds Rolf became one of the most important studs in Danish pointer breeding for several decades. Numerous off-springs have done well in all the top trials in Denmark. In the past few days his daughter Makeo’s Mai (Danish Championship winner) is also behind the winners of the biggest Swedish trials. Mørups Britta won the Swedish Derby and Mørups Krumme won the Swedish Championship yesterday. Of course I haven’t been involved in these litters but it’s good to see that Bugg’s lines are surviving. Also through Rolf’s sister Metrinelunds Sissi, mentioned above.