American Whippet Club 1970 Whippet Annual |
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| Our great appreciation to Lynne Underwood for allowing permission to preserve this 1970 Whippet Yearbook on the AWC Website. Pages 79-100 On the following pages appears the article "The Whippet" written by Christine Cormany, and printed in The Gazehound, June/July/August issue 1971. Because of the fact, that not all of these Whippets appear in the Yearbook, it was felt worthwhile to reproduce this article for those of you who have not read nor seen all of these pictures. Permission was graciously given by the Editor of Gazehound 162 5 8 Lovett Place, Encino, California 91316. This is a fine magazine dedicated to Gazehounds performing in all facets of their versatility. The Whippet Possibly the greatest thing that happened to the American Whippet in the thirties was the introduction of Ch. Sandbrilliant of Meander and Ch. Syndicate of Meander. Both of these dogs were owned by the Meander Kennels of the late Judith R. Shearer and her sister, F. Julia Shearer who still maintains a breeding program at Meander. The combination of Sandbrilliant and Syndicate together produced over 15 champions;
SANDBRILLIANT, SYNDICATE and their champion family no other sire and dam combination has duplicated this record, although many sires have more champions to their credit and many other dams have more, but not a single sire or dam combination has accomplished what this one did. They set the "Meander type". As new blood and lines were introduced, the famous fawns of Meander added parti-colors as well as a few brindles. The Meander Whippets had about them a certain "something" that is hard to define, but probably their greatest contribution to the American Whippet was an over-all sound ness, a type of head that was pleasing to a breeder-judge or an all-rounder, a more stable type, a more uniform size, and a consistent quality. One could depend on buying a Meander
CH. MEANDER BOB-WHITE Whippet sight unseen and feel assured of getting a dog of sound, show quality with dark eyes, dark pigmentation, good temperament. As with most early dogs, good photos of Sandbrilliant and Syndicate are hard to find, but the most popular photo of these two shows them with their champion family in-between. During the many years of the Shearer's judicious breeding program, the one dog that stands out as a top stud is their Ch. Meander Bob-White, a dog who was himself a great winner and sire of winners. Looking at this dog's photo, one can actually see our breed standard come to life, as he certainly displays the qualities asked for. Many of the Meander Whippets were Best In Show winners, and on several occasions a pair of fawns took Best Brace in Show honors. (Indicating one does not need a parti-color to win; fawn dogs of good quality can make it.) The Meander owners were not interested in Best In Show records or Breed records; they were interested in breeding the proper type Whippet, one that could do the job he was intended for. To this day one can see a dog at a show and without even looking in the catalogue say, "That is a Meander-bred dog". That is how indelibly their type has been set. Owners with Meander in their dogs' pedigrees are indeed fortunate.
CH. STONEY MEADOWS SNOW QUEEN In bitches, to mind comes the lovely Ch. Stoney Meadows Snow Queen. Her time was 1957. A Best In Show winner herself, she has produced winners of great renown who are themselves well known sires and dams. This bitch, of correct size and substance, (qualities that seem to be fast disappearing), possesses alertness, topline, expression and soundness. She is one of the few bitches to take a Best of Breed win at Westminster. She is the dam of Stoney Meadows Bold Queen (who in turn is dam of the great Ch. Winterfold's Bold Bid), and the dam of the well known Ch. Stoney Meadows Royal Fortune. Another winning daughter who is producing high quality offspring is Ch. Stoney Meadows Beauty Queen. The potential of these offspring has not yet been touched, and they will be heard from in years to come. As this article pertains to dogs of the past who have been preotent for their qualities which are qualities we wish to preserve in our breed, we can only lightly pass over several fine dogs who have sired champions themselves and who also have champion grandchildren. These dogs are still alive and producing, namely, Ch. Eyleland Double or Nothing and the aforementioned Ch. Royal Fortune.
CH. FLEETING FALCON No doubt the best imported brindle was the lovely Ch. Fleeting Falcon. He was an unusual orange brindle with a most marvelous temperament. He passed on both of these qualities its offspring. Mrs. Margaret Newcombe of Pennyworth Kennels who owned this lovely dog described him as having given topline, length of neck, movement, pigmentation, lovely and correct angulation. Falcon had a record of 7 BIS, 23 Hound Groups, 15 Group II, 9 Group III, 5 Group IV and 58 BOB out of 64 times shown.
ENG. CH. BELLAVISTA BARRY No doubt the English studs who have most influenced the breed in America today are Eng. Ch. Bellavista Barry (who has two winning sons that have in turn produced winners here in the states) and Eng. Ch. Laguna Ligonier (who himself is by Barry). "Barry" is the sire of the famous Ch. Courtenay Fleetfoot of Pennyworth who certainly needs no introduction to the Whippet fancy. His show and stud records speak for themselves and as he is still at stud on a limited basis, his full potential and greatness have not yet been reached. The other son, Ch. Ringmore Finisterre, a correct size dog of a silver fawn with white trim, is sound of temperament and body. He lives with his owners Mr. and Mrs. Bob Robertson of San Diego. A Best In Show winner he was acclaimed Top Hound by Kennel Review magazine a few years back, and he was the first Whippet to attain such recognition. Several of his offspring are producing winners themselves and have also proven their worth on the race track, so it is not necessarily so that show bred Whippets will not or cannot race.
ENG. CH. LAGUNA LIGONIER Eng. Ch. Laguna Ligonier, a proper type Whippet, has some things that most breeders would give their right arms for; correct topline, good rear angulation and a good depth of chest which he has passed on to his two sons in this country, Ch. Coveydown Greenbrae Wayfarer (sire of Ch. Winterfold's Bold Bid) and Ch. Greenbrae Barn Dance (sire of many champions including Ch. Mor-Shor's Whirlaway). Both of these studs are still active as is Whirlaway. Their sons and daughters are carrying on for them in great fashion; as sires, brood matrons, winners, etc. Their greatness today will be felt in years to come. Most of the English imports have a tremendous depth of chest which so many of our American lines lack. It would be wise for breeders to take advantage of these deep-chested dogs while we can; their days are becoming shorter, and we will one day regret not making use of them. However, the English imports also bring specific faults which we do not want to add to those we already have. These are a straightness of shoulder, a slight hackney gait (too high and not enough reach), and in some cases a broader head than we are used to seeing. But by careful selective breeding with the proper bitches, we can retain the depth of chest, good rear angulation, length of neck and lovely toplines, and gradually breed out the unwanted gait and straight shoulders.
Tommy, and figures showing what his speed rivals can do
AN ORIGINAL WHIPPET Jay and Abbie Bastien with their 1927 Whippet, a touring vehicle of top value, that was once the pride of the highways. This touring car reached the fantastic speeds of 39-40 miles per hour. STRATHOAK by Christine Cormany Strathoak had its beginning before it was called Strathoak. In searching for a name to register my first litter in 1937, I traced back into the pedigree to find something that would be indicative of the breed being English, as Sidlaw Sloe Eyes was an English import, in the third generation there was a bitch called Corsian Lady, and the name Corsian was chosen. We registered about 4 litters under this name but never attempted to register the name itself, and was notified by the AKC that I could not use Corsian as it had now been registered.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada about 1923. A breeder of the future? Sidlaw Sloe Eyes, was the dam of my first black Ch. Demi Tasse. I had had a black one previously from Sloe Eyes, she was known as Arroyo Demi Tasse, a 13 lb. racer, fast as greased lightning and could keep up with her rough-haired bed-partner, Kerryline, altho we never raced the two of them in the same race meet, plans were being made to race these two, plus a brindle bitch called Lady. As a teenager I was of course past the age of child diseases, and had the most embarrassing experience of coming down with the 3-day measles, which my school going elementary aged brother brought home to me, this just a week before the big race meet at Blue Leader Kennels in Santa Barbara! Dad had had the 3 dogs to the training area and came home saying they had all done well and he thought that perhaps the little black had the edge on Kerryline but he had a chance of taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Two days later, little Demi Tasse was gone, she died of internal hemorrhaging. I could not go to Santa Barbara anyway, and after her loss I would not have wanted to go, but Kerryline and Lady did take 1st and 2nd. The next time Sloe Eyes was in heat, Mr. Ford, knowing I had lost a bosom companion, told Dad to breed her again, she was nearly 10 years old and it almost did her in, she had one enormous dead pup and then the Vet got a little black female. We found a foster mother, a chihuahua, and in three weeks the pup was bigger than her "mama". We brought her home at 6 weeks, placed her in the puppy pen, a good 2 feet high and over she went, and she never was kept in a pen, kennel or yard since, the only way she could be contained was to put her in a kennel with a wooden roof and cover, no wire for her, she'd just yank it out! This was to be my pride and joy of the day, Demi Tasse. She was a consistent racer and to show that perseverance paid off even in those days, I put her on a regular training program. She had always been able to win the consolation finals and when she got into the main finals she would just come up short on occasions, but after a heavy training program, she finally made it and Mr. Ford, who had long retired from the dog game, was a spectator the day she did it and was also the trophy donor, I think of all the thrills I've had over the past years, they are topped by that one particular race meet. Dad handled Demi Tasse at all her shows as I was confined under doctor's orders as a shut-in. Her second litter, the one by Zanza Zoco of Valleyfields, was my mainstay and my life, we had two perfect braces, two blacks with white muzzles and a stripe, and two blues, marked the same way. Of course, one black grew bigger than the other and so did one blue, the larger black being Corsian Silhouette, although her official measurements were 14" and 20 lbs. "Silhouette" was the producer of 3 champions that I can recall and I believe there were two more later on, two of the first three being from the same litter. Like her granddam, he had her last litter when she was 9, and there was not one black puppy, yet in very litter she'd had previously, there was always a black. After several generations and careful choosing of studs, we have gotten our black back, but not for long, as Strathoak Summer Breeze has not produced many blacks either, but we are not going to give up yet, for Summer Breeze like her ancestors, could produce her best litter yet at just over 9 years of age. several have asked me the meaning of Strathoak and how I came to choose it. Dad had always used Strathcona in Canada (I believe it was a lodge name or something or a place on Prince Edward Island) and not wanting to use it again as it might lead to complications later, I searched and searched for something that would be suitable, yet I wanted to retain the word "Strath". The AKC turned down several names I had sent in and I was about ready to give up. While residing on the rustic grounds of t he Freeman Ford property, covered by over an acre of oak trees, where many of our famous racers and show dogs were buried, I started to put the oak into my mind, and hence "Strathoak" and I believe the word is gaelic and it means "street of oaks". Perhaps someday we shall live on a street with an oak or have one planted in our ward!
CHAMPION CORSIAN SUNBRILLIANT -Bred and owned by Christine (Young) Cormany Sunbrilliant was a daughter of Ch. Corsian Silhouette
CHAMPION STRATHOAK STARSHEEN Of 11 times shown (3 majors, 1 a Specialty) 5 times Reserve, shown as a special with group placements and retired after a BOB win under Mrs. Margaret Newcombe at Santa Barbara KC.
THE WHIPPET IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by: W. H. 'Bill' Turpin, Sr. May I preface my remarks by saying that I am deeply honored to have been asked to submit this article on the history of the Whippet in British Columbia . It is a bit difficult to 'pin-point' the exact year the Whippet first made its appearance in the Vancouver area, because, as is often the case, those people who would know all the facts and dates have passed on. As a consequence the figures and information following are far from complete. My thanks for the early information must go to Elsie Murray, a well known all-breed judge, whose associations with dogs covers more than forty years, and Hilda and Oswald Balshaw, who cover approximately the same period. The first official notice of Whippets that I was able to find was in the 1925 program of the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. Therein it listed the feature grandstand attraction of the day as Whippet racing. There were 25 to 30 dogs entered and they ran in lanes, and were handicapped according to their ability. These were rag races. At this same exhibition there was also an all-breed dog show of less than 200 entries. Of these, thirty-six were Whippets, only exceeded in numbers by smooth haired fox terriers and cocker spaniels. All the early foundation stock was imported from Great Britain. The earliest known breeder that we could come up with was Mr. William Coull, whose kennel prefix was Edina. Of all the Whippets of this era, probably the most famous was International. Champion Edina Dot. This bitch created quite a stir in 1927' at a dog show in Tacoma, Washington, mainly because no one in that area had ever seen a Whippet before. Incidentally Edina Dot went on to best in show. The same year she was taken to Yakima, Washington, where she defeated, in a sprint of about fifty yards, a race horse. This was done in front of the grandstand and was sponsored, as an advertising 'stunt', will you believe it, by the Whippet car people. Another well-known Vancouver breeder in the twenties and thirties was the late, and well-known International all-breed judge, W. H. 'Bill' Pym. He bred and showed Whippets under the Ascot prefix. I am not too sure of the exact date, but sometime in the early thirties Mr. Pym took a load of Whippets to Portland , Oregon , where he put on a display of Whippet racing. Records available pointed out that the showing of Whippets in the twenties was quite popular, but it declined in the thirties. On the other hand, racing, while popular in the twenties, increased in the thirties up to the start of the second world war in 1939. Racing became so popular that a cinder track was constructed by the City of Vancouver for the dogs to run on. Racing was staged every Sunday, as well as on one or two Saturdays every month. Elsie Murray told me that forty years ago she would pack a lunch and along with her young son would walk two to three miles to South Memorial Park to spend the day watching the Whippets run. It would be the high-light of the day when her son was asked to help catch or hold the dogs. I was fortunate enough to look through several copies, very old, of the 'Kennel and Bench' the official publication, at that time, of the Canadian Kennel Club. In the May issue, 1925, there was a note that a Major H.W. Nivens, of Victoria, B.C., had imported from England, English Champion Taffy's Pride, who was said to be the best Whippet ever seen in Canada. Also in the same is sue were two very interesting pictures. One was of a black Whippet, Niven's RAM and the other of International Champion, Galloping Dominoes, owned by a Master Damon of Short Hills, New Jersey. It was interesting to note the changes over the years. In the same 1925 issue there was an article on Whippet racing in Toronto, Ontario . It was reported that the best time for 200 yards was a 'phenomenal' 13 seconds. This was rag racing and the article neglected to state whether the dog that 'burnt' up the track, ran from scratch, or had received a handicap advantage. As happened to a number of activities, the second world war saw the complete disappearance of the Whippet from the local scene. To the best of our knowledge, at the end of the second world war there was not a single Whippet in the Province of British Columbia. In 1957 Mrs. Joyce Anson and her family moved from England to Canada. She and her daughter, now Mrs. Pamela Arthur, brought with them two Whippets - Prudence of Connevan and her daughter, Ch. Rockabye Peace Pipe. There is hardly a line in this area where the name of Peace Pipe does not appear. Also, about this time, Mrs. Anson acquired the black English import, Tinribs Tiger Rag. These three dogs were the only Whippets in the Province in 1957, and the 'start of it all'. Tiger Rag was bred to Peace Pipe and their first litter produced the following well known dogs: Ch. Rockabye Black Mollie, Ch. Rockabye Gypsy, Ch. Rockabye Pandy and Ch. Rockabye Blue Boy. The next step in the development of the Whippet in B.C. was by Mrs. Peggy Rees, who had acquired Rockabye Gypsy. Gypsy was taken to Puyallup, Washington, to the kennel of Margaret White and her daughter, our good friend Pearl Baumgartner. Here at White Acres, Gypsy was bred to Ch. White Acres Silver Spice. This union produced that great dog, Can. & Am. Ch. Gypsy's Kelly Can, and Am. CD. Mrs. Rees left for New Zealand and Kelly became the property of Joyce Anson, who campaigned him in the show ring from Santa Barbara to Vancouver. At the same time he established himself as one of the greatest racing dogs in the country. Over the years other dogs were brought into the area and had a decided impact on the development of the breed. The first was Mrs. Joan Brazier's English import, Eng. & Can. Ch. Dawn Star of Test. Then followed Ch. Penny worth Pilgrim Father, Can. & Am. Ch. Stars and Stripes of Suntan CD. A recent arrival from England is Ch. Denorsi Sunway of Glenbervie. To bring further new blood into the area, bitches were sent to Ch. Rouget O'Lazeland , Ch. Courtney Fleetfoot of Pennyworth, Ch. Stoney Meadows Royal Fortune and Eyleland Homer. Over on Vancouver Island, Mrs. Vivian Fraser acquired, from the Winterfold Kennels, of New Brunswick, Ch. Winterfold Hit Pa rade and Ch. Winterfold Come Closer. All the above moves by the breeders in this area could only have one end result, a steady improvement in the quality of the breed locally. Obedience was not forgotten and the first two Whippets to receive both their Canadian and American CD's were Ch. Gypsy's Kelly and his daughter Can. and Am. Ch. Sonna Rockabye Baby Can. & Am. CD. The most famous obedience trained Whippet is Mrs. Ann Whitton's Ch. & OT Ch. Urray Speed Queen UDX. While all this development was taking place, racing was not forgotten. In the initial stages racing was a small local affair. 1959 saw the first dog to go from Vancouver to Santa Barbara, Ch. Gypsy's Kelly. He was second high point to his father Ch. White Acres Silver Spice. The following year Kelly was high point winner. In 1963 Kelly's daughter, Can, and Am. Ch. Sonna Rockabye Baby Can. & Am. CD, was high point winner and her best time was 11.4 seconds for 200 yards. At the same meeting Ch. Rockabye Brandysnap was high point puppy. In 1966 at Santa Barbara, Urray Chieftain was second high point and Ch. Rockabye Ember of Course ARM was third high point. All the great racing dogs from this area cannot be named as space does not permit, but some should be singled out for outstanding performances. Ch. Rockabye Ember of Course ARM, that great little female of the stout heart, took her 19 1/2 inch, 23 pound bundle of desire all up and down the Coast and the Midwest . She was the top rated bitch in the country in 1966, 1967 and 1968. Ember was the first bitch ever to win the coveted Award of Racing Merit. Her son, Ch. Emberson of Course ARM, was the first Canadian dog to win the Award of Racing Merit. In 1968 Emberson was rated the top dog in North America. This was the first mother-son combination to win this award. To carry on the tradition, Ch. Epinard's Sonny Jim of Course, a son of Emberson and the great Eyleland Hanna, has, in 1971, at the tender age of 18 months, stamped himself as one of the outstanding racing dogs to appear on the scene this year. The first National Points Race Meeting ever held in Vancouver was in 1965. The high point winner was Urray Chieftain and the high point puppy was Ch. Rockabye Ember of Course ARM. Since then National Points Meetings have been held yearly, until the present time when two meetings are held yearly. As you can appreciate, the Whippet has had his 'ups and downs', in the Vancouver area, but we all, know that he is here to stay, and the impact in the show and obedience rings as well as on the race track, will, hopefully, become greater as the years go by. Respectfully submitted: Bill Turpin, Sr. Bill Senior was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta , but left there at an early age for Vancouver, British Columbia. Here , he attended public and high schools and the ' University of British Columbia. While , attending the various schools of learning he was an active participant in many sports. He joined the staff of ' Shell Canada Limited in 1930 and worked there continuously until his retirement in 1966. His entire service with the company was spent in the marketing division.
WILLIAM H. 'BILL' TURPIN, SENIOR President - The British Columbia Whippet 'Racing Club Member. - The Western Gazehound Club In 1937 Bill and his wife Margaret were married. They have three sons, Bill Junior, George and Jack. His interest in sports was kept very much alive as all three of his sons were extremely active participants, especially in football, basketball and baseball. In 1964, Bill Junior, his wife Alice and their three girls, presented Grannie and Grandpa with a whippet pup as a combined birthday present. From then on he was 'hooked'. This dog, Urray Chieftain, while no beauty as to show qualities, turned out to be one of the truly greats, insofar as racing is concerned. He now owns three whippets and the latest, a female, has her bench championship and is a stout B racer in spite of her small size. Probably it started with his grandchildren and then was picked up by member's children, but no one knows his wife Margaret and himself, by other than Grannie and Grandpa Turpin. Bill has served as President of the Western Gazehound Club and is currently President of the British Columbia Whippet Racing Club. He has been retired for five happy and full years and the days are kept more than occupied with his dogs, golf, gardening, his family and most important, people. Ed. Note: Also for the last three months with this Yearbook. How the golf did suffer -- Homeplace Kennels Mrs. Robert Henderson, much more fondly known to many of us as "Jennie" is shown below with her first dog, a bull mastiff, who did much duty pulling the children via dog cart. Jennie's next dog was a mongrel - some boys had tied tin cans to his tail and she retrieved him and took him home to her father, Mr. Robert Crocker, who said Jennie might keep the dog. The next dog her father brought home to her in a hat box, a little white bitch who lived 17 years. As for show dogs, Jennie said that her brother, Templeton Crocker, gave her a Boston Terrier. Jennie went on to breed and show the most famous Boston’s in the country. Marriage and raising a family interrupted the dog show life for some years until a little known breed, the Lakeland Terrier, attracted her attention. At that time Lakelands were unknown in America. Finding the breed to her liking, Jennie imported and later bred the first show Lakelands in America. One of her great dogs, Ch. Blackwell's Raw Recruit was the first of the breed, and went on to win five Best in Shows. Dear old "Bobby" was not the only Lakeland of Jennie's that Jim McManus showed to the top. Many of you may remember her homebred Ch. Homeplace Jelly Bean.
Jennie's first dog, a bull mastiff is shown her pulling Jennie (the wee one) and her brother and sister. The picture was taken 83 years ago on Pine Street in San Francisco. In the late 1950's Wendell T. Howell, of Great Circle Fame, gave Jennie her first whippet, a puppy sired by Meander Pilot out of the BIS bitch, Ch .Great Circle Holiday. Ch. Great Circle Mad Hatter was a good whippet to be gin an interest in the breed as he was BOS at the Western Specialty when still a youngster, having won at Chicago just before. Still not convinced that whippets were the breed for her, Jennie kept to her Lakelands and Mad Hatter. On a trip to England Jennie bought a young dog of her selection for Wendy Howell and brought him to California. This dog not only finished his championship in no time, he also went on to win the most important race meet of that time, the Chicago International. This gallant little dog was Ch. Wingedfoot Dominic. Still, Jennie owned only one whippet. One day Jennie and Norman Ellis motored down to Southern California to look at a litter of eight week old puppies at Liz Scott's home. The sire was Ch. Hollypark Highland Fling and the dam was a bitch syndicated by Richard Reynolds to Liz, Dot Frames (in those days), Marian Woodcock, and Jack Town. Rich was down as the breeder and had first pick of litter. Marian had last pick and also ownership, as a result, of the bitch, Seven League Syndicate. Rich lived at that time, in Chicago and he was unable to come west to make his selection. The deadline for choosing had come and, rather than let the pick go to the next in line, Norman Ellis went down to do Richard's selecting. Seldom has there been a litter of such brilliant coloring. Even so the selection was easy: a heavily brindled with white bitch looked "different" from the rest, not just to Norman but to Jennie as well. Knowing her great eye for quality, all he needed was Jennie's nod on the pick, and that puppy, Madcap Syndicated News, went home with them. (How Norman won her from Rich Reynolds is another tale!) A few months later Jennie saw this puppy at Norman's house in Fresno and, much to his surprise, said that she wanted her. Norman had, within the week, refused to sell her to a wonderful dog home, that of Harold and Jan Schlintz. Without hesitation the bitch was sold to Jennie - she had been named "Calpurnia" - not for a great price, and not because of wanting to get rid of the puppy, but in order to bring a truly grand person into greater involvement with a truly great breed of dogs. Jennie went on to win the Santa Barbara Specialty with "Calpurnia" at seven months of age, as well as winning the next Western Specialty. With a deft touch for quality Jennie bred her dear Hatter to "Calpurnia" and produced the specialty winning BIS bitch, Ch. Homeplace Shandygaff. That mating also produced Champions Homeplace Calliope, Calumet and Calamity. Calpurnia is also the dam of Ch. Homeplace Grey Dove and Ch. Homeplace Sprig. At present Jennie has at Homeplace a group of dogs almost unique in their similar conformity to type and quality. For seven years this woman has applied the knowledge learned from eighty years of association with dogs of different breeds to careful, thoughtful breeding of whippets. Seeing her at home with her whippets, one can readily tell that experience and love, not luck, brings outstanding results.
The pictures on the following pages of Jennie and her dogs are recent snapshots, along with Hatter, Calpurnia and others. "My favorite Whippet, my favorite hat" by Sir Edwin Landseer
The two paintings shown here are only a small portion of Jennie's fantastic collection. Jennie Henderson at Home
Champion Great Circle Mad Hatter
WHIPPET RACING AT WHITE ACRES By Pearl Baumgartner Whippet racing was a popular sport in the Northwest in the 1920's. Then in the 1930's the State of Washington passed legislation banning pari-mutual betting so the sport died. For the next 25 years Whippets were nearly extinct in the Northwest. Then in 1952 the Baumgartner's purchased an English bred bitch, Bolney Sea Shanty of Always from Pennyworth Kennels. She was in whelp to Seagift Sultan of Pennyworth. With this bitch, her litter, and two others purchased from Pennyworth Kennels the Baumgartners were really taken with the breed. Then in August 1954, the Baumgartners attended the American Whippet Club Specialty held with the San Mateo Kennel Club show. As a Special Attraction the California Whippet Racing Association put on a series of exhibition Whippet races. They came home really enthused. So a lure was built and they ran exhibition races at Shows and Field Trials. In the absence of boxes the Whippets were slipped. In March 1958 they attended the American Whippet Specialty at the Chicago International Kennel Club show and ran their first dog in competition. They returned with numerous ideas and much enthusiasm. In early 1959 several other families became interested, so a new lure and boxes were built, and the group was invited to run exhibition races at Olympic Kennel Club Show, Kitsap County Fair, and Multnomah Greyhound Track (Portland, Oregon). This added to their enthusiasm. In 1960 the Baumgartners built a 100 yard circular track (similar to the Greyhound training tracks) at White Acres Kennels, and more equipment was acquired and several other members were added to the group, and a group from British Columbia became interested and they joined us in some racing. So by 1961 there were quite a number of weekends of racing practices. Then in August of 1961 several from Washington and British Columbia went to Santa Barbara, California. Attending the American Whippet Club Specialty and the first race meet to be held there. The Northwest Dogs really did well with First place going to White Acres Kennel's Ch. White Acres Silver Spice, Second to Jennifer Anson's Gypsy's Kelly, Third to Pearl Baumgartner's Ch. White Acres Cherokee, and Fourth to Chuck and Sue Turner's Piperkin's Sanbar C.D. This was the beginning of really competitive racing. By 1963 racing had become quite a family sport, and the American Whippet Club set up a National Point system and a set of Rules and Regulations. With this interest in the sport there were many exhibition races throughout the United States. Then in 1966 the American Whippet Club set up a point system and dogs acquiring the necessary points are awarded an Award of Racing Merit Certificate. With all this, Whippet Racing in the Northwest continues to grow and is a popular family sport. Whippet Racing
WHIPPET RACING PRE A.R.M. RACING GREATS Late 1950's Early 1960's There are three phases of whippet racing in the United States, the beginning 1920's to 1930 ' s , the middle 1950's to 1966, and the present 1967 to forever. The pre A.R.M. Racing Greats section depicts the 1950's to 1960's and a bit beyond in certain cases. On January 1, 1967, The American Whippet Club put into effect the Award of Racing Merit system for Racing Dogs starting a new era. Prior to the Award of Merit system, racing whippets collected X number of points up to 6th place in American Whippet Club National Point Race meets. 1st - 900 pts. At the end of the year each racing whippet's accumulated points were added together and the top ten racing whippets were picked by these accumulated points and published in the Whippet News. These racing whippets were then considered to be Racing Champions and according to their placement in the Top Ten were referred to as John Doe, No. 1 in U.S.A. and Canada for the year 1958 and so on down the line to number 10. These dogs were considered double A grade race dogs and on some occasions some were considered triple A. To become the number one Race Whippet in the U.S.A. and Canada, you had to race against and beat the current Top Racing Dogs. The racing people of today have a far easier road to hoe than of days past, due to the fact there are far more race meets. Throughout the U.S.A. and Canada with the A.R.M. system a dog may earn his A.R.M. on his own home ground without racing against other top racing dogs. in other states and areas plus, with the amount of race meets owners can pick and choose where they race. These pre A.R.M. dogs had to travel long distances to become top race dogs. If they were lucky the competition came to them, if not you went to them. Race entries are much the same as of days past. Race meets in 1950's to 1960's ranged from 28 entries to 84 entries. The only change I see in entries today is that California, Oregon, Washington and Canada now have entries that compare with those of eastern race meets of past and present. If the A.R.M. system had been in effect during the 1950's and early 1960's, whippets appearing on the pre A.R.M. Racing greats by their records would have been A.R.M. Whippets three times over. Several whippets names should also appear on this list that are A.R.M. Whippets now and are in the A.R.M. section. They ran and won with this list of A.R.M. Racing greats in their early youth and went on to become Award of Racing Merit Whippets. Lynne Underwood PRE A.R.M. RACING GREATS
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL 1958 - 1971 (150 Yards)
SANTA BARBARA , CALIFORNIA 1961 - 1971 (200 Yards)
PRE A.R.M. RACING GREATS
CAN. CH. BAY-STAR OPEN ROAD
CH. GREAT CIRCLE SKIBBEREEN
CH. PIPERKINS RAMBLER
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