SH.CH. Tracelyn Gal - 'Emma'

My Favourite Show Dog

by Dave and Kathie Kinton - Kinaway Border Collies

When Doug asked us both to write this article we joked that we could never come to an agreement on just one.

We did however, agree very quickly we set our criteria that the choice would not be one currently in the ring or one that we had owned or bred, although they are all very special in our eyes.

The next criteria was a Border Collie that meet our vision of the breed standard and was true to type and especially movement but also had an impact on the breed themselves and through their descendents.

The last criteria were that they had a direct impact on our place within the world of the show border collie.

That left us with the lovely tri bitch Sh.Ch. Tracelyn Gal - the beautiful Emma owned and shown by Eric Broadhurst and the first bitch C.C. winner in our breed at Crufts.

Unlike many males, she was one of the few bitches to have a long-term influence through her children, and their descendents and feature behind many top class Border Collies in the U.K. and Europe. A bitch has to stamp her influence with much smaller numbers than males.

Emma certainly did stamp her influence, both her son and daughter were made up to Show Champions, and in the next generations several of her grandchildren became Show Champions and they again have produced on down the generations.

On the personal side, Emma brought us in to the show side (and Emma is the reason we will never be rich as all the money now goes on dogs and showing - thanks Emma).

At Crufts we saw Emma get the ticket and a few years later wandered over from the obedience ring to see her daughter Sh.Ch. Rosehurst Twilight Crystal in the ring and checking her details of course, she was from Emma and that was it, our new obedience puppy came into our life, a granddaughter of Emma but somehow we have gone back to obedience seriously we got hooked on the showing.

Emma herself had both the beauty and the brains which is why we much admired her, she was a true tri, beautifully marked head and the expression that shouts Border Collie. The brains came out in her roles in Sherlock Holmes and a part in Coronation Street (the helper to the paper boy) as well as the face on a popular brand of food. We have proudly kept one of those bags and looking at it takes us back to that first bitch C.C. at Crufts 1982.

Dave and Kathie Kinton - Kinaway Border Collies