What a year. It started with a real BANG!!!! When CORYDON HANDSOME HOTSPUR won the Dog Challenge Certificate under Lisa Burtenshaw and then Jim Broderick awarded him Best in Show at the British Collie Club. So we went home with the most valuable and sought after bit of silver that a Collie can win. The British Collie Club Challenge Trophy. I well remember a friend from Germany, who was staying with us and went to the show with us, carrying the trophy out of the hall on a tray. I think that he was prouder than us. Hotspur then went to London Collie Club Championship Show where he won his Second CC and second Best in Show under Lynn Westby. He won Reserve CCs at the Scottish Kennel Club under Mr D Craven, Southern Counties under Ann Lister and Three Counties Agricultural Show under Kath Jeffries. He then went to East of England Agricultural Show under Stella Clark who awarded him his 3rd and qualifying CC and Best of Breed. So we had a new and as it turned out a very important Champion CH CORYDON HANDSOME HOTPSUR. He won another Res. CC under Vera Hickson at Leicester, and he then went to Birmingham City where Frank Mitchell awarded him another CC. So to East Anglian Collie Association Championship Show where Lew Caseley awarded him the CC and Best in Show. So Oscar (as he was known here) ended the year with 5 CCs, 5 Res CCs, 3 Breed Club Championship Best in Show awards and was Top Collie for the year. Not bad for a dog who took 4 years to grow a coat.

Yet more success!!!. CORYDON GOLD STAR went to Border Union and won the Dog CC and Best of Breed under Mrs C Sutton and then he went onto win Group 2 under Terry Thorn. He then went to Paignton where Elsie Westwood awarded him his second CC.

Even more success!!!! CORYDON CARUSO went to Blackpool Championship Show where he won the Puppy Stakes on the day and we went back to challenge the winners from the other days and he WON!!!. So we had our first qualifier for the most important puppy competition, the Spillers/ Dog World Pup of the Year held in London in January the following year. The judge at Blackpool was Mrs C Sutton. I think that she liked our Collies. We always seemed to win very well when she was judging. Caruso also won the Puppy dog Stakes at Windsor under Mrs F Hamilton, and at this show he also won the Dog Res CC under Iris Combe.

Yes! Even more success. CORYDON RISING STAR won Best in Show at the Midland Collie Club Sanction Show under Marina Broadhead. He was made famous after we sent him to Australia where even though he was not really shown, he sired at least 26 Australian Champions, and I believe that he is standing second in the all time list of sires.

This show was also memorable for me as we took CORYDON POLLY TUCKA, she amazingly won a Reserve. I say this because she lost an eye soon after birth because of an infection. So she only had one eye. But she was a very beautiful tricolour who would have done wonders in the ring, but she made up for it by producing two of the greatest Ch. Corydon’s Tuck’s Tiger and NU Ch Corydon Augustus Caesar. I have to say that she was probably my all time favourite of all our Collies.

1985