History

Marrona Mountain Mist and I learned a lot about showing together, and we had a good teacher. It wasn’t long before we added another bitch from the well known Stephenshill kennel, shortly followed by our first litter from Misty. Twelve puppies were quite a handful!  We kept Clamerkin Cormorant and Sanderling. Our affix was chosen from the name of a local bird sanctuary, as the sire of the puppies was Marrona Mallard. Naturally, the theme of the litter was ‘birds’.

We added a bitch from the well known Sowerhill kennel, bred by Olwen Hunt. I feel very privileged to have known so many of the well known characters in Irish Setters, whose dogs laid the foundations of many of today’s kennels.

Throughout all this, I must say how lucky I was to have Peter for such support , and what a good team we made. He adored his Pointers, and was always so proud of them, win or lose! I owe my background to a lot of his hard work, both with driving  the length and breadth of the country, and in his love for our puppies. He wouldn’t leave them, day or night. He would have been very proud of our achievements since his tragic death in 2008.

Braegorse Canella(Breeze) joined us in the early 90s. She was out of a Wyndsmoor bitch, bred by Neville and Jane Thorpe. Breeze was a very mature bitch and gained a res. CC from junior and won several puppy Ch. Show stakes. Sadly, poor health prevented us from showing her for long, and she was kept as a loving pet, again reaching the grand age of 14.

We introduced Galema Porsche (Saffy) to our kennels in 1993. Bred by Gail Simmons from the great Crookrise Old Glory to another Wyndsmoor bitch, Wyndsmoor Star Dancer. She indeed had real  star quality, with beautiful conformation and movement. She was not an easy bitch to show, disliking new situations sometimes. She blossomed as she matured, and walked off with 2res CCs and several BIS. She may have done even better if her confidence had been greater. She did produce a truly beautiful litter to Pam Palmer’s  breeding; Trendmere The Fella. The 4 orange girls in the litter were like peas in a pod and from them came C. Certain Style and C. Centre Stage. Certain Style did particularly well, gaining a CC under Cicely Robertshaw and 2 further res. CCs. They both had beautiful heads. Certain Style was put to Sh. Ch. Ferndel Fabian and produced a litter of only 4 girls. C. Classy Cerelia was the one to stay and she was a high flyer also, gaining her Junior Warrant and a CC, later adding her Sh. CM. She had a successful veteran career. I enjoy showing my dogs for as long as possible and at all levels. I believe the dogs enjoy days out with mum!! We have never showed as much as we would have liked, because of the Island and ferries. It’s time and money!!

Ansona Queen Of Hearts joined us in 2011. She has all the beautiful Crookrise lines that I admire. We have had a successful time with her in the show ring and she has recently won two BIS from veteran.

The mating to Jasper in 2015 produced a stunning litter. We kept  Bohemian Queen . 'Crystal' is very beautiful and has inherited good attributes from Mum and Dad.

As we were unable to get an orange puppy from Lace, we have been searching for a new puppy for some time. Fleurfield Moonflower joined us in January 2017, and she has fitted in well both at home and in the show team.

My partner, Jon, has taken on the dogs and me with much courage, secretly enjoying the buzz and fun that the dog world brings. My two sons, Robert and Nick, have always enjoyed the dogs and were keen junior handlers in their time.