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The Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac Inc. held it’s first formation meeting on May 19th, 1973 after a “fun match” held at the home of John and Sandy Kelly in Seneca, Maryland.
Founded over a two-year period, the LRCP became only the third regional Lab Specialty Club (after Southern California and Hawaii) to be officially recognized by the AKC parent club, The Labrador Retriever Club, Inc.
Mr. P. Carl Tuttle of Rectortown, Va., judged an entry of 41, giving Best of Breed and Best Puppy to Julie and Elizabeth Crawford's lovely yellow bitch, Shamrock Acres Royal Oak's Joy. The perky little lady came all the way from the 3-6 months class for a very satisfying win for the Crawfords. Best of Opposite Sex went to Deborah Kobilis' Shookstown Brushmaster, a black male.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Lehman judged the obedience classes in which Greg and Katy Bartoshuk's Monsev Apache of Yellocro from the Novice Class was the highest scoring dog in the trial with a score of 194.
The Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac, begun Saturday, May 19, 1973, was not a spur of the moment venture.
Our first effort, a fun match and obedience trial held on the property of John and Sandra Kelly, was the result of many discussions on the part of many different people over a period of years.
Connie Barton broached the idea to me at the Tidewater Show in either '65 or '66. Subsequently Liz Clark, Dave McCurley, the late Dr. John S. Gordon, Ted Squires, Joan Reed, Helen Biggs, Joan Clarke and many others have argued to this purpose.
Thus far, we have held two fun matches, a field and fun day and an educational forum with a panel of three distinguished English breeders and judges.
Mr. Leo G. Kinsella selected a lovely yellow bitch, Lawnwoods Tarnstar Trust, owned and handled by Janet Churchill, as Best of Breed... Linda Anderson's 9-12 black male Joallamar's Churchill was Best Puppy. Best Opposite Sex was Sylvia Fisher's black Bravo's Ebony Trooper.
Note: The judge included his comments on the entries.
A lively and interesting discussion with three distinguished English breeders and judges, Dyana Beckett, and Miriam and Leo Kinsella, followed.
The Isaac Walton League grounds in Rockyville, Md., were the site for the field training and fun day...
Barbara Starkey and Sylvia Fisher ran the split sessions. ... Special thanks go to Joe May for providing us with hard-to-get pigeons for use in the field training.
Thirty-one people entered 45 dogs in LRCP's first field training session. Everyone agreed that Barbara and her people did a tremendous job.
Judges Gwen Broadley, Ken and Nan Nagler and Erica Isaacson drew a record entry of 116 at this match, which was held at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Riverdale, Maryland.
Best of Breed was Kendall Herr's lovely yellow bitch, Springfield's Salad Daze, C.D. Best Opposite went to Susan Sneed's stately black dog, Whygin Blackberry Jam. Elizabeth Derr's and Janet Churchill's Spenrock Anthony Adverse was selected Best Puppy.
In other classes, Liz Clark's Eng. & U.S. Ch. Kenbara Jill placed first in Veterans and Janey Churchill notched her third place in Club Junior competition. A parade of 12 champions and obedience title holders was also one of the highlights of a very successful match.
Our group included a couple of Ladds, Martha Tower, some Bragaws and some Weiss for spice. Also along was a Chesapeake type, Susan Souther, and PeaWee, who needs no introduction.
What made our trip was that we had lined up a series of visits to some of England's best known Labrador kennels with the Cruft's show - the world's largest with some 11,824 entries over two days - as the finishing touch.
Bill Metz and Ray Murphy weathered the storm at the Gaithersburg Agricultural Center on Saturday, March 2, as the Potomac Lab's third AKC sanctioned match triumphed over both gas shortages and rain.
Diana Beckett's and Liz Clark's Kimvalley Kenbara Mr. Softee was Mr. Metz's Best of Breed choice in a breed entry of 59. Phebe Ladd's Haverhills' Black Bev was Best Opposite.
Janet Churchill's and Elizabeth Derr's Spenrock Anthony Adverse was Best Puppy in Match for a second straight match.
Highest scoring dog in obedience was Pat Megregian's Shamrock Acres Genesis with a hard to (beat) 197-1/2 mark. Paul Hancock's Kelley of Greenbridge scored 194 her first time out in Utility. The lone entry prompted Judge Murphy to quip that it was very satisfying to have his entire Utility entry qualify. Other good scores in obedience included Betty Graham's Birchangreen's Abigail and Dr. I. L. Brisbin's Spokesman with 188 and 185 respectively in the Novice Class.
Because of the gasoline shortage, the annual meeting will be pushed back from the first week in April until the third week in April. The meeting will be held ... in conjunction with the Old Dominion Kennel Club show in Reston, Va. The move was undertaken to insure good attendance for this most important meeting. A tailgate party will follow the meeting.
The Potomac Club's summer match returned again to lovely Springfield Farm with Mr. Jerry H. Weiss, Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., doing the breed, and Mrs. Katherine Blair, Sterling, Va., and Mr. B. Nolan Dale, Gaithersburg, Md., splitting the judging in obedience.
Steve Black handled Hamilton and Mary Black's Bravo's Black Magic of Wonwilo to Best in Match. ... Mr. Weiss commented following the match that he was particularly impressed by the young dog's condition and his coat.
Best of Opposite Sex was Sylvia Fisher's and Beth Sweigart's Yarrow's Tango of Bravo from the Open Yellow class. Best Puppy went to 3-6 months old Springfield's Carky Spice owned by Mrs. Clark and handled by Diana Beckett.
Highest scoring dog in trial was Betty Graham's Birchangreen's Abigail ... with 192-1/2 points in the Novice class. Joanne Gilden's Inverness Birthday Banquet also posted a respectable 192 score in the same class.
Martha Tower scored tops in Junior Showmanship, and Beth Sweigart's and Liz Clark's Ch. Poolstead Peer came home first among the veterans.
The "People Picnic and Judging Contest" held at Mrs. Elizabeth Clark's Springfield Farms on July 21 was a huge success with 50 members present.
Dogs for the judging contest were provided by Springfield Kennels, and members got a chance to match their judging skills against those of an expert, Mrs. Dianna Beckett, who explained the reasoning behind her ranking of the dogs.
At the business meeting held in conjunction with the picnic, plans were completed for our September 8 match. Also judges were selected for the three judging assignments for the National Specialty which this club will sponsor at the Rock Creek Kennel Club Show in 1975.
Plans are currently underway to hold a Working Certificate Stake in conjunction with the Specialty as well as a Club dinner.
BEST IN SHOW went to Elizabeth Clark's CH ARDMARGHA GOLDKREST OF SYRANCOT at the Warrenton Kennel Club show in April. Connie Barton handled "Bracken" to capture the red, white and blue.
Dr. and Mrs. Edwin A. Churchill's SPENROCK HEATHEREDGE won WD and BOW at the Twin Brooks Kennel Club show on July 14. At the same show their SPENROCK JOLLY GOOD was RWB.
Betty Graham's BIRCHANGREEN'S ABIGAIL took WB at Lancastyer for her second 4 point major.
Congratulations to the Logans, Happy owners of Holly of Hyattsville UD. Not only is Holly 1st on the Scoreboard, but she ranked nationally as the #8 Labrador Retriever in 1973 in the listing published in FRONT & FINISH.
Note: Listing of dogs and owners with their total points by month is included in the newsletter.
KELLY OF MONTGOMERY, owned by Carolyn and Brian McCreesh, won his CD in three consecutive shows - Warrenton, Reston and Bryn Mawr, where he took third place.
ROBIN'S SASSAFRAS HARVEY, owned and handled by Anne Higgins, won his CD at Warrenton, Reston and York.
Congratulations to Joanne Gilden whose INVERNESS BIRTHDAY BANQUET won the first leg on her CD at Upper Marlboro at the age of 7 months.
Pat Megregian has finished her SHAMROCK ACRES GENESIS to her CD, taking a 3rd and 4th place.
Kendall Herr's CH. DICKENDALL'S FLIP FLOP earned his CDX recently and captured a first place ribbon in the process.
Judy Logan's EMMA DELLA LOVERLY as well as her CH. PHANTOMSHIRE'S BIG BEN UDT passed the tracking test held April 7, 1974, at the Durham Kennel Club.
A Labrador, MILLSTREAM PINES CHASTIDY owned by Barbara Ellen Denbow of Cockeysville, Md., took first place in Novice A and High in Trial with a score of 198 at Baltimore.
Mr. & Mrs. Earle Hudgins' SPRINGFIELD'S DIXIE BELLE completed her UD with one 1st place and one 3rd place ribbon (subject to AKC confirmation). Congratulations!
Saturday, September 21
Ox Ridge Kennel Club, Ox Ridge Hunt Club, Middlesex Road, Darien, Connecticut
Judge: Mrs. Gwen Broadley
ENTRIES CLOSE SEPTEMBER 4
Fee: $9.00
The club is reserving a block of rooms for members at a nearby motel. For reservations contact Mrs. Constance Barton, The Plains, Virginia 22171
Mrs. Beverly Mushinsky will coordinate the formation of car pools.
The club will have a hospitality at the motel. Members are encouraged to bring booze to share. The club will provide setups and snacks.
Proving the old adage that dog people will always show for good judges, Potomac turned out its second largest entry for Labrador Club bench chairman Helen Ginnel and Hyattsville Dog Training's John L. Morris...
The entry of 91 tied the entry of our initial match at Jack and Sandy Kelly's and was topped only by the 116 that turned out for Gwen Broadley last November.
Mrs. Ginnel brought her Best Puppy and Best of Breed all the way from a highly contested 3-6 Puppy dog class. It marked the second time a 3-6er has gone all the way with honors going this time to Mrs. Robert V Clark, Jr.'s Springfield Grouse, a nifty little yellow. Best Opposite was Mrs. Helen Briggs' Donlen's Super Tara Suzanne, and this marked the first time a chocolate has scored that high in a Potomac match.
...Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin's Baroke Stateman was highest scoring in trial from the Novice class with a 198-1/2 "plus" following a run-off with Greg Bartoshuk's brand-new champion, Ch. Monsev Ask an Architect, also 198-1/2. Then things really got sticky as three dogs tied with 198 for the other novice placings. They were Martha Tower's and Mrs. Robert D. Ladd's Haverhill's Merry Martha, Vidky (sic) Margette's Pumpkin Patch Shadow and Katheryn and H. Stephen Olsen's Lady T's Brandy. Martha won the run-off followed by Shadow, and poor Brandy was left without a ribbon despite a 198 score! Some days it just doesn't pay.
Spokesman also posted a nifty 195-1/2 in Graduate Novice, and Daniel Ladd handled Mahogony Dan to a respectable 149 in sub-novice. Martha Tower won the Junior Showmanship, and Beth Sweigart's Ch. Poolstead Peer topped the old folks. ...
The highlight was, of course, Connie Barton's piloting Liz Clark's lovely black bitch, Ch. Kimvalley Picklewitch to Best of Breed over the largest entry of Labradors ever assembled on this side of the Atlantic. Mrs. Gwen Broadley, the first lady of Labradors, drew 239 dogs totaling 263 entries. It was nearly a third more than the record 193 entry of Stanley Dangerfield at Trenton four years before.
Standing behind "Pickle" was Don and Diana Beckett's yellow bitch, Sandylands Viscum Honeysuckle, who was Mrs. Broadley's Best of Winners selection. Best of Opposite Sex was Robert E. Matthews robust yellow, Ch. Barnaby O'Brian C.D., last year's Specialty winner from San Jose, California. ... Cedarhill Sundance Kid was Mr. James Warwick's selection as Winners Dog. The Brood Bitch and also the Veterans winner was Mrs. Clark's Ch. Kenbara Jill. Jill was the dam of three champions who remained among the last of 16 of 60 who had answered the call for the final Best of Breed judging.
In the classes two other members had double headers. Beth Sweigart won both junior puppy classes with her litter mates, one black, one yellow, by Ch. Poolstead Peer. Yarrow's Pocahantas was a junior winner under Mrs. Broadley.
Nancy Martin scored with a pair of bitches. Meadowrock's Fudge of Ayr was first in Novice, and Ayr's Pooh Bear was first in Bred By. "Fudgie" is the first chocolate to have placed that high in a National Specialty.
In the Junior puppies, club members nailed down seven of the eight places, and in the other classes another 12 placements in addition to the winners.
-- Note: See the pdfs for the entries portion of the catalog
SPENROCK BRANDY SNIFTER, owned by Janet Churchill, earned her C.D. at Ox Ridge KC in September, 1974.
Pat & Tom Pollock's WILDFIELD MERCEDES earned her 3rd leg at Merriman Dog Training Club in October, 1974 with 193-1/2. She was High Scoring Labrador.
Judy Morton, well known tracking authority and judge and the owner of one of the three Labrador Champion U.D.T. dogs in the history of the breed, gave LRCP members a lesson on Sunday, November 17.
... She showed movies at Betty Graham's house Saturday night and followed up with the Sunday morning session at Reston. The short notice made it impossible to mail out notices and did not permit advance planning, but the impromptu clinic did get the Club started in an important aspect of Labrador work that is so often neglected.
Since early in the summer, HOLLY OF HYATTSVILLE, UD has held the number one spot on the Obedience Scoreboard. Even after taking time out to whelp a litter, she finished the year with a total score of 2505-1/2 earning 38 scoreboard points, which left a wide margin between herself and her nearest competitor. Her scores were all earned in Open B and Utility and never dropped below the 190 bracket. We are proud to honor Holly as the Labrador Retriever Obedience Dog of the Year for 1974. ...
Our number two dog, Springfield's Dixie Belle, UDT, has been busy earning titles this past year. On October 13th at the Berks County D.T.C. she passed a tracking test, which gives her the privilege of the most obedience titles earned in 1974 by a member owned dog.
Looking over the top ten dogs we find, five blacks, four yellows, and one chocolate. Bitches dominated the awards for a total of seven.
Two of our three champions were owned by the same person, Martha Lee Voshell. Martha Lee has really been hoping since late summer when her two champions, Zipper and Muffin finished. In a few short months she had their CD's, Zipper's CDX, and put a CDX and UD on Bawdy Bear of Broad Reach, Zipper's brother. Now all three are in tracking! You just can't keep up with some people.
Speaking of champions, our number eight spot dog (the only chocolate to make top ten) is only a handful of points away from her championship.
Puppies can too, and Joanna Gilden's bouncing baby Raisin' (#6 spot) proves it. She earned her CD at a very tender age and with a fine average score of 189-1/2.
Talk about good averages - the number 5 spot dog, Anthropologist is the fourth to finish from his litter. He kept up the family reputation never scoring below the 190's and earning several ribbons along the way. ...
1. Holly of Hyattsville, U.D.; E. & J. Logan 2505-1/2 38
2. Springfield's Dixie Belle, U.D.T.; Earle & Hudgins 1692-1/2 19
3. Ch. Broad Reach English Muffin, C.D.; M.L. Voshell 1152-1/2 17
4. Baroke's Spokesman, C.D.; Dr. I.L. Brisbin 956-1/2 13
5. Monsev Ask An Anthropologist, C.D.; M. Swan 777 13
6. Inverness Birthday Banquet, C.D.; J. Gilden 758-1/2 10
7. Ch. Birchangreen's Abigail, C.D.; B. Graham 759-1/2 9
8. Donlen's Super Tara Suzanne, C.D.; D. & H. Biggs 754-1/2 9
9. Shamrock Acres Geneis, C.D.; P. Megregian 578 9
10. Ch. Zipper's Hustlin Wahoo, C.D.X.; M. L. Voshell 571 8
The following people have been proposed by the Nominating Committee for the 1975 term of office for the positions listed below.
PRESIDENT: Mr. George Bragaw
VICE PRESIDENT: Mrs. Elizabeth Clark, Jr.
SECRETARY: Mrs. Patricia Megregian
TREASURER: Mr. Steven Graham
DIRECTORS:
Mrs. Deborah Kobilis
Mr. Gene Logan
Mrs. Martha Lee Voshell
Mrs. Carolyn Bacon
Mrs. Beth Sweigart
George Bragaw reported on the status of plans and arrangements ... for the 1975 National Specialty at the February meeting of the Labrador Retriever Club in New York.
The LRCP has two projects underway to raise money for the event. One is, of course, the sale of the Louis Fresino color lithograph which was described in the December Potomac Labrador. The other is the raffle of a huge Basket of Cheer guaranteed worth $150 or more. Tickets are $1.00 each or five for $4.00. The winners' name will be drawn at the Carroll Kennel Club show on May 18. ...
For tickets get in touch with Beth Sweigart
Those of you who are experienced in tracking can skip this, or, better, read and give others the benefit of your advice in the next issue. The tracking program which Judy Morton was kind enough to give us and which is included on another page sounds like a worthwhile project, but for those of us who missed the instruction which preceded the first day in the field there are a few questions.
Note: There's more about the questions and a schedule for tracking class in the newsletter.
The 1975 National Specialty was held in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in conjunction with an All-Breed show. As the Club's newsletter from that year details...
"The consensus of most at ringside was that this year's (National) Specialty was not only the largest - 246 dogs and 374 entries - but also one of the best."
It was the first year that a Working Certificate test was held in conjunction with the LRC, Inc. event. LRC Potomac members not only hosted in a splendid fashion, but showed exceptionally well in the ring "where every class was filled and to take any kind of ribbon was an accomplishment because of the overall high quality of the competition."
The LRCP Specialty for Labrador Retrievers only will take place on Friday, April 16, 1976, at the Quality Inn, Leesburg, Virginia.
The entry fee is $10; $6 Bred by Exhibitor, Puppy or additional entry of the same dog; $3 for Parade of Champions and Obedience Title holders. There is no fee for Junior Showmanship ... if the dog is also entered in regular classes; otherwise the full fee will be charged. $5 for Sweepstakes.
The LRC Potomac's first Regional Specialty was held on April 16, 1976, in Leesburg, Virginia. The LRCP newsletter described it as "a splendid hot spring Friday with grass a brilliant green and the Quality Inn show grounds in excellent condition."
Mary Roslin-Williams of Great Britain served as the judge for Best of Breed. With almost 40 years of experience in breeding, training and handling, she was held in the highest regard by the Labrador community. She judged at the Potomac two times, but when she was invited to judge a third time she said, "I've hung up my brogans" - referring to the 19th century style work boots and her retirement from the ring.
The Club’s purpose has always been two-fold: to preserve the breed and to promote the working capabilities of Labradors through events in obedience and field work, with an emphasis on open participation by all interested Labrador owners.
In addition to the Spring Specialty – which has grown from one day to three and includes two obedience trials – the LRCP hosts several field training sessions, a Hunt Test in May, a Working Certificate in September and their “Bare Bones” Fall Specialty – held annually the first weekend in December.
In keeping with the Club’s purpose, the LRCP excels at two of the most important services a breed club can offer: Education and Rescue.
