Page 22 - ShowSight Presents - The Irish Setter
P. 22
An IrIsh setter
OVERVIEW
LORRAINE BISSO
My mother took me to my first show in 1962 to watch Col- lie judging because I was reading the Terhune Sunnybank stories. The connection was immediate and I made my ring debut soon after with a Weimaraner. In 1964, friends of my parents offered me a lovely 10-month-old Irish sired by the BIS CH End O’Maine Pat Hand x a daughter of Ch Innisfail Color Scheme and Ch Hartsbourne Sallyann of Tirvelda. I was fortunate to have both Junior Showmanship and breed competition to learn about the breed and the sport. Sheelin finished easily and I met serious dog people early on who were passionate about purebred dogs and who helped me along the way. I was taught to look for, and to understand, the reasons for breed type. After college, I bought a daughter of Ch Rockherin Rebecca and Ch Tirvelda Telstar, a Michael- son son. Lark was ISCA Field Matron in 1986 in addition to her bench champion daughters. Exhibiting led to judging in 1996 and I am currently approved for the Sporting and Terri- er Groups, Dachshunds, BIS and Junior Showmanship. I have judged from coast to coast and am honored to have judged the Irish Setter Club of America, the English Setter Association of America and the Gordon Setter Club of America National Specialties as well as two Regional Futurity/Maturity compe- titions for the Weimaraner Club of America and numerous breed specialties. I am a Past President of the Irish Setter Club of America and for several years was the Judges Education Chair. My family has lived in the New Orleans area since the latter part of the 19th century. I have a strong interest in US and local history, love to read and feel that no fall Saturday afternoon is complete without LSU football!
MAUREEN A. DAY
I have been involved in the competi- tive dog world since the early 1970s. I purchased my foundation bitch from the California Rendition Kennels. Through the years I’ve shown and bred many dogs with great success and enjoyed every moment. I’ve held every position in the Irish Setter Club of Long Island and in addition to that, I am currently
the Historian/Archivist for the Irish Setter Club of Amer- ica and involved in the Winter Garden Specialties held in Westchester, NY.
After many years of showing, I knew that I wanted to con- tinue in dogs and judging several sweepstakes set me on that
path of the sport. I find the task of learning new breeds very enjoyable and interesting. Each assignment sets the challenge to find the best dog in each class, and I actually look forward to that challenge.
I judge the Sporting Group and have had the great honor and pleasure of judging in Japan, Holland, Australia and New Zealand. However, the greatest honor and highlight of my judging career was judging my breed at the Irish Setter Club of America’s National Specialty held in Michigan. I judged the record breaking Best of Breed class of 130 Irish Setters—a thrill to say the least. I am currently engaged in studying the Working Group. I work for one of the largest companies in the transportation industry and currently live 20 miles out- side of New York City on Long Island.
SIDNEY MARX
I got my first Irish Setter, Scott’s Lady, in 1963. When she won a blue ribbon at her first match show, I was bitten by the “show bug.” I then quickly realized that she was not of real show quality, so I got my first show dog from Westwind Ken- nels, Westwind Scarlet. She produced my first home-bred Irish, Ch. Windscent Don Quixote. I also am proud to have owned
the group-winning Ch. Seaforth’s Echo of Dark Rex. Undoubt- edly, my biggest winning Irish Setter was BISS Ch. Bayberry Sonnet, a multiple specialty winner. During her time, she was one of the top Irish Setter bitches, and there were many qual- ity Irish then. Sonnet was to be my foundation brood bitch, but she had pyometra. At that time it was spay her or lose her, so Sonnet spent the rest of her days as my loved companion. As a professional handler, it was my honor to pilot many Irish Setters to their championships. However, after Sonnet, I went without owning an Irish Setter for a long time until a wonder- ful breeder and friend, Ginny Swanson, let “Streamer”, Ch. Tramore Just Showing Off, come into my life. He had a suc- cessful show career as a group winner and many Select wins at specialty shows. His progeny is now carrying on. When he travels with my wife and I to shows, he immediately estab- lishes his place of honor by spreading out on the motel bed, barely leaving enough room for us. In addition to the United States, I have had the pleasure of judging Irish Setters in Can- ada, Bermuda, China, Sweden and Australia. I have also been extremely honored to be one of the judges at an Irish Setter national specialty. At the present time I am semi-retired and live with my wife, Shelly, and our four dogs, Streamer, Gifford (Welsh Springer), Mason (Flat-Coated Retriever) and Frankie (Beagle) in Colorado Springs.
