Page 23 - ShowSight Presents - The Irish Setter
P. 23
DR. DANA MASSEY
(Photo by ensley)
Dr. Dana Massey, PhD has lived with Weimaraners since 1950. She breeds under the kennel name of Win’Weim and is proud to have owned and/or bred Wei- maraners consistently in the Top 10 plus AKC National Specialty Winners, Top 20 winner, Eukanuba National Champion- ship, Eukanuba Best Bred By and Group 2, BIS, WCA Hall of Fame, Pedigree Top
Left to right: Ch. Glendee’s stonecutter with Judge Walt shellenbager, c. 1982; Ch. Windwood’s night hawk with Judge harry smith, c. 1985.
Texas Kennel Club show in Dallas, at this show there were only two Irish Setters entered, one was an End O’ Maine bitch, the other was the now famous, Ch. Hartsbourne Sally Ann of Tirvelda, owned by Ted Eldredge and handled by Jane Kamp. Ironically, Ted would become a client of mine 20 years later until his death. I bought my first Irish Setter in 1960. I entered her at the 1961 Texas Kennel Club show in the novice bitch class, she went WB, BOW and BOS over a special bitch. In that same period I met Fred and Norma Pool, they were prominent Irish Setter breeders at that time.
When I was a teenager I started showing for Lucy Jane Meyers of Draherin Kennels. I finished many champions for her, notably Ch. Draherin Bachelor Boy. Ch. Cherry Point Brask, Ch. Blaneywood Country Squire, Shannon’s Erin and his littermate Major O’Shannon were dogs that made a lasting impression on me. In 1969 I went to work for Dick and Ruth Cooper. Dick had shown many big winning Irish and while I was with him we showed Ch. Starheirs Aaron Ardee that won 36 BISs—a record that still stands for dogs. I won my first BIS with this dog. I bred two litters in my early teens sired by a dog I bought from Jack Spear of Tyronne Farm kennels. My first wife Cindy and I did two breedings, one to Ch. Tirvelda Michaelson and the other to Ch. Powderhorn Yankee Rifle- man, that I thought was wonderful.
In 1979 my wife Virginia and I started our own handling business and handled many Irish Setters, the most notable being Ch. Glendee’s Stonecutter (litter mate to Ch. Charlton’s Oriental Jade) a dog that Jane Forsythe was showing for Mrs. Cheever Porter and we acquired from Jane. Then we had Ch. Windwood’s Night Hawk that became the number one Sport- ing dog and Quaker Oats winner around 1985. “Macho”, as he was called, won 28 BISs and 20 BISSs. Virginia and I started judging in 2005 and since that time I have judged a few spe- cialties across the country.
ROBERT &
PATRICIA
ROBINSON
In l970 we acquired our first Irish Setter and have been actively hobby breeding and showing ever since. Our first show Irish was Ch. Portrait O’King’s Challenge bred by Flora Reed. He was soon joined by our foundation bitches,
Producers (both dams and sire) and many WCA Bench Reg- istry of Merit dams and sires. Additionally, the Win’Weim dogs have won more than 35 Futurity/Maturity awards! A firm believer in the versatility of Sporting Dogs, she is proud to have AKC VCD1, TDX, SH with MH legs, JH-R/JH-P and over 85 AKC performance titles plus several WCA Versa- tile Excellent designations. As a breeder, Dana received the American Kennel Club’s highest award for a Sporting Dog breeder—that of AKC Sporting Dog Breeder of the Year in 2012. Dr. Massey was committee chairperson for the WCA’s Hall of Fame and was Judges’ Education Chair. She is a long- time member and officer plus immediate Past President of the Lone Star Weimaraner Club of Dallas, Texas and a member of the Trinity Valley Weimaraner Club in Ft. Worth, TX. She is active in North Texas Weimaraner Rescue. As Vice-President of the Stephenville Kennel Club of Texas, she served as show chair for several years.
Dana and her husband Billy live in the Hill Country on 18 acres in Valley Mills, Texas with three CH Weims, a CH pointer, a rescue Terrier, and a baby Weim puppy! They have four children and six grandchildren. Dana has taught at the University of Nebraska, Bellevue University and is currently teaching at McLennan College in the Business Department. For the AKC she judges BIS, the Sporting Group, Junior Show- manship, the Working Group, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Pha- raoh Hounds, Bouvier des Flandres and Australian Shepherds. She is a member of three national judges’ associations. She has judged in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Puerto Rico and China. Gathering the top votes for the national specialty judge for the Weimaraner Club of America, she judged the WCA Nationals in May of 2015 and dogs at the English Set- ter Club of America in 2015. In 2005 she was provisional for Irish Setters, in 2006 AKC approved her to judge the breed. Dana has been lucky enough to judge the breed at specialties and in other countries. Her brother and sister-in-law had Irish Setters—Rhett and Scarlet. (How many Rhetts and Scarletts there have been in Irish Setters?) That was in the early 70s and they were beautiful and glorious to watch in the field with the plain gray Weimaraners!
KEN MURRAY
My father had an Irish Setter when I was born. When I was twelve I decided I wanted an Irish Setter; luckily my dad had a man working for him that encouraged him to take me to my first dog shows. In March of 1959 we went to the
