Many thanks to Crawford Taylor (Bryany) for sharing this history with us One of the earliest successful Scottish Rough Collie Breeders was Robert Tait of Lanark (affix Wishaw) who had five Champions. The first was sable and white D Ch Wishaw Clinker born in 1898.
He was sold to Billionaire banker JP Morgan for a vast sum in those days and thereafter also gained his US title. Varying reports indicate that he was sold for anything between 4,000 and 10,000 dollars.It was certainly recorded that £10,000 was paid by Morgan for a UK collie import. Clinker had not been bred by Tait himself but by a Mr Shields from West Calder in West Lothian. Then followed Tri D Ch Wishaw Leader in 1903 who won the Crufts Best Champion Award at only the second Crufts where this award was on offer back in 1906.
At that time this was the highest award at Crufts and the winner was considered to be the best dog in Crufts that year. To qualify for this the exhibit had to be a UK Ch entered in and winning the Champion Class at Crufts and would be competing against champions of all breeds. Crufts had no BIS award, as we now know it, back then - so this was the highest award in the show. This kind of puts Ch Pattingham Pacemaker's more recent Crufts Group win a little into the shade! Next came the sable and white D Ch Wishaw Rival in 1911
followed by Blue Merle B Ch Wishaw Blue Lettie in 1912 and finally the tri D Ch Wishaw Reliable in 1924.
Tait had apparently started breeding collies back in 1889 but moved to Lanark ten years later. I presume by his affix his previous home was in Wishaw! There were lots of other Wishaw stock in his Champions' Pedigrees. But though he line bred he did not appear to do it too closely. Wishaw stock was behind Ch Anfield Model who it appeared he also bred with. Both of my own current collies can be traced back to Wishaw stock - so doubtless many others will too - though I think perhaps not all. |
