The History of Wildbach
Owners of some GSPs in the UK may notice the name “Wildbach” on their dog’s pedigree, as I am surprised at how many times the name of my American import Buck Hollow Tabor of Wildbach crops up in advertisements I see for litters of puppies for sale. He only sired about 8 litters, too. He is behind the following kennels’ stock: Fichtenwald, Yoldermond, Viewforths, Roetick, Fallowmill, Huwlindragon, Tiptop; Kazanpaul; Kentisworth; Hedra, Tredhespan and others.
I grew up with my parents’ Pointer dog in Suffolk and bought Birkenwald Anushka as a companion for him. Anushka became lonely when her old Pointer pal died at the ripe old age of 16 years, and I she was bred to Sh Ch Newsirs Paddock and the resulting puppies were registered under the Wildbach affix. Chosen because the “wild stream” down the lane used regularly to flood our garden. Bach is German for stream and J S Bach was one of my favourite composers!
Wildbach Aphrodite (Tarka - pictured left) and her sister W. Andromeda (Bonnie) were retained went to some shows and both qualified for entry to Crufts (in those days by winning first place in a qualifying class at a championship show) and were trained to work as gundogs, as was their brother, Wildbach Apollo of Fichtenwald. The day after Bonnie won her big class at Bournemouth, tragedy struck and my mother found her crying and holding up her back right leg. She had damaged her cruciate ligament playing with her sister in the garden and, at 6 months old and not fully grown, our veterinary surgeon said he could not operate on her. A few months’ later, the injury had not healed and she had the operation, but arthritis had already set into her knee joint. She was never really sound on that leg and when the joint crumbled when she was 9 yrs old she was euthanased truly to prevent further suffering.
Tarka was a beautiful and very intelligent 23” liver and white bitch with a lovely head and was a very good working dog – going out on lots of shoots and being invited on more, due to her excellent “nose” in locating and pointing pheasants, stamina to work all day and soft mouth when picking up. She and I preferred being “on the go” and beating, but she brought back many wounded pheasants. She was also useful in locating wounded deer, and would bay loudly to tell us when she had found the animal, so we could go to despatch it. She won many BOBs at Open Shows and had some championship show firsts and places. Tarka was bred to Eileen Hughes’ Sonnenberg Silver Shadow, but so far as I am aware, none of the litter were ever bred from. A brother of Tarka – Wildbach Apollo of Fichtenwald went to Rosemary Nash and did well showing at picking up on Somerset/Devon shoots and got 2 Field Trial and Working Test awards. Otto’s daughter, Freya of Fichtenwald won a CC under Ann Gill and her daughter,Fichtenwald Fahne (by Buck Hollow Tabor of Wildbach) had some success in the showring, including 1st in Limit Bitch at Crufts under Hans Lehtinen. All the Fichtenwald dogs, however, earned their keep picking-up on shoots on Exmoor.
I imported from America, Buck Hollow Tabor of Wildbach (Karl)(photo left) who came in with a bitch, Buck Hollow Americus Girl through the 6 months quarantine then in force. He was unphased by quarantine and won BOB at South Western Gundog Club’s Open Show the date after being released!!! He carried a pedigree of top winners and top producers in the USA, going back on “Minnesota basics” (Kaposia – the kennel Georgina Byrne says has been the foundation for most the US’ top GSP kennels), Fuerhrerheim, etc. via the Buck Hollow and Tabor Kennels located in the East of the USA. He had excellent hips 2:2(4) and several clear eye certificates throughout his life. His type was different from the UK GSPs, and despite his excellent pedigree, superb topline and hindquarters, excellent head and nature, he was not used much at stud at all. He had 2 litters with Tarka and I kept three pups from these breedings (Wildbach Cinnamon Rose; Swashbuckler and High Society) and also another one, Wildbach Walnut JW ex Ebony Crystalfleck. Karl bred a solid liver bitch, Bellandowa Sky Mocha and a liver and white bitch from this litter became Sh Ch Bellandowa Royale, getting her 3 CCs several years apart from foreign judges!! Another solid liver bitch, Kentisworth Astrid was bred to him and their solid liver son, Sunfighter Zepher of Kentisworth had a Reserve CC.
Karl also bred Oakberrow Gay Gordons (bred by Doreen Smillie) and two bitches from this litter Clare’s Christmas Carol and Judith’s Jewel of Roetick have been bred on – with Christmas’ Carol’s daughter by Sh Ch Keigame The Equaliser being the mother of Sh Ch Kazanpaul Bourbon Cream. Another line is behind the black and white dog, Seek Infront, who competes in the show ring and working tests.
Karl regularly went beating – initially with Tarka, and then with their sons and daughters, on many shoots in Devon and Somerset and was always a “gentleman” with other dogs.
His son, Wildbach Walnut (photo left) got his Junior Warrant, and won BPIS under Brenda Banbury (and a RBPIS at another date) at big Open Shows at Shepton Mallet under Brenda Banbury. Boris, as he was known, was very “Kaposia” in type and was bred to his half-sisters, Wildbach Cinnamon Rose “Heidi” and Wildbach High Society “Eva”, as well as to Richard Cox’s Little Girl of Tasha. Both Wildbach Cinnamon Rose and Little Girl of Tasha produced very similar looking elegant liver roan bitches – Wildbach Oklahoma and Viewforths Bartress (there are photos of many of these in the “Gallery”). Barty was bred to Wildbach Lenski (son of Ch & FT Ch Gelert’s Rainbow Warrior and Wildbach. High Society) and these breedings are prominent in dogs from the Viewforths affix. Wildbach. Cinnamon Rose was also bred to the handsome and elegant solid liver Sh Ch Davandin Rostanga (who won Reserve Dog CC at Crufts) and from this breeding I kept Wildbach Rosetti, of whom the same could be said about him. His equally handsome solid liver brother, Wildbach Rosignano, went to N.Ireland to Waldheim Kennels and was rehomed to a shooting home and was apparently bred to a daughter of Wildbach Galina in N.Ireland.
W. Oklahoma (Homa)(photo left), like her mother, was a beautiful, elegant bitch with sound, free flowing movement. Both did their share of winning, mainly BOBs at Open Shows in the South-West but Homa won a Post Graduate bitch class at Bournemouth. She joined her parents and my other dogs on local pheasant shoots. She bred 2 litters sired by the solid liver male, Isara Kurzhaar Deer Hunter JW, and from this breeding I kept two more solid livers: the dog Wildbach Brigadoon and his sister, Wildbach Candide. They both did very well in the show ring as puppies with many puppy gundog group places at Open Shows in the South-West and both won their first championship show puppy classes at Welsh Kennel Club under Patsy Hollings. Candide followed her grandsire, W. Walnut and had a RBPIS and then BPIS at Open Shows at Shepton Mallet also under Brenda Banbury! Brigadoon then went to a shooting home.
Candide had one litter with W. Rosetti – but I never got another breeding out of him as he developed prostate problems. A daughter from this breeding, Wildbach Dark n Delicious was sold to the Sapas, who moved back to Wisconsin, USA, and bred their solid liver bitch (several US exhibitors offered to show her for them, but they refused these offers!) to US and Can Ch. Rock n Roll aus dem Norden – owned by Mary Morris. A solid liver daughter (who looks very like my Homa) AM/INT CH Wildbach Gypsy Rose Aus Dem Norden, JH, RN, VC – gained her US bench championship, and has now got a versatility certificate, as she has her Junior Hunter certificate and another in agility. She and her mother both have CERF certificates for clear eyes, she is CD free and both have OFA certificates for their hips. Not knowing I would never be able to repeat this breeding, I sold the other bitch and her owner had her spayed. One of his daughters had a 0:0 hip score, but was also spayed. He remained a handsome, pleasant and elegant dog right up until his death at 14¼ years earlier this year.
The passing of time took its toll and, in Cornwall, 5 of my dogs died of old age, and I was anxious not to lose this line (the vast majority of the caring, responsible owners to whom I sold stock had them neutered – so there was no “reserve pool of bloodlines” as a back-up)… and faced reality – that Ross was not going to breed again. I bred my solid liver bitch Candide (she had a lot of wins at championship show and open shows, and a Crufts prize before my personal circumstances changed and I could not afford to show her) to the solid black Birkenwald Lamoss vom Herbstmond, who went back on several of Ann Gill’s German imports as well as some older Waldburg dogs.
8 puppies resulted – from breeding 2 solids together and only one was a solid! I wanted a solid liver bitch, but there were only two bitches, both black and white. So I kept Wildbach Black Magic (Pavla) and the only solid – a black dog called Wildbach Black Adder (Rowan). These two were very energetic puppies and very intelligent, but very slow maturers indeed. Again, a littermate was hip scored at 0:0 (Wildbach Silver Partridge – see Karlivar GSPs website) but I think the others have all been neutered . Pavla is the last entire bitch from my line now. I plan to take her to Finland when she is next in season to breed to the multi-champion, Swedish, Serbian Ch (etc) Avaline Esko. This beautiful solid liver dog (25” high) comes from a line bred by a family in Serbia, who have had their own line of GSPs for 60 years!
It is in Eastern Europe that you can still find “the classic GSP” with elegance and style. Esko carries ticking and is currently staying at Charleswood Kennels in Finland (which we can visit and return here from under the current Pet Passport rules) before returning to Serbia in 2009. He has A graded hips under the FCI scoring system, and working qualifications.
Rowan has sired 3 litters of puppies – to a solid liver bitch, a solid black bitch and a liver and white bitch and has pups who are solid liver, solid black, liver and white and black and white! His hip score is 5:2(7) and he has a BVA Clear eye certificate and Cardiac Clear certificate.
