Page 148 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021

J arez
Jarez

Does Agility

with

Alison True

Gabbi - Jumping

My husband, John, and I got our first We trekked the country, spent a fortune and
Weimaraner in 1990 which seems such a on occasion, if we did really well, came back
long time ago. I can’t recall how we found with a lovely piece of cardboard. Our three
her breeder, Carolyn Alston, but we were claims to fame were a CC, a first place in a post
encouraged to attend breed shows with Roxie graduate class of 33 at Crufts and another win
(Flimmoric Firecracker) - and so it began. The in similar company at the WCGB champ show.
15 years of travelling up and down the country, Numerous placings with various of our dogs at
and beyond as we always attended the Scottish Championship level but always the bridesmaid
shows too. I remember one crazy occasion never the bride. What I recall best is the
being picked up on my doorstep in Derbyshire at friendships we made during those years, many
3am just to get to Inglinston, Edinburgh by 8am of whom we are still in touch with now, all be it
for the start of judging. This no doubt sounds by social media.
very familiar to all those of you who spend your
Along with competing and breeding I also did a
time, and money, still doing just that.
little judging, vowing to be different and do my
We went through all the other ‘usual stuff’ too own thing. On the few occasions I judged I did
like buying a bigger car, moving to a house with just that.
a bigger garden and easier access to dog walks
I look back on those years now as a total
then, for a short while, we had a caravan too.
waste of my time and energy. Each to their
We also got into the mind-set of breeding our
own of course but personally I’m glad to be out
own ‘line’ under the Jarez affix. I remember our
of it. I can’t actually remember how I got into
little moto that we put on our year book ad every
agility but remember doing so with ‘our Sophie’
year – “Jarez, selective breeding in pursuit of
(Ryanstock Fern and Jarez) when she was
perfection. We had 5 litters over 15 years but
middle aged and so was I. We did it at a local
never found perfection. Our breeding line ended
training class and purely for fun, and boy was it
abruptly when our promising youngster Amy
fun. That was it, I was hooked.
died in very tragic circumstances at the age of 2
yrs. I’ve never got over that. In 2005 our lives were turned upside down. My
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K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021