40 YEAR FLASHBACK
A FALSE START
Before I bought my first BT, I read all the usual books, McGuffin, After Bar Sinister, All About The Bull Terrier (Horner) and The Complete Bull Terrier (Eberhard), Bull Terriers and How to Breed Them (Glyn) and also attended some shows. I decided to follow Tom Horner's advice in his book and would buy a quality brindle/white bitch enabling me to use any dog in the Country on her, coloured or white and I would buy from a reputable and successful breeder - oh! how naive I was.
As I was living in Leeds at the time the two breeders of note in Yorkshire were Quita Youatt and Edie Micklethwaite. Lucy, a br/wh bitch came on a breeding term from Quita Youatt and was sired by Kearby’s Jackaroo (Ch Jobrulu Jacqueminot ex Ch Kearby's Temptress). I later found that Jackaroo sired many pups with poor temperaments and, I think it fair to say, that Lucy taught me early on all that could be wrong with a Bull Terrier and I vowed only to have dogs with good temperaments thereafter. Having said that and in order only to fulfil the breeding term, she was mated to Ch Druridge Augustus of Kearby, who was very sound in temperament and a daughter of their's, Knarcfire’s Apostle of Blewlans, produced a good natured Reserve CC winner in Blewlans Flashback of Elebony who was invited to compete in the Sandawana Trophy in 1989.
NEW FOUNDATIONS
When I moved back over the Pennines, I became very firm friends with Joyce and Arthur Miller (Brobar Bull Terriers) from whom I learned so much. It was a great pleasure to be in their company. Arthur was a great handler and had a natural affinity with animals, whilst Joyce was the puppy and stud dog picker. What a team they were. I used to photograph their dogs for them and we travelled to so many shows together. I also became firm friends with their son Jimmy (formerly Topkine Bull Terriers but now owner of the Brobar affix).
In 1985 I completely restarted my line with the Tawnbarr affix. Joyce and Arthur let me have a foundation bitch, Lovely Rita of Brobar, who was litter sister to Ch Bodyline of Brobar (Martons Marauder ex Brobar Honeysuckle). Penny was not a showgirl but had excellent breeding being a double granddaughter of the great Brobar Troubleshooter. Penny also had an excellent temperament.
LINEBREEDING
Arthur's advice about starting a line was pretty succinct "Find a good dog that you like and linebreed like buggery to it."
Now I really liked Brobar Troubleshooter and he proved himself to be a great stud dog. Penny was his double granddaughter, so I took Penny to mate to an excellent half brother of Troubleshooter, a r/wh son of Bombadier, called Ch Traymar Bytor. So I was close linebreeding to Bombadier. Unfortunately, Bytor refused to mate Penny. I was straight on the telephone to Dutchy who owned Ch Eyeshiner of Aricon. Eyeshiner, as well as being sired by one of my all time favourite dogs, Ch Aricon Chief Eye Shy, was a grandson of the great Eng/Int Ch Brobar Backchat.
Backchat and Bombadier were half brothers, sired by Ch Hollyfir Devils Disciple but, not only that, their mothers were the Ch Brobar litter sisters, Clever Clogs and Gem (who were themselves the product of a half brother/half sister mating). I was still infusing the close bred Brobar bloodline, whilst also bringing in the Aricon bloodline. From that mating, Penny produced Am/Can Ch Tawnbarr Powerline of Brobar ROM.
I then doubled up on Marton's Marauder by mating Penny to her half brother, "Ace" Turkshead Bubbles Gift of Brobar.
This was pretty much inbreeding because, in addition to both being sired by the great stud dog Lamonby’s Marton’s Marauder, the mothers of Penny and Ace were also litter sisters and were the product of 5 straight generations of half brother/half sister matings undertaken by Arthur and Joyce Miller, which had brought them many champions and trophy winners. This mating produced a valuable brood bitch for me. She was called Tawnbarr Hot Pursuit. Hot Pursuit later went to my good friend Andy Stubbs (Tyebar Bull Terriers) who also made very good use of her.
Whilst Hot Pursuit did not produce a champion, this inbred bitch is behind very many of the top winning dogs and bitches in the Country.
A final mating for Penny was again to a half brother, Ch Brobar Joker of Emred, owned by my good friends the Lamonby's (Emred Bull Terriers). This produced Tawnbarr the Real Thing. This bitch, together with her litter sister, Tawnbarr Atlantic Star, both went to my good friend Andy Stubbs' Tyebar Kennels.
It is a great tribute to Andy's use of these closely linebred bitches that both Tawnbarr Hot Pursuit at Tyebar and Tawnbarr The Real Thing of Tyebar feature close up in the bitch line of the pedigree of Ch Kenzed Prince of Darkness at Denpower, the Dog Jug winner for 2001.
JUDICIOUS OUTCROSS
Eric Stanley's Aricon bloodline was the ideal complement to my closely linebred Tawnbarr bitches. I spent a good deal of time looking to bring in Eric's high quality Aricon blood. At one time Andy Stubbs and I co-owned a double granddaughter of Eye Shy called Tinder Box of Tawnbarr but she proved a failure in the welping box. Fortune finally smiled on me and in 1990 I was able to get pick of a litter sired by Ch Aricon One in the Eye. The result was a fabulous dog, Bulivar Starbuck Tawnbarr. Starbuck was a really top class dog in every department and hard to fault, apart from his undershot bite, which condemned him to stand behind many lesser animals on various occasions.
Whilst winning 2 reserve CC’s, Starbuck was only used by 4 breeders’ : myself (I put him onto Hot Pursuit) Andy Stubbs, Geoff Backhouse and Peter Moyle. Starbuck went to the States and became an American Ch in a very short time under the guidance of Bob Thomas. Starbuck left his mark in the UK, coming through his grandchildren, particularly Jamie Bright Star at Ishaba, who made a profound mark at stud in the UK. Jamie Bright Star bore a close resemblance to Starbuck, especially in type and expression, although not having Starbuck’s immense bone and substance.
I wasted llittle time on outcrossing the inbred Tawnbarr Hot Pursuit to Starbuck. Excellent results were achieved by everyone who bought the pups. I kept a bitch, Tawnbarr Hot Spot, who looked the female equivalent of Starbuck but she did not breed on. My good friend Fred Howarth took a pup called Tawnbarr Star Turn and was rewarded when her daughter won a couple of RCC's and then gave Fred his first champion, Ch Present Surprise of Teregram.
Life throws up its challenges and often puts a spanner in the works. I had to part with all my dogs and was without a bull terrier for a couple of years, although I did still attend many shows.
NEW DAWN
Fortunately, a couple of years later, when I was able to get back into the game, Fred Howarth came to the rescue and I was able to buy in a pup out of Tawnbarr Star Turn. Fred had used Ch Diton Drummerboy on his bitch (a further outcross). So, I was off and running again with Teregram's Take That Tawnbarr.
BACK TO LINEBREEDING
Due to the now dissipated bloodline, there was only one dog that Take That was going to and that was Starbuck's grandson, Jamie Bright Star at Ishaba, now owned by my good friend Chris Kilpatrick (Kilacabar Bull Terriers). From this litter came Tawnbarr Stardrop (unfortunately no photograph).
Due to my circumstances at the time, Chris found a home for this good bitch that remained registered in my name and I have to say that Chris was the brains behind using the brindle dog Manzanita Mordred on her. I was wholly in favour because Manzanita Mordred was a double grandson of Manzanita Moonwalker (a grandson of Marton's Marauder) and I had unsuccessfully tried to buy Moonwalker a few years earlier. This litter produced 3 good bitches : Tawnbarr American Pie (wh), Tawnbarr Brindle Ideal (br/wh) and Tawnbarr Red Sonja (r/wh).
Due to work committments, I had to let Brindle Ideal go but I kept American Pie and mated her to Ch Emred Devil's Chance. A good bitch from the litter was Tawnbarr Typecast. Typecast went to a friend who also later bought in a son of Devil's Chance called Devil's Duke of Emred. He put them together and I bought 2 pups from the litter. The dog was called Spala Keyer Tawnbarr
BEREFT OF BULLIES.....AGAIN
Horrendous work commitments and some bad luck kicked in at the same time and I had to let Spala Keyer Tawnbarr and his litter sister go. I was, however, later able to get a daughter of his called Dreaming Annie Tawnbarr.
Unfortunately, work committments did not improve. Take That died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 13. American Pie was mated twice unsuccessfully to Ch Penbray's Play to the Devil. Dreaming Annie Tawnbarr went to Andy's Tyebar Bull Terrier kennel.
I was then without a Bull Terrier for around 3 years and also I had to rehome my 20 Yorkshire Canaries.
It was not all bad news because Tawnbarr Red Sonja (owned by Stuart Kettleborough, Bullysoul) kept the flag flying with her granddaughter becoming a champion. Congratulations to Ch Padhen Precious Pearl and her breeder Paul Sewards. Paul then mated Ch Padhen Precious Pearl to Ch Emred Huntsman and produced Ch Padhen Hitman.
HERE WE GO AGAIN.....
How does that song go - "I get knocked down but I get up again ..........."
My good friend Roger Woodward (Gorbain) came to the rescue by letting me have second pick out of his litter, sired by Ch Teirwgwyn Son of a Gun at Meilow ex Gorbain Salacious Suzie (Ch Emred Huntsman). I called the pup Monty and it was a nice touch that Monty also had a line back to Starbuck.
It was a hard campaign to get Monty made up, with one championship show judge even commenting "He's as big as a Camel" My reply referred to "No height or weight limits and he is very well balanced". Ch Gorbain Hellraiser Tawnbarr, 3CC's (2 with BOB). Monty is a beautiful rich red brindle with full jacket, scissor bite and fabulous front.
The next time that Roger mated Gorbain Salacious Suzie he, again, very kindly let me have second pick. This litter was sired by Ch Padhen Hitman, a son of Huntsman. I called the pup Twinkle. Gorbain Ice Maiden Tawnbarr had no trouble gaining her title and became a Champion - 3 CC's, 2 with BOB and was shortlisted in the Terrier Group at Windsor Ch Show. The Ice Maiden was also Runner Up in the Ormandy Jug for Bitches 2015.
Another nice connection was that Twinkle had 5 straight generations of Tawnbarr breeding back in her pedigree - going back to our foundation bitch Lovely Rita of Brobar.
I mated Ch Gorbain Ice Maiden Tawnbarr to Ch Emred Devil's Spy and she produced a great litter, including the beautiful Champion Tawnbarr Starlight, 3CC's, BOB at Crufts 2018 and winner of the Prestigious Regent Trophy.
I returned the favour to Roger by giving him second pick. Roger took both a dog and bitch pup and shortly after Ch Gorbain Ice Maiden Tawnbarr also went back to live with Roger.
I mated Ch Tawnbarr Starlight (Leila) to her half brother, Ch Emred Devil's Tristar and, like her mother, she produced a fabulous litter of pups. I kept a dog and a bitch pup and Leila went to the States where she soon became an American Grand Champion under the guidance of Bob and Grace Thomas.
Starlight's pups continue to do well: Tawnbarr Battlestar (1CC, 2RCC's); Am Ch Tawnbarr Shooting Star, Tawnbarr Texas Sunrise, Tawnbarr Huntsman's Moon at Croesybullys, Tawnbarr Diamond Ice Dragon Avec Sherrywells and Tawnbarr the Equaliser.
At the Regent Trophy, February 2020, 3 of the littermates were invited to compete.
