ABOUT US
1988 was quite an eventful year in our lives, not only did we get married, but we obtained our first border collie, the beginning of a life-long passion for the breed. We had both grown up with a multitude of different dogs. As a child, I had trained our crossbreed with the help of a book; while Ronald had trained Dobermans, but it was only after buying “Nandi” from a friend that we got seriously involved. Within a few months, her brother, “Biggles”, came to stay and we had started doing Obedience, Jumping and Sheep Herding, with reasonable success for novice handlers. Someone then suggested that we should try showing our dogs in the breed ring, and so the showing bug bit!
We were both working for SAA at the time, flying on the international routes, which allowed us the opportunity to see border collies around the world. After a visit to Crufts in 1990, we knew we had to import, thus, early in 1992 we welcomed “Charles” to South Africa. He was the first of a number of dogs that we would import, initially from or through Joyce Collis and Felix Cosme (Beagold Kennels) in the UK; but later also from Australia and the USA.
We were both working for SAA at the time, flying on the international routes, which allowed us the opportunity to see border collies around the world. After a visit to Crufts in 1990, we knew we had to import, thus, early in 1992 we welcomed “Charles” to South Africa. He was the first of a number of dogs that we would import, initially from or through Joyce Collis and Felix Cosme (Beagold Kennels) in the UK; but later also from Australia and the USA.
In order to accommodate our dogs in a more spacious environment, we moved to
Lion’s Rest Farm near Heidelberg, Gauteng.
Lion’s Rest Farm near Heidelberg, Gauteng.
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By now Venessa had stopped flying and was able to spend more time working, training and caring for our dogs. Our dogs have ample room in which to exercise and train, in a tranquil country setting. Our dogs are involved in every facet of our lives and are our constant companions. |
Although Ronald has now retired from Airways,
he is kept really busy with our farming activities (beef & sheep production)
as well as the factory that he runs together with a friend.
he is kept really busy with our farming activities (beef & sheep production)
as well as the factory that he runs together with a friend.
'Gert' the Bonsmara Bull and his girls.
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The latest arrivals.
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During Ron’s long flying career, we were able to meet many exhibitors, breeders and handlers from around the world. We saw and handled a variety of border collies; show dogs and sheep dogs. These experiences have moulded our ideas and assisted us in obtaining very diverse views on border collies. We thank our various mentors from UK, Europe, Australia, Zimbabwe and home. This has been an on-going process, we still try to travel overseas at least once a year to see what is happening in the world of border collies and catch up with fellow breeders. We may not always have agreed, but we have loved our discussions and respect all your various standpoints. The internet too is now a very valuable resource.
Ronald has judged and handled border collies overseas and both of us have handled other breeds in South Africa to their titles. Ronald is a specialist border collie judge and is on the panel of Herding Group judges, thus able to award CC’s to any breed in the Herding Group, CACIB's to FCI Group 1 and Handling Classes. He also presents a variety of Border Collie seminars, highlighting different aspects of judging, breeding, handling and working with border collies. He is presently studying his Working and Gundog Groups at Open Show level.
Part of our Border Collie Wall.
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'Lucky' our resident cat.
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