The Steynmere Boxer kennel was first officially established in 1949 although
the first Steynmere was born several years earlier, on VE day, 8th May 1945.
She was called Steynmere Vinco, and was a full sister to the third post-war
UK champion, Cuckmere Krinetta.
Another of our early Boxers was Steynmere Ringboy (by Ch Panfield Ringleader ex S. Vinco) who was one of the big local winners of his day and the sire of Steynmere Kara..pictured below, and other local winners.
Consistent with views on breeding, which
were to become more firmly established in later years, stud dogs of
different breeding and origin were used.
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A big winner in the late '40's
" Ringboy "
Photo taken at 6 months
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These included Collo v Dom (German),
Ch Winkinglight Venturer (Dutch), Mazelaine's Texas Ranger and Rob
Roy of Tomira (American), as well as Chs Panfield Ringleader and Awldog
Attar (British) breeding.
Several notable local and championship show
winners were produced (see photo)
Bruce Cattanach and four early Steynmere Boxers |
Dogs from top left;
Steynmere Tania (by Texas Ranger), Steynmere Shardagh (by Venturer),
Steynmere Tosca, (by Texas Ranger) and Steynmere Kara (by S. Ringboy).
(Photo taken at a Tyne, Wear & Tees Boxer Club Open show
judged by Connie Wilson-Wiley, 1955.)
Kara was Best opposite Sex. |
Dog breeding inspired an interest in genetics and this was to become my
career, initially taking me away from dogs to gain degrees in genetics and
to work for several years in the States.
Returning to the UK in 1970 to
continue genetic research at the then Medical Research Council Radiobiology
Unit (now Mammalian Genetics Unit), Harwell,and with an American Boxer
Black Rose of Cherokee Oaks in tow, Steynmere Boxers restarted.
A string of champions were produced over the next few years. The most notable
were the Black Rose g'son, Summer Gold (exported to the States),
his grandson Night Rider who was one of the principal sires in the '80s, and
the Night Rider son, Gelert who attained the BIS award at Bournemouth in
1985.
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"Black Rose" |
Over the years I have had numerous judging appointments in the UK. These
include Crufts, the British Boxer Club, and the huge LKA show twice. I have
also judged abroad, Holland (twice), Spain, the United States and Ireland (twice), Norway (six times, including their KC
show and the Breed Club show, twice), Sweden twice, Finland, Holland and the
Australian/New Zealand circuits twice.
Boxer breeding stopped in 1996 with the untimely death of my wife, Margaret,
but restarted with a bang some 4 years later when I remarried. Despite a
non-dog upbringing, Jo's similar background in genetic research stimulated a
new joint interest in Boxer breeding and showing. The result has been our
recent big winners, Ch Steynmere Just So (6CCs, 9RCCs) and her brother Ch.Steynmere
Just William (3CCs 4RCCs), to be followed by the current Just So youngsters, Steynmere Just Is, and Steynmere Top Notch.
My genetics background became of immediate practical use in 1980 when the
horrendous inherited disease, progressive axonopathy (PA) appeared in the
breed. A rigorously applied control scheme led to its demise. Current
Boxer health activity is now focused on the heart defect, aortic stenosis
(AS).
I was genetical advisor to Boxer Breed Council fom 1980 to 2002 and I currently serve on the Kennel Club/British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Advisory Group.
I also deal with inherited conditions in
a number of breeds. It follows that all Steynmere Boxers are rigorously
health screened but great attention is also given to temperament.
At a more fun level, a personal effort since 1990 has been the challenge of
introducing a bobtail gene from another breed to create natural bobtail
Boxers, so avoiding the need for docking. The challenge now is to produce a
good championship show winner from such breeding.
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