The Marchwynde dream began when I was
five and met "Chula", a collie owned by my aunt. After years of "volunteering"
our services to dog-sit Chula (much to my own mother's dismay), I received my
first Collie as a gift from my parents when I was 12. Laddie was followed by
Lady, who saw me off to College.
The 1970's......
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The early 70's saw my first steps toward being a part of the Collie world. I got my first Blue Merle (a color I had never even heard of until then!). My first show hopeful, a son of CH. Braewood's Paper Moon, became my constant companion, a therapy dog that delivered Christmas presents at nursing homes, and my model demo dog for the obedience classes I taught. Although he never matured into the Champion we hoped for, her loved to show and thoroughly enjoyed the fun of the obedience rings. As I begin to look for a show prospect, I met via telephone John Kavenaugh of Kingsmark Kennels. He became a mentor for some time and was kind enough to start me on the road to shows with Kingsmark Checkmate. Checkers was my first success in the showring, winning a class of five with his novice handler his first time out! Another person who was of great help, offering advise and support was Pat Starkweather who sent me my first show potential bitch during this time. In 1978, Kingsmark Kennel again sent a winner in the form of a puppy name Marchwind's Finn McCumhail. At 10 months, McCumhail went Best Of Breed over specials! Proud that we were, we didn't realize that anyone even noticed us, until professional handler George Slinker passed the word to John about our win...
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The 1980's.......
Marchwind's Princess Diana
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...That
phone call resulted in Gabriel. For my birthday a few months later, John
called to announce I should be at the airport the next morning to pick up
"my" dog. It was surprise to say the least! At the airport, a fuzzy gold
puppy tumbled out of the crate...and Kingsmark Golden Gabriel lived with
us for 10 wonderful years. It's Gabe you see on our home page header. During
the 1980's I became interested in other colors in the Collie, especially
the whites. From Willow Lane Collies we brought home our first white, Ghostbuster
and in 1983 he sired our first litter that produced whites. We continued
to show, though on a more limited scale. We found we enjoyed the obedience
rings more, especially since I also taught obedience classes. Marchwind's
Princess Diana and Marchwind's Midnight Lace traveled with us to the local
show circuits. It was during this time I met a person who has become my
best friend, Brenda of Brithaven Collies. During this time both of my daughters
also begain to go to matches with puppies, and train their own pet dogs.
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Spring Creeks Natural Spirit
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During the early 90's with 2 kids, a full time management job and a deranged husband (who quickly became an ex) I thought it best to remain at home, and turn my energies elsewhere temporarily. However after my divorce, I returned to the Collie scene with help of several old friends, especially best friend Brenda who sent me two birthday presents...Marchwind's The Archangel and Marchwind's Desert Dreamer. These two dogs produced several titled puppies, and to our delight their kids have excelled at herding, working, agility and obedience. Later on we acquired Spring Creeks Natural Spirit from Bill Flynn. Lucky is AKC pointed, though we discovered he really doesn't LIKE to show. He is normal eyed, and passes on to his puppies his naturally tipping ears, gorgeous movement as well as a wonderful temperament. |
TODAY
Today we are mostly retired from the Collie world. We have enjoyed to seeing the Marchwind name in both conformation and performance arenas. Bred to the Standard, our dogs are also sound and healthy. A primary goal is excellent temperaments - we believe a Collie should be a true family dog.
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