By Claire Rishworth
We are grateful to the author, Claire Rishworth and to The Whippet Biennial for permission to reproduce this article.
As with all good fairy stories, it is best to start at the beginning and this is no exception. Just an incredible two years and eight months before the great event, David and Yvette Short first saw the girl of their dreams, having been asked to stop by the house of Whippet breeder Viv Coulter, on the way home from a show in the late summer of 2015, to help with the stacking of the latest litter of puppies for a photo shoot for the Collooney website. However, once young pup Tease was stacked and stood, the two of them were totally smitten with her and after much discussion (over a Chinese take away), the decision was taken and Viv dropped Tease off with them a fortnight later. The journey had begun.
Blessed with the sweetest and a quiet, unassuming temperament from the onset, Tease went to ring craft classes from 12 weeks, where, even at this early stage, she drew admiring glances from those present that fell under her charm.
The first challenge for Tease was to qualify for Crufts 2016, but with a mere two chances to do so, being at Boston and Manchester Championship Shows, fingers were crossed. Much to David’s and Yvette’s joy, not only did Tease qualify at Boston, she was declared BPIB, a lucky result from this outing as she was later unplaced at Manchester the following week.
And so, off to her first Crufts Tease did go, where she was BPIB from a super entry, under Pauline Oliver and Ann Becket Bradshaw, the two breed specialist judges on the day. The pace quickened from then on in, with a very successful puppy career resulting, over which Tease gained seven BPIBs and one Hound Puppy Group 1, two Group 2s and one Group 4. Tease also qualified for the Eukanuba Pup Of The Year at Southern Counties in 2016. Tease gained her first CC under Paul McFarlane at Border Union in 2016 whilst still a puppy, going on to take not only the Hound Puppy Group but also the Adult Hound Group as well, under Phil Freer. Her second CC came from Val McCormack at Darlington Championship Show in September also taking BOB and Hound Group 2. At Belfast Championship Show, a week later, Tease gained her UK title with her third CC from judge Lorena Grisoli, with another BOB and a Hound Group 2 placing. A Champion at just 14 months old and the bar was raised. Tease qualified for the Eukanuba Champion Stakes at Windsor 2017, which proved to be a very expensive venture for her owners, involving the cost of a replacement car and a hefty taxi bill to get Tease and handler Yvette to the venue on time, whilst David had a some what less enjoyable day twiddling his thumbs during a long wait at Warwick services! In the same year, Tease was also Scottish Show Dog of The Year.
Travelling across the Channel to Shows, Tease has similarly experienced great success when competing against her European counterparts, becoming a World Winner in Leipzig, Germany in 2017 under judge Susanne Oschinski and then, a year later in 2018, becoming a World Winner at the World Dog Show held in Amsterdam under Graham Hill.
Tease’s tally of KC awards stands, at this time of writing, with a collection of 16 CCs, 4 RCCs, 11 BOBs, three Hound Group 1s, four Hound Group 2s and three Hound Group 3s. Crufts has certainly been this young bitch’s lucky show gaining the BCC, BOB and Hound Group 2 at her second appearance in 2017 and, at her third Crufts, gaining the BCC, BOB, Hound Group 1 and finally BIS!
What a day that was, when Tease joined the ranks of the great elite of our breed to gain the most coveted title of them all, Crufts BIS. Her name joins that of the hugely influential sire Ch Pencloe Dutch Gold who was the Crufts BIS winner in 1992 and the most elegant of bitches Ch Cobyco Call The Tune who won Crufts BIS in 2004.
It goes without saying that David and Yvette will cherish the memories of that weekend for the rest of their lives.
The day dawned with the usual excitement and nervous tension that each and everyone of us experiences as another Crufts begins. Under judge Anne MacDonald, Tease headed the class of superb Open Bitches and the nerves escalated as she then had to compete against all the unbeaten bitches for the BCC and was awarded it for the second year in a row. With significant crowds viewing from the ringside, the two judges then decided on BOB, with Goran Bodegard and Anne agreeing that Tease was their Whippet to go forward into the Group. Amidst deafening cheers and applause, Tease and Yvette did their Lap of Honour and then stood for the photos and the congratulations, before packing up and heading towards the big ring several halls away.
Once in the collection ring, Tease was settled while Whippet supporters sought tickets for seats in the arena for the Hound Group judging coming later. Under Group Judge Albert Wight
Tease was shortlisted and then finally awarded the accolade of Group 1 from amongst a great selection of BOB hounds. The pressure then escalated again, as the realisation crept in that Tease had joined the final selection of dogs who would enter the ring on the Sunday to compete for the title Best In Show.
More photos ensued as the world’s dog press gathered, an interview first with Marina Scott followed by another with the intrepid Clare Balding from TV’s Channel 4. Viv Coulter joined Yvette on the famous settee and later Tease was graced with a visit from the one and only Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick.
Arriving back at their Hotel that night, Tease, David and Yvette were overwhelmed by a congratulatory host of people from all breeds and countries who showered them with support and messages of congratulations. Many a glass was raised that evening and preparations were made to stay over until the final day.
Sunday eventually arrived and once more, Tease was bathed and prepared, returning to the NEC by 3pm where upon promotional photos were taken. Then off they were whisked to a hospitality area to wait to be summoned into the arena and onto a world stage where so many were glued watching the drama unfold.
In 2018 Jill Peak had the honour of being the Best In Show Judge and a Hound specialist to boot. Tease was greeted with a massive roar from the audience in the arena as she entered. The supporters of Team Tease had swollen considerably since the Friday as there had been a manic rush to buy up any spare tickets for the last night.
We all have witnessed the process of choosing the winning dog at Crufts over many years, but to have one of our own breed there in the final seven takes a lot of beating. Yvette admits that she was almost frozen with nerves during those last few endless minutes of waiting for Jill to make her decision, one that would have such a profound influence on the owners, breeder and even Tease herself.
And so…. when Jill pointed decisively to the brindle Whippet standing to perfection under the brilliant lights, who had shown her socks off, time after time, never waivering in her standard of performance throughout the entire show, the arena erupted in their excitement. David and Viv came around the Winner’s Podium and there was even a rumour circulating later, that Viv was seen with pair of glistening eyes! To have witnessed another exemplary Whippet standing adjacent to that huge trophy must have made a few others in our breed have leaky eyes of joy, would probably be an understatement.
Ch Collooney Tartan Tease JW Crufts BIS 2018, she had done it!
The photos, interviews, the Kennel Club after-show reception, newspaper coverage and local outings all followed in quick succession. An exhaustive round of adrenaline inducing events were demanded of the winning team and of course, family celebrations too!
We have all seen the photos, the coverage, watched the re-runs many a time and relived the joy and excitement that was generated by such a wonderful Crufts show for our breed. Seeing that little brindle pup stacked on the table all those months ago, did David, Yvette or Viv ever think she would have gone on to fulfil the ultimate dream of the dog showing fraternity that of becoming a BIS at Crufts, the most prestigious dog show in the world? The fairy tale did have a gloriously happy ending. Thank you Tease for letting us share the dream.