Jynx was the clear "keeper" bitch in her litter. We showed her very little as a puppy, as I wanted to be sure to have something in the classes at the National Specialty in 2005. Jynx surprised us all by going Winners Bitch and Best of Winners from the bred-by class. The following day, at the Specialty lure trial, she proved that she is more than just another pretty face by winning the Open Stake.
In the fall of 2005, she added a few more points in the Conformation ring, and also got her lure coursing career off to a bang-up start, winning two Bests in Field. In December we tracked down a major entry in Pennsylvania, and she finished her show championship.
Jynx is our third generation of Best In Field lure coursers, following in the footsteps of her sire, Ghillie, and her grandsire, Tip. Not to mention that she is a pretty girl! We are enormously proud of her.
On her first weekend as a special, she settled down to business, and, on Sunday, 15 January 2006, at Ashtabula Kennel Club in Hamburg, New York, she won the breed over three top specials, and, as the other breed winners had done all weekend, continued on to group recognition - a Group 1, in fact. She then topped it all off by going Best in Show, pictured above, under Judge Murrel Purkhiser.
Jynx is our first Best in Show winner! She is, however, the second generation of group winners; her sire, Ghillie, has also had that honor. And she is the third generation of group placers; Ghillie's dam, Lillie, earned a Group 2 many moons ago.
As 2006 progressed, she has shown that she is no mere flash in the pan. At the big supported entry weekend in Louisville, she took two Awards of Merit. Then, in April, she earned another Group placement, this one a Third, under Judy Webb, and in June, two more under Joan Anselm and Martin Doherty. In between those group placements she took two more awards of merit, one at the supported entry in Perry, Georgia, and the other at the National Specialty. In August she picked up a Group Four under Toddie Clark, and then on Labor Day weekend topped it off with a Group One under Col. Joe Purkhiser. Her running career also continues apace, with several racing wins to her credit. In fact, she was the number one Deerhound in NOTRA for 2006.
Jynx began her brood bitch career in February of 2009, when she produced a singleton, Nerys, and went on to raise her along with three pups from Hallie's litter born the following day. She proved to be a terrific mother, and our only regret is that we were unable to repeat the breeding due to the intransigence of our co-owners, with whom the sire lives.
In May of 2009, with her puppy just three months old, Jynx once again made the cut for Best of Breed at the National Specialty--the fourth National Specialty in a row that she has done so.
Jynx continued her winning ways as a veteran, taking Best Veteran honors at the 2011 National Specialty, and then being honored with the Select Bitch award. With five points (and a major, defeating specials) toward her Grand Championship, we decided that she deserved that honor as well, and less than two months later, in very limited showing, she had achieved that milestone. |
