March 8, 1988-November 29, 1999
220 Bests of Breed
8 All-Breed Bests In Show
12 Specialty Bests In Show
58 Herding Group Firsts
137 Herding Group Placements
5 AKC Champion Offspring
(And One Other AKC Pointed Offspring)
Pedigree
Ch Sunnybrook’s Heritage Spirit ROM
Ch Midas Citation of Sundial ROM
Barwoods Charisma
Am/Can Ch Barwoods Impact ROM
Ch Sunnybrook’s Heritage Spirit ROM
Ch Barwoods Love Affair
Ch Barwoods Formal Affair
BIS/BISS AM/CAN CH BRANDYWINE’S IMPRINT 2CC ROM ‘JILL’
Ch September’s Rainmaker ROM
Ch Barwoods Raincheck ROM
Ch Barwoods Rhapsody ROM
Ch Brandywine’s Charade
Ch September’s Rainmaker ROM
Ch Barwoods Summer Showers
Barwoods Summer Storm
The Early Years (1988 to Early 1991)
We acquired Jill as a six month old puppy from Boyd and Juanita Smith ‘s Brandywine Shelties in September 1988. She was shown occasionally as a puppy by Julie Desy and accumulated 3 majors and several big specialty sweepstakes wins. After being bred and having 3 puppies shortly after turning one year old, she returned to the show ring and immediately finished her AKC Championship and her CKC title as well. And in limited showing as a special by owner Mary Stout she won some Bests of Breed and Herding Group Placements—the most notable being Best of Breed at her own Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Detroit’s Specialty Show.
The Special Years (Late 1991 to the End of 1994)
In October of 1991 Jill began her active Conformation show career as a special with Julie Desy as her handler. This team continued until December 1994 with several brief interruptions. It was a fantastic time with many memorable moments and Jill having very special accomplishments. She set many new records for a Sheltie female, including some which have been broken and more that still stand, and in the process acquired the admiration of many for her special qualities and her “give all you have got” style of showing. Some of her greatest accomplishments and memorable moments follow:
Number One Shetland Sheepdog in all the scoring systems for two years in a row (1992-1993).
Winner of the prestigious Pedigree Award for most Shelties defeated for 3 years in a row—
the first Shetland Sheepdog to ever accomplish this (1992-1993-1994).
The first Sheltie female to join the elite 200 Best of Breed Club.
Eight All-Breed Bests-In-Show—including back-to-back wins
and also one with her 100th Best of Breed.
Twelve Specialty Bests-In-Show—most with over or close to 100 hundred Shelties.
Set new single year and lifetime records for Sheltie bitches in Bests of Breed,
Group Firsts, Total Group Placements, Number of Shelties Defeated,
And Number of Dogs of All Breeds Defeated.
Finished in the Top Ten Dogs of All Breeds in number of Dogs of Own Breed
Defeated—the only Sheltie Bitch to ever accomplish this (1993).
An ASSA National Specialty Show Award of Merit,
and made the Final Cut at all 3 ASSA National Shows entered.
A Herding Group First at the final Purina Invitational Show for top-ranked dogs of all breeds.
In addition she gave Julie Desy, her owners and other admirers many weekly thrills during this “special period.”
Return to the Ring (End of 1996 to September 1997)
After two years away from the show ring Jill returned for four show weekends at the age of nine years. The results:
An All-Breed Best-In-Show—amazingly in her first show in 2 years!
Seven Best of Breeds—in 6 All Breed shows and another Specialty Best
from the Veterans Class.
Six Herding Group Placements—including 5 Group Firsts.
It was a great finale for a great show dog. In these shows she was handled by 3 different handlers—proud owner Mary Stout, her good friend Julie Desy, and long-time admirer Lloyd “Junior” Grazer.
And as a final note it was only appropriate that both her last Best of Breed, and her first Best of Breed, were at her own home Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Detroit Specialty Shows!
Jill—The Producer
Jill was more than a show dog. She is the only Sheltie female in the elite 200 Best of Breed Club that has her ROM title (i.e. dam of five Champions). And she is one of only two Sheltie females in the Century Club with a ROM. Her five AKC Champions and her one pointed offspring are:
Ch. Fanfair’s Georgie Girl “Georgie”
Ch. Fanfair’s Somewhere In Time “Stormy”
Ch. Fanfair’s Inherit The Win “Jared”
Ch. Fanfair’s Imprint Revelation CD “Cruiser”
Ch. Fanfair’s Follow That Dream UKC Gr Ch “Chase”
Fanfair’s Tiger Lily “Lily” (AKC pointed)
The sires of her litters were: Ch. Ilemist Gorgeous George CD ROM (Best of Opposite at the ASSA National Show); Ch. Brandywine’s Time Out (Best of Breed at many Specialty Shows); Ch. Farpointe’s Executive Spirit (Winners Dog at the ASSA National Show); and Ch. Sundial Midas Revelation ROM (a fellow 200 Best of Breed member and Multiple Best-In-Show winner—sire of three of her Champions).
A Once-In-A-Lifetime Sheltie
Jill was special in many ways, not just as a show dog and a producer of quality offspring. Yes, she loved to show—especially when the pressure, noise and excitement were the greatest. And she has produced quality Shetland Sheepdogs. But she was a joy to have around at home, too. She was more “laid back” than in the show ring, but still showed her tremendous competitive spirit. For example, in her daily games of outdoor ball play she would literally throw herself at the ball to outdo our other Shelties. And she was clearly the Top Dog in our home and none of our other dogs disputed that.
She was the most intelligent dog that we have ever had in our over forty years of having Shelties. Jill was independent yet very responsive and controllable. She was by far the best off-lead heeling dog we ever had and you could “stop her on a Dime” with either voice or hand signals. Jill was the only dog that we have ever had that we felt comfortable leaving off lead on walks and in other potentially difficult situations. She never had a situation arise that was even close to uncomfortable or dangerous. She is truly missed as a very special friend and companion, but we feel blessed that she gave us so many exciting times and special memories.
Mary and Bill Stout
Fanfair Shelties
References
-Sheltie International-Oct./Nov. 1996, “The Jill Story”, p.36-56.
-Sheltie International-Feb./Mar. 1997, “The Jill Story-An Addendum”, p.72.
-Sheltie Pacesetter-May/June 1993, “Front Cover Story”, Cover and p. 1-2.
-Sheltie International-June/July 1994, “Front Cover Story” & “Top Forty-1993”, p.51-52.