Teddy

A tribute to Teddy, the most outstanding performance Silken Windhound in history.

Teddy

by Joyce Chin and Terri Campbell

 UKC BIS, Multiple Reserve Best in All Breed Show, Multiple Best of Breed
UKC Ch, ISWS Ch, ICKC Ch
 Talisman’s Ursa Major
LGRA  SGRC3, ISWS Racing SRCX 11, ISWS Oval Track Ch, ISWS Lure Coursing Ch

#1 All Breeds 2012 Large Gazehound Racing Association in our first year accepted by LGRA
#1 ISWS Racing 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
#1 National Specialty Straight Racing meet  2009, 2011
#1 Regional Specialty Straight Racing meets 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
#1 ISWS Oval Track 2009
#1 ISWS Open Field Coursing 2009
First combined ISWS racing, oval track, conformation, and lure coursing Ch.
Currently 343 National straight racing points ( ISWS and LGRA ) all achieved with only a single #2 amidst all his #1’s.

Teddy after his 2012 Boofest straight racing win, photo by Rick Steele

I decided to breed Teddy’s parents together very early on in the ISWS’s straight racing program. At that time only a handful of Silkens were racing. I’d learned a lot about proper running form from watching other sighthounds in addition to the Silkens, and talking to much more experienced performance sighthound people.  Although I had already produced two litters with pups that easily earned performance and show titles, Teddy’s litter, the “Mythos” litter, was my first breeding specifically aimed at producing performance hounds.

Teddy’s dam Sheba, Kristull Talisman of Sheba, had lovely form and incredible power while running and was absolutely reliable, clean and dead true to the lure.  She was already a veteran when our racing program began.  She started too late in life to be a top winner at racing, but she showed that the genetic potential was there.

Teddy’s sire Connor, ISWS and ICKC Ch Tangaloor Captain Sinclair, was insanely fast, incredibly powerful, and a clean runner, but lacked a reliable sense of direction, often making up his own “track” on the run to the consternation of his owner and the amusement of onlookers. He would still often come up to the finish even or ahead of his competitors despite the extra yardage, though typically he would not be in the points since straight racing scores not at all for creative interpretation. Connor’s physicality would bring a lot to the combo, though I was hoping that the resulting pups would all get Sheba’s GPS system when it came to performance sports.

In August of 2006, eight puppies were born to Connor and Sheba, and several of the pups showed a great deal of potential, not only for furniture chewing and general structural soundness, but also for coordination and lure focus.

From the first time they stood up, I knew Teddy was special. I was on the phone with a friend when Teddy stood up one day, and I commented that this boy was really going to be special. I just had no idea how special he would turn out to be!

The puppies were exposed early to games of chase and one of their first toys was a LGRA lure that they happily dismantled. They attended their first BRNC LGRA race meet at Sally Barron’s ranch at a very young age to play with the lure there.

When the pups were old enough, Terri Campbell came with a friend to visit and wallow on the floor with the puppies with the intention of picking a pup from the litter to found her Silken Windhound kennel (Aigrette Silkens).

Terri was already known in racing before becoming a Silken owner.  She’d started racing in 1994 with Scottish Deerhounds.  One of her Deerhounds, DC Windshift Brier Rose, SGRC2, SORC, FCh, is still the record holding Scottish Deerhound in both LGRA and NOTRA. Terri had contacted me about Phoenix, a girl from the litter, and was there ostensibly to pick her up. Immediately upon her arrival, it became apparent that baby Teddy had eyes for no one but her and Terri had eyes for no one but Teddy.  Still, Terri had come for a bitch, and it took the two of us to convince her that it would make just as much sense to take both puppies home as it would to take one since adult deerhounds can make awkward play partners for Silken puppies. At that time, we weren’t really sure if Teddy would be a permanent addition to Terri’s pack and decided on a co-ownership. Teddy is probably the most successful “beater dog” in the history of Silkens.

Photo by Dave Mills

Teddy and his sister, Phoenix, started going to meets when they were about five months old for race practice.  At home Terri used a lunge whip with a fur lure to help hone their lure interest. Both hounds showed extreme focus and determination on the lure. Teddy showed an easygoing temperament at home and around and about, only showing incredibly high drive and focus at sporting events.

Teddy and Helios running in the Nationals in Ca, Helios finished #2 behind Teddy for the race, photo by Dave Mills

Teddy was just over a year when he started competitive racing and had maturity and drive well in excess of other youngsters his age. Teddy earned his SRC (Silken Racing Championship) in November 2007, having entered his first race meet in October 2007.   He was ranked #3 for 2007 and then moved up to and held the#1 ranking in 2008, 2009, 2010,2011 and 2012.  He was the first Silken Windhound to earn the SRCX 2 and is the only Silken to have earned the titles of SRCX 4 through SRCX 11. He is currently at 343 National points with only a single #2 placement in his record of #1 finishes.   To compare, there is only one dog of all breeds in the LGRA Grading Guide that has earned more national points in history than Teddy. 

2012 was a banner year for the Silken Windhound. The breed was finally able to officially participate in LGRA events, and Teddy finished the year as the #1 LGRA dog, all breeds, with an astonishing 100 points, putting him well above the #2 dog, and in only one year, already one of the top lifetime LGRA point earners. Teddy’s brother, Helios,  finished at #13 and Teddy’s daughter, Summer, finished at #22 in the top twenty-five (all breed) LGRA national point earners.

It became apparent very quickly that Teddy was an exceptional runner, not only excelling at straight racing, but also oval racing, lure coursing, and open field coursing. In 2009, Teddy was the #1 Straight Racer, #1 Oval Track Racer, and #1 OFC dog in the breed.  He has won two National Race meets, in 2009 and 2011, as well as four consecutive Western Regional race meets.

In the show ring, Teddy quickly finished his ICKC (then NAKC) championship and in 2010 he finished the requirements for his ISWS championship by taking WD in a large Western Regional Specialty show. This made him the first Silken Windhound to be an ISWS show, straight racing, oval track racing, and lure coursing champion!

Teddy is the star of an exceptional litter that includes Ch Talisaman’s Light of Helios SRCX3, SGRC, ORTC, top NOFCA Silken, #2 all NOFCA Rare Breed, LGRA #13 2012, and Ch Talisman’s Phoenix Fire, SRC, two other top performance and show champions, and Garibaldi, the top Silken Windhound showing in ICKC for 2009.  His two daughters and son out of Kristull Xerox of Renaissance are also excellent racers and show champions with all achieving show Ch and racing Ch titles. His daughter out of Kristull Daiquiri has won multiple Best of Breed awards.