About the Skye Terrier Club of America

By John Raunheim
First Published in The Skye Terrier Handbook, 1974

The Skye Terrier Club of America was founded in New York City on January 17, 1938. Although breed clubs date back to the 1880s, there is no evidence to indicate that any previous Skye Terrier organization existed in the US before the foundation of the present club. Section Two of the original STCA Constitution states that “the objects of the Club shall be to encourage the breeding of pure bred Skye Terriers, to develop and bring to perfection their natural high qualities, and to do all in its power to protect and advance the interest of the breed of Skye Terriers on the bench by holding bench shows under the rules and regulations of the American Kennel Club.” In this article, I will concisely discuss the various functions of the Club throughout the years. These functions include the holding of specialty shows either annually or semi-annually since 1938; the sponsorship of three separate breed standards, as well as two disqualifications (one of which was never authorized by the American Kennel Club); the publication of a bulletin which serves as the main means of communication between American Skye fanciers; the sponsorship of the now- defunct Annual Specials for top winning Skyes; the sale of various Skye Terrier related merchandise, such as books, jewelry and stationary; the holding of futurity shows, originally as part of the Specialty, later independent from it; and the support given to many non-specialty shows by the offering of trophies and other prizes to winning Skyes.

The first specialty show held by the Skye Terrier Club of America was on a rainy September 17, 1938, with the Somerset Hills Kennel Club Show at Far Hills, New Jersey. The entry of nineteen Skyes by eight exhibitors was judged by the late Mr. Lewis Worden, who selected the import Ch. Bracadale Henry as the breed’s first specialty winner. “Junior”, as this dog was known, established the since equaled but still unsurpassed record of four STCA specialty wins. Four other Skyes have also won the specialty four times, including the winner of the last four shows, Ch. Glamoor Gang Buster.

It should be noted that the breed clubs were not required in 1938 to hold sanctioned matches before designating point shows as specialties; hence, the Club’s first show was held only eight months after its founding.

The Skye specialty was originally an annual, outdoor event, held within driving distance of the New York City Metropolitan area. Thus, the club’s first ten shows, held between 1938 and 1947, were held between May and September in New York or New Jersey. Beginning in 1948, a pre-Westminster specialty was held with the Associated Terrier Club in New York City, and consequently, the STCA show was a semi-annual event for eight years, between 1948 and 1955. During this period, the outdoor shows were all held with the Westchester Kennel Club in late Summer or early Fall, except for the 1948 Interstate Specialty held at Tarrytown, New York.

In 1956 the Club held no outdoor show; its only specialty was with the Associated Terriers. The year 1957 was an innovative one for the Club, since the decision to hold its one show at Charlottesville, Virginia, after twenty-seven specialties near the Metropolitan area, recognized the national scope of the specialty, and began the widely varied geographical location of the Club’s shows which exists to the present day. In 1958 the Club held two specialty shows for the last time, concentrating its efforts on one show a year beginning with the successful Chicago shows of 1959 and 1960. The 1961 show, planned at an Indiana location that proved inconvenient for most exhibitors, has not been counted in the numbering, since all six entries were absent, but that show was not officially cancelled, and the prize list and absent entries presumably appeared in the catalogue. Recent STCA shows have had extremely large entries for a breed that was only recently considered “rare”. The largest number of Skyes ever shown at an American show was judged at the fall, 1972 Maryland specialty, at which sixty-six Skyes were shown, including twenty-five champions in addition to the Veteran winner.

Of the twenty-five Skye Terriers who have won best of breed at the Club’s forty-four specialties, all were prick-eared, including eighteen dogs and seven bitches. Only two were creams- the French bitch, Ch. Evening Star de Luchar, and the Canadian dog, Ch. Talisker’s Mister Wonderful. Only once in all of these shows did a Skye win Best of Breed from the classes- Glamoor Yankee Doodle (later Ch.) in 1955.

The Stud Dog and Brood Bitch classes were included for the first time at the Club’s fourth show, at Morris and Essex in 1941, and were won by Ch. Bracadale Henry and M-Go Nowhere du Bazizoo. The Veterans classes were introduced the following year, 1942, and were won by Ch. Jerry of Merrymount and Ch. Tilly of Meerend for the first time. The first American-bred Skye to win the specialty was Ch. Bo’Ness of Iradell; the first breeder-owned winner was Ch. War Aims of Arreton. The first Skye bitch to win the specialty, as well as the first Skye with a foreign title to do so, was English and American Ch. Rosebud of Merrymount.

The first time classes restricted to drop-eared Skye Terriers were included was at the 1950 Westchester show at Rye, NY. No dogs were shown but the bitch winner was Can. Ch. Talisker’s Lady of the Lake. Although no drop ear has ever won the specialty, at the club’s most recent show, held in Minnesota in June of 1973, a drop ear, Highland Shotgun Bobby McGee, succeeded in becoming Winner’s Dog, the first time any of the four major awards has gone to a drop ear.

The American Kennel Club published its first book of breed standards in 1929. Included in this book was the Skye Terrier standard used by the Skye and Clydesdale Terrier Club of England, which had adopted it in 1923. The Skye Terrier Club of America adopted this standard, with a slight change in height, and with the American Kennel Club’s approval, on February 15th, 1939. This standard was in effect until it was replaced by the club’s second standard on February 11, 1956. This standard was a lengthy, complicated, tremendously detailed description of the breed, with specific indications of what was to be penalized. The standard was replaced by the third and current standard of the breed, adopted in February of 1964. A detailed comparison of the three standards is not the province of this article but what is most evident in the current standard is the concern for solid color and the omission of both the penalizations and the scale of points. Two amendments to the 1964 standard have been offered by the club. The first one was a controversial color disqualification which would have disqualified “parti-color” Skyes from competition, an amendment that was rejected by the American Kennel Club in 1966. The second amendment is the recently passed disqualification for Dudley Skye Terriers.

The Skye Terrier Club of America Bulletin is a functioning arm of the Club that disseminates news of the breed to Skye fanciers here and abroad. The first issue of the Bulletin was dated June 15th, 1938, and contained show wins, points won, new champions, the name of the club’s first delegate, and a brief mention of the club’s plans for its first specialty. Numbers 1 through 23, ending on September 22nd, 1944, were edited by our first President, Mrs. N. Clarkson Earl, Jr. The second Bulletin editor was Mrs. Charles Dewey, Jr., the next club President, who edited the four issues between June 20, 1945 and December 12, 1947. It should be noted that the Bulletin was published on an irregular basis, some times bi-monthly, some times tri-monthly, and at one point there was sixteen month lapse between bulletins. Bulletin No. 17 included a list of all American and Canadian Skye champions from 1935 to 1941. No. 26, May 1, 1947, included an alphabetical list of all American champions, from the beginnings until 1947. Our current Bulletin editor, Mrs. Margaret Gray, edited her first bulletin No. 28, on April 1, 1948, a six-page newsy bulletin that included critiques from English dog magazines and details about Skye Terrier activities all over the country. Her superb, innovative Bulletins often included critiques written by the judges of STCA specialty shows, and the tenure of her first term came to an end at No 59, December 1955. Our fourth editor was Mrs. William K Frank, beginning with No 60 on February 1, 1956 until No 91 in March of 1962. The current drawing of Skyes at the top of the Bulletin was first used on Bulletin No 60. Beginning with No 92 in Mar, 1962, Mrs. Helen Passanno became our fifth Bulletin editor, until No 99 in February of 1964. Mrs. Gray took up the chores again in April 1964 with No 100, and continues today in editing her incomparable newsletter, which became monthly with No 111 in May 1966. Mrs. Gray’s Bulletins have been characterized by, in addition to her lifelong love of the breed, a genuine concern for the over production of Skye Terriers and their appearance in pet shops and pounds, her desire to put the drop-eared Skye Terrier on an equal basis with the flashier prick-ear, and an interest in humane dog legislation.

The Annual Specials was a series of awards that was offered at the beginning of each year to the top winning Skye Terriers in various categories. Each trophy had a kennel name attached to it, and as older breeders left the breed or lost interest, newer trophies replaced the older ones in the Annual Specialties. At the Club’s first specialty in 1938, a sterling silver Talisker Trophy was offered for the best puppy. This was the first Skye trophy with a kennel name attached to it. In 1939, the Iradell Trophy, an eighteen inch sterling silver flower vase, was offered to the best Skye Terrier of the year. Since this trophy was not to be given at any specific show, it was really the first of the Annual Specials. The system flourished for many years, and was an important function of the club until its discontinuation in 1969.

The Club has at various times offered for sale various items relating to the Skye Terrier including stationery, jewelry, and books and pamphlets. The club commissioned Miss Anna Katharine Nicholas to write The Skye Terrier Book, which it was published in 1960 and offered for sale at a reduced rate. It very soon became a collector’s item. This was the only book other than the present one with which the club has been affiliated. The club has also made available various editions of the English Skye Terrier Club’s Studbook.

For a twenty-five year period, the Club was involved in holding futurity shows, for which bitches were nominated before being bred, their resulting puppies competing at a designated show. The Club’s first futurity show was held with the 1942 Specialty at Katonah, NY. The Club’s first futurity winner was Mrs. Karen Lindland’s Chummie Hero of Talisker in 1942. The futurity was held with the Specialty until 1947, when a separate futurity was first held at the Longshore Kennel Club Show on June 15, 1947. The Club subsequently held futurities in various locations until the mid 1960s.

In an attempt to publicize the breed, the Club had a series of regional commissioners in various sections of the country. These people were responsible for reporting breed activities in their area to the Bulletin editor. The Club has also had the responsibility of appointing breed columnists to the all-breed dog magazines; the first of these was Mrs. Edmund Anderson, who wrote the American Kennel Gazette column in 1939. Members of the Club have also contributed to other non-Club publications on Skye Terriers, including Dr. Montgomery’s 1962 book, and the 1967 special issue of Terrier Type. Copies of the breed standard and a pamphlet describing the breed have been sent out to members and other interested persons in recent years.

It should be noted finally that the Club has contributed hundreds of trophies throughout the years to non-Specialty shows in an effort to stimulate interest in the exhibition of Skye Terriers. Club members have arranged picnics and given dinners at their homes, which have given exhibitors of the breed a feeling of camaraderie.

A number of regional clubs have originated in recent years, including the Skye Terrier Club of Southern California, which has held annual specialties in Los Angeles since 1967; the Potomac Skye Terrier Club, which has given several sanctioned matches; the Skye Terrier Club of Dallas- Fort Worth; and the Skye Terrier Club of Oklahoma.