The Ardencote affix was first registered with the English Kennel Club in the sixties to register a litter of Labradors. The name Ardencote came from living in Wilmcote, next door to Mary Arden's house in what used to be part of the Forest of Arden.

     My interest lay more in obedience and working trials at this time than showing and it was not until a bad fall from a rather large horse curtailed my horse showing that I decided to have a go at showing dogs instead.

     As a family we have always been based in the country with many different animals and the Ardencote affix has been used to register pedigree pigs, sheep and cattle as well as the dogs. I have been lucky in the foundation bitches that I have been allowed to own and although I do not breed many litters and have been fortunate through the years to have success in the ring with both home bred dogs and others that friends have entrusted to me.

     The first breed that I showed were ESSs followed by the Greyhounds and the Parsons, as soon as they gained KC recognition in 1990, I bred a registered litter from a bitch bred by Mrs Clarke of the Hill Farm Jack Russells and mated to Pauline Hancock's dog she produced a litter for me in the year of recognition, from this first litter came Ardencote Tanager who became well known in those early years of KC showing for the breed. Although we owned our first whippet in 1989 neither she nor her daughter from her only litter were good enough for the hot competition in the whippet rings and so they lived happily as family pets. It was not until I bought a delightful black girl from Carol Neale and then a brindle boy from Brenda Rowe that I got more seriously into showing the whippets, as seriously as I could that is when showing has to fit around my son's polo activities!

     I award challenge certificates in English Springer Spaniels, Greyhounds, Parson Russells Terriers and Whippets and have judged the first three breeds world wide. I have judged the aforementioned three breeds at Crufts - in 2002 Greyhounds, I had an entry of 67 dogs making 69 entries; in 2003 PRTs, I had an entry of 128 dogs making 133 entries; in 2009 E.S.S.s; I had an entry of 182 dogs making 220 entries.