Page 80 - ShowSight - May 2020
P. 80

                Form Follows
FUNCTION
 Hayes Blake Hoyt on TYPE BY STEPHANIE S. HEDGEPATH
Recently, in an article I was reading, the book The Art of Handling Show Dogs by Frank Sabella and Shirlee Kalstone was mentioned. I don’t know how I missed it when it was published in 1980 by Kennel Review, but I somehow did when I started my library on dogs in the early 1970s. Always ready to learn from the teachings of the great masters in the dog fancy, I promptly ordered a copy on the Internet. I thought it was a book about handling dogs, but little did I know how much more information was included and how thought-provoking the book would be. Since I honor copyrighted material and I did not want to paraphrase, I called Frank Sabella (because the publisher and Mrs. Hoyt are no longer with us) and asked for his permission to reprint his comments and those by Hayes Blake Hoyt that are published in his book. He very graciously gave me permission to do so. I have always had a spe- cial place in my heart for Poodles. My very first AKC registered dog was a black Toy Poodle purchased around 1963 from Edgewater Poodles in Charleston, South Carolina. I worked all summer as a lifeguard when I was 16 to make the money to purchase her. Since Mrs. Hoyt was a breeder of Poodles, that was the breed mentioned in her article. But her comments ring true to all breeds and are as pertinent today as they were over 50 years ago when she wrote them.
In the very informative chapter of Mr. Sabella’s book, titled Know Your Breed, Hayes Blake Hoyt’s definitions of type, soundness, style and quality are included. Mrs. Hoyt was what we might consider today to be the epic owner-handler, which will be made apparent in the following paragraph. All material from the book is in italics.
“Hoyt was one of America’s greatest owner-handlers and one of the most talented of dog writers. As an owner-handler and respected Poodle breeder, Hayes Hoyt has set many illustri- ous show records in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s showing dogs of her own breeding, including her dazzling Swiss-bred white Standard Poodle, Int. CH Nunsoe Duc de la Terrace of Blakeen, whom she owner handled to Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club. The Hoyt’s “Blakeen” kennel, a name known throughout the world, has made notable contributions to the development of American Poodles. Hayes Blake Hoyt’s career as a breeder and owner- handler in the show ring has earned her supreme distinction in the world of dogs. We asked Mrs. Hoyt’s permission to reproduce these definitions here, as we felt they represent the most accurate, easily understood explanations of four of the most important words to a dog fan- cier—four important words that are often misunderstood.”
Duc (Duke) arrived in America in August of 1933. The Hoyt’s gave him plenty of time to acclimate to his new life before presenting him to the American dog society, but Mrs. Hoyt knew what she had and knew what she was doing. The great dog’s coming- out party was the 1934 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. There he was up against the greatest American Poodles of the day, plus some other heavy imported names. Duc smoked them all soundly and righteously, defeating the previous year’s big winner, Poli, taking Best of Breed and going all the way to an incredible Group First. But his play- ful character got the best of him in the BIS ring and he was defeated by the great Wire Fox Terrier bitch, CH Flornell Spicy Bit of Halleston, piloted by Percy Roberts to BIS that night. He returned the following year a seasoned special and took the top honors with Mrs. Hoyt on the end of the lead. He was just one of many dogs she piloted to
  78 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2020
     


























































































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