Page 198 - ShowSight - September 2020

Judging Sealys in 1914.
Sister Choate and daughter Liz with Ch. Robin Hill Brigand (left) and Ch. Robin Hill Ballad (Right), Best-in-Show Brace at Westminster 1948.
Equally respected as a British authority was Alice Leigh Armynel Groome Baylay, born in 1905. Her parents were Brigadier-General Sir Atwell Charles and Maria Edmond- son Groome Baylay. Armynel’s maternal grandfather was James Groome, Governor of Maryland. Armynel became a much-respected columnist in the dog papers and a sought-after judge who judged Best in Show at Champion- ship Show level and judged the Terrier Group at Crufts. Armynel died in 1971 when her kennel manager, Pat Wil- lis Crick, inherited the Shenden prefix and continued to breed Shenden champions.
American breeders of note before 1960 include Bayard Warren (Barberryhill), Edith Barnes (High Orchard), E. Pennington and Esther Meyer (Van Winkle), Jeanne and Axel Pearson (Pearson’s), Albert and Gertrude Geiger (Hemlock Hill), Frederick C. Brown (Pinegrade), Helen M. Schweinler (Croglin), James A. Burden (Woodside), Mr. and Mrs. W. Fitch Ingersoll (Shelterfield), Claire Antoinette Knapp Penney (Clairedale), and Sylvan L. Froelich (Hollybourne).
Elizabeth Robbins Caswell “Sister” Choate was the wife of Boston Herald publisher Robert Burnett Choate, Sr. “Sister” Choate lived in Danvers, Massachusetts, where she bred more than 125 litters of Sealyhams and many, many champions. Her Robin Hill Sealys were the most famous in America and every Sealy in America descends from her lines. Wins included two Group One’s at West- minster, 11 Bests of Breed at Westminster, and Westmin- ster Best-in-Show Team (1944) and Westminster Best-in- Show Brace (1948). Mrs. Choate also wrote articles for distinguished publications.
Margaret Fatman Josten was the wife of famed com- poser and educator Werner Josten. Her uncle, Herbert H. Lehman, was US Senator from New York and her sister Elinor was wife of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury. Mrs. Josten also bred a string of winners under the Hampton Hill prefix, including the great Ch. Hamp- ton Hill Defiant who was four times Best of Breed at West- minster, a record which stood until the 1990’s. Defiant, like the Robin Hills, can be found in every pedigree.
(Mary) Thelma “Pat” Miller came to Sealys in the mid- 1930’s and continued breeding until her death in 1991.
HISTORY OF THE SEALYHAM TERRIER
Alcide of Axe as Group One at Westminster 1964. Judge: Anthony Stamm; Handler: Albert C. Ayers.
196 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2020