Beauty, Brains and Bird Sense BY JIM THACKER, DUNBAR GORDON SETTERS, FRANKLIN, OHIO F or as long as anyone can remember, the motto of the Gordon Setter Club of America Inc. has been “Beauty, Brains and Bird Sense.” In the 1980s, Nancy Large, a Gordon owner and breeder from New Hampshire, suggested to the parent club that an award should be given to Gordons that exemplified those characteristics through their accomplishments. Ask almost any Gordon owner about their dog and they will tell you that their own Gordon is beau- tiful, it is very smart (but stubborn), and it is always interested in birds. Even though this is probably more than some of them would say about their children (except perhaps the bit about the birds) it hardly qualifies as a basis for an award. A committee was appointed and, after a bit of work, finally settled on the criteria for the award—and they were presented for the first time in 1986. Beauty, Brains and Bird Sense is not an easy title to achieve, nor is it a quick one.
The Gordon in the picture is the second recipient of the award, Dual Ch. Shadowmere Ebony Shane CD. The picture was taken at a Working Certificate test, five months after Shane had his right front leg amputated due to bone cancer. He still could hunt on three legs and lived several more years after this picture was taken; Gordon Setter heart.
Looking at the award in the order it’s stated in the title, the first criteria is Beauty. Even though there is nothing more beautiful than a Gordon running in the field in the fall (with its black and tan markings racing past the browns, reds, yellows, and oranges of fall colors), floating effortlessly around a show ring or sailing over jumps in an agility ring, the committee determined that a Gordon needed to be an AKC show champion to earn this part of the qualifications. Earning a show champion title takes some work and it must be done under at least three judges who are evaluating the dog based on the AKC standard approved by the parent club. Three opinions in this case are better than that of one owner or breeder who might have a tendency to be a wee bit biased.
234 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2021
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