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News From the US
It has been a while
since I have updated the DCC on our efforts to increase the popularity of the
Dutch variety in the US. There are now
at least 10 US breeders raising Dutch, which is double the number we had before
we started this effort. Our group now
includes ACBA judge and Hall of Fame member, Carol Sandler from California and
ACBA judge and district director, Rochelle Cooley from Missouri. Sadly, long-time Dutch breeder, Terry Lee
from Michigan was forced to sell out for health reasons. Caroline Lewis, Anthony Heigter from Ohio who
is new to our group, and Nancy Laity took all of her Dutch stock and will
continue her line.
The biggest news is
that DCC member Kevin Burke in Iowa won BIS with an intermediate black Dutch
sow at The Barn Show in Minnesota in June 2010.
This sow was littered by Roy Colver out of Nancy Laity's imported black
Dutch stock. Her parents are a Treleaver
sow and a Goldsworthy boar. This is the
first time in anyone's memory that a Dutch has taken BIS at an open show. The judge was Robert Spitzer, JACBA
editor. We have been getting our
showable Dutch out to many shows this year.
The Dutch had become so rare at shows that some US judges have never
judged a Dutch. ACBA judge Tracy Iverson
gave an excellent judges' seminar on judging Dutch last November at the ARBA
National Convention Show. Increasing
interest in the Dutch can be attributed to the improvement in the Dutch
markings and the greater number of showable Dutch in our litters. Importing the Dutch from England has been a
huge benefit to our efforts. The imports
are producing very well for us and they are allowing us to provide new breeders
with showables and high quality breeding stock to get started. The key to our success is that we are
breeding English Dutch from hundreds of generations of Dutch instead of from US
Dutch that happened to pop out of bi-colour litters. We will forever be indebted to the generosity
of DCC members who provided us with the imports to bring to the US.
November 7-11th is the
2010 ARBA National Convention Show in Minnesota, and 3 Dutch breeders will be
showing. The winner will take home the
Teri Leach Memorial Award for Best of Variety Dutch. Last year, that award was won by Ch.
Treleaver Ruby, owned by Nancy Laity.
The fall issue of the Journal of the American Cavy Breeders Association
(JACBA) will be published in a few weeks and will include a feature section on
American Dutch. Editor, Robert Spitzer
graciously is allowing us this opportunity to publicize many aspects of raising
and judging Dutch. We are hoping that
we will increase the awareness and gain the interest of more US breeders, and
some will join us raising and showing Dutch.
Allan Trigg has been very helpful by contributing articles from the UK
and also being the primary contributor to the judging article. We know that Allan is quite famous in the
cavy fancy in the UK, and now he will become well-known among Dutch breeders in
the US as well. We will be sending
several copies of the Fall 2010 JACBA to the UK, and hopefully everyone who is
interested will get a chance to read it.
Nancy Laity
 Here is a photo of DCC member Kevin
Burke, judge Robert Spitzer and Kevin's BIS black Dutch intermediate sow from
the River Valley Cavy Fanciers Barn Show on 12 June 2010. Kevin lives in
Iowa and the show took place in Minnesota. The photo is posted on their
website at rvcf.web.com
 
The four Dutch in the photos are showable sows, Blue
Water Apple, Apricot, Angelica, and Arien, born August 2010. Apple and
Aprico are littermates from Allanbury Twiggy, Angelica is from Razzamatazz
Daisy, and Arien is from Blue Water Amelle. All four sows are sired by
Razzamatazz Blitzen (Celandine X Charlock) from Chris Peachey.
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