by Keith Erlandson-5-
When I visited the Rivington Kennels near Castle Douglas in Kirkudbrightshire in 1958, I noticed that the kennel rafters were festooned with show award cards as well as Trial cards. Mr.Phillips' former trainer, James Thomson, was living at the kennels and was in his 90's at the time but fully 'compos mentis' and with perfect sight and hearing. I questioned James regarding the show heritage of what was to become a famous Field Trial kennel and he told me that the show standard, under which their working dogs did their winning, had changed, and the breed standard goalposts had been moved. He also admitted that on two seperate occasions, they had brought English Setter blood into their English Springers, once by way of a Setter foster mother 'Bought for 30 bob (£1.50 $2.4) from Reg Hill (another famous old-time trainer) and a second time via an English Setter stud dog. Mr.Phillips it seems never hesitated to scramble things around in his bloodlines if he believed it would produce the qualities he wanted and it is an established fact that he crossed a Cocker Spaniel with a Springer to produce the first 'springer' Field Trial Champion of all time, Rivington Sam. It seems that in those days the Kennel Club accepted a weight qualification when classifying springers and cockers. If a Spaniel weighed 25 pounds or under, it was a Cocker, if it scaled over the 25 pound demarkation line, it was a Springer. It was not unknown for a Springer to win a Springer Trial one day, then for its smaller litter brother to win the Cocker Stake the day after, so with all this to-ing and fro-ing, however can anyone claim that today's English Springer Spaniel is of 'pure' lineage? I would say that it's a wise springer that knows its own genes!
Although Lorna, Countess Howe, was particularly famous for her 'Banchory' Labradors (and pugs!) during the years before and after the 1914-18 war, it is not so commonly appreciated that she was also involved with English Springer Spaniels. Her Ladyship had a very discreet liason over many years with Capt. Traherne who had an estate in South Wales and the 'Bryngarw' strain of English Springer Spaniels. Traherne made several Field Trial Champions and a contemporary photograph depicts the Bryngarw Springers as being good looking dogs of excellent working type. A contemporary of theirs, William Humphrey, was a Springer man cast in a somewhat different mould. He claimed descent from the professional falconers to the line of Norman Kings which emanated from William the Conqueror and was himself a falconer as well as a professional gundog man. A trainer of incredible ability, he was capable of 'gilding the lily' and it was policy to take what he told you with a pinch of salt.