Graecia is a small select kennel "located in south Manchester, England" which was established in 1958 by Alan and Mave Rostron, since when we have developed a distinctly recognisable line producing a type of dog typical of the breed standard. We feel highly privileged that Graecia Kennel is still the only kennel to have won Best Of Breed at Crufts with 4 consecutive generations.
For 50 years bullmastiffs have been our lifelong hobby involving all aspects including breeding, showing, judging and working although these days we leave the working side to younger people.
I have been involved with dogs all my life as my father bred Cocker Spaniels and Labradors and from a very early age I was involved with the training and handling of my father’s dogs. In my youth I owned and worked Labradors and Lurchers and liked nothing better than to spend a day shooting or hunting with my dogs.
On leaving school Mave worked as a kennel maid for the Greyhound Racing Association for a number of years. Her family were avid dog lovers and always kept a dog of some description in particular Staffordshire Bullterriers and an old Bullmastiff hence her love for staff’s, greyhounds and bullmastiffs and obviously one of the reasons for her job with the GRA.
Our first encounter with a bullmastiff was late 1957 when whilst out exercising our dogs we met a man who was walking with his bullmastiff bitch. This bitch made such an impression that when he told us he intended to mate her to one of Mr. Pennington’s dogs of the "Bartonville" prefix the following year we asked him to let us know when he had a litter. It was soon after this (Mid 1958) that we obtained a bitch puppy. Later that year we got another bitch puppy sired by Rex of Cherryclough. Together we trained these two in obedience work to quite a high degree, although I must admit one was far brighter than the other.
It wasn’t until after we had acquired these two bitches that we met and got to know some of the earlier breeders who suggested that we join the Bullmastiff Association. That was early in 1959. Later that year, at Cheshire Championship Show we met Edna Goodhall of the Goodstock Kennels who was the secretary of the Bullmastiff Association at that time. It was she who sparked off our interest in the showing aspects of bullmastiffs and it was at this time we bought our first KC registered bitch and became hooked into the show scene. We spent many hours with these older breeders both socially and at the ringside discussing and learning about the breed.
After refusing the first two invitations to judge, I finally accepted and judged the breed for the first time in 1968. Mave judged for her first occasion in 1972. Since then we have spent many years gaining more and more knowledge of the breed and judging experience until such time as we had acquired sufficient knowledge to judge at championship level. From there we progressed to international status and have judged the breed worldwide along with other breeds which we are approved to judge, culminating in myself judging the breed at Crufts 2009 and Mave will be judging in 2011.
We have published several articles and have lectured on the breed both in the UK and several other countries covering a wide range of subjects appertaining to the bullmastiff. We are the authors of the book "Bullmastiffs" which we were invited to write for the series of books "An Owners Companion"
|
|
This is a fully illustrated, comprehensive guide to the Bullmastiff In this book, the authors compare the English Breed Standard with other International Standards, exploring the characteristics that make the ideal bullmastiff. There is extensive advice on choosing and buying a puppy and training. With further sections on care and management, ailments and diseases and the world of breeding, showing and judging, this is a comprehensive book for owners and lovers of this magnificent breed. |
I am a member of the Kennel Club and we are both assessors of prospective championship judges on behalf of the Kennel Club. We have held the positions of Treasurer, Secretary, Chairman and for the last eighteen years I was President of the Bullmastiff Association and also Chairman of the UK Bullmastiff Breed Council. As we were getting no younger and had a few health concerns we felt it was time for the younger more enthusiastic ones to continue with our past work, we then stepped back from all of the UK bullmastiff clubs allowing us more time to spend with our dogs and family. We do however still compile, edit and publish the Year Book for the British Bullmastiff League.
We are always more than willing to discuss bullmastiffs and to help and advise wherever we can. Please feel free to contact us if you think we may be able to help you in some way.