Ch. Rock Falls Colonel

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86 – April, 2022

By Amy Fernandez

Participants in this sport have become conditioned to gauge everything by the numbers. Obviously, statistics provide a clear determination of the facts. Problem is that they never tell the whole story. To make my point, I would like to recap the life of a dog that hopefully rings a bell for every CC reader–even though his glorious show career spanned the 1950s AND he didn’t grab the record in question.

I’m talking about Ch. Rock Falls Colonel, the first show dog to capture America’s heart and garner nationwide support back when dog shows actually qualified as a mainstream preoccupation, as well as legit innate sports news. Just like other sports, the latest weekend results were instantly absorbed into the context. In terms of the big statistical picture, the Colonel doesn’t get sufficient attention for the obvious reason that he was indeed beaten in the homestretch.

The 1950s ushered in a redefinition of ultimate show dog success–the rapid accumulation of BIS wins. Before then, it simply wasn’t possible because 1) there weren’t enough shows, and 2) non-stop bicoastal show campaigns were prohibitively costly, complicated and physically risky for the dogs. But that was all changing fast when a Santa Ana ranch gave us Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest and a Richmond, Virginia farm gave us the Colonel.

The Colonel’s breeder/owner/handler, Bill Holt, was a relative novice when this magnificent English Setter litter was whelped under the Holt’s kitchen table on May 22, 1948. That timing is crucial to understanding how and why this dog captivated the nation. After WWII the dog game was poised to enter a trajectory of mainstream support unrivaled before or since. After decades of all-around crummy stuff, Americans desperately wanted fun back in their lives. And nothing held greater appeal than the idea of weekend competition with the family pet. And that was the other irresistible hook to the story. As Sports Illustrated noted in a January 10, 1955 profile of the Colonel, “For the Holts who have no children, breeding dogs and showing them is a hobby and labor of love.” Later in the story, writer Reginald Wells added, “After winning more awards than any other Setter, Rock Falls Colonel is now going after the title of the world’s greatest show dog.”

Click here to read the complete article
86 – April, 2022

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Posted by AnthonyA on Apr 9 2022. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.