Keira went into season a bit early (late November vs the expected mid December) so she short-circuited my timing! https://www.gooddog.com/breeders/ravenrose-gordon-setters-new-york.
My foundation girl, Keira, (I still hate using the term b*tch), came to me by happenstance in 2018. I am friends with Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy through my job working with charitable organizations. Her father, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a Gordon setter, Ronan (WP Land of the Free, bred by Susan Adams Conley-a Rab son), he wanted to breed before he got too old. He purchased a champion show girl (Ch Blazen Ride the Lightning aka Litty) from Honor West of Blazen Setters in California and bred the two, then spayed the dam who is now retired from the show ring. Because there was only one litter, there was no kennel prefix. I worked with Kick to come up with a name we all loved. She is now, due to her successes in the show ring and the field, Multiple Group Placing, Can CH Am BISS MBOSS GCH CH Kick’s Keira Rose Home of the Brave JH CGC. Her call name is Keira and she is my heart!
Having studied her pedigree extensively, including interviews with every breeder on both the sire and dam’s side as far back as were still living, I then decided which direction to go to fully compliment her. Of course, there is no perfect Gordon! In 2021, the breeders of Rab, Keira’s Grandsire, BISS MBISS Can CH Am GCHB Windcrest Take it to the Limit, and I had developed a relationship and they told me of an upcoming litter using Rab from frozen semen. Studying the pedigree and considering the performance titles, I chose Gail Deller’s litter and was offered the pick boy of that litter to begin my breeding program. My boy is Korbin, Shiloh’s First Snow at Windcrest JH, and he has developed into all we had hoped for. His first show outings at 6 months were at the SD& G shows in Canada. He is halfway to his Canadian championship. We returned stateside to specialties at Macungie, PA, I where he was best puppy in sweeps and Reserve Winners Dog. Then in Fall of 2022 at 8 months old he topped 4 ranked specials, winning Best of Opposite to Keira’s Best of Breed at the TarTan Gordon Setter Club Specialties in Goshen, CT, a 5 point specialty major. We went on to the Winter Garden specialties in March of 2023, winning Winners Dog and Best of Winners, another 5 point specialty major. We then completed his Junior Hunt title. Most recently, he was awarded Reserve Winners Dog at the GSCA National Specialty in September 2023, a 3 point Reserve National Specialty major. He is two points away from his championship. We’ll show him at the Winter Garden Specialties, now held in Edison, NJ, in March 2024, hoping to finish his championship there. We will then wait a bit before we take him out as a special.
I am originally from Arkansas, where I bred Labrador retrievers out of English gundog lines. We did not participate in conformations shows, only retriever trials. I brought my last Labrador to NY with our family when we moved 26 years ago. I bred one litter here, but the dam, though pick of my litter of 11, wasn’t interested in her puppies (lots of bottle feeding!) I spayed and that was that! I started rescuing dogs for a number of years, from Irish Wolfhounds to huskies, and still have two mixed breeds here at home. I’m nursing one post op after an ACL tear as we speak. 2 months into recovery and she’s doing very well. But that’s another story and I digress.
I am fully devoted to developing my Gordon setters under the prefix Ravenrose. I have spent countless hours for the past five years traveling to meet other breeders, participating in field events, which is my passion, and am committed to preserving this wonderful breed. I believe in dogs that, if given the opportunity, can do what they were developed to do, find and point birds, and conform to the AKC breed standard. Both Keira and Korbin have their Junior Hunt titles and we will begin working on our Senior Hunt titles next spring and fall. I think our pedigrees have the right balance of conformation to the standard and birdsense to allow their owners to try their hands at any performance event, the show ring or just point birds at the feeder, as Keira did the first day I brought her home at 8 weeks! I have been extremely fortunate to have many, many breed mentors in both the field and show ring. Given the rarity of our Gordons, I feel an incredible responsibility in choosing to breed them. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I do not believe just because one has a female one should breed. There must be something worth carrying forward and doing so with a well suited stud. In considering that question, I did not rely only on my own opinion, but those of respected breeders, owners and handlers of our breed, as well as the judges who’ve awarded them both in the ring. I also hope to keep a girl. My Keira has brought me so much joy and was such a wonderful introduction to the breed, I would like one of her puppies as well!
Both Keira and Korbin have wonderful temperaments or I wouldn’t be on this journey, that is certain. They have been raised and live in our home and are used to frequent visits from very excited grandchildren, now aged 4 and 8. We live on 9 acres in upstate NY, in Rensselaer County, not far from Albany. They have all health and genetic testing and you can find them both at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (links below). Korbin, having just turned two on 1/7/24, had his final hips and elbow xrays reviewed by OFA in January. On his preliminary tests, his hips were graded Excellent, but his right elbow was reported as DJD-1 RU (degenerative joint disease, grade one, right ulnar). I had moved his prelims up a month in August, ’23 because he came down hard catching a ball and had a limp for two days. It was both a soft tissue injury and compacted his elbow. I moved up prelims to rule out a break. His finals are now available at OFA. The elbow grade remains DJD 1 RU and his hips are now graded Good. Both my vet and our orthopedic specialist agree that the elbow grade is due to an injury, and I feel confident with two Vet opinions that it is not a congenital defect. Both dogs are clear for all genetic diseases recommended for testing by GSCA: PRA-prcd and CAA. I also test for E-locus, the red gene. It is absent in both, meaning any Gordons we produce will be black and tan only, with the occasional, acceptable white spot on their chests. Both have eyes tested yearly and have had cardiac testing. All are normal/clear. Keira has Excellent hips and Normal elbows. She has her CHIC number. Korbin’s CHIC number was assigned in January 2024
Korbin is here: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2375886
Keira is here: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2262244
We bred Keira and Korbin on December 7th. We had two ultrasounds, the last on January 10th, to confirm pregnancy. We saw healthy heartbeats and a good number of puppies! X-ray confirmed 9 puppies and we delivered 9 on 2/4/24, 3 males and 6 females,
This link is a 5 generation trial mating from Beatrix Van Kampen’s wonderful website, The World of Gordons, an invaluable tool for pedigree study of our wonderful breed!
I can’t tell you the hours I’ve spent both talking with Bea and perusing the backgrounds of my kids and others. Bea has been able to trace the origins of our beloved Gordons all the way back to the Duke of Gordon, who is credited with developing the breed and from whom they have their name!
These links will show you an 8 generation pedigree for each of my dogs. You can revise it to 10 generations if you choose, or reduce it to as few as 4. The coefficient of inbreeding for this litter is 16.01%, indicative of linebreeding to GCHB Windcrest Take It To the Limit.
Thank you for your interest in Ravenrose Gordon Setters.
Kelly Mathews
Ravenrose Gordon Setters 