TOY GROUP JUDGES Q&A
RICHARD LEBEAU I am a musician, author, and Toy Group judge, living in Pittsburgh. I received my BA in German after resident studies in Austria. A long- time breeder/exhibitor of English Toy Spaniels, I am a member and former AKC Delegate of the English Toy
became my dog, which we co-owned. Rachel taught me ev- erything, and I must add the late Virginia Carlson Paine (Vica) and Linda Grahame Lockey (Darby) to the list of important, early mentors in the breed. I showed “Rye” to Best of Variety at Westminster Kennel Club under Miss Dorothy Nickles in February 1993. He got his name be- cause he was the beautiful, reflective, golden-red color of rye whiskey in the bottle. I did not know our judge and had never shown to her, but Miss Nickles remarked that she couldn’t take her eyes off the pretty little red dog! It was truly a lucky day for us. It was a lucky day in April 1988 too, walking through the crowd at the dog show in Pittsburgh. The importance of being cordial at the dog show and being willing to share your dogs with excited spectators cannot be understated. Within a few short years, I started breed- ing English Toy Spaniels and using Beauprix as an obvious link to associate me with the dogs I bred. Beauprix means “beautiful prize” in French. My dogs are always housepets and live with me in my home. Can I list a few of the notable dogs I’ve bred? Any per- formance or parent club titles? Ch. Beauprix Midnight Monarch was a nice black & tan grandson of Red Rye. We called him “Louie.” I realize now that I did not campaign him, and several others, as I should have. I was kept pretty busy with my work as a baritone at Pittsburgh Opera. A lot of my dogs were never campaigned, or even shown or bred. I bred a beautiful tri-color dog, multiple Group-Winning and BISS Ch Beauprix Baritone, R.O.M., out of a lovely, compact 11-pound imported Blenheim dam, Ch. Cwmhâf Bel Canto, called “Nonnie,” from Mr. & Mrs. Jeff (Rita) Lloyd of Wales, UK. “Baritone” was sired by a wonderful, top-winning tri-color dog I did not breed, Multiple Group- Winning and BISS AKC and Canadian Ch. Backroads Man About Town, bred by Susan Plance of Georgetown, Pennsylvania. We called him “Robby.” His sire was a terrif- ic little Tudorhurst dog, Ch Tudorhurst Truly Edward, bred by Mrs. Pennington and imported from England. Like his sire, “Robby” sired lovely puppies, too. His son, Baritone, did a great deal of winning, including Best of Variety at Westminster under Mr. Fred Basett in 2008. His full, tri- color brother froma repeat breeding of Robby xNonnie, Ch. Beauprix TheWildhart, called “Waldo,” was awarded Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Specialty at the English Toy Spaniel Club of America National in 2005 under British breeder- judge, Dr. Andreas Schemel. Most recently, I campaigned a great-grandson of Baritone, multiple Group-Winning BISS Gr. Ch. Beauprix Legend of London. A small, com- pact 13.5-pound tri-color dog, “Champ” won seven NOHS Best in Show rosettes and is a Bronze NOHS Champion. Champ was awarded Best Bred-By Exhibitor in Specialty at the 2014 ETSCA National under Mr. Peter Green. I’m happy to say that we do have puppies sired by Champ, but never had an opportunity to breedWaldo, sadly. What are some of the qualities I most admire in the Toy Breeds? The Toy breeds offer something for every taste. All
Spaniel Club of America, a foundingmember and past pres- ident of the English Toy Spaniel Club of Western Pennsyl- vania, and Life Member of the King Charles Spaniel Club (United Kingdom). I am a member of the Laurel Highlands Kennel Association, Beaver CountyKennel Club, Morris & Essex, and the Brandywine English Setter Club. My 2011 book, Count Noble: The Greatest Dog That Ever Lived, was published in cooperation with the Sewick- ley Valley Historical Society and is currently in its fifth printing. My articles on dogs and dog history have been in- ternationally published. A professional bass-baritone singer and member of the American Guild of Musical Artists, I retired after 20 sea- sons, performing in over 70 productions, from the Pitts- burgh Opera. I was recently honored by an appointment as a Director to the Board of Pittsburgh Opera. I perform occasionally as a free-lance harpist. I remain a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, in honor of my father, retired Steelers Defensive Coordinator and Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Dick LeBeau. Where do I live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a judge? I was born in Ohio. I come from genera- tions of chatty, small-town folk. From age six, I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. Pittsburgh ismy home now. I relocat- ed to Pittsburgh 35 years ago. I’ve been approved by AKC since 2010, but had judged a few Open Shows in the United Kingdom a decade prior to that. I’ve been actively involved with English Toy Spaniels continuously for 34 years. I’ve had two re-homed and much-loved pet Boxers, “Ella” and “Heidi,” and until recently, I belonged to a very fine English Setter, Ch. Pemberley Upland Dreamer, called “Monte.” In addition to all Toy Breeds, I am approved to judge English, Irish, and Gordon Setters. What is my original breed? What is/was my kennel name? I lived in an apartment for the first few years in Pittsburgh, so logically decided to look for a small breed. I went to a couple local all-breed shows and went again with the idea to find a show quality Italian Greyhound. As fate would have it, I saw a lady holding a Ruby English Toy Spaniel at the Western Pennsylvania Kennel Association Show in April 1988. I’d never seen such a captivating dog! He looked like the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz.” I immediately approached her and started to ask all the typical questions. The lady said, “Here, you hold him,” which I did. This brief encounter led to a lifelong friendship with Rachel Pehr, and Ch. Brynmar’s Red Rye eventually
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