"Riverhill" Shelties (GB)

Photos and details of individual "Riverhill" dogs can be seen in the database "Sheltie Pedigrees (verif.)".

Misses Patience M. & Felicity M. Rogers, GB

"THE ROGERS OF RIVERHILL
A profile of Patience and Felicity Rogers
by Tom Horner

DAUGHTERS of Lt Col J M Rogers DSO, DL, great horticulturist and naturalist who lived at Riverhill near Sevenoaks one of the show gardens of Kent, the Misses Rogers, Miss Patience is the tall one and Miss Felicity the one with the hat, might be said to be rather fond of animals. In all they have owned 28 different breeds of dog (how many judges of today can match that figure?). They have kept horses and showed rabbits most successfully before becoming involved in breeding Shetland Sheepdogs. They were the first people to breed a Chinchilla Rex champion rabbit and also the first to import a Boxer into this country.
On a visit to Bertram Mills Circus in the early thirties they saw a pack of Boxers playing football with balloons and decided they must have one of those exciting dogs, so they ordered one through Spratts! Eventually a brindle bitch arrived, cropped of course, which whelped eight puppies in quarantine of which the four bitches died, leaving four dogs, one cryptorchid, two monorchids and one complete who grew up to be the first Boxer to be shown in Britain. The first class for Boxers at Cruft's was won by one of her descendants.
As children the Misses Rogers had always loved Border Collies which they saw working on their grandmothers farms in Northumberland but in 1932 wanting something rather more decorative they decided on a Shetland Sheepdog and made the classical mistake of starting off with a pet dog! This dog was a blue merle who cannot have been too plain as when shown he won a reserve CC.
Their second purchase was Riverhill Rosette, also a blue merle but this time a bitch and she was involved in mistake No 2 for the sisters decided to mate her to a very handsome sable champion they had seen.
This mating of merles to sables was very much de trop even in those days, but in spite of the stud dog owner's protestations the mating took place and among the puppies was a very pretty bitch, Riverhill Russet, who was a sable merle and therefor ineligible for showing. Many of the Riverhill champions who have followed in the subsequent 40 years are descended from this bitch Russet and her dam Rosette, whose dam in turn had come from Shetland.
Over the years the Misses Rogers have kept many sable merles in their kennel and are convinced that the best coloured blue merles come from this colour. At first they often mated blue merles to sables to establish type and other points but eventually decided to toe the line and used only tricolours and black and whites - a colour they particularly like, but always retained a sable merle if a good one turned up in a litter.
A little later they paid a visit to the Tilford Kennel which was very successful at the time and came home rather disenchanted with their own stock. They decided that in the light of what they had seen at Tilford only their Riverhill Russet was good enough to breed from.
Always been followers of the turf the sisters went to Gatwick racecourse shortly after this and had a good day at the bookmaker's expense and, seeing two brood bitches advertised for sale by the Netherkeir kennel they bought them both with their winnings and it was one of these bitches who bred them their first prize winner and also their first champion, Riverhill Rufus who is behind every Riverhill dog today.
Later they bought Tilford Tweed and made him a champion. He lived to the great age of 18.

Powerful strain

BY NOW they were well launched on the path to success and from these comparatively modest beginnings has grown the most prepotent and powerful Riverhill strain of Shetlands, known all over the world for perfection of type and conformation in its products.
Methodical in all they do the Misses Rogers have a record of every Shetland they have owned including photograph, pedigree to five generations and underneath a record of wins and progeny. An invaluable history of the Riverhills and a panorama of the breed in the years they have been in it.
During that time they have had more champions than any other kennel, 26 in the post-war period, three of them sold as puppies, and one registered by someone else. The first champion was born in 1934. Many records have been established by Riverhill Shetlands, several by the sable bitch Ch R Rare Gold, who was the first Shetland to be the progenitor of three generations of bitch champions in direct line, which she managed three times. She was the fifth generation from a wartime evacuee from the London blitz.
In all she whelped four champion daughters, all by different dogs, plus a CC-winning son.
At one Three Counties show Rare Gold's grandchildren won both CCs and both reserves, the dogs sired by two sons and the bitches from two daughters, all four of them gaining their titles that year. Rare Gold herself won best bitch in show at LKA at 9 months old and Ayr the following year. All Sheltie working group winners have been her grandchildren.
Ch Riverhill Rather Nice was never beaten in her classes and the blue merle Ch Riverhill Rogue is the only Shetland to win two CCs at Cruft's. The Riverhills are a tough long lived family, several champions have lived to 16 and 17 and when a dog and bitch escaped from their owner's car in New Forest, the dog who returned next morning went off to Southhampton to win the CC and BoB, the bitch too arrived back no worse for the experience 24 hours later.

Segregation

THE Misses Rogers believe that Shetlands are colour conscious as merles play together and will sit in a group, sables bully tricolours, and in general each colour seems to prefer their own kind irrespective of relationship.
The first black and white at Riverhill came from Mrs Baker whose Houghton Hill Kennel traced back to the beginnings of the breed in this country and this colour usually has a representative in the kennel.
Miss Felicity Rogers first judged the breed in 1936 and Miss Patience in 1937, both have judged at Crufts', Miss Felicity three times and at many other shows. Miss Felicity was the first English woman to be asked to judge the breed in America, and has also judged in Eire, Switzerland and Denmark and was elected to the Ladies' Branch of the KC in 1946 and on to the commitee in 1963. Many Shetlands have left Riverhill for abroad including Ch Riverhill Rikki who went to Kenya and is considered the best they ever bred. Ch R Rampion went to Australia where he has been top sire for three years.
Many also have gone to found kennels in Britain, notably the Misses Herberts, Shelert stronghold which began with two Riverhill bitches and now owns to over 20 champions.

Looking forward

IN ALL the sisters' contribution to the breed has been a tremendous one, their help and advice is eagerly sought by the innumerable novices who seem to join the breed in droves and the status of their kennel was never higher than at the present time when competition in the breed is tremendous with huge classes at every show. Ch R Ring the Bell was BoB at Cruft's 1973 and I am happy to say that plans for the future are well in hand to keep the Riverhill flag flying. Sporting, humourous, immensely knowledgeable it is good to know that the Rogers of Riverhill are as keen as ever to improve and promote their charming breed, the Shetland Sheepdog."

Fotos included in the article are:
"The latest Riverhill champion - Miss Felicity Rogers with Ch Riverhill Ring the Bell, best of breed, Cruft's 1973, g-g daughter of Ch R Rare Gold. Photo Cooke"
"The record-breaking Ch Riverhill Rare Gold, dam of four champions and one CC winner, best bitch all breeds at LKA 1954 and Ayr 1955. Rare Gold was the first bitch in the breed to have three generations of champion bitches descended from her, of which she has had three separate sets. Her daughter Ch Riverhill Rather Nice, has also bred four champions. Her son, Ch Riverhill Richman, twice BIS at the ESSC championship show, is one of them while this year's BOB at Cruft's, Ch Riverhill Ring the Bell, is a great grand-daughter. Photo Fall"
"Ch Riverhill Rufus, the first Riverhill champion. All the present day CHE male line descend from him. Photo Fall"
"Pictured at the Three Counties show 1959, are (l to r): Miss Patience Rogers whith Ch Riverhill Rather Rich, the judge Mrs Winnie Barber and Miss Felicity Rogers with Ch Riverhill Rogue the only Shetland to win two CCs at Cruft's. Photo Cooke"
"Taken at the Three Counties' show 1963, all four pictured here are grandchildren of Ch Riverhill Rare Gold. Both dogs were sired by her sons and both bitches were out of her daughters. They are from left to right: res dog CC winner Ch Swagman from Shiel, by Riverhill Ranger; dog CC winner Ch Antoc Sealodge Spotlight, by Riverhill Rolling Home; bitch CC winner Ch Riverhill Runaway Match, ex Riverhill Rare Romance; and res bitch CC winner Ch Riverhill Rather Nice, ex Ch Riverhill Rather Rich. Photo Cooke" *1

Above excerpts/quotes from the following books/articles/adverts:

*1 THE ROGERS OF RIVERHILL, A profile of Patience and Felicity Rogers, by Tom Horner, Dog World, October 5, 1972 (GB)