Her Salukis have numerous Best In Show victories and BIS placements, as well as “Show Dog of the
Year” awards for first and second place.In the 1990´s she has been nominated “Breeder of the Year”
(all breeds) in - 90´, -91 and -95, and placed third in -96. (The competition was not held in the years
between). The kennel has also had several title winning racing and coursing hounds.
Our first dog was an Irish Setter. We bought
it without sufficient knowledge of the breed. Our setter
happened to have a wonderful
temperament. It died young however, and we did not want another to
remind us of that wonderful family member. By then we had enough
knowledge of dogs to explore our
compatibility with different breeds. Gradually we came to decide
upon the Saluki.Salukis were fairly
rare at this time. There had only been about 50 registered in
Finland. We had to wait 18 months for our
first Saluki puppy. In the fall of 1970 we finally got our
puppy, the chocolate/tan bitch Del Flamante
Peleona.
The foundation dog of my present Salukis
however is International Champion, Winner -81, Scandinavian
Winner -82, -83, Racing Champion, Derby
Winner -80 El Hamrah Bazman.
To my
mind he is one of
the greats both in conformation and
running ability. Above all he was a wonderful stud dog. Of Bazman’s
progeny the most famous are International
Champion, Winner -87, Copenhagen Winner -89, World
Winner -89 El Hamrah Giah,
one of
the most successful dogs in Finland; International Champion
El Hamrah
Ibn-Jagad Joni who had several
Best in Shows, International Champion, Winner -90, -91,
World Winner -92, Racing Champion, Star Racer -87
Finnish Lurecoursing Championship Winner -88
El Hamrah
Jaddah
and International
Champion, Winner -88 El
Hamrah
Karachi-Khan. Among their
offspring in several generations are the
currently victorious International Champion
El Hamrah Sheherban
and International Champion El
Hamrah Timirr-Khan to name but two.
Bazman is also prominent in many other
kennels’ pedigrees. More than a hundred El
Hamrah Salukis
have became champions so far.
In choosing a kennel name I wanted it to be of
Arabian derivation. Another requirement was that it have
a meaning. El Hamrah means
“travelling companion”, which I feel is descriptive of the Saluki as a
family
member.
My Ideal Saluki
It is vital to remember that the original
purpose of the Saluki is hunting, chasing down swift game. The
longstrided lifting gait is the trademark
of a soundly built Saluki. A greceful, balanced whole, true to the
standard and in no way exaggerated.
The diversity of type within the Saluki allows
breeders to focus on their type and stick to it. It is doubtful
that any of the original varietes could be found
purebred any longer.
To uphold a good standard I have to
carefully explore and consider the probable outcome of different
combinations before decidind to breed. I
strive to improve possible inadequesies and avoid creating new
ones while retaining my type. Despite all
research and scientific probalities I sometimes have to rely on
my gut feelings, and so far I have succeeded.
Pirjo Grönfors
El Hamrah