DUAL CH Shed of Arden – Historic Labrador

"Shed of Arden's qualities were of the highest: he epitomized an ideal. ...By those who are knowledgeable, he was considered to have embodied the greatest qualities a Retriever can possess in equal parts: looks, performance, and the priceless gift to transmit these from generation to generation."

~ Helen Warwick, Lockerbie
 

SHED OF ARDEN'S STORY

3xNFC CFC DUAL CH Shed of Arden is one of the best known Labrador Retrievers in history, but what do we know about him and his family?

Shed was born in 1939 and bred by William Averell Harriman, Arden kennels.

There's a story that his siblings were all named for fish and that he was supposed to be Shad of Arden. Due to a clerical error he became Shed instead.

Paul Bakewell III of Deer Creek Kennels bought Shed from Arden Kennels on a trial basis. I wonder how long he waited before deciding to keep him.

First National Championship

As a 3-year-old, Shed won his first National Championship handled by Lt. Bakewell who was on leave from the Navy Air Corps.

Madison, Wisconsin hosted the National on December 4-6, 1942. The weather was as expected for Wisconsin in winter. "The Yahara River and adjoining marshes which ordinarily afforded everything desired for water tests were frozen solid, the first time in 40 years. This necessitated moving the water tests to the University of Wisconsin property along the shores of Lake Mendota. Heavy ice floes made it dangerous for dogs to get into the water. Several refused to enter, others only after repeated commands. ...

"Even the land presented problems. Many falls were buried in deep snow. It was a rugged trial for dogs, judges and trial personnel." The National Retriever Field Club, 1941-1960

Eighteen dogs started, but only five finished, including two owned by Bakewell - Shed and a Golden, FC Stilrovin Super Speed. The other finishers were FC Hiwood Mike, Patricia of Roedare, and Seaborne's Black Prince.

At the time of the stake, Shed had already finished his field and show/bench championships making him a Dual Champion.

Second National Championship

Shed won the National Championship again the next year. He was handled by CH Wallace because Lt. Bakewell couldn't get leave.

This time Bourbon, Missouri hosted the stake on December 3-5, 1943. Twenty dogs started - 15 Labs and five Golden Retrievers. It took 12 series to determine the winner between two dogs - Shed and a Golden named FC Stilrovin Super Speed. Both dogs were owned by Lt. Bakewell.

Pictured: Mrs. Bakewell with Shed and handler CH Wallace.

Third National Championship

World War II ended in 1945 after Germany surrendered in May and Japan surrendered in September. In November, Shed and Bakewell were back to compete in the National Championship. This time it was held at Shelter Island, Long Island, New York which meant a daily ferry ride from Riverhead. The stake was held November 30-December 2, 1945. Although Shed finished the stake, the judges awarded the win to Black Magic of Audlon.

Fourth National Championship

In 1946, Shed reclaimed his crown. The National Championship was held at Crab Orchard Lake, Herrin, Illinois on December 6-8. The grounds were good, as was the weather. Herrin is located in a coal mining area and, at the time of the National, the mines were on strike. "... the gallery was augmented by many hundred miners who came to see the event. Some estimated the gallery at 10,000. Traffic presented a bit of a problem." The National Retriever Field Club, 1941-1960

Twenty dogs started the stake and eight finished, including several handled by amateurs.

Pictured: Paul Bakewell accepting the championship trophy for Shed's third win.

In the final series, Shed, now seven years old, faced off against three tough competitors. They were his kennel mate, Dual Champion Little Pierre of Deer Creek, plus FC Scoronine of Deer Creek, and a Golden retriever named Stilrovin Nitro Express.

"Scoronine led the field until the last day, then refused to plunge into the 45° water. (Shed had won his first U.S. championship on a day that was 16° below. ) Now it was Shed's turn.

"In the toughest test, he had to find two dead ducks which had been planted among the rushes across a 150-foot-wide bay. Shed waited calmly at the water's edge until he got the signal from Bakewell. Then he plunged bravely into chilly Crab Orchard Lake, but not with his old zip.

"... One-third of the way across, Shed's black head turned at a whistle from Bakewell to get directions. He entered the cattails just six feet from where the mallard was hidden, sniffed for a second, found his bird. A few minutes later, Shed did it again, and won his third U.S. championship." Time magazine, "Sport: An Old Dog's Day", Dec. 23, 1946

Fifth National Championship

Shed ran the National Championship one more time. The 1947 National was again held at Crab Orchard Lake, Herrin, Illinois. The weather was good with only occasional light rain. Twenty one dogs started, but only four dogs finished. These dogs completed the tenth - and the eleventh - and the twelfth series. The final series was completed in near darkness.

These dogs were:

FC Black Panther, owned by CW Carlson
FC Black Roland of Koshkonong, owned by Wesley Jung
FC Bracken's Sweep, owned by DE Pomeroy
DUAL CH & 1942 , 1943, 1946 NATL CH Shed of Arden, owned by Paul Bakewell

Bracken's Sweep, handled by TW "Cotton" Pershall, was crowned the winner.

During his career, Shed earned both US and Canadian Field Championships and a US show championship which qualified him as a DUAL champion. He also ran in five national field championships - winning three times and finishing as a finalist the other two times. At one point his owner turned down an offer to buy him for $10,000 (equivalent of about $150,000 today).

SHED'S FAMILY

Shed's Pedigree:

Click for extended pedigree

Some of Shed's full siblings included:

• CH Earlsmoor Moor of Arden
• CH Earlsmoor Marlin of Arden
• DUAL CH Gorse of Arden
• DUAL CH Braes of Arden
• CH Bass of Arden

Half siblings included:

• FC Gun of Arden - the grandsire of 2xNFC Spirit Lake Duke and great grandsire of DUAL CH CFC Ridgewood Playboy and CH Whygin Gentle Julia Of Avec
• Marvadel Cinders - the dam of Can DUAL CH Coastal Charger of Deer Creek and NFC AFC Marvadel Black Gum

Shed's uncle, FC Blind of Arden (Eng FTW Odds On x Eng FTW Peggy of Shipton), won what was called the "No. 1 U.S. retriever stake of the year" in November 1938. The following month he was featured on the cover of Life magazine.

Little Pierre

Shed also had a cousin, DUAL CH CFC Little Pierre of Deer Creek, who shared a maternal grandmother, Eng FTW Peggy of Shipton.

Pierre's Pedigree:

Little Pierre was bred and owned by Paul Bakewell III. Like Shed, Little Pierre earned both a field and a show championship which qualified him as a DUAL champion. He also earned a Canadian field championship and qualified for five national field championships and was a finalist in 1946 and 1948. Unfortunately he died young after being poisoned.

He left behind quite a legacy as the sire (and grandsire) of DUAL CH AFC Matchmaker for Deer Creek and sire of Can DUAL CH Coastal Charger of Deer Creek, FC Mary-Go-Round Deer Creek and CH St Jones Blackie QAA (just a few points short of AFC).

MORE RECENT FAMILY CONNECTIONS

You might be wondering where these dogs show up in modern pedigrees. Let's take a look at FC 2xNAFC 3xCNFC River Oaks Corky.

Corky's Pedigree:

Click for extended pedigree. There's also a link to a 5-generation pedigree on that page.

If you check the pedigree for Roy's Rowdy (below), you'll find both Shed and Little Pierre, plus Marvadel Cinders who was a half sister to Shed (both sired by Raffles of Earlsmoor) and Shed's DUAL CH son, Grangemead Precocious.

Rowdy's pedigree:

Roy's Rowdy was bred to Pierre's Kit of Garfield who was a great granddaughter of Shed on her father's side and a great granddaughter of Little Pierre on her mother's side.

So Rowdy's son, Royal of Garfield, has 2 crosses each to Shed and Little Pierre, plus a cross to Shed's half sister.

So far:

• Shed of Arden = 2 crosses
• Little Pierre of Deer Creek = 2 crosses
• Shed's half sister = 1 cross

Royal of Garfield was bred to Martens Black Badger, a daughter of Cork of Oakwood Lane. And guess what? Cork brings in another cross to Little Pierre through Coastal Charger of Deer Creek, plus a cross to Shed's half sister, Marvadel Cinders.

Cork's pedigree:

Cork of Oakwood Lane was bred to Martens Little Bullet who was a great granddaughter of Little Pierre on her father's side and a great granddaughter of Shed on her mother's side.

Keeping track so far, Royal of Garfield, has two crosses each to Shed and Little Pierre, plus a cross to Shed's half sister (Marvadel Cinders). Martens Black Badger has one cross each to Little Pierre and to Shed.

So far (Royal of Garfield PLUS Martens Black Badger):

• Shed of Arden = 3 crosses
• Little Pierre of Deer Creek = 3 crosses
• Shed's half sister = 1 cross

Now let's look at River Oaks Corky's mother's pedigree.

Don's Ginny Soo's paternal grandfather, Black Gum Gus, had two crosses to Little Pierre (through Stonegate's Captain and Comay Classey Chassis) plus a cross to Shed's half sister (Marvadel Cinders) through Marvadel Black Gum. And her paternal grandmother, Don-Els Tor Chee, was a granddaughter of Cork of Oakwood Lane (who had both Little Pierre and Shed's half sister in his pedigree) and she was a granddaughter of Shed's half brother, FC Gun of Arden.

Don-El's Doo Lee pedigree:

So Corky's maternal grandfather, Don-El's Doo Lee, had three crosses to Little Pierre plus two crosses to Shed's half sister, Marvadel Cinders, and one cross to Shed's half brother, Gun of Arden.

So far (Royal of Garfield PLUS Martens Black Badger PLUS Don-El's Doo Lee):

• Shed of Arden = 3 crosses
• Little Pierre of Deer Creek = 6 crosses
• Shed's half sister = 3 crosses
• Shed's half brother = 1 cross

One more grandparent to check and I'll bet you know what we'll find!

Beautywood's Creole Jane was sired by Shed's son, Dual CH Grangemead Precocious. Her mother, Gilmore's Peggy, was a granddaughter of Shed and a granddaughter of Shed's brother, Earlsmoor Moor of Arden.

Beautywood's Creole Jane pedigree:

So Corky's mother, Don's Ginny Soo, had three crosses to Little Pierre, plus two crosses to Shed's half siblings through her father Don-El's Doo Lee. Ginny Soo also had two crosses to Shed and one cross to Shed's full brother, Earlsmoor Moor of Arden, through Beautywood's Creole Jane.

All four of River Oaks Corky's grandparents descended from Shed and/or Little Pierre plus Shed's siblings.

Final count (Royal of Garfield PLUS Martens Black Badger PLUS Don-El's Doo Lee PLUS Beautywood's Creole Jane):

• Shed of Arden = 5 crosses
• Little Pierre of Deer Creek = 6 crosses
• Shed's half sister = 3 crosses
• Shed's half brother = 2 crosses

Granted these crosses to Shed and Little Pierre are back a bit even in Corky's bloodline, but when you stack a pedigree with quality dogs who are related you're apt to see those same qualities continue through generations.

We're happy to see Shed of Arden shows up in Chip's pedigree at least nine times and Shed's cousin, Little Pierre of Deer Creek, shows up at least seven times. And Dee comes by her loveliness with at least 43 crosses to Shed and 48 crosses to Little Pierre.

If you'd like to learn more about how breeders can structure pedigrees to keep the genetics of great dogs, you should read Patricia Trotter's book, Born to Win Breed to Succeed. Although she's best known for her success with Norwegian Elkhounds, her knowledge of structuring pedigrees can be applied to any breed.

River Oaks Corky's Descendants

To give you an idea of the strength in these pedigrees, here are some of Corky's descendants. Imagine the list if we took it a few generations farther or started with Shed or Little Pierre.

DUAL AFC Hiwood Shadow
NAFC FC River Oaks Rascal
NFC NAFC Candlewood's Super Tanker
NFC AFC CFC PP'S Lucky Super Toby
AFC Black Gold's Candlewood Kate
FC AFC Wilderness Harley To Go
FC AFC MD Candlewoods Houston
FC AFC Black Gold's Kates Rascal
FC AFC Les Coup de Grace TD
FC AFC CFC CAFC Candlewoods Mad Mouse
FC AFC Canis Major's River Bear
FC AFC River Oaks Way-Da-Go Rocky - sire of our Dee
Candlewoods Nifty Nick QAA
FC AFC Mon Tour de Force
FC AFC Big Lost River Mike
FC AFC Corky's Ramblin Riley
FC AFC Shot Gun Willie VII
FC AFC Chica Chica Boom Boom
FC AFC CFC Rascal's Medicine Man
FC AFC CFC Express Charger
FC AFC CFC Hillock's Spice
AFC Wineglass Kuku Koko
FC AFC Toby of Southern Comfort
FC AFC Star Lab's Lucky Strike

FC AFC Candlwood's Zackley Right
FC AFC Candlewoods Travelin' Man
AFC Sumac's Corinne E
FC AFC Sumac's Alyce Rae
FC AFC Sumac's Elvira
FC AFC Jigger of Glenfiddich
FC AFC River Oaks Black Bingo
FC AFC River Oaks Di Di
FC AFC River Oaks Twiggy Tou
FC AFC Penny Oaks Flint
FC AFC Ripple River
AFC Suncrest Super Streak
FC AFC Bry-Bry's Charger
FC AFC Utopian High Plains Drifter
FC Blackguard's Magician
FC AFC SAS
FC AFC Burgundys' Super Rookie
FC AFC Rookie's RBI MH
AFC My Angus
FC AFC Brush Creek's Jessie
Lakenheath's Zero Gravity
FC AFC Gandalf The Golden
FC AFC Rocky Mountain Star II
FC AFC Moon's Carolina Cajun

FC AFC CFC Rascal's Medicine Man
FC Candlewoods Bad Company
FC AFC Krugerrand
AFC REO Speedwaggin
FC AFC Candlewoods Flash Back
FC AFC Donnybrook's St Jude
FC AFC Trumarc's Monster Malone
AFC Kizzie of Southern Comfort
AFC CAFC Minnie Mouse
BJ's Crystal Light Brigade - grandmother of our Raven
FC AFC Hellda Dolly
AFC Sasse-Ville Sambo
FC Lakeview's Magic Marker
FC AFC Sasse-ville Toro
FC AFC Shamrock Acres Whiskey Jake
FC AFC CFC CAFC Ironwood Peggy
FC AFC River Oaks Black Bingo
AFC River Oaks Roscoe
AFC Hilltop's Blackjack
AFC Streak of Sunkist
AFC Powder Keg Meg
FC Sierra Vistas Con Mucho Gusto
FC Lone Hickorys Last Chance
FC Starlab's She's Areal Dandy-SAS