Sometimes I am asked what it was like in ’the early days’ and I
start to reminisce about those times, some of the things I say
surprise people, and few who were around at that time really know
much about it, so I decided to put pen to paper to give all you
Maine Coon lovers a bit more of an insight into those long gone
days. To do that, I need to go way back into the realms of Maine
Coon history, not the myth, just the facts, things that happened
long before any of us were alive.
The Maine Coon is no stranger to the show bench, in fact Maine Coons
were being shown at
local agricultural fairs in New England, USA, in
the 1860’s, some thirty years before the first official American cat
shows were held. In those days, there was no Standard of Points and
it is unclear how judges decided which cat was the best exhibit. The
first documented Maine Coon was a black and white with the imposing
name of Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines (which was a famous music
hall song from the mid-1800’s), belonging to Mrs. F.R. Pierce and
her younger brother, dating around 1861. The first comprehensive
book on pedigree cats was “Francis Simpson’s The Book of the Cat”,
published in 1903. In a chapter written by Mrs. Pierce, she quotes
that from her earliest recollection her family had “one to several
of the long-haired cats of that variety often called Maine cats.”
According to Mrs. Pierce, large shows were held at many of the major
cities, as far west as Chicago, in the 1870’s, a number of years
before the Madison Square Garden Show of 1895, often written as the
first American cat show. The Maine Coon was accepted as a definite
breed in the 1870’s, which implies that they were judged to some
sort of standard. The National Cat Show of 1878 was a six-day show
held at the Boston Music Hall. Twelve Maine Coons were in the
programme, and a copy of this early catalogue is preserved in the
Boston Public Library for all to see today. The 1895 Madison Square
Garden Show had an entry of one hundred and seventy-six cats,
including two ocelots. Classification was by hair length and sex,
and judging categories included “heaviest” and “homeliest”. The
overall winner was a brown tabby female Maine called Cosie. Show
fever hit America and soon shows were being held from east to west
coast. The Maine Coon figured highly during those early years, with
a number winning Best in Show. Success was short-lived. Within a few
years,
the fortunes of the Maine Coon would take a turn for the worse,
with the introduction of the Persian cat.
Meanwhile in Britain, several ‘International’ dog shows had already
been held at the Crystal Palace, London, when Harrison Weir proposed
a ‘Grand Exhibition of Cats’. Within a few days he had devised the
Standards of Excellence, against which all cats must be judged. The
first British cat show was held on Thursday 13th June 1871,
attracting one hundred and seventy-one cats, from the ‘new’ Persian
cats, to the forefathers of the British Shorthair and even a few
wild cats! The popularity of the Persian grew and by 1900, many had
been exported to the USA, a number by Lady Marcus Beresford, an
influential figure in the British Cat Fancy and founder member of
America’s first cat club, The Beresford Club. The Persian arrived in
America from England, and with its flamboyancy, the breed’s
popularity grew rapidly, leaving the Maine Coon behind in the
showing stakes. Soon the Maine Coon disappeared from the show bench,
and while the American cat fancy grew in leaps and bounds, America’s
oldest show cat disappeared, destined to spend the next sixty years
in seclusion. In 1959, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) declared
the Maine Coon to be extinct!
However, this was not the case. Several breeders, one being Mrs.
Ethelyn Whittlemore, had continued working with the breed, keeping
records of cats and their offspring.
Whittemore Cattery - Mrs Robert (Ethelyn) Whittemore
Following
its demise from the American show circuit at the turn of the
twentieth century there is little documented about the Maine Coon
for the next forty years. In fact, in 1959, the Cat Fanciers
Association declared that the Maine Coon was extinct! In the 1959
CFA Yearbook, under the section 'Cats of Yesteryear' the Maine Cat
appears. It mentions Mrs Pierce and the breed's early show success, but ends with "The fact that the Maine cat failed to thrive
in warmer climates also contributed to its extinction as a breed."
However, this was not quite true. Maine Coon lovers had continued to
breed these cats in a haphazard way, keeping them as pets around the
home and farm. One such person was Mrs Ethelyn Whittemore, of
Augusta, Maine, often referred to as "the godmother of the Maine
Coon cat". Just as Mrs Pierce all those years before her, Mrs
Whittemore's family had had Maine Coon cats for as long as she could
remember.
Most unusual for that time, Mrs Whittemore kept hand-written records
of her cats, both parentage and progeny. When few outside Maine had
any interest in the breed, this lady's devotion helped to prevent
the Maine Coon from sliding into obscurity, particularly since few
others kept written records. The Whittemore cattery was founded
sometime during the 1940s to 1950s, an exact time is not known. Even
after the breed was accepted by the various registering bodies, she
didn't start registering her cats until being persuaded by Dr Eugene
Eminhizer, who wished to show the cats he had bought from her.
Whittemore cats seen in pedigrees include Smokie Joe of Whittemore,
a black male, registered in July 1969 and Princess Sue of
Whittemore, a white female, also registered in 1969. Other included
Penny of Whittemore (red tabby female), Tortilla of Whittemore
(tortoiseshell female) and Ringo of Whittemore (red tabby male).
A number of catteries used pure Whittemore cats. These included
All-Saints, Belwitch, Emin-Dale, JoStad, Lyh-E, Mieaou, Norwynde,
Pa-Gar, Scotia, War-Tell and Zig-Krn. Whittemore cats were gently
rugged, of moderate size, shaggy but fluffy and very affectionate.
The 1964 book, Persian Cats and Other Longhairs, by Jeanne Ramsdale,
included a section about the Maine Coon. It stated that Mrs
Whittemore was the only cattery raising Maine Coon kittens. It
quoted Mrs Whittemore as saying "The Coon comes in every colour, but
black and white are the most common. I choose trying to specialise
in solid colour Coons." Mrs Whittemore went on to say "At maturity,
either sex normally have gold or green eyes, and will weigh from ten
to fourteen pounds." Mrs Whittemore described the Coon Cat as
long-haired but not as long as the Persian, with fur inclined to be
thick and a little shaggy, like that of a Collie dog. She described
the face as "rather long and pointed, although there are some whose
heads are more rounded" and the tail "long and bushy, often
striped". She ended her description by saying "The Coon Cat stands
taller than the Persian and is longer, more like the old-time
Angora".
Most Maine Coons will probably have some Whittemore in their
pedigree if we research far enough back down the generations.
The Central Maine Coon Cat Club
In 1953, the Central Maine Coon Cat Club was founded by Alta Smith
and Ruby Dyer, two young ladies from Skowhegan, Maine. A purely
amateur organisation, its intention was to provide attention for the
breed, holding shows for Maine Coons and other unregistered cats. It
also had a pioneering kitten registering system, something unheard
of outside the CFA, and records from these registrations allowed
later generations to trace their ancestry.
The first show was held on 21st June 1953, in a small
barn outside Skowhegan, with an entry of forty cats and over two
hundred visitors. In 1956, Dr Rachael Salisbury drew up the
'Standard for Judging Maine Cats':
Point System of Judging:
No. of Points
| 10 |
Head (shape of skull, face, cheeks, chin) |
| 5 |
Ears (shape, size) |
| 10 |
Eyes (colour, shape) |
| 5 |
Tail (length, shape) |
| 15 |
Body (bone structure, shape, proportions) |
| 10 |
Legs and Feet (length, shape) |
| 20 |
Coat (colour, markings, luster) |
| 15 |
Health (body balance, coat texture and condition, facial
expression, general resilience) |
| 10 |
Condition (grooming, evidence of care) |
___
100
To win a first ribbon, a cat should have 85 points.
This standard was used for the first time at the fourth show in
1956. Dr Salisbury was present and served as Chairman of the Judging
Staff, training people to judge the Maine Coon. Although not as
precise as the modern day standards, echos of this standard can
still be seen in every Maine Coon standard around the world.
Between 1953 and 1963 the Central Maine Coon Cat Club held eleven
shows, the overall winning Maine Coon gaining the title of Maine
State Champion Coon Cat. Mrs Whittemore's cats were prominent
winners. In 1956 her solid white neuter, became Maine State Ch.
Major Sno Sheen. In 1958 Mrs Whittemore's 'solid tiger' (tabby)
neuter became State Maine Ch. Tiger Boy and in 1961 her solid grey
(blue) neuter, Maine State Ch. Blu Boy was awarded this prestigious
title.
Popularity began to grow and the fifth show had an entry of over a
hundred cats, with members from thirty-eight American states and
fifteen foreign countries. By 1963, the club had outgrown its
amateur beginning and a decision had to be made - should the club
become a large organisation or should it fold? Alta Smith, who had
now married and become Mrs Berry, had been the mainstay of the club.
She opted to retire and with no one to take her place, the Central
Maine Coon Club disbanded. However, the Central Maine Coon Cat Club
had left a huge legacy to the breed in the form of records and
publicity that had led to cat lovers in other parts of America to
start taking an interest in this fascinating breed. People were now
showing them in other organisations, in the Any Other Variety class.
In
August 1968 six Maine Coon breeders and owners held a meeting in
Salisbury, Connecticut, and from this meeting was to come the
formation of the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association
(M.C.B.F.A.). The group’s aim was to work towards re-recognition for
the Maine Coon in all associations. A quarterly magazine,
The Scratch Sheet, was
issued to all members. Gradually the various associations began to
recognise the Maine Coon. Early American Grand Champions began to
appear in 1971. These included Sir Driftwood of Pupuli, Mieous
Danariscotta, Mor-Ace’s Satan, Dauphin de France of Tati-Tan and
Andy Katt of Heidi-Ho. These cats are the forefathers of today’s
Maine Coons. Of these, probably the Heidi-Ho Cattery is the most
famous.
Above:
Dauphin de France of Tati-Tan
Heidi Ho Cattery - Mary (Connie) M. Condit
Connie
(as she was nicknamed) Condit was a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S.
Army, in her profession as a nurse. It was during her time at the
Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C. in 1969 that a heavily
pregnant cat wandered into the room she shared with several other
nurses. Having her own home, with a spare room, Connie took the
queen, "Susan", home. On 16th April 1969 she produced
four kittens, all males, three short hairs and one brown mackerel
tabby & white long hair. Connie found homes for three of the
kittens. She had Susan neutered (with financial help from the other
nurses). She spent the next eleven years with Connie's mother, and
her last four back with Connie. Connie kept the long hair, which she
named "Andy Katt"
(left).
Connie and Andy moved to Maryland where someone told her that Andy
looked like a Maine Coon, which stimulated Connie's interest in the
breed. About six months after Andy's birth, Connie met Bonnie Rich
of the de Richelieu cattery (owner of Panda Ring-Tip of Miston).
Bonnie believed that Andy would be a good foundation Maine Coon and
after some persuasion, he was registered with ACA (American Cat
Association), although Connie insisted that she was not in any
position to breed cats. Undeterred by this comment, Bonnie returned
from a holiday in Florida with a mate for Andy - she had found a
tortie smoke & white female whose mother had been black & white,
father unknown. This cat was called Bridget Katt. These two cats
were to form the beginning of the now famous Heidi Ho line.
Connie joined MCBFA to learn more about the breed, and through this
made contact with Betty Ljostad who suggested that she should take
Andy to an ACFA show in New Jersey to let the judges decide whether
he was a Maine Coon. He returned home a Champion and three shows
later was a Grand Champion! Connie decided to name her cattery
'Heidi Ho' after her long suffering German Shepherd dog, who was
totally involved with the breeding programme and made an excellent
kitten sitter.
Only
one kitten from Bridget's first two litters to Andy was sold for
breeding, the rest went to pet homes. Connie kept three girls from
the third litter, Heather, Molly Stark and Fanny Abigail, and two
boys, Seth Parker and Henry Sayward, to interbreed them in order to
weed out any hereditary problems. When Connie was transferred to
Germany, her cats travelled with her. Although she had a few
litters, just to keep the cats healthy, she didn't really get back
into breeding until she returned to the USA, and retired to
Colorado.
On
her return from Europe, Connie mated Henry Sayward to his daughter,
Henrietta, producing Heidi Ho Sonkey Bill. She bought Tanstaafl's
Polly Adeline and Ktaadn Oquossoc as outcrosses, which would enable
her to do some line breeding. It was the matings between Sonkey Bill
and Polly Adeline that were most famous – the offspring all looked
like clones, and they were known as ‘The Clones’. There is a very
good chance that if you delve far enough back in your pedigree you
will most likely find Sonkey Bill & Polly Adeline offspring (clones)
in there somewhere.
The Maine Coon was soon to be accepted by all the American
associations except the biggest, CFA, but in 1976, it too finally
accepted the Maine Coon as a pedigree breed. The Maine Coon was back
on the map. Today, and since 1992, the Maine Coon is the second most
popular breed in America behind the Persian.
First Paws onto British Soil
Maine Coons began to feature in cat magazines and newspapers
worldwide, and soon they were being exported to mainland Europe.
However, Britain had to wait until the mid-1980’s before the first
Maine Coon set foot on British shores. Many American breeders were
reluctant to send cats into quarantine, fearing that they would be
kept in small cages with little attention.
The first Maine Coons arrived on our shores in 1984, brought in from
the USA and Germany by Mrs Pat Brownsell, of Norfolk, who had been a
breeder of other breeds for some years under the cattery name of
Patriarca. Her first breeding group consisted of five cats - two
males and three females - and the offspring of these cats were to
provide the essential foundation of the first Maine Coon lines in
Britain. It was not long, of course, before others spotted the breed
and new imports began to appear. Almost all of the Maines born in
the early years in Britain will be found to have either the
Patriarca or the Pusiluv (later Koonluv) cattery name somewhere in
their background.
The first group of five was, fortunately, varied in colour
possibilities and the Maine Coon in Britain has always therefore
been a multi-coloured breed. The first five cats were: Kalicoon
Bashta Khan, a black smoke male; Nephrani Dexter, a brown tabby with
white male; Glenncourt Tara Lou, a tortoiseshell tabby female;
Nephrani Ashley, a blue tabby female and Charmingcat Chalifa Begum,
a silver tabby female. The only colour which could not arise from
this combination was the pure white, which arrived in the country
shortly afterward in the shape of a male called lllya Galanthus.
The
original group was also well-chosen for health and temperament. Cat
fanciers in Britain quickly realised that these
cats, although looking like a domestic longhair, had something
consistently different about them. Much as it is a cliched phrase,
the Maine Coon truly is the Gentle Giant of the domestic cat world.
As with anything new, there were a few publicists who chose to
exaggerate certain points - in particular the large size of this
breed as a whole - and there were some people who sought a huge cat
at all costs - but, in general, it was for the temperament that
potential cat-owners sought the breed, quickly lifting its
popularity until it now stands near the top of the breed poll in
Britain.
After
the arrival of Mrs Brownsell's cats, another, larger group was
brought into the country into the Koonluv cattery including Solkatz
Luciano P (the P was short for Pavarotti and not an indication that
he was polydactyl) and a pregnant female, Ch Kayenta La Paloma of
Roselu
(left).
The reason I mention these two cats, is that I ended up owning them
both. Charlie (Luciano P) was one of my stud cats for a while and
they both ended their days with me, living their last eight or nine
years here. La Paloma (affectionately known as Raine Ratbag) was
born the month that Prince Charles & Diana married and she was put
to sleep on the day of Diana’s funeral, aged sixteen years. There
were nine generations of offspring and over twelve hundred British
bred Maine Coons with her name in their pedigree when she died in
1997!
Solkatz Luciano P
The Maine Coon Cat Club Begins
In 1985, a small band of British breeders started the Maine Coon Cat
Club with the aim of gaining recognition with the Governing Council
of the Cat Fancy. The inaugural meeting was held in the car park of
a cat show in the South East of England. A Standard of Points was
drawn up and the breed was granted Preliminary Recognition in 1988.
The first Maine Coons were entered in competition at the Maidstone &
Medway Show on 16th July 1988, and their Breed Class (Open) was
judged by Helen Light, a long-standing and well respected judge, who
actually passed away very recently. Initially, entries were small,
and success when competing with the well established breeds was
limited, but as popularity grew, and judges began to recognise the
finer features of the breed, the Maine Coon started to become a
force to be reckoned with. The Maine Coon didn’t have an easy ride.
Some judges wouldn’t accept them, referring to them as “the moggie
in the pedigree section” and stories of exaggerated prices for
kittens didn’t help the situation, but the owners kept going,
determined to win people over.
Left
- Bealtainn Hunkydory
In those early days, the Maine Coon was in the ‘Foreign Section’,
chosen because the breed is of “foreign” type. Competing against the
well established Abyssinians, Rexes, Russians and Korats, as well as
British and Burmese at some shows, was not easy. Maine Coon owners
were happy if their cat was awarded the Merit Certificate and didn’t
expect to do anything in side classes, but as judges’ confidence
grew and the cats developed, other rosettes began to appear
alongside the Merit. Early Southern exhibitors included Tex & Sue
Morgan (Purpus), Brenda Tracey (Purrserrene), Mr. & Mrs. Froud
(Charlemma), Mrs. Neale (Kayakahn), Di Everett (Kaiulani) and Toni
Cornwall (Caprix), many of whom attended that very first show on
16th July. In the North West, Bill Griffiths (Shookatoo) attended
the Chester and North Wales Show a month later, with Doris Lendon
(Majanco), Heather Horton (Namrib) and Cora Evans showing in the
Midlands. Early Scottish exhibitors included Mrs. Thain, Veronica
Davis (Kilmaine) and Beryl Middleton (Firthkatz). The first Maine
Coons in North East England didn’t appear until August 1989 when
Tony & Yvonne Wilcox (Wilful), Lesley Rich (Matagot) and myself
(known at that time as Daphne Dyke) (Keverstone) exhibited at the
Teesside Cat Club Show. These people, along with others, were
pioneers for the breed in Britain, taking cats from show to show
just to get people interested in the breed. We lived in County
Durham at the time and would travel the length and breadth of the
country, just to get judges to look at the breed, Scotland one
month, London the next. We were all a very committed group and took
many knock-backs from some judges and other exhibitors in those
early days, but we held our heads high and didn’t give up.
Progression towards Championship Status within G.C.C.F. can be slow.
The first stage is Preliminary Status, where cats are judged against
the Standard, and provided the judge feels that the cat fulfils the
requirements laid down, it is awarded a Merit Certificate. When
fifteen cats have at least four Merit Certificates (under different
judges) and can satisfy various other criteria, the breed can apply
for Provisional Status. The first fifteen Maine Coons to gain four
Merits were Majanco Moshatel, Kaleetay Cracklin Rosie, Purrserene
Sebastian, Adixilo Okanagan Coonlouis, Adixilo Mambreno, Purrserene
Dancing Brave, Caprix Marvellous Marvin, Bealltainn Hunkdory, Caprix
Kisme Quick, Kaiulani Frederik, Belujondra Fenella, Shookatoo Robert
Dazzler, Henrietta Capapie, Adkrilo Gayellacoon and Purpus
Mainechance. During their four years at the Preliminary Stage, over
two hundred and eighty Maine Coon were shown, and at least two
hundred and twenty gained a minimum of one Merit Certificate. Many
good cats retired from the show bench after gaining four
certificates, having ‘done their bit’ for the breed, but others
continued successfully and several have Merit Certificates into the
teens!
Next Step – Provisional Recognition
Left - Keverstones American Dream
Four years after being granted Preliminary Status the breed moved up
to the next rung on the ladder of success, Provisional Status, on
1st June 1992. The cats were now judged against each other in Maine
Coon Open Classes, with the potential of an Intermediate Certificate
to the winner. The breed came out on mass, determined to show the
cat world that they were a real force to be reckoned with. The first
Maine Coons to be awarded three Intermediate Certificates were
Purpus Mainechance and Adkrilo Rosamunde Rosetta, followed closely
by Majanco Moshatel. G.C.C.F. required twenty cats with three
Intermediate Certificates before application for Championship Status
could be made. No one, not even the founder members of the Maine
Coon Cat Club could believe what was about to happen. Within eleven
months, there were twenty-one cats with the requirement. These
included Addeilo Jeffracoon, Adixilo Mambreno, Adraylo Treblis
Smugboots, Belujondra Fenella, Karolou Balas Bucaneer, Keverstones
American Dream, Kuddli Krystalle, Mabalakat Maisie May, Mabalakat
Majika, Majanco Moshatel, Matagot Charlie Brown, Shookatoo Bruno,
Smugkatz Demelza Poldark, Smugkatz George Warleggan, Sunregal Rocky,
Sunregal Sweet Peach and Ursella Brown Billy. During the 1992 - 93
show season, over two hundred Maine Coons were shown in G.C.C.F
shows around Britain. At that time, I was secretary of the Maine
Coon Cat Club and had responsibility for collating evidence and
submitting the application for Championship Status to GCCF. No fancy
PCs then, just a trusty old Amstrad with a ribbon printer to get
everything done, but with the help of everyone, we did it. Maine
Coons were also very successful at the Supreme Show both in 1992 and
1993. In 1992, Adraylo Treblis Smugboots was Best Provisional Adult,
Staroyale Desperate Dan was Best Provisional Kitten with Adixilo
Mambreno winning Best Provisional Neuter. In 1993, Keverstones
American Dream was Best Provisional Adult and Smugkatz George
Warleggan, Best Provisional Neuter.
The breed’s application for promotion to Championship Status was
approved in the autumn of 1993, though we had to wait patiently
until June 1994 for the classes to start. It was just seven weeks
later that we had our first titled cats. At the Gwynedd Show,
Keverstones American Dream and his daughter, Keverstone Yankee Girl
(pictured
above),
both owned by Steve & Daphne Butters, became the first champions.
For the previous two years, the Birmans, Turkish Vans & Somalis had been competing for the SLH Grand certificates. Now the Maine Coons joined these classes. Back in April 1994, before we had Championship Status, Yankee Girl won the Kitten Open Class under probationer Maine Coon judge, Joe Bury (a senior Foreign Section Judge). After judging, he came over to speak to us, saying “This kitten is going to be GCCF’s First Grand Champion Maine Coon”. I remember laughing at the time, thinking “Not a chance”, but Joe proved me wrong. In October 1994, less than five months after gaining Championship Status, Yankee became the first Grand Maine Coon when she won her third Grand Challenge Certificate. Three weeks later, at the Supreme, Lawmaine Stripes Again, owned by Steve & Daphne Butters, became the first Grand Premier. Back in those days the Grand classes tended to be on the large side – entries often in the teens, so competition was really stiff. In January 1995, Noracoon Ernestina Mallory became the first female Grand Premier and in March, Adraylo Treblis Smugboots, owned by Rob & Sue Grace, became the first male Grand Champion. We now have many Grand Champions and Grand Premier
The 1994-95 show season was so important for the breed, a real
milestone. Not only did we have our first Championship Classes, but
it was also the year when the first Maine Coon Cat Club Show was
held. The idea of the club holding a show started one Sunday morning
in early 1993, at our kitchen table, after a rather heavy night’s
drinking. Phillipa Holmes, David Howe, Steve & I, still hung over,
thought it would be a good idea to hold a show. Phillipa offered to
be show manager, Steve reluctantly said that he would be assistant
until someone more suitable could be found (he had no real interest
in show management) and Dave said that he would organize the
catering. But first we needed some funds as GCCF would not issue a
show licence if the club did not have money put aside to run the
show. So, we decided to hold a photographic show, large raffle and
garden party and a few months later we held the event at our house.
This raised several hundred pounds, enough for us to make the
application to GCCF. We held our first show in early August 1994,
taking quite a chance considering that the breed had just gained
championship status. In those days, all clubs had to go through a
‘training period’, holding three Exemption Shows and then three
Sanction Shows before being considered to be given a license to hold
a Championship Show. Our question – would people support the club
even though there were no certificates available to them, or would
they go elsewhere to try to gain CCs and PCs. What a great set of
members we had – they came out and supported us in their droves and
the first show was a huge success. The Maine Coon Cat Club’s First
Overall Best in Show was the wonderful large solid black boy from
Bodmin Moor – Adraylo Trebils Smugboots.
MAINE COON CAT CLUB SHOW OVERALL BIS WINNERS
1994 ADRAYLO TREBLIS SMUGBOOTS
1995 GRPR LAWMAINE STRIPES AGAIN
1996 GRCH KEVERSTONE YOUNG AMERICOON
1997 CH KITITAS SWEETGEORGIA BROWN
1998 JAKATTA DESDEMONA
1999 GRCH JAKATTA DESDEMONA
2000 GRCH JAKATTA DESDEMONA
2001 CH CLASSICOON ZIGGI STARDUST
2002 CH HARTSCOON TABITHA RUGRAT
2003 GRCH & GRPR BEARDWOOD ROBBY WILLYAMS
2007
IGRPR DAIRYMAINE SARNIA CHERIE
2016 OGIGRPR KASSARO CISCO KID
2017 JULESCOON OTTO
2018 UK IGR PR ISADORYOU POLOBEAR
2019 OG,IGrPr ISADORYOU LOVEBUG
2020 No Show (Covid Restrictions)
2021 No Show (Covid Restrictions)
2022 TIGERFEET CHIANTI
Many of the above cats went on to gain further titles, but these
were the titles that they held at the time of their Best in
Show
win.
Back
to show history. Having had lots of Supreme Show success at
Provisional Status, with several gaining Best Provisional titles,
Grand Champion/Grand Premier titled Maine Coons now competed in the
same classes as Somalis and Turkish Vans for the top GCCF
Certificate – the UK Grand. A cat must gain two of these to become a
UK Grand and that means, for most cats, winning the certificate at
two different annual Supreme Shows. In 1997, we had our first UK
Grands – in the adults, UK Gr Ch Smugkatz Morwena Chynoweth, owned
by Rob & Sue Grace and Gr Ch & UK Gr Pr Keverstone Yankee Girl
(left) in the neuter section. We will return to the Supreme Show
later.
It wasn’t long before Maine Coons were competing strongly against
the Birmans, Turkish Vans and Somalis in Grand Classes at shows
around the country, and in 1997, Norwegian Forest Cats joined the
Grand Classes. Competition was now really tough. By 1998 there were
huge Maine Coon classes, and our application to split off the Brown
Tabby Series into a separate Open Class was accepted by GCCF,
starting on 1st June 1999. Prior to that, all colours
competed in the same Open Class. And bear in mind, every cat could
enter its Open and also the Grand Class (if it was a titled cat), so
you can imagine how hard it was to win certificates with such stiff
competition. In 2005, we had enough Silver Tabby Series & AOC
coloured cats being shown to enable the AOC Class to be split into
Silver Tabby & AOC. In 2003, the Birmans gained their own Grand
Class, but the competition within the AOV Grand Class remained as
competitive as ever with the Ragdolls having gained Championship
Status in 2001.
In 2005 GCCF gained a new higher class – the Imperial Grand. To become an Imperial, cats had to gain not three, but five certificates under five different judges. There would be one Imperial Class Group within the Semi-Longhair Section, so Maine Coons would compete against all other Grand titled semi-longhairs. It gave the breed and the club an immense amount of pride when the very first Imperial titled cat was a Maine Coon –
Imperial
Grand Champion Kassaro Ferrguss (photo above), made up at Wyvern
Show in September, a gorgeous red tabby owned by Mr & Mrs Snodgrass
(left).
Whilst we had three more male adults gaining the title in-between,
it was another two years before we saw our first female Imperial
Adult - Imp Gr Ch
Moonraker’s Hacoona Matata owned by Steve & Laura Whitmarsh (right).
It wasn’t such a long wait for the neuters. Brown Tabby, Imp Gr Pr
Dairymaine Emily, owned by Jane Haynes, became the first Imperial
Grand Premier, (yet another female beating the boys to get that
first title by becoming the first Imp Gr Pr Maine Coon), less than a
month after Ferrguss and just one week later, it was another
Dairymaine, this time Imp Gr Pr Dairymaine Chilli Pepper (below),
owned by Saffi Rabey, took the honour of becoming the first Male
Imperial Grand Premier. Today we have
a number of
Imperial Grand Champions and Imperial Grand Premiers.
In September 2011, UK Imp Gr Pr Coontastic Nijinsky (right), owned by Stephen & Jill Bunce, jointly became the first Olympian Bronze, on the same day as a Birman did it.
Eight months later, Saffi Rabey’s Sup UK Imp Gr Pr Dairymaine Sarnia Cherie became the first female Maine Coon to gain this title. But the story didn’t end there – Nijinsky went on to become the first Olympian Silver in February 2012 and the first Olympian Gold four months later in June. What an amazing accomplishment for the cat, his owners & breeders and the entire Maine Coon breed.
Sarnia Cherie continued her winning ways, becoming the first
Olympian Gold Female Neuter in April 2014. Congratulations to her
owner, Saffy Rabey and breeder Jane Haynes on this amazing feat.
At this point we still don’t have any Olympian adults, but it’s just a matter of time before we will be celebrating the breeds success once more.
Supreme Adult
2000
Gr
Ch Ohyo Murphy Of Noah’s Ark,
owned by Mrs D Brettell, bred by A Kneifel
2010
Ch
Julescoon Dexter, owned and bred by Mr & Mrs Gregson
| 1995 |
Rockoon Tygerlily,
owned by Mrs A Craig, bred by Mrs J Lambeth |
| 2002 | Lionmaine Kennya, owned and bred by Mrs J Chadwick |
| 2003 |
Dairymaine Chestaton,
owned and bred by Mrs J Haynes |
| 2005 |
Coontastic Xavier,
owned by Mrs S Wilkinson,
bred
by Mr & Mrs Barletta |
| 2011 |
Isadoryou Mr Bojangles,
owned by Mrs T Cole, bred by Miss T Murray |
| 2005 |
UK
IGrPr Dairymaine Chestaton,
owned and bred by Mrs J Haynes |
| 2008 |
UK
IGrPr Dairymaine Sarnia Cherie,
owned by Miss S Rabey, bred by Mrs J Haynes |
2005
SupUK IGrPr Dairymaine Chestaton,
owned and bred by Mrs J Haynes
Dairymaine Chestaton warrants a very special mention – the only
Maine Coon to win a Supreme title twice, Supreme Kitten in 2003,
Supreme Neuter & Supreme Exhibit in 2005.
2008 Supreme
UK IGrPr Dairymaine Sarnia Cherie
Owned by Miss S Rabey,
bred by Mrs J Haynes
2010
Supreme
Ch Julescoon Dexter
Owned and bred by Mr & Mrs Gregson
History continues to be made by our special breed, week in and week out, and we look forward to the next thirty years!