In the show ring Champions
Charlemagne and Madge I continued
to win well during the early years
of the decade, with both proving
themselves in breeding terms.
Charlemagne’s son Eclipse, from
a litter bother/sister mating, not only
lived up to his name winning
16 Champions Classes, but also became the only collie stud dog to have bitches shipped across the Atlantic in order to avail themselves of his services. For all this Eclipse’s influence on future generations extended no more than a generation or two. Charlemagne’s grandson, Metchley Wonder, not only surpassed Eclipse’s show record with 19 Challenge Class wins he also made a significant contribution to establishing the dominance of the Trefoil line. By contrast Ch Madge I and family a, from which she stemmed, were to dominate female lines throughout the last quarter of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries, with daughters Peggy II and Amy plus litter sister Zulu Princess and half sister Lady Clare all making major contributions to furthering the breed. Other noteworthy Collies included Mr Arkwright’s Blue Ruin, the first blue merle to take on the other colours and win, adding the Collie Club’s Challenge Trophy to her list of wins at the Kennel Club’s 31st Exhibition of Dogs 3-6 July 1888. However this decade’s real Rough Collie star must be the tricolour Rutland, first winner of the Collie Club's Challenge Trophy, with his record of 21 Challenge plus 6 Champion Class wins only surpassed by Ch Phreelancer Phrosty Moon over Corydon in 2001.
