Smooth Collies had to wait until 1947 before
being granted their first set of post-war
Challenge Certificates at Blackpool,
25-27 June, where Mr A. Watt NETHERKEIR
judging both coats, gave the Smooth tickets
to Hewburn Perfection who annexed all
three CCs on offer for Smooth Collie males
that year, and Wychelms Silver Maid, both six year old blue merles. Perfection
returned to the ring in 1948 taking two of the three Challenge Certificates on offer, whilst Wychelms Silver Maid added her third and title to the two already won, these two being the only Smooth Collies Champions this decade. In 1949 the Kennel Club decided Smooth Collie numbers were insufficient to support Championship status, and tickets were withdrawn, only to be reallocated the following year when again the breed were granted just three sets of Challenge Certificates.
Having rarely enjoyed the popularity of their Rough cousins, and failing to attract the following they deserved in the immediate post-war period, Smooth Collies, without the impetus of an effective icon, were slow to see registrations climb to even pre-war levels. Hewburn Perfection was widely used establishing a dominant Smooth male line, and before the decade’s close Perfection’s son, Ch Grangetown Blue Prince, began making a name for himself. Although Mrs Rhys persisted in using solely Smooth Collies in her breeding programme, many breeders resorted to the use of Rough coated sires, selecting for type from the resultant Smooth puppies.
