HISTORY OF THE SAINT
BERNARD
PRAIRIEAIRE SAINT BERNARD
KENNEL
1961 Prairieaire St. Bernards began their existence when founder,
Winifred Martin, acquired some exceptional breeding stock to establish
the foundation.   It was the "chance of a lifetime" when she became the
owner of
BASKO VON SALMEGG, a pure Swiss import with a remarkable
pedigree who was 32 inches at the shoulder and averaged 175 pounds.

He was shown to Champion title and as his fame spread and his offspring
complimented his own status, a new chapter was written in St. Bernard
history. In 1968, he was named the nation's Top Stud Dog.  In total, he
sired 13 champions which makes him the greatest import since World War
II, to the present.




















A kennel can only be as good as its bitches and Prairieaire owned Ch.
HILLTOPS HONEY BABY ZWINGO, the daughter of
Ch. HARVEY's
ZWINGO BARRI V BANZ  (Sanctuary Woods / import breeding), a
multi-Best In Show Winner and sire of 15 champions. Honey was heavy
import breeding from the most noted of Europe's great St. Bernards. Her
greatest son,
Ch. PRAIRIEAIRE ROX V ZWINGO BASKO (a Basko son)
became the sire of 15 champions (plus 15 more were pointed) as well as
the Nation's Top Stud Dog in 1969 and runner-up in 1970. Ch. Honey
Baby herself was named the Nation's Top Brood Bitch in 1965, having
produced 5 champions.

Basko, Honey, and Rox each produced offspring that won an All-Breed
Best in Show. Prairieaire became a unique bloodline with this foundation.
It was then enhanced through the years with more import blood related to
Basko, which line breeding brought to a high degree of strength and merit.

By keeping the bloodline pure as possible with intelligent selections in
mating, all the desirable traits of Basko and Honey were preserved. This is
evident some 45 years later in the present day stock.

Offspring show remarkable consistency with strong emphasis on heavy
bone, good height,
excellent correct head type, compact wide balanced
bodies, heavy muscling necessary to maintain soundness of limb,
resulting in correctness of movement, plus wonderful temperaments and
intelligence, topped with the trademark of the line, namely glorious deep
rich red coloring and clean white.

1992, upon Winifred's retirement , the line continued under the direction
of
Tim DeAtley who produced some powerful champions and sound
stock to further the Prairieaire line and its degree of purity. They seeing,
as did Winifred, the power of the bloodline in relation to other bloodlines
when the Prairieaire traits prove to dominate when clients owning other
bloodlines breed into the Prairieaire line. Credit must  be acknowledged to
Bob Stewart ,Baronhorn Kennels,  located in Illinois.

2005, the DeAtley's  turned  the job of caretaker of the line to me , Denis
Smith.  This is not new since I have been affiliated and involved with
Prairieaire and Winnie Martin since 1980, but the kennel behind that
contact was
Patrich's 1968 F litter .   The Prairieaire kennel will continue
the same goals and the end results of line breeding.  Winnie and Tim
continue to be involved in many of the decisions.  All the kennel papers
from Prairieaire, Chartwell Saints founded in 1958 by
Ruth Ellen Lightner
Marshall (a sister kennel of Prairieaire) and Steppinwoof founded in 1969
by Denis Smith (also a sister kennel to Prairieaire) are all now one.

It takes 8 generations to "set the type" in a bloodline and Prairieaire
pedigrees can show 12 or more generations back to the foundation stock.
There is visible evidence of the very traits that made the foundation stock
so outstanding, as seen in the champions and future champions of
present day Prairieaire.
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CONTACT:

713 - 417- 7855
"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."
Dave Barry Nationally Syndicated Columnist
Counter
VISITS SINCE MARCH 2005
Basko and Honey Baby 1960's  the foundation........all litters can be traced back to
this mating that started the Prairieiaire red and white trademark.
A Top Ten Saint Bernard
all breed points
four years in a row in the United States
2001 - 2004
(Born 9/17/1997 -  Died 1/10/2007)
March 24, 2006
Reserve Winners Bitch
North Texas
Saint Bernard Club Specialty
Below left : 2004 CH. Prairieaire Heir  of ExcellenceCGC aka "Reno" owned by Tim
DeAtley. Below right: Prairieaire Trend of Excellence (pointed) owned by Tim
DeAtley and Denis Smith both bred by Valerie Crane
BASKO VIDEO
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FIESTA BOWL 2007
BSU BEAT OKLAHOMA 43 T0 42
PRAIRIEAIRE IS A BRONCO FAN
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BERNHARDINER
SAINT BERNARD
SAN BERNARDO
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DenisSmith@prairieaire.com
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LAST UPDATE
MAY 22, 2007
Dog Club - Internet Dog Directory