About Us
In the early 1990s Mick and I started looking for another breed to keep our to keep our Giant Schnauzer, Hansel, company. I’d always had GSDs but wasn’t happy with some of the temperament issues.
We found a photograph of a Italian Spinone in a book and decided to investigate further, so I rang the Kennel Club to enquire whether there was a breed club and to our delight, the secretary only lived a half hours drive away. We rang to ask if it was convenient to call and after getting lost and having to ask directions at the local pub, we made the first of many visits to Batley Farm to see Linda Collins and the wonderful Wynsett Spinoni. It was the start of a close friendship that was only cut short by Linda’s untimely death from cancer in 2005.
Over the years we spent many happy hours in her company and I will always be grateful to her for the wealth of knowledge that she so willingly shared with both of us. She introduced me to the world of dog shows, firstly just watching her show her own dogs and then latterly showing my own.
Linda’s passion for the breed was obvious to us from the moment we met her and with her carefully planned and thoughtful breeding programme, she has, along with other Spinonisti, helped make the breed what it is today in this country. Many of the top winning Spinoni can boast Wynsett in their pedigrees and she is responsible for setting a fair number of today’s enthusiasts on the right track.
Lesley Coldwell