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Winter can bring forth remarkable events, from raging blizzards to beautiful frost-covered trees glistening in the sunlight. On February 27, 1964, in Grove City, Ohio, a litter of puppies, German Shepherd puppies, was born; and one of these puppies would grow up to become a sire of such note that he would remold his breed. This puppy was to be named Lance of Fran-Jo and he would attain the highest pinnacles possible in his breed. He would achieve the highest honor in the show ring in two countries, Grand Victor in both the United States and Canada; he would win a total of 36 Best of Breed wins, including nine Specialties; eight Working Group firsts; and two Best in Show wins at all-breed shows. He would also become the all-time highest Register of Merit stud dog. Through his ability to consistently produce progeny of outstanding quality, his name has become the symbol of excellence in the German Shepherd breed of our time. In the history of the breed in the United States, two names stand out above all others – Pfeffer and Lance. It is unfortunate that no one from Pfeffer’s era, familiar with his influence and contributions, saw fit to write his story. But for Lance, appearing on the twentieth anniversary of his birth, will give present and future fanciers the facts about his impact on the breed, his legacy.

Joan and Francis Ford could not possibly have predicted the fame and influence that was to be achieved by one of the puppies born that winter day twenty years ago (only the second litter of their breeding). Neither could members of their local specialty club, the GSDC of Central Ohio, have predicted the tremendous impact of the Fran-Jo breeding program. Yet it is very interesting to read a portion of the 1964 annual report of that club: “We chose Joan Ford to receive the Dog World award for outstanding service to dogs. She has been a hard-working member of the club and faithful to the breed. She has gone great lengths to establish a sound breeding program.” The passing years have given witness to the wisdom of their choice for that award.

Joan and Fran had known and admired Frohlich’s Elsa v. Grunestahl and when they learned that Olli Conti, Elsa’s breeder, was not going to be able to breed her for a while, they arranged to lease Elsa, then six years old. A friend of Joan’s had commented on how well the Hein v. Richterbach lines seemed to be blending with Axel-Troll descendants, particularly “F” Arbywood. Therefore Joan and Fran thought that this might be the direction to go with Elsa, who was a double Hein great-granddaughter. The “F” boys’ grandmother, Lende v. Richterback (SchH3), was a half-sister to Hein.

Joan took Elsa for Lucy Woodward to see, and to advise on which of the “F” boys would be best suited for her. Lucy recommended Fortune.

ARBYWOOD “F” LITTER

Perhaps some background on the Arbywood “F” litter, bred by Lucy Woodward, would be useful for those not familiar with this outstanding litter, whelped Oct. 23, 1957. Frigga of Silver Lane ROM was bred just once in her lifetime, to the imported GV Ch. Troll v. Richterbach ROM, and produced a litter of eight living puppies, of whom six finished their championships: Field Marshall, Fels, Fortune, Falko, Ferd, and Fashion. The first three, all owned by Lucy Woodward, also attained their RIM title, and all were among the most successful sires of their day. Fels produced seven champions, including one ROM son, Ch. Gallant of Arbywood; Field Marshall produced twelve champions, including a GV daughter, Ch. Nanhall’s Donna, and an ROM daughter, Ch. Ricella’s Fantasy; but Fortune turned out to be the star with his eleven champions, including one ROM daughter, Ch. Lonie of Fran-Jo, and three ROM sons, Ch. Doppelt-Tay’s Jesse James (there were four champions in the Doppelt-Tay “J” litter), Ch. Dipadon’s Dasher, and the greatest son of all, GV Ch. Lance of Fran-Jo ROM. The Arbywood “F” litter was the second of only three 6-champion litters in the history of the breed.

Joan Ford relates that Lance especially, but also his sister, Lonie, stood out in their litter of seven puppies at an early age. Other puppies in the litter were also of show quality. Both Lido and Letisha won and placed in their classes at specialty shows, and Lido was 4th in his Futurity class back in the days when those classes were large. Lonie was Best in Futurity, handled by Fran, and that fall, handled by Bob Denton, was National Futurity Victrix. Lance was a large, elegant, beautifully proportioned puppy, and at 4 ½ months, won his fist match over an entry of 100 plus. He went on to win at a number of matches; already very mature by 11 ½ months, he had attained his full height of 26 ½ inches.

ONSET OF PANO

But now Lance was to endure a period of great suffering. He developed a severe case of panosteitis, at one time affecting both hind legs at once, he was in such obvious pain that Joan and Fran made the difficult decision to have their beautiful puppy euthanized, in order to spare him further suffering. Joan actually had Lance in the car for his final trip to the veterinarian, but when Fan came over for his farewell to Lance, they found they were unable to go through with their decision and put Lance back in the kennel. Fortunately, within a few days the disease began to lessen, and Lance was soon back to normal, although the pano did recur from time to time for several months.

HIS SHOW CAREER

Lance’s show career began at 11 months, just before the onset of a bout with pano, when he won a major reserve under Judge John Seiler. His picture first appeared un the Review in April, 1966 (his sister, Lonie, was Winners Bitch). Lance and Lonie both finished their championships on February 27, 1966, at the Kentuckiana GSDC Specialty. This was their second birthday and a very thrilling day for Fran and Joan Ford. Fran handled Lance for all except two of his points.

Lance was not advertised at all during his campaign; the first Fran-Jo advertisement featuring Lance appeared in May, 1966, after he was a champion.

GRAND VICTOR IN 1967

That fall in Kansas City, Lance was Maturity Victor and Select #6 at the National Specialty. The next year in Memphis, Lance became the 1967 Grand Victor, also Canadian Grand Victor that same year. He was shown very little after attaining his Grand Victor titles, but at home in Grove City, Lance was a very busy dog with a steady progression of lovely bitches coming to visit him! Lance was bred to approximately 300 bitches in about 7½ years at active stud. At that time most dogs were not being campaigned heavily at an early age and were not finishing so young. Lance’s first three champions, Mannix of Fran-Jo, My Molly B of Fran-Jo, and Eko-Lan’s Morgan, finished in 1969, and ten more finished in 1970, the year Lance completed his ROM title. The amazing Lance had the distinction of being the highest living ROM sire the very year he attained the title. No other dog has done that in the past twenty years, and perhaps never (author’s reviews are complete only from 1963). By the time of his death in 1973, Lance had 35 champions and now the count stands at 60 champions.

GENERATIONS OF QUALITY

But Lanc60 champions, or even twelve ROM sons and daughters, but rather is through several bloodline combinations or families which have maintained their genetic potency through several successive generations. For example:

• Lance – Mannix – Scorpio – Watson – Hidalso – Promise
• Lance – Mannix – Spartacus – Quint – Prime Time
• Lance – Morgan Paladen – Hawkeye – Sundance – Sundance Kid
• Lance – Morgan – Paladen – Hammer – Chaz-Clouseau
• Lance – Beau – Gabriel – Ozark – Sabra Dennis
• Lance – Reno – Kane Lonnie – Senator
• Lance – Jarrigan – Oregano – On Parade
• Lance – Gilligan – Felita – Carmelita – Don Quixote
• Lance – Golly Gee – Windsong – Zephyr – Trollstigen

• Lance – Abbey – Zeus – Flair – Ironsides – Racketeer

(Yes, this is switching from sire lines to dam lines and back again,  but it does make quite an impressive listing!)

Although most of Lance’s championship points were won while his breeder/owner, Fran, was handling him, Lance was also associated with two prominent handlers during his show career. Bob Denton handled Lance during his early Specials career, including his Maturity Victor title and Select at the 1966 National. Jim Moses began handling Lance in early 1967, and handled him to his Grand Victor title when he was being shown very sparingly.

HIS HANDLERS’ MEMORIES

Both handlers have very fond recollections of Lance, but neither remembers precisely the first time he saw Lance.

Bob Denton remembers that Lance was still a puppy when he first saw him, and he was impressed with him from the beginning, although he faulted him on his feet. Bob commented specifically on his excellent temperament: “a dog that did everything I asked him to do . . . would get out in front and move . . . didn’t need double handling . . . would bait for you.”

Jim Moses was not sure when he first saw Lance; he remembered him at a show in Ohio where Lance was Winners Dog, but Jim won Best if Breed with Ch. Schaferheim’s Bernice. Jim first handled Lance at the Detroit specialty under Harold Sands in the spring of 1967, and even today Jim sounded disappointed that Lance lost to Ch. Fels v.d. Rottembrucke of Dornwald. He remembers Lance as “a fun dog with a very lively personality.” He recalled having to be careful about letting lance loose in the motel room for fear he would hurt himself. “He loved to jump from bed to bed.” Jim related that Lance was an easy dog to show and also commented that he didn’t need double handling. Jim tried to keep Lance on a loose lead to show off his strong back and powerful hindquarters, which he felt were two of Lance’s strongest points. Jim remembers that at the 1967 National, Lance started out in front, dropped back to 7^th. But as other dogs began to tire, Lance was still moving as powerfully as when he started out, and moved his way back to first!

LANCE – PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Cappy Pottle wrote a splendid analysis of Lance as a producer in the 1972 Futurity & Maturity Tabulation, written in 1973 after Lance’s death.

While she says in that article that it is difficult to accurately describe even the physical characteristics of such a dog as Lance, it would also be difficult to improve upon that description:

“. . . he is truly a ‘picture dog,’ with ideal proportions, presenting a statuesque silhouette of near perfection . . . a noble expressive head, constantly alert, stylish arched neck, high wither, uninterrupted topline, short back, well-formed croup, saber tail, ideal rear angulation and short powerful hocks. His color and markings were medium, his pigment not flashy or rich-hued. He could be described as dry rather than coarse or plush. It was his unique grace and symmetry that immediately caught the eye . . . he possessed an unusual masculine refinement. He was stunning. To those who loved him, he was not only their prototype, but a real live dog with a happy disposition and a ‘heart of gold.’ ”

To be complete, even Lance was not quite perfect – he was missing one tooth, his feet could have been better, and Judge Ernest Loeb criticized his front movement as he saw Lance in the Specials class at the 1966 National Specialty, saying “his front action disappointed me somewhat.” Mr. Loeb also described him as “a 2 ½ year old very impressive large black and tan of excellent type and extreme rear angulation.” He awarded Lance Select #6 and also the 1966 Maturity Victor title.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

In that same 1972 Red Book (Futurity and Maturity Tabulation Stud Dogs and Brood Bitches), published in 1973, the beginning section mourned the great loss of Lance, the #1 sire again that year, and his son, Ch. Lakeside’s Gilligan’s Island, #2 sire, both of whom had just died. Ch. Lakeside’s Harrigan, the new Grand Victor, appeared for the first time (#18) on the basis of one litter, out of Ch. Ponca Hill’s Sudana, with four placings in the Junior class, including a Best Opposite in Futurity. Ch. Cobert’s Reno of Lakeside did not appear as a stud dog but was Best Opposite in Maturity in the Southeast region. Cappy Pottle, in the section on Gilligan, comments: “The fancy is fortunate to have two outstanding brothers in opposite parts of the country from which to choose: GV Ch. Lakeside’s Harrigan in the West and Ch. Cobert’s Reno of Lakeside in the East. These two stallion-like males have the genetic heritage from Lance and Bernd to produce elegance, vitality, nobility and strength of character along with soundness of structure and temperament to carry on for the betterment if our breed now that their brother and [their] sire rest.” What prophetic words, because those two brothers did indeed carry on, (Harrigan currently is the sire of 51 champions, and Reno, 52 champions) along with a remarkable number of Lance’s ROM sons and daughters.

FAMILIES FROM LANCE

In 1972, while ample evidence existed and clearly would continue to accumulate, that Lance’s progeny would continue in his producing tradition, Gilligan had stood out as Lance’s star producing son. Now, in 1984, as touched upon earlier in this article, we can see that several families or lines already have evolved from Lance, with, of course, considerable blending of these “families.”

FRAN-JO ROM SONS

First of all, there are the Fran-Jo dogs. Joan and Fran Ford themselves have bred four of Lance’s ROM sons. Ch. Zeto of Fran-Jo and Zeus of Fran-Jo were inbred from a Lance daughter, Ch. Mirheim’s Abby ROM whose dam was a granddaughter of Ch. Bernd v. Kallengarten ROM. For the show ring, Zeus has sired three GV daughters – Ch. Lacey Britches of Billo, Ch. Anton’s Jesse, and Ch. Anton’s Jenne; and one GV son, Ch. Padechma’s Persuasion ROM. But at this point his most important progeny genetically is clearly Ch. Amber’s Flair ROM, already the dam of eight champions. Zeto has a ROM daughter, Fran-Jo’s Dawn of Gan Edan, dam of GV Ch. Sabra Dennis of Gan Edan, and a daughter, Lainie v. Cypress who is very near her ROM.

GV Ch. Mannix of Fran-Jo also results from combining with Bernd, out of the Bernd daughter Hillgrove’s Erle ROM. Mannix is next to the bottom of Lance’s ROM sons, in number of champions sired, but what champions! He is the second generation of a mal ROM dynasty stemming from Lance . . . Mannix . . . Scorpio . . . Augie . . . Haydel. GV Ch. Scorpio of Shiloh Gardens also sired GV Ch. Langenau’s Watson ROM, who in turn has several sons beginning to make their mark. Mannix has another ROM son, GV Ch. Caesar v. Carahaus, plus a GV daughter, Ch. Langenau’s Tango. Most of these ROM/GV dogs also go back to Lance through at least one more line of descent.

The fourth Fran-Jo ROM sire, Ch. Beau of Fran-Jo could be considered part of a separate family, the Lance – K Waldesruh cross, which is also behind Scorpio, and even more strongly behind Ch. Haydelhaus Augie v. Zahnartz ROM and Ch. Prime Time of Billo ROM. Beau’s only champion son, Ch. Gabriel of Gan Edan, died young but is the grandsire of GV Ch. Sabra Dennis.

LANCE – WALDESRUH CROSS

Going more fully into the Lance – Waldesruh cross, one hears constant references to the Lance – K Waldesruh. One of the most significant bitches that Lance was bred to was Lil’ Lulu of Waldesruh. Lil’ Lulu resulted from the breeding of Ch. Korporal of Waldesruh to his dam, Del-Deena of Waldesruh ROM. Bred to Lance, she produced Ch. Maja of Waldesruh (dam of two ROM bitches owned by Billo Kennels), Waldesruh Pud of Shiloh Gardens, and litter sister Pia. Pud was to be the dam of the great GV Ch. Scorpio and brother to Spartacus (grand-sire of Prime Time and GV Ch. Aspen of Fran-Jo ROM). Pia is the dam of GV Ch. Charo of Shiloh Gardens, sired by her nephew, Scorpio. Of these four bitches, Lil’ Lulu and her three daughters, none were to complete their own ROM title, yet they are “pillars of the breed” through their combinations with Lance, his son Mannix and other intense breeding programs. Lance was also bred to two bitches of the “K” litter; Kelley, dam of the Fran-Jo “B” and “M” litters, and Kristie, which did not produce any champions. 

EKO-LAN

Another major family descending from Lance comes from his breeding to Eko-Lan’s Gemini, dam of Ch. Eko-Lan’s Morgan ROM and thus grand-dam of the extremely prepotent Ch. Eko-Lan’s Paladen ROM. Gemini and her sister, Eko-Lan’s Glory ROM (Paladen’s dam) are daughters of Ch. Elwillo’s Ursus, an inbred Gengis son, and a Troll granddaughter, Eko-Lan’s Ebb-Tide who also goes back to Hein v. Richterbach. Morgan produced another ROM son, Ch. Eko-Lan’s Shiloh (out of his daughter, Helena); and still another son, Ch. Eko-Lan’s Quasar, is the maternal grandsire of Prime Time. But Paladen is the most noteworthy, especially through his famous sons, Doppelt-Tay’s Hawkeye and Hammer – both are Champion and ROM. Paladen sired only one Grand Victrix, Ch. Lor-Locke’s Tatta of Fran-Jo ROM, but his daughter, Ch. Elfie of Fran-Jo, is the dam of GV Ch. Aspen of Fran-Jo ROM. His son Hammer is the sire of GV Ch. Baobab’s Chaz ROM; Hawkeye is the sire of the 1983 GV Ch. Von Ivo’s Blithe Spirit (CD TC), and Ch. Marty v. Bid-Scono ROM is the sire of GV Ch. Kismet’s Impulse v. Bismark. Again, most of Paladen’s top producing progeny have another line to Lance. 

 

SUCCESS OF LANCE AND MELISSA

 

The last family descending from Lance, probably the most famous and the most wide-spread of all, was just touched upon in the beginning of this section on the producing legacy of Lance, as Cappy Pottle predicts that Harrigan and Reno will carry in for their sire and their brother.

 

Out of the many, many successful breedings of Lance to fine bitches whose descendants have continued the Lance influence, genetically outstanding bitches such as those already mentioned: Ch. Mirheim’s Abby ROM, Hillgrove’s Erie ROM, Lil’ Lulu of Waldesruh, Eko-Lan’s Gemini, plus Ch. Ricella’s Fantasy ROM, Laurlloy’s Admira, Chickwood’s Gillie ROM, Ch. Amber’s Valiant Robin ROM, and many others, there is one bitch who stands above the rest on the basis of the genetic impact of the progeny. Cobert’s Melissa was bred to Lance four times to produce six champions – three males, all ROM, three bitches, one of them ROM; and one non-champion ROM daughter. (Melissa also produced two champion daughters, one of them ROM, from the Lance grandson, Paladen.)

 

Ch. Lakeside’s Gilligan’s Island ROM, Ch. Cobert’s Golly Gee of Lakeside ROM, GV Ch. Lakeside’s Harrigan ROM, Ch. Cobert’s Reno of Lakeside ROM, Cobert’s Rhythm of Lakeside ROM – all from Lance and Melissa. Trying to write about these great producing brothers and sisters individually proves to be very difficult, because so many of their finest descendants turn out to come from a blend of two or more of them! Since these five Register of Merit producers have to their credit 122 champions (Reno – 52, Harrigan – 51, Gilligan – 14, Golly Gee – 3, Rhythm – 2), all of the various bloodline combinations will not be discussed, only those which produced ROM or GV progeny.

 

GILLIGAN’S ISLAND

 

Gilligan, bred to a bitch of German lines, sired GV Ch. Cathwar’s Lisa v. Rob ROM, who in turn is the dam of four champions, three of them sired by Reno. Gilligan was also bred to Ch. Kovaya’s Contessa ROM and produced the 4^th generation of the breed’s most famous continuous ROM bitch line, Ch. Covy’s Felita of Tucker Hill ROM. Felita has a ROM daughter, Covy-Tucker Hill’s Carmelita, who in turn has a champion daughter with two progeny toward what could become the 6^th generation of ROM bitches! Also from the Gilligan-Contessa breeding is Covy’s Fate of Tucker Hill, dam of three champions, including Ch. Covy-Tucker Hill’s Finnegan ROM (sired by the Harrigan son, Covy’s Oregano of Tucker Hill ROM). Gilligan also has one Tom SON, Ch. Val-Don’s Quaker.

 

GOLLY GEE

 

Golly Gee is the 2^nd generation of another line of consecutive ROM bitches. Her most illustrious offspring is Ch. Cobert’s Windsong ROM, sired by Scorpio. Windsong, bred back to her uncle, Reno, produced four champion daughters, including Ch. Cobert’s Zephyr of Windigail ROM, and the youngest ROM sire thus far in the history of the breed, Cobert’s Sirocco of Windigail. Sirocco already has a ROM son, Ch. Covy’s Mazarati of Tucker Hill, from GV Ch. Covy’s Rosemary of Tucker Hill ROM, herself a Harrigan daughter.

 

GV HARRIGAN

 

The other Lance – Melissa progeny remained in the East, but Harrigan belonged to Ann and Theis Mesdag of Seattle, Wash. Harrigan was used extensively and had tremendous influence on the West Coast, but especially in Mesdags’ own Von Nassau Kennels, and for the Covy-Tucker Hill Kennels of Cappy Pottle and Gloria Birch. Harrigan sired Ch. Von Nassau’s Galaxie ROM, out of the Lance daughter, Gracelyn’s Gay Blade ROM. Galaxie was bred back to her sire and produced Ch. Von Nassau’s Dayan ROM. Dayan himself has a ROM daughter, Echowood’s Apple Blossom, whose winning progeny were sired by the Harrigan-Gilligan grandson, Finnegan. Ch. Glenlo’s O’Killie ROM is also a Harrigan daughter; two of her champion offspring are from a breeding to Reno.

 

 

THE SPICE LITTER

 

Then we have what Connie Beckhart, in her 1980 ROM bitches report, referred to as “a dynamite combination,” GV Ch. Lakeside’s Harrigan ROM and 7 times Select Ch. Tucker Hill’s Angelique ROM. The first breeding of this pair produced the “Spice Litter” – GV Ch. Covy’s Rosemary of Tucker Hill ROM, Select Ch. Covy’s Tartar of Tucker Hill ROM, Select Ch. Covy’s Tarragon of Tucker Hill, Ch. Covy’s Caraway of Tucker Hill ROM. Repeat breedings produced three more champions, plus Covy-Tucker Hill’s Zinfandel ROM.

 

For the next generation, Rosemary is the dam of Ch. Covy’s Mazarati of Tucker Hill ROM, sired by the Reno son, Golly Gee grandson, Sirocco. Oregano is the sire of three ROM sons, GV Ch. Schokrest On Parade, Ch. Covy-Tucker Hill’s Durango (grandson of still another Lance-Melissa daughter, Tucker Hill’s Halo of Lakeside), and Ch. Covy-Tucker Hill’s Finnegan, who has a fantastic show career besides. He was #1 winning German Shepherd for four consecutive years, 1976-1979, but was also the #1 Working Dog in 1977, winning the Quaker Oats award, one of only two German Shepherds ever to win this prestigious award. Zinfandel is the sire of Covy-Tucker Hill’s Carmelita ROM, mentioned earlier as a Gilligan granddaughter. Four of Carmelita’s champions are from her breeding to the Reno son, Golly Gee grandson, Sirocco, thus blending four of Lance and Melissa’s ROM children. So a truly prepotent line can go on and on, with generation after generation of quality offspring.

 

RHYTHM

 

Another ROM daughter from Lance and Melissa is Cobert’s Rhythm of Lakeside, whose winning progeny were sired by Paladen, a very successful combination with Lance-Melissa; her champions are Ch. Cobert’s Gena of Springrock, and Ch. Cobert’s Ginger of Springrock.

 

RENO

 

And last, but certainly not least, is four times Select Ch. Cobert’s Reno of Lakeside ROM, who is the highest living ROM sire, currently with 52 champion offspring to his credit, plus five ROM title holders, and one Grand Victrix. Reno’s most famous offspring are his daughter GV Ch. Jo-San’s Charisma, out of a Harrigan daughter, Covy-Tucker Hill’s Bonita; Cobert’s Sirocco of Windigail ROM, mentioned several times previously, who is the sire of 13 champions despite his death at only five years of age; Ch. Kubistraum’s Kane ROM, out of the GV Ch. Hollamar’s Judd ROM daughter, Falkora’s Catalina ROM. Kane is the sire of 29 champions including Select Ch. Sequel’s Lonnie of Glisandro and Ch. Kallander’s Incan Warrior who is very near his ROM. Reno is also the sire of Barithaus Ramblin Rose ROM, whose champion offspring are sired by Paladen and by the Paladen son, Ch. Campaigner’s Gunsmoke. GV Ch. Baobab’s Chaz ROM is a Reno grandson, out of Ch. Pinebeach’s Darlin. Another ROM daughter, sister to Sirocco, is Cobert’s Zephyr of Windigail, whose champion progeny are sired by the Paladen son, Ch. Doppelt-Tay’s Hawkeye ROM, once again illustrating the success of this bloodline combination. Zephyr was also discussed in the section on her grandmother, Golly Gee.

 

In discussing results from the succeeding generations of this dynasty founded by Lance and Melissa, an amazing frequency of very close breeding on different combinations of these five Register of Merit brothers and sister occurs, plus successful blending with Scorpio and Paladen.

 

LANCE AND THE BERND INFLUENCE

 

Another point, heritage-wise, that has not been sufficiently stressed previously in this article, is the tremendous success of Lance with daughters and granddaughters of the great imported stud, Ch. Bernd v. Kallengarten ROM. The vast majority of Lance’s greatest producing progeny are also descended from Bernd. Melissa s a double Bernd granddaughter; Eris is a Bernd daughter; Abby’s dam is a Bernd granddaughter. In addition many of Lance’s sons were bred to bitches descended from Bernd, such as Ch. Kovaya’s Contessa ROM. Only the Waldesruh bitches and Eko-Lan’s Gemini had no Bernd in their background.

 

“F” ARBYWOOD LINEBREEDING

 

Another frequent combination with Lance consisted of line-breeding on “F” Arbywood. This proved to be successful so far as show winners and champions were concerned, but not for coming up with producers who would continue to excel for several generations. A notable exception to this was Ch. Langenau’s Christa, resulting from a Field Marshall daughter bred to Lance. Christa became the foundation for successive generations of the Langenau Shepherds. Also, Gracelyn’s Gay Blade ROM resulted from breeding Lance to a daughter of Ch. Gallant of Arbywood, a Fels son.

 

 

IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS

 

Statistics are always very difficult to present in either a meaningful or interesting manner, but in describing the impact of Lance on the German Shepherd breed, the statistics are very important – and almost unbelievable! The research done in compiling the following data was not precise, but the error that undoubtedly exists will be in the negative side; that is for example, if a champion was not known to be a descendant of Lance, it was classed as unrelated. No effort was made to look up pedigrees. The sources of information used were the German Shepherd Dog Review, 1969, (the year that Lance’s first champions finished); German Shepherd Champions, 1952-1980; AKC Purebred Dogs, 1981-1982; 1982 Register of Merit and Futurity and Maturity Tabulations; and those issues of the German Shepherd Dog Review listing the select dogs and bitches for the past ten years.

 

Statements are frequently heard that Lance is to be found in “virtually all” or “most” of the pedigrees of those German Shepherds bred by serious fanciers, those attempting to breed dogs as close to the standard as possible. But exactly what is that influence, on a percentage basis?

 

The percentage of champions, of Register of Merit dogs and bitches, and of Select dogs and bitches at National Specialties for the past ten years has been compiled as accurately as possible, although the total number of champions since 1969 has been estimated.

 

An average of 120 German Shepherd champions per year, multiplied by 14 (for 1969-1982), gives us a total of 1680 champions. Then using the above listed sources, the number of champions known to be descended from Lance totaled 801, or 48% for the 14 years since Lance’s first three champions completed their titles. This may seem lower than expected, until one realizes that in the earlier years the only champions finishing were those sired by Lance himself. In 1969, the figures were 3 out of 88 champions for 3%. In contrast, for 1982, 182 champions finished (an unusually high number), 160 descended from Lance, for 88%. So 48% over the entire time period is really a very impressive percentage. Of the 40 active ROM stud dogs, 30 are Lance descendants for 75%; of the 56 active ROM bitches, 34 are Lance descendants for 61%; of the 100 Select dogs for the past ten years, 88 or 88% are Lance descendants; of the 103 Select bitches, 90 or 87% are Lance descendants.

 

If anyone needed further proof of the legacy of Lance after reading the sections on successive generations from his producing sons and daughters, the above percentages certainly confirm his dominance of today’s bloodlines.

 

May be all be proud to own our living descendants of Lance and may we continue to breed them wisely, that the Legacy of Lance will continue for many more generations.
 

 

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