• KENNEL:

  Tragband

ANDREW BRACE's first pedigree dog was the Boxer, which was a gift from his parents for passing his Grammar School entrance examination at the age of eleven, back in 1963. As a teenager, Andrew served various local general and specialist canine societies in an administrative capacity, and at this time became very involved with the Toy breeds. He exhibited Pekingese - in which breed he titled his first Champion - Pugs, Griffons Buxellois, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Japanese Chins, as well as winning Reserve Challenge Certificates in both Great Danes and Pointers. He also exhibited American Cockers and Shih Tzu's. However it is for Beagles that Andrew's TRAGBAND affix is best known and in this breed he has finished many Champions, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the spectacular tricolour bitch, CH. TOO DARN HOT FOR TRAGBAND, who remains the top winning Beagle of all time in the U.K. having won 42 C.C.'s plus Best in Show All Breeds at Championship level as well as seven Hound Groups. The last dog Andrew campaigned was her grandson, CH DIALYNNE TOLLIVER OF TRAGBAND, a multiple all breeds BIS winner who proved a leading stud dog with many Champions at home and overseas to his credit. Andrew also bred Beagles in the U.S.A. in partnership with the Shaw's kennel, which resulted in several U.S.A. Champions carrying the TRAGBAND affix. Due to the ever increasing demands of a busy judging schedule, Andrew retired from regular exhibiting at Crufts 2000, but in 2001 won the Beagle Club's coveted Webline Trophy for Breeder of the Year. In the 1980's Andrew imported from Finland the Swedish-bred Afghan Hound bitch, CH. MANDRILLS MYLTHA IZMAR TRAGBAND, who whelped a litter in quarantine and then went on to become a Group winner. In that quarantine-bred litter were several Champions including CH. IZMAR TRAGBAND FINNEGAN who was Top Hound Stud Dog one year. His sister became the dam of the 1998 Crufts Hound Group winner. Champions in Lakeland Terriers and Tibetan Spaniels have also carried the Tragband affix. In the U.K. Andrew has been approved by the Kennel Club to award C.Cs. in approximately 80 breeds across all seven groups, and is a judge of the Hound, Working, Pastoral, Utility and Toy Groups as well as Best in Show. Andrew has judged many breeds at Crufts and in 2010 judged several breeds at the Westminster Kennel Club show in the USA, his entry of 155 being the top entry for one judge at that show. He previously judged the 2007 American Pointer National. Overseas assignments have taken Andrew Brace to the U.S.A., Canada, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Barbados, Trinidad, Norway, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Japan, Korea, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. For ten years Andrew was the publisher and editor of DOGS MONTHLY, which he founded, but in 1992 sold the business to concentrate on his other activities. However, as a canine journalist he remains busy with a weekly column in DOG WORLD newspaper and regular features in the British monthly, YOUR DOG, the U.S.A.'s DOG NEWS, DOGS IN CANADA and Sweden's HUNDSPORT, and also is a contributor to DOG NEWS AUSTRALIA. In 1993 Andrew completed his first book, THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO JUDGING DOGS, which was widely acclaimed. He has since worked as co-author of THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF DOGS with An