LIBRARY

FAMOUS KENNELS
Ru-Char: A Lasting Impression
By Edd Roggenkamp

(Published in Spaniels In The Field Fall 1992)

RU-CHAR is widely recognized as one of the key American kennel names in field-bred English Springer Spaniels. In terms of number of dogs entered in Field Trials and ribbons collected there is little doubt of the level of competitiveness of Ru-char. The name goes back to the year 1946 and is simply a combination of Ru (for Ruth) and Char (for Charles) Greening. Ironically, to all his friends Charles Greening was always known by the nickname "Jim".

Since 1946 Ru-char has been based at the same big hillside house that is still home to Ruth (Jim passed away in 1982). It is located just off busy Rte. 17 in Mahwah, New Jersey near to the New Jersey/New York border. It's a congested area now, in a booming suburb of the New York City metro area, but when you sit on the broad front porch and look out over the tall trees, several acres of neat grass, and the giant old natural stone pillars guarding the driveway entrances, it is easy to see why Jim and Ruth were attracted to the spot. Mahwah was far out in the country back then.

Ru-char started as a Cocker kennel; - breeding fast, bold, and aggressive American Cockers. In fact, FC Ru-char High Jinx - a Cocker handled by Ruth, won the last Cocker National Championship Field Trial, which was held in 1962 at Amwell Shooting Preserve in New Jersey, and sanctioned by the then active American Spaniel Club. But the fate of the American Cocker as a field dog was in peril. As the breed became America's most popular pet the field-bred gene pool dried up. In the late 1950's, Ru-char gradually switched to English Springer Spaniels, for a while competing with both Springers and Cockers.

Ruth was active in Spaniels even before her marriage to Charles, and has completed over 50 years in the sport. She was always the field trial enthusiast, focusing her efforts on breeding and training high performance trial dogs, while Jim focused on gunning and the Gunner-handler Stakes. Luke Medlan, East Coast professional trainer, was the pro used to help train many of the dogs in the early years.

Recently I visited with Ruth Greening in Mahwah, and we spent a wonderful evening talking about this great sport in the 1950's and 1960's, and going through old photos, trophies, and memorabilia. The photos in this article include one of Bethsaida's Blythe Spirit, the Springer that Ruth considers the foundation bitch of the Ru-char Springer line. The Greenings bought Blythe from Jean and Dutch Hutcheson of Greenwich, Connecticut. We looked at some old pedigrees and quickly traced the 1992 high point East Coast dog, AFC Ru-char's Autumn Mist (first amateur dog to ever win five trials in a row) back through Shine, through Junior, through Old Roger, back to Blythe.

FC/AFC Ru-chars Roger Junior was top sire in the USA in 1988, 1989, and 1990. Most east coast pedigrees and now many nation-wide pedigrees sport a few Ru-char kennel names in the matrix.

In the early years, while Ruth was busy winning ribbons and breeding an enduring line of Springers, Jim was directing his talents to shooting and Club Management. Jim was a well-respected Gun, shooting a legendary Parker and later a Greifelt. However, his key contribution to the sport was his six years as president of the Parent Club, during a time when some significant long-range plans and activities were enacted and established. He also helped establish several local clubs that are still solidly active today. He was a steadying hand, a solid voice of reason, and the delegate from the parent club to the AKC for many years.

Although Ruth vowed that she had raised "her last" puppy in 1983, I can count at least seven (7) young dogs that she has given the "Ru-Char" treatment since then. It seems that Ruth turns out a well-known and widely placed dog in each Ru-char generation. Her success and Ru-char's success just seems to go on and on.

Looking back at a list of recent Ru-char dogs is interesting.

Although Mrs. Ruth Greening is on the far side of 80 years, she is as aggressive, and as feisty as ever. She has a 3-year old female and a 1-year old puppy in the kennel trained and ready for a winning season 1992.

To Ruth, to all the current Ru-Char dogs, to the memory of Charles (Jim) and to all the past generations of Ru-Char dogs, we in the field side or Springers say Well Done and Congratulations!