Huddersfield Ben – the most famous Yorkie
This is the dog that has set standards for Yorkshire Terriers and has defined the breed. He and his progeny have won numerous show awards and ratting contests and brought enormous popularity to the breed that was previously used for rat hunting.
Ben was born in 1865 in the home of Mr. W. Eastwood, a dog breeder. His pedigree states that he was linebred – conceived in a mother – son pairing, just like his mother Lady was. That same Lady was a fourth generation descendant of Old Crab, who is, along with his mate Old Kitty the oldest recorded predecessor to the Yorkshire Terrier breed. Ben was sold to Mr. and Mrs. M.A. Foster who lived in Bradford in West Yorkshire, and in whose ownership he gained his fame.
Mrs. Foster is credited as the first woman to judge in dog shows in England, as well as being the person who brought this level of popularity to Yorkshire Terriers. She brought Ben to Manchester shows in 1869 and 1870 where he won second and first place, respectively. He was again shown in 1870 in Crystal Palace, where he won the first place, and the year after, also in Crystal Palace, when he was entered in multiple categories, he won the second place in Broken Haired Scotch or Yorkshire Terrier class, while the first and third place both went to his sons. During his career he earned a total of 74 prizes.
Ben was a very popular stud dog, and has fathered a great number of pups which became the foundation stock of the whole breed. Even though he weighted between 9 and 12 pounds all of his puppies competed in the up to 7 pounds class.
On the September 23rd 1871, when he was 6 years old, Ben was hit by a carriage and killed, leaving a now already famous breed without its most famous member.
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| Huddersfield Ben |
Ben was born in 1865 in the home of Mr. W. Eastwood, a dog breeder. His pedigree states that he was linebred – conceived in a mother – son pairing, just like his mother Lady was. That same Lady was a fourth generation descendant of Old Crab, who is, along with his mate Old Kitty the oldest recorded predecessor to the Yorkshire Terrier breed. Ben was sold to Mr. and Mrs. M.A. Foster who lived in Bradford in West Yorkshire, and in whose ownership he gained his fame.
Mrs. Foster is credited as the first woman to judge in dog shows in England, as well as being the person who brought this level of popularity to Yorkshire Terriers. She brought Ben to Manchester shows in 1869 and 1870 where he won second and first place, respectively. He was again shown in 1870 in Crystal Palace, where he won the first place, and the year after, also in Crystal Palace, when he was entered in multiple categories, he won the second place in Broken Haired Scotch or Yorkshire Terrier class, while the first and third place both went to his sons. During his career he earned a total of 74 prizes.
Ben was a very popular stud dog, and has fathered a great number of pups which became the foundation stock of the whole breed. Even though he weighted between 9 and 12 pounds all of his puppies competed in the up to 7 pounds class.
On the September 23rd 1871, when he was 6 years old, Ben was hit by a carriage and killed, leaving a now already famous breed without its most famous member.
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