Breed History
History of the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer
SLOVAKIAN ROUGH HAIRED POINTER - SLOVENSKY HRUBOSRSTY STAVAC
The breed originated from Czechoslovakia; after the Second World War there were a number of changes, a lot of the good working dogs were lost and the way of farming and hunting changed, this necessitated a dog that could fill this new role. The hunters wanted a dog that was biddable and did not range too far (the Czech test rules looked for a dog seeking at 30 paces in front and 80 paces to each side). The emphasis lay on work after the shot, which meant a particular aptitude for finding shot game, being reliable on a scent trail and retrieving.
This lead to the development of the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer (SRHP). The SRHP is an amalgamation of three breeds, the Czeskey Fousek, the Weimaraner and the German Wirehaired Pointer; crosses between these breeds took place in the 50's and were entered into the Slovakian 'experimental' register. Only dogs and bitches of sound temperament and excellent hunting ability were bred from and this was under the strict control of the breed wardens.
A mistake in the translation of the Weimaraner standard into Slovakian was the reason for the breed being originally registered as a Rough Haired Weimaraner. It was not until 1975 that the mistake was identified by the German Weimaraner Club who did not approve, subsequently the breed was expelled from the Weimaraner classification. Until this time breeding between rough and smooth had been carried out with the approval of the breed wardens.
The dogs were then registered with the Slovakian Hunters Union; the breed continued to be developed and was admired for its working ability. By 1981 the breed could be split into three genealogical lines and three unrelated breeding groups, by this time there where about 400 dogs registered and approval was sought from the FCI.
On 6th June 1982 approval was granted and the SRHP became breed number 320, by the end of 1984 there were 550 dogs registered in the studbook. Of these, 260 had passed autumn tests, 30 with forest and special work tests and 26 with full utility tests.
The breed was first introduced to the UK in 1997 by the late Margaret Holmes and Kevin Bingham, they were Amie and Amaretto vom Kapffelsen from Germany, then Spek, Santal and Supa zo Sorosa from Slovakia, these five are the foundation of stock in the UK.
The breed was included on the UK Kennel Clubs import register in 1998 and classified as a member of the hunt, point, retrieve gundog sub-group. The first UK litter bred by the late Margaret Holmes was registered in March 1999. The late Nicholas Elder imported a further five SRHP’s into Ireland and two more were imported to the UK by Sandra Rowbury, the total number registered in the UK by 2003 were 32. Further litters and imports have seen numbers slowly increase in the UK today.
OUR CLUB
In April 2005 inspired by the late Margaret Holmes and Mick Heap, an inaugural open meeting was called of all Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer owners, breeders and enthusiasts to form a Club.
The Club objectives were set out to encourage, promote and maintain the breed in the field as a working gundog. To further pledge and safeguard its health and welfare, maintain the breed standard as a measure of excellence and foster its acceptance by both breeders and judges.
To this end we warmly welcome you to the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Club (provisional) website where we hope to share as much information on the breed as possible and inform you of any up and coming events.