Marina Kotsubinskaya and Elena Trofimova with the first harlequins.

Harlequin Poodles in Russia

Author: Elena Trofimova
Gently Born Kennel, Russia

www.gentlyborn.ru

I acquired my first Poodle in 1986, a Miniature grey female who was an excellent show and brood bitch. She started my love story with this wonderful breed.

Our kennel "GENTLY BORN" received its official registration in 1994. Today, we breed Toy and Miniature Poodles of all colors: white, black, brown, grey, apricot, and red. We have finished about 100 champions.

In 2007, I obtained two Poodles with an unusual harlequin color, and they became a beautiful addition to our range of Poodle colors.

Our kennel applied to the National Poodle Club of Russia with the initiative to register the harlequin as an official Poodle color recognized in our country. We showed them our harlequin Poodles. Mrs. Y.N. Shchuko, President of the National Club, supported this initiative, and we immediately began working to achieve this goal. Mr. B. Peterburs, the VDP President, kindly put at our disposal the documents that they use in Germany. The National Poodle Club Presidium applied to the Russian Cynological Federation (RKF) to get authorization for breeding and showing these poodles at the official shows in Russia.

In January 2008, the RKF officially recognized two very attractive Poodle colors - harlequin and black & tan, based on the actual German standard.

The first official litter of harlequin poodles in Russia: Gently Born Tini Tunes and Gently Born Tanzania

My grand-son Sereja with harlequin puppies that "Gently Born" kennel acquired from the "Sisco" and "Only For You" kennels.

The first official litter of harlequin Poodles was born in my kennel and is registered in the Russian Stud Book. The first official showing and presentation of harlequin Poodles was in Moscow at the National "DELTA-PAL" Club Show on April 12, 2008. Five harlequin Poodles were shown – one Standard Poodle, three Miniature Poodles, and one Toy Poodle. All of them received the highest marks from two highly qualified judges, E. Yerusalimskaya and N. Maslennikova.

The first Champions of Russia and of the National Poodle Club are my Miniature Poodles Chess King and Krasota Gently Born, and the Standard Poodle Gvendolin Glorius Souvenir.

The unusual ornate color of harlequin Poodle becomes more and more popular in Russia. Recently, I acquired three more puppies from leading breeders in the U.S.A. and Germany. I kept one girl from my first litter for breeding purposes. I will start to show them soon.

The leading Russian magazines Cat & Dog and Drug published promotional articles about the harlequin Poodles and their show results.

Our first harlequin Poodles are already two years old, and I am sure that this interesting and attractive color pattern will have a great future!