Experienced
in the conformation and obedience rings 
with
Irish Setters and Border Collies since 1973, it wasn't until the
summer of 1980 that Chris acquired her first Basset Hound named
Shilo. Although not of show quality.
Shilo taught her many of the endearing,
and sometime not so endearing traits that make this breed so special.
It took all of three days for her to completely fall in love with
the breed.
The next several
months consisted of many hours of research on the breed. After
identifying the style and type of basset 
she
preferred, contact was made with Cathie Spencer of JerCat Bassets.
She asked to be put on the waiting list for an upcoming litter
While waiting for her "dream puppy" to be born, she
purchased two other puppies from JerCat. They became her first
champions. Odie
and Kitty soon found their way to Rivendell. Odie would soon become
Ch. Gable's Echo of JerCat, who finished
at 15 months. Kitty was a Hogan daughter, and grew up to be Ch.
JerCat's Karbon Kopy Kat.
In 1983, Chris
acquired her first "heart dog". Her long awaited puppy
by Ch. Tal-E-Ho's Hot Diggity ROM (Hogan) and Am/Dk. Ch. JerCat's
Megan. He eventually became BISS winner 
Ch.
JerCat's Gato Del Sol CD, CGC. Always owner handled, Toby
finished his Championship in April of 1985. He went back into
competition at age seven to gain his obedience title. Although
trained in advanced obedience, he was
unable to gain his title as his advanced age of nine forced his
retirement from jumping. Bred sparingly, he sired six titleholders.
Several of how became instrumental in the development of the look
of our hounds.
The first Rivendell
litter was produced in 1984 by breeding Toby and Kitty. This produced
Ch. Rivendell's Miss Kit Kat. Kitty
went to live at JerCat in 1984. As Chris went back to college
in 1994, 
and
her dog show activities became limited, it was decided to send
Kitty back to live at JerCat. Eventually, her daughter, sired
by Ch. JerCat's Emmit Kelly, came back. She grew up to be Ch.
JerCat's Cody Jeameau CD (Cody Jo).Toby was bred twice to
Cody Jo, and they produced Specialty winners Ch.
Rivendell's Bubba Beuford, Ch. Rivendell's
Bijou Rouge ROM, Ch. Rivendell's
Knight Magic, and Rivendell's As
If By Magic CD.
Ch.
Rivendell's Bijou Rouge ROM was bred only twice and produced
a total of eight puppies. 
From
her first litter of three by Am./Can Ch. Pyperwynd's I.M. Reddie
Freddie ROM came Multi Specialty winner Ch.
Rivendell's Red Storm Rising. In 1992, we bred Bijou again
to Ch. Sanlyn's Classic Ten O'Bayland ROM. This breeding represented
the first blending of Rivendell and Sanlyn lines. All five puppies
produced were of quality to be shown. 
Four
of them finished their championships. They were: Ch.
Sanlyn's Rivendell Sweet Enuff; Ch.
Rivendell's Sweet N' No Equal; Ch.
Rivendell's Nutra Sweet; and 
Ch.
Rivendell's Sweet-N-Lo "Butter". Butter was not
only a Multi-Specialty Best In Show winner, but she achieved an
Award of Merit at the 1994 Nationals. She was bred twice, and
produced several champions.
A close relationship
continued with Sanlyn Bassets, and Butter's second litter represented
our first co-bred litter. To say it worked out well is an understatement.
This litter produced Ch. Sanlyn's Classic
Sportster ROM. 
"Harley"
was the Number One Basset Hound in the country in 1999. He accomplished
this with many Specialty Show Best In Shows, multiple Hound Group
wins and placements, and winning Best of Breed at the 1999 Basset
Hound Club of America show over 350+ other dogs. He recently retired
from the show ring as the all time top Specialty Best In Show
winner in the history of the breed. We are so proud that all of
Harley's career wins were achieve on a limited budget, and totally
owner handled. He now resides with his handler/co-owner Claudia
Lane of Classic Bassets in Arizona.
The combination
of Rivendell-Sanlyn lines continues to be very successful. Our
last several litters have been sired by Harley, and have done
quite well in the show ring. Our most successful litter was by
Ch. Rivendell's WYSIWYG O'Snowshoe.
Wysi's first litter of four produced three champions. One of them
is Ch. Rivendell-Sanlyn Heaven Sent.
Named "Babybut" in honor of her grandmother, she finished
her Championship at ten months and is just starting a year as
a Special. Her record includes three Specialty Best In Shows and
a Hound Group Three. Wanting lightning to strike a second time,
we repeated the litter and received one puppy, Ch.
Rivendell-Sanlyn Midnight Special. He finished his championship
at 18 months with multiple Best of Breeds and a Group placement
from the classes.
Although concentrating
on conformation, Chris also has a great interest in Obedience.
She has achieved over half a dozen obedience titles on basset
hounds over the years. Assisting with training at a local obedience
class, She continues to work with 4-H kids with both obedience
and showmanship. She also dabble in Agility and Tracking. The
main goal of Rivendell Bassets is to produce versatile basset
hounds that can be competitors in the ring, and companions in
the home.
