Breeders Profile

Riverfern Abyssinians

Photos courtesy of Val Davidson, pro pics by Bob Fox

Tell us a bit about you:
Hmm ... I'll have to think about that one ...

Why did you choose your breed(s)?
I saw an Aby in 1963 and fell in love with them so put it on my wish list - but it was 34 years later before I got my first one!

Why/how did you start breeding?
I got my first Aby as a pet, but her breeder said she was really nice and what about showing her?  I said "Do they have cat shows??" - and to cut a long story short, in January 1995 I went to the Southern Counties Club show (GCCF) and my cat Sorrel (a ruddy girl) got the first place and Best of Breed! 

Needless to say, I was well and truly hooked. That summer, another breeder saw Sorrel and liked her so much she said "You have to breed her!"  So that was it - I took her to a stud boy and in time she had 5 kittens - and tha is how the Riverfern Cattery was born.

Why did you choose your prefix?
Well, that one is really simple - my dad had a boat called the Riverfern, and I just liked the name ...

When were your most memorable occasions as a breeder?
Sorrel's 5 kittens, of course (isn't every breeder's first litter memorable?!), from which I kept a boy called Sleath and a girl called Grace (GC Riverfern Grace - above left).  I took them to a lot of GCCF shows and to my surprise that year I won the Breeder competition!  At the Supreme I was awarded the best breeder glass bowl (1996/1997), and that is something you don't forget in a hurry!

Then there was the World Show in Finland 2002 - in June that year I had imported a boy from the US, Falcon (Clarion's Falcon of Riverfern - right), so I booked him on the flight to Finland.  This was the first World Show that English people could attend, since although the Pet Passport was available for the previous World Show in Germany, we had the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease so we could not travel.  Unbelievably, Falcon became the first World Winner from England, and as far as I know, he is still the only one.

Stella (Zehnder's Stella by Starlight - left) went to the first TICA Annual in Germany and she became the Best Alter in Show. Also Felis Britannica hosted the World Cat Congress in 2007 and Stella was Overall Best In Show.

Rosa (IW SGC and IC Riverfern Rosa Rugosa) is a sorrel girl form American lines.  I campaigned her in TICA, taking her to European shows as well as English ones, and she was one of the first International Winners in England.

Who were/are the most memorable cats you've had?
Grace, Falcon and Rosa - or to give them their proper names, Grand Champion Riverfern Grace, WW02 Grand International Champion Clarion's Falcon of Riverfern and TICA IW & Supreme Grand Champion and FIFe International Champion Riverfern Rosa Rugosa.

What are your hopes for the future of your breed/your breeding programme?
To have healthy kittens and lots more success in showing!

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
Not at the moment!

Valerie Davidson
www.riverfernabys.co.uk

December 2009