KENNEL STORIES: THE CHELSEA NAME
Gayle Kaye

by Gayle Kaye

Believe it or not, the name Chelsea came from a can of paint. The color was "chelsea yellow" and I liked the sound of the Chelsea part! It was 1968 when I acquired my first pet Collie and attended my first dog show. I was completely taken by the idea of breeding and showing Collies, and knew, even then while still in college, that this was going to be a big part of my life.

Chelsea's first homebred champion,
Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist -- "Tiara"

By 1972 I had already raised a couple of litters for fun, but it was at that time that I decided to get serious. As per the advice given in Pat Starkweather's book "All About Collies," I went hunting for two good bitches. Thanks to the ads and pictures in Collie Cues magazine, I fell in love with many of the GinGeor Collies. At that time GinGeor was one of the top winning Eastern Kennels -- Ch. Jadene's Breeze Along, Ch. GinGeor Bellbrooke's Choice, Ch. GinGeor Jack of Tamarack, Ch. GinGeor Indelible Ink and Ch. Sontaw's Trudy Fair. . . all of them gorgeous and excelling in outline, coat, style and extremely beautiful faces. 

My eyes were especially drawn to the head details that made these individuals so very appealing -- beautifully finished muzzles, length and cleanness of head, and pretty expression. When I had the opportunity to see the beautiful headed Ch. Country Lane GinGeor Patrice at a local dog show, I decided then and there, GinGeor was the family I wanted to start with. Through Joan Able of Tamarack Collies, I acquired a normal eyed sable daughter of Ch. GinGeor Jack of Tamarack and from Marnus Collies came a tricolor bitch sired by Ch. GinGeor's Indelible Choice. These two bitches shared the family virtues of the head detail I was after. Both were bred to different sons of Ch. Arrowhill Oklahoma Tornado and each produced a champion, including my first homebred "Tiara" (Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist). Thirty odd years later, all of my current dogs trace multiple times to those two foundation bitches.

I was completely taken
by the idea of breeding
and showing Collies,
and knew, even then
while still in college,
that this was going to
be a big part of my life.

Being very restricted in numbers and breedings thanks to zoning regulations, Chelsea has always remained a very small operation, nonetheless, we have been fortunate in having bred dogs who have taken wins at some of the most prestigious specialties in California. 

Over the years we have made additional crosses to Wickmere, Twin Oaks and more recently Tartanside, but continue to strive for the same qualities we desired at the start -- a collie who excels in good type, with particular emphasis on length and cleanness of head, with pretty expression. Some of my favorite champions bred here. . . Chelsea of Arrowhill, Shadowgold, Moon Pebble, Ice Castles, Castles in The Sky, Luck of the Draw, Crown Prince, and others.

Related link
08/17/01 Chelsea T' Crown Heir of Squire