No 3 - The great J M Wilson

J M Wilson with (from left) Mirk, Tib, Glen and Moss (sitting).

It's not just that he won more trials than anyone else in history: International Supreme titles in 1928, 1930, 1934, 1946, 1937, 1946, 1948 and 1955, the International Brace title in 1937 and 1938, the Scottish National title in 1931 to 1933, 1935 to 1937, 1939, 1946, 1950, 1951 and 1955, and the Scottish Brace title in 1931, 1933, 1934 and 1936 to 1938, as well as literally hundreds of local trials, James M Wilson was more than a great trainer, handler and competitor, more than a consummate reader of sheep, he was a great thinker and educator.

Dogs of his breeding, such as Cap 3036 (above) still have an influence on pedigrees of today, and it is partly through his influence, as well as that of John Herries McCulloch in his books, Sheepdogs and Their Masters and the later Border Collie Studies, that sheepdog handlers and breeders were encouraged to take an interest in pedigrees and what they signified, a process which led to the publication of the ISDS Stud Books.

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