Hi-Crest started with a young man's attraction to the temperament, sensibility, beauty and nobility of the collie. My first collie was purchased as a pet and I found myself immersed in the idea of showing and breeding. I was so interested in collie history and the individuals in the pedigree of my first collie. I joined the local collie club and became the keeper of the club library and I was able to devour all the information I could from the old CCA yearbooks and collie magazines. The Evolution of the Collie by Trudy Mangels became my bible. A picture was being formed in my mind on how to breed the next generation . This took many years to develop with the picture of Ch Tokalon's Golden Ruler in mind and the many quality collies to follow which I was fortunate to see in person.
My first big win came 2 generations later with Ch Hi-Crest Knock On Wood, going WD/BOW at the 1982 national. I was still living at home with my parents and could only keep a limited number of dogs. In 1985 I moved to my present location and had all the room I wanted. I was in awe with Ch Starrs Blue Jeans from the 1982 national and after a fun weekend of kennel hopping in New England, I decided to lease Starr's Jet Set from Pam and Lou Durazzano. She was a 3/4 sister to Ch Starr's Blue Jeans and was of sound mind and body and a lower stationed female with good quality. Unfortunately, Knock On Wood was not siring at that point in time and I decided to breed her to Ch Clarion's Light Up the Sky, an impressive blue dog who helped teach me correct collie expression
