"In 1959, the Coralwood name came into existence with the family Christmas gift of our first show dog, a basset puppy- Mr. Tandy of Coralwood. He was tan in color (solid red & white) and we lived on Coralwood Drive. Tandy was the beginning of Coralwood Bassets, and the show career of the Barton family. I caught the show bug with Tandy. Tandy trained my father and I on how to show a dog. At times it was quite humorous- in fact there is a photo of my Dad showing Tandy set up backwards at their first show. Tandy and I broke into showing at the Ken-L-Ration Dog Shows for kids. We had the honor of going Best in Show at the age of six and winning my first “new” bike.

As the number of bassets increased so did my time in the ring. I wasn’t old enough for Junior Showmanship, so started showed in the breed ring. One of my most memorable wins was at the Basset Nationals at the age of 12, I won Best Junior Handler, (beating good childhood friend Bryan Martin, still of basset fame) and then went on to win BOS.

When my father received his judging license for the Hound Group, we stopped actively breeding and showing. This all occurred around the time of my college years, and my dog show life was put on hold.

After graduating college in 1977, I started my search for a breed of dog that would suit my life style, and get me back into the show ring. I went to see Wayne Cavanaugh to ask his advice and to have him keep an eye out for a good dog for me. He just happened to have a litter of pointer pups, and the search was over. I fell in love with a pointer bitch puppy, and became hooked on the breed. So, I guess you can say it is Wayne’s fault that I am in pointers.

I wasn’t very active in the breed in the beginning. College loans can put a damper on one’s funds. I did acquire a few more pointers and really got involved in the breeding aspect around 1988. In 1990, I had the privilege to purchase my best friend Mickey. He is known to most of you as Ch Sydmar Coralwoods Grand Slam. I then added Ch Sydmar the Heartless Wench, Blair to my household. I will be forever grateful to Paula Nykiel of Sydmar for allowing me to own these 2 great dogs. The combination of these 2 dogs has provided the solid foundation stock of my lines. With quality foundation stock and careful breeding, Coralwood Pointers emerged. The dogs of Coralwood include Best In Show Winners, National Specialty Winners, Specialty Winners, Group Winners and Placers, and many Champions.

I am dedicated to the pointer breed, and am striving to improve upon the Coralwood line with each breeding. Although the “perfect” dog will never be bred, I hope that each dog that carries the Coralwood name will be ideal in their owners’ eyes. My primary goal is to breed a top quality pointer that exemplifies the breed standard whether it is a show dog, one that works in the field, or is the family companion. With love and care a pointer will be a loyal companion and friend for many years."

Sincerely,
Sally Barton,
Coralwood Pointers