It was on 15th September 1989 that the Kennel Club sanctioned the formation of South West Working Breeds Association. Leonard Pagliero OBE steered the application through the various Kennel Club Committees and continued as our Patron, taking an active interest in the development of the Association, and attended AGM's, shows and educational activities. He continued in this role until his retirement in 2001, when Mrs. Meg Purnell Carpenter took over as the Association's Patron.
In 1989, at the formation of the Association Mrs. W. Stanbury was elected President, L. J. Jepp, Chairman; Mrs. J. Veevers, Secretary; Mr. P. Everleigh, Vice Chairman; Assistant Secretary, Mr. I. Burgoyne and Mrs. D. Muzzelle was elected Treasurer . The Committee consisted of fourteen General Committee Members with the meetings being held at various locations in Cheriton Bishop, on the edge of Dartmoor. Ten years later, in 1999 with the division of the Working Group to Working and Pastoral, the Association changed its name to South West Working & Pastoral Breeds Association.
The Association has used various venues throughout the South West. Originally the May Show was held at an equestrian centre between Exeter and Cullompton and the October Show took place at the Livestock Centre at Exeter. Unfortunately, because of the high cost of hiring the Livestock Centre, the Society needed to find alternative accommodation for the Autumn Show and finally decided upon the Equestrian Centre at Clevedon near Bristol.
The number of entries increased dramatically for the Spring Show, which meant that the original equestrian centre near Exeter was no longer a suitable venue, and consequently this Show too, was held at Clevedon.
The Association, ideally wanted to hold at least one show in the Exeter area, but there being no buildings large enough, it was decided that both the Spring and Autumn Shows should be held at Clevedon, which is accessible from both the M4 and M5 motorways.
The Club continues to go from strength to strength, with both Shows now having classes for all Working and Pastoral Breeds and two Any Variety Not Separately Classified classes for Imported breeds. Ultimately, our aim is to hold Championship Shows and the Committee is working hard to achieve this goal.
