This title means more to us than any other titled cat we have bred, or who has shared our home. The reason for this is quite simple.................from the moment he was born, we knew that Ashanti was a "special baby", he was spoilt rotten, and he was the first Oriental Tabby that we had every bred. Ashanti was shown just 4 times at GCCF shows, each time he went out, he received 1st, BOB, was once awarded a BOV, and gained 2 CC's at his only 2 adult shows. Once we had made the decision to stop showing at all GCCF shows we knew that there was no way Ashanti would ever become a GCCF Champion. People had said to us that we should still put him out for his last CC but where we were concerned, it is the principle of the matter and whilst it would have been nice for him to be "made up", we were standing our ground and as such, will not ever participate in any cat show governed by GCCF rules. We had intentions to try Ashanti at the TICA shows that we now love, but we were not expecting him to do particularly well mainly because to make up to a Champion under TICA shows, he would have to be judged against long hair cats, semi long hair cats, and short hair cats, both male and female. This is quite tough and while we know that our Ashanti is a very special boy, we did not think that the TICA judges would feel the same way. At his 1st TICA show, Ashanti gained enough points to qualify for Gr Ch, he Finalled twice in 2 All Breed Finals, and this earnt him the title of Champion. In order to reach the title of Gr Ch, Ashanti wIll need to Final at one more TICA show. At his 2nd TICA show, he made yet another All Breed Final and earnt the title of Grand Champion. At his 3rd TICA show, Ashanti went on to make another SP Final and another AB Final which earnt him the title of Double Grand Champion. TICA judges have now confirmed what we already knew about our boy and Ashanti has gone beyond our wildest dreams and expectations on the show bench.

Ashanti continues to prove time and time again, that not only is he worthy of his title and more, but he has proven that he is not just a "one off" and Ashanti is siring kittens equal to, and better than himself. We have decided that for the time being Ashanti will now take a break from the show ring, but we have not retired him yet. The time has come for his progeny to start proving themselves, as they did at their first TICA show on January 19, 2008 and we are looking forward to seeing yet another generation of Schimmel kittens on the bench. In the meantime, Ashanti continues to produce amazing babies, all with his own fantastic temperament, and some with his own stunning good looks. We have even been fortunate enough to have a couple of babies with even better type than their father. There are of course, numerous Oriental Tabbies in existence, all of whom very beautiful, there is however, and always will be, only one Ashanti.

We are delighted to have bred another "home grown" Schimmel Champion and we are thrilled that Kamora has gained the title of Champion, proving yet again, that her dad is continuing to produce kittens with his own exception balance and type. What made this show so special was the fact that we had father and daughter competing against each other and Ashanti gained another new title at the same show. Kamora is an absolute darling with such pretty Cinnamon colouring and a fantastic temperament and we could not be more proud of her.

The time has now come for Kamora to retire from the show bench and hopefully, one day in the future, she will be producing some stunning babies of her own.

We are over the moon and thrilled to have bred our first Champion. Previously, Drambuie's show career had to be put on hold as she was very busy producing beautiful babies for us, some of whom are also appearing on the show bench. However after her last litter, we decided we would show her again and see how she did. You can imagine our delight when she gained her 3rd and final CC therefore achieving the title of Champion. We are very grateful to Drambuie's judges for awarding our baby her certificates. Drambuie has only ever been shown 5 times in her life, and has placed 1st in her Open Class for all 5 shows. We have now retired Drambuie from the show bench as she has achieved our expectations and dreams. She will now continue to be a family member and will sometimes be a mother to more Schimmel babies. We would also like to thank our very good friends Maureen, as well as Caryll and Ray, for being with us at the Suffolk & Norfolk Cat Club Show in May 2006 to share in our triumph.

Keeping it in the family yet again, we are thrilled that Nocino is following in her mummy's paw prints and has become a Champion. When the "Capitals" were born, we had a choice of 3 Black Torties and there was never any doubt in our mind that the girl to keep back was Nocino. There was just something about her type that really appealed to me and her personality is just superb. Nocino truly epitomizes the essence of the Black Tortie in her stunning looks, wicked eyes, and naughty nature. Nocino is daughter to our own Drambuie, (Champion Schimmel Shesadream), and granddaughter to our Cacao, (Grand Premier & CHA Chinasea Aria) so we are just delighted that we are continuing to produce Black Torties equal to our foundation queen. Nocino will be having a break from the show bench now as it the time has come for her to have her first honeymoon. When Nocino's babies grow up and leave home, Cino will be gracing the TICA show bench again.

Cacao's title was a long time coming in the respect that we took her off the show bench so she could have babies, then after just 2 litters, she developed severe Pyometra and was spayed. We then gave her a break and she remained in our home as a much loved family member and after a while, the time had come to put her on the bench. However, this did not work out quite as we planned because after her annual vaccination booster, Cacao developed a horrific reaction to the FeLV vaccine and required surgery. Again, we had many months of resting her before she could be vaccinated again and exhibited on the show bench. We can honestly say though that Cacao has done us extremely proud, not only with her own show career, but more importantly, the progeny she has produced have gone on to have remarkable show careers of their own and some of them are continuing to grace the show bench. All of this aside though, Cacao was one of our foundation Oriental breeding queens and not a day goes by where we are not thankful that we have her in our lives and our homes. She is a credit to her breeder, Donna of Chinasea Siamese and Orientals. We are also grateful to Cacao's judges.

When Ray made his decision from a litter of 3 that Myrtle would be sharing their family home, we couldn't have been more pleased. Ray and Caryll enjoying showing just as much as we do and we knew that young Myrtle would be going on the show bench to strut her stuff at TICA shows and at the time, we all thought she just might do okay. Her sire, DGC Schimmel Stripe It Lucky has always given us show quality children but it would now appear that his daughter will have a show career equal to his own, if not better. Myrtle didn't grace the show bench until towards the end of the show season where she competed in just 5 TICA shows being placed in Finals at each show. To gain a Regional Winner title after just a short show career speaks volumes as to the type of girl Myrtle is, and the type that is constantly being produced by her sire.

In May 2008, Myrtle recommenced her show career, but this time as an adult and at her first adult show we were delighted to see her achieve the title of Double Grand Champion in just one show. An achievement that fills us with pride and joy as her breeders. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ray and his wife Caryll, and daughter Jacqui, not only for giving our baby such a fantastic home where she is loved and cared for in the same way our own cats are, but also for taking the time to show Myrtle at the TICA shows we all love so much. Show days are very long, and very exhausting days and we truly appreciate the time, money, and effort that Ray has put into Myrtle's show career. Myrtle also shares her home with Ch & GCA Schimmel Sun Chaser, as well as Gr Pr & CHA Schimmel Chilli Tequila.

It was such a big occasion for us all at the Wiltshire & District Cat Club show when Kyla gained her 3rd and final GPC, therefore earning her the title of Grand Premier. This was a moment that I wouldn't have missed for all the world and I was so pleased to be able to be there to share in Caryll's triumph. During the past few months leading up to this show, Kyla had done extremely well on the show bench and at each of her shows she is so incredibly relaxed and a real credit to Caryll. Many thanks to Kyla's judges, and to her owner, Caryll, for taking the time to show Kyla, always in such amazing condition.

Toussaint has had a very short, yet fabulous show career. When she was 13 months of age, we had been planning on mating her, however the little minx (very aptly named by Chris!) refused to come back into call. As we were already showing Cacao at the time, we figured we may as well put Toussaint on the bench as well to see how she would do as she has the perfect temperament and simply adores people. Naturally, we were absolutely delighted that Toussaint made up to Champion in 3 straight shows, winning her Open Class, and Best of Breed in all 3 shows. We would like to thank Toussaint's judges for awarding her CC's and her Best of Breeds. We will always be grateful to Chris of Aportent Siamese and Orientals for breeding such a beautiful girl and for allowing us to share our home with her. Toussaint is a credit to Chris and we know that Chris is as proud of her as we are. Toussaint has now been retired from the show bench and is now a mummy to more beautiful Schimmel children.

We started showing Sage purely for fun, mainly because he has a wonderful temperament, and also because we were interested to see how he would do. We never thought he would achieve his title in just 4 shows so you can imagine our delight at his very short lived show career. Sage is one of those cats who is an absolutely pleasure to show because in between judging he is content with cuddles from mum and dad and not phased at all by any of his surroundings. Around the home, Sage is a very relaxed, soppy, playful, and loving boy and this attitude has gone with him to each show he has been exhibited at. We took Sage and his brother Parsley back into our home when their family was no longer able to keep them through no fault of her own and there has not been a single day we have regretted having either boy back with us. In fact, our home was made all the better for the return of these 2 Schimmel children, and Sage's title is simply an added bonus. We are extremely grateful to Sage's judges for his title.

To say we are absolutely over the moon at having bred another Champion is a total understatement! What makes his achievement so incredibly special is that Kidd is out of our own Drambuie (Champion Schimmel Shesadream), and his grandmother is our Cacao (Grand Premier & CHA Chinasea Aria) so we are just delighted that the type and balance is being retained throughout the line. Kidd is such a super boy, so incredibly cuddly and an absolute darling. When Jacqui phoned me to tell me the good news, I will admit to shedding a tear (or two, or three) of pure joy and happiness. In my personal opinion, he is a boy who is very worthy of his title. We are very grateful to Jacqui, not only for exhibiting Kidd and proving that he was of the caliber we all felt he was, but also for giving him such a fantastic home. We would also like to thank Kidd's judges for his titles.

We are over the moon that at Sheep's first ever TICA Cat Show she had such amazing results. This was a 4 ring show and Sheep not only gained the maximum points in each ring, but then went on to final and was the 7th Best Short hair Cat in the show. We always knew how beautiful Sheep is but not even we were expecting her to achieve the title of Champion in just one show. These are outstanding results and we couldn't be more pleased for Sheep's family, Teen, Tone, & Val. Sheep is a credit to her family and she is always shown in excellent condition. We are extremely grateful to Sheep's TICA judges and they were: Mary Arnold, Pam Barrett, Thomas Andersen, and Francesca Gagern.

We are delighted to have bred our first Grand Premier here at Schimmel. Xena made up to Grand Premier in 6 straight shows, remaining unbeaten in every open class she has ever entered, which is something that we are extremely proud of. We are very grateful to Donna of Chinasea Siamese for letting us have Xena's mum, Cacao, and also to Doreen and Keith Sillis, for allowing us to take Cacao into their lovely boy, Chiko. All 4 babies from Cacao's first litter now have 2 or more certificates. We would also like to thank Xena's judges for awarding her PC's and GPC's. We would like to thank Elaine for taking the time to show Xena.