South of England Irish Setter Club Championship Show on Sturday 19^th July 2019

Judging Report – Bitches

My thanks to the Club and its officials for inviting me to judge bitches at their very enjoyable and well run show.  In particular I would like to thank my two very efficient and unobtrusive stewards who ensured the day ran smoothly.  I was pleased with the overall standard of the dogs presented for me to judge but was concerned about certain features which occurred frequently.  The standard calls for the eye colour to be dark hazel to dark brown but I found eyes tended frequently to be lighter in colour which detracted from the kindness of expression.  Some shoulders were set too upright, not well laid back, resulting in a break in topline at the base of the neck.  Soft first thigh muscles were common with the effect apparent in lack of drive when moving.  On the positive side I was pleased to see that coats generally had good colour and did not have excessive curl and were either smooth on the body or had an acceptable amount of movement in them.

Minor Puppy 6 (1)

1. Humphreys’s Alolfrana Miss Daisy at Henaleas: a very pleasing youngster, really pretty head with well shaped eye, nicely proportioned with good shoulders and stifles. The entire class was spooked by a motorbike engine very close by just as they were being set up. Once she had settled she moved well.
2. Rose-Hay’s Cataluna Winter Wonderland: a real baby just 6 months and one week old, lovely head and shoulders, excellent topline and well balanced frame for her to develop into, moved steadily, could mature into a high quality adult.
3. Bell & Barker-Bell’s Balintyne Let It Be Me

Puppy Bitch 3 (1)

1. Ciechonska’s Smart Move Back to Aoibheanne: a beautifully proportioned youngster with a lovely head and eye, well set shoulders and well turned stifles, lovely smooth topline which she held on the move once adjusted to change of handler. BPBitch and pleased to see her also win Best Puppy in Show.
2. Holehan’s Loganrish Diamonds N’Pearls: good head shape with correct eye, a little less well developed than the winner with not quite the smoothness of shoulder but a sound bitch and she moved well.

Junior Bitch 9 (1)

1. Holley’s Gwendariff Look This Way to Wynjill: a strong class with three very good youngsters winning the places. A beautiful bitch with excellent balance, a lovely head with a good eye colour and sweet expression, smooth shoulders and topline and correct turn of stifle, moved really well holding her shape.
2. Rutherford’s Majestyka Indian Summer at Clonageera: a very close decision, correctly proportioned head with nice eye shape and good colour, good body and nicely turned stifles, the flow of neck into shoulders not quite so unbroken as the winners, moved very well.
3. Williamson’s Bluesprings Sunday Girl

Yearling 12 (2)

1. Richardson’s Brabrook True Violet for Montgreenan: a soundly constructed bitch, a good head with a well defined stop, correct body shape, strongly put together with good stifles, moved well
2. Hunter & Brown’s Braidmount In My Life: a pleasing head and neck but just a little upright in shoulder affecting the smooth flow of topline, good hind structure and tail set, moved well.
3. Milligan-Bott & Bott’s Thendara Crystal Ice

Maiden 4 (2)

1. Holehan’s Loganrish Diamonds N’Pearls
2. Williamson’s Bluesprings Sunday Girl: came third in the strong Junior class, very nice head, shoulders and topline, but at present a little long in neck and standing a little tall, needing a little more time to mature into her body.

Novice 5 (3)

1. Holehan’s Loganrish Diamonds N’Pearls
2. Bentley’s Tredura Roselyn: sound in head and body, a little stuffy over shoulders, movement a little uncertain possibly favouring front right leg a little.

Debutant 4 (1)

1. Heather’s Sixoaks Leading Lady: a very pretty head with a well shaped eye which blended well with coat colour, sound general conformation needing a little more layback in shoulder, moved soundly.
2. Blackshaw’s Lanstara Ruby Slippers: good head and eye shape, with neck nicely let into topline, good body structure but standing a little hunched over hips today which detracted from her overall profile standing and moving.
3. Bentley’s Tredura Roselyn

Undergraduate 3 (1)

1. Walker’s Casachared Keepsake for Trefaine: a well structured head and eye shape displaying her Brackenfield heritage, a really nice neck well let into strong shoulders, with the line unfortunately hidden by a cowlick on her neck, good strong body and well shaped stifles, moved soundly with good tail carriage.
2. Hart’s Gwendariff Gonna’B Amazing: made life difficult for her young handler, nice head and stifle but very difficult to assess her movement.

Graduate 5 (1)

1. Naylor & Morrison’s Anlory Carignan: another very good quality class with little to choose between all three placings. A very nicely constructed bitch with a good head and eye shape, lovely neck set cleanly into well laid shoulders, smoothly flowing topline and well turned unexaggerated stifles, and moved really well with good tail carriage.
2. Hall’s Glennara Cilleigne Dervla; very close up to the winner, a well shaped head with good eye colour and correct finish to foreface, just a little straighter over the shoulders, good body and rear shape, moved well.
3. Edwards’s Gwendariff Its Numero Uno at Bonhomie

Post Graduate 12 (4)

1. McDonald’s Delsanto Miss Freya: lovely construction, correct head shape and proportions, with nice stop and foreface, strong neck well set into shoulders without a break in topline, sound body and good in stifle, moved correctly.
2. Humphreys’s Crimpington Flirtini to Henaleas: a very close call, also excellent in head and neck with just a little hint of the neck joining into shoulder, excellent topline and stifles, and a very good coat colour, a good type who moved well.
3. Phillips & Condron’s Covarney Summer Breeze

Minor Limit 6 (3)

1. Mugford’s Lynwood Abracadabra: a really pleasing bitch, a pretty head featuring correct parallels and proportions between upper skull and foreface, strong slightly arched neck into well constructed body, in full coat, moved really well. Well deserved Reserve Bitch CC.
2. Bell & Barker-Bell’s: Balintyne Freda Payne: spooked by a sudden noise when being set up and did not totally settle, a pleasing head and neck, good shoulders and topline and a really good rear assembly, a nice looking bitch once she had settled.
3. Kennedy-Sloane’s Twoacres Grand Cocotte

Mid Limit 6 (2)

1. Watt’s Shenanagin Sweet Sixteen: another strong class in which I liked all the exhibits. Beautifully proportioned, very clean head and neck shape with really good eye colour, and a lovely smooth topline without excess slope, correct turn of stifle and good sound movement.
2. Stevenson’s Lochlorien True Detective is Andley: a close decision, again very sound construction, just a little heavier head type but correctly proportioned, strong body and moved very well.
3. Elkins’s Twoacres Promise of Spring

Limit 9 (2)

1. Waterton’s Sandstream Welcome Breeze: lovely clean head shape with correct parallels and very good eye shape and colour, good neck smoothly let into shoulders, very good topline and nice turn of stifle, move well.
2. Hall’s Riverbrue Ophelia at Glennara: very close to first, again a lovely clean head and nice neck, very good construction overall with a level topline, has a little wave in coat but not overdone, good stifle shape and moved well.
3. Lippett’s Clonageera Born to Run

 Open 7 (1)

1. Begg, Milligan-Bott & Bott’s Sh Ch Thendara Chasing Boys to Sumaric: a really strong open class. Really good head construction, nice eye colour and shape, neat strong neck set smoothly into shoulders with no break in topline, strong over loins with a really good bend of stifle and moved well. I liked this bitch overall.
2. Crocker’s Sh Ch Riverbrue Gloriana: beautifully presented bitch, again a very good head and nice and smooth over shoulders, good body and topline and moved really well with drive. I just preferred the look of the winner.
3. Armitage’s Sh Ch & Ir Sh Ch Gwendariff Coco Nut Cream

Veteran 7 (2)

1. Hunter & Brown’s Sh Ch & Int Ch Fairhaven Louise Mountbatten at Braidmount: absolutely beautiful head and neck everything correct, strong neck let into superb shoulders, still has a good body shape and good stifles and tail set, moved soundly. She may be 9 years old now but she is so beautifully proportioned with nothing overdone she still fills the eye. Happy to award her my Bitch CC and delighted she also became a well deserved Best in Show.
2. Mugford’s Ch Lynwood Happy As A Lark: another really sound 8 year old veteran and deserved her place in a class which was a credit to the breed. Lovely head and kind eye and good length of neck, sound shoulders and body, very good stifles and moved very well.

3.Gardner’s Sh Ch Thendara Jocasta

                                                                                    Brian Ross