Wiveliscombe & District Canine Society
27.07.19
Well I must start by saying what a fantastic welcome I received from this club, all the way from parking attendant, catering, to chair and secretary. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble. Although small in number they certainly batted above their weight for organisation. I must commend you on this, well done. I will also like to say a thank you to the committee for asking me to judge. I was very excited to be asked to judge at this show, especially when I saw that such a large number of entries were received. I must thank everyone for their entries.
I really was humbled with such a fantastic entry. All must realise that I cannot give first to everyone, but I cannot stress enough the lovely standard of the dogs that were on show and the effort that must have gone in to the upkeep of the dogs. The dogs that were present certainly gave me a headache and tough decisions in many of the classes. So yet again, thank you to all that entered. I will stress my normal sentiment. My prerequisite when judging dogs is that they can move. This did not change for this show and I hope that everyone saw this. There were some dogs that do not follow my normal style, but were placed higher because they moved well on the day. Construction was key.
Class 25 – Puppy (4, 0):
This was a particularly lovely class, with any number of the 4 dogs that were entered changing positions on another day.
- 72 – Randle’s Alolfrana Lady Million at Rionore (AI) – This 7-month young girl looks quite promising. Very good proportions to the head, with balance from occiput to stop and stop to tip of nose. A softness to the stop, with a pleasant amount of chiselling, which gave this girl a nice femininity. Good shape to the eye. Ears set well with good length. Good reach of neck, which had strength even at this age. Well angulated shoulders into a nicely proportioned sternum. Well boned, straight forelegs. Good depth to chest, with well sprung ribs for her age. Not too long in the loin, but with good presence of pin bones. Croup and tail set just right, giving an overall gently sloping topline. Thighs could do with a bit more muscling, which will come with time. Good bend at stifle. Lovely feet. Lovely richness in colour and gloss to the coat which added to a prominent stack. This girl moved the best in the class. Very free moving and didn’t put a foot wrong. Truly hope her potential is reached.BP
- 58 – Lippett’s Clonageera Aurora – another nice 7 month girl, which could do well in the future. A very different style to first, but still very worthy of her placing. A balanced head, but with slightly more prominent features, in terms of the stop. Again, good placement of the ears. Nice length and strength to the neck. Very strong in the front quarters, with good angulation. Admirable depth to the chest and well sprung ribs. Good width for a young girl to the back end. Good, lean muscle for age. On the move, went well and with a little style, however a little close behind on the straight up and back on the day, that knocked her in to second.
- 45 – Coleman’s Clonageera Irish Dream
Class 26 – Junior (6, 1):
- 53 – Harris’s Blazing Bronze Happy Clappy Sings Konakakela (IMP NLD) – a lot to like about this 15-month boy. Very attractive in the stack. In a good amount of coat for his age, that was very rich in depth and gloss. Very handsome in the head. Good proportions with a nice depth to the stop, that was not overly strong. Gentle, loving expression. Lovely length to neck, that flowed in to well angulated shoulders. Good depth to the chest with a prominent sternum. Well sprung ribs that lead in to a well sized loin, not too long, not too short. A gentle sloping topline culminating in a good croup. Thighs are coming along nicely, but with age, should develop well. Moved very well in the ring, providing the winning formula for this class. One to watch develop.
- 71 – Pym, Bott & Milligan-Bott’s Thendara Marshmello – Yet again a lovely boy, that ran a very close second. He again, has a style of which I am fond. Again, looked lovely in profile and the stack. A really favourable feature of this boy is his fab head. Very well proportioned and with the rest of the body. A nicely developed stop, with good, well placed chiselling under the eye. Very good length to ears that were set on low. Very strong in the forequarters, with appealing angulation. Very good depth to chest. Very good topline, that was showed off well by a good handler. I would personally like a stronger back end, but the dog has got all the right attributes for this to develop as he matures. Movement on the day was a little uncharacteristic. Would love to go over him again when he has reached his potential.
- 69 – Pike’s Redclyst Glenury Princess of China
Class 27 – Graduate (8, 3):
- 73 –Roberts’s Jetsetter Cristalle to Polmennor JW (IMP RUS) – This is a dog that I have judged before. However, she has developed so well. Another that is not generally of my style, but you could not ignore this girl with such lovely substance. Very pretty and feminine in appearance. Lean and racy throughout. Very fine, long and lean head. Slightly raised brows that were used whilst always watching, thus giving a lovely soft expression. Very good strength to neck. Shoulders and front assembly very good indeed. Personally, I would like a little more spring to rib, but carriage and strength to loin very good, providing a commendable topline. The same could be said of the backend. The width of thigh and angulation was so good on a girl that is not fully 2 years of age yet. The bend of stifle was quite good also. Movement of this bitch was excellent, best in the class. Not a foot out of place. RBOB
- 67 – Pike’s Redclyst Boris – a very stylish dog in the stack and on the move. This 2-and-a-half-year-old was racy in appearance again. Very appealing eyes, set on a nicely prominent stop. Very good ear placement on an oval head, that made for an eye-catching look. Length of neck made him look very elegant. Good strength to shoulder and forequarters. Excellent length of body, with lovely strength to loin. Well-muscled throughout. Movement was more than adequate, but just didn’t move as freely as 1st.
- 71 – Pym, Bott & Milligan-Bott’s Thendara Marshmello
Class 28 – Open Dog (8, 3):
- 49 – Greenan’s Anlory Aiden JW – What can I say about this boy? An absolute pleasure to have judged. Exactly what I am looking for in an Irish setter dog. Beautiful strong dog head that is what is needed in the breed. Super expression consisting of rich, deep, unshelled almond eyes that you easily lose yourself in. Ear placement and length spot on, that lead in to a well-structured, strong neck and on to well laid back shoulders. Super in the forequarters, that was only stressed by the lovely strong sternum. Very good depth to the chest with well sprung ribs. Loin of required length, with a good presence of pin bones, showing a dog in top condition. Thigh thickness and width was more than ample. Hocks and backend showed good bone. These all provided a good canvas for a lovely rich coat, with a decent amount of feathering, to finish the appearance off. To top this all off the dog moved around the ring with ease and freely. Excellent movement. BOB and G2 gundog
- 62 – Meadows’s Gwendariff The Big Atraxion JW – this 6-year-old was overall a lovely boy. He had a super head. Stereotypical roundness from ear to ear with good parallel planes. Well proportioned from occiput to stop and stop to nose. Lovely eye shape and with gentle chiselling that made for a lovely soft expression. Well-proportioned neck, with good strength. Very good front construction with depth to a solid chest. Well sprung rib that lead in to a good loin. Very good back end with thickness and strength to the thigh. Good width. Bend at stifle and hock of the best of the day. These lead to the dog having a lovely straight topline that was more pronounced in slope than one but still very appealing. In a good straight coat. Movement was very good, but didn’t seem to have the enthusiasm of one. Overall good dog.
- 56 – Jones’s Hunnycote handyman
Class 29 – Open Bitch (8, 3):
- 63 – Meadows’s Gwendariff D’Ya Likeme Best JW – I loved this 4-year-old girl. Very much my style of Irish. Overall quality shows through. Caught my eye as soon as she entered the ring. A very beautiful feminine head with lovely refinement. Her eyes just make you want to melt. Lovely length, texture and placement of ears. Good length and strength to neck. Very well-proportioned front construction that was well muscled. Good amount of bone. Good depth to the chest with excellent spring to the ribs. Loin of the required length. Backend finishing off a lovely girl with good substance. Was strongly considered for RBOB, however, movement was a little off on the day and therefore not reaching top honours. I know she can move better. This being said, she was presented beautifully and I like to emphasise how balanced and proportionate she was.
- 66 – Pettifer Heathclare Liberty at Crosswest – Again a bitch that wasn’t of my style, but won her way over many in the class because of her movement. This really was her forte. An altogether more compact dog than many on show on the day and in comparison, to my winner of the class. Lighter in colour, but wearing an almost full coat for a bitch. Feminine in head with a gentle stop. Head of balanced proportions. Very strong in the shoulder construction with good straight legs. Very dainty feet, which was nice to see. Good depth to the chest and plenty of room in the thoracic region. Gentle slope to the topline. Not overly muscular in the rear, but more than made up for this in her movement. Very sound throughout
- 42 – Andrews’s Milcroft Scarlet Moon
BOB – 49 – Greenan’s Anlory Aiden JW
RBOB – 73 – Roberts’s Jetsetter Cristalle to Polmennor JW (IMP RUS)
BP – 72 – Randle’s Alolfrana Lady Million at Rionore (AI)
Hefin Jones