Smooth Collie Club Open Show 2017

Judge Marianne Benton

Best of Breed Sweeney's Plaisance Blue Belle & Best in Show

Best Dog  Denton's Brackenhaye Fields of Gold

Reserve Best Dog - Coneypark Countdown for Allangill
Best Bitch Sweeney's Plaisance Blue Belle

Reserve Best Bitch Denton's Ch Kevranna Theras Enate Echo

Best Puppy - Loader's Coneypark Countdown for Allangill

Best Veteran
 

Minor Puppy Dog (2,0)
1st Loader's Coneypark Countdown for Allangill

2nd Holloway's Coneypark Coldplay

Puppy Dog (4,2)
1st Bell & Cowling's Koczkodan Nostromo

2nd Moore's Manordeifi Bow Regard

Junior Dog (1,0)
1st Denton's Brackenhaye Fields of Gold

Novice Dog  (1,0)
Moore's Manordeifi Bow Regard

Post Graduate Dog
No Entries

Limit Dog (2,1)
1st Kinsey & Kinsey's Sturtmoor Khaos of Kaswyn
 

Open Dog (6,3)
1st Leach's Manordeifi Dionysus at Hilltarn
2nd Cole's Ch Sturtmoor Dream of Kasvelyn

3rd Trundley's Blamorder Back to the Future

Veteran Dog (1,0)
1st Russell's Foxearth Fashion Guru for Koczkodan

I wish to thank the wonderful committee of giving me the opportunity to judge today. Many thanks to my lovely stewards who done a fabulous job keeping the ring running smoothly. And lastly to the exhibitors gave me a lovely entry. Smooth Collie Dogs: MP (2) two boys of substance, wouldn't like to see them grow any bigger. 1 Loaders Coneypark Countdown for Allangill. S/W of 8mths, well up to size. Nice head, on the mature side for his age, well rounded muzzle, good stop, nice eyes. Ears tipped nicely, well set and used well. Nice neck into a good lay of shoulder. Nice length in back. Good turn of stifle, good feet. Moved well. RBD, BPoB, RBPiS, BMPiS. 2 Holloways Coneypark Coldplay, 8 mths tri of similar stature, head is a little coarser and bit deeper in back skull than 1st, rather full in cheek. Good stop, nice dark eye. Good ears. Loved his overall body shape with good angulation. Moved well from all angles. PD (4.2) 1 Bell & Cowlings Koczkodan Nostromo. Tri of 9 mths. Well developed head, good muzzle, stop needs to clear, nice dark eyes, good ear set, adequate neck, good length in back. Good turn of stifle. Just preferred overall balance of the MP winner 2 Moores Manordeifi Bow Regard. S/W of 10 mths. So much to like about him, lovely head with good dark eye. Good ear carriage which he used to advantage, good overall body shape, just today not at his best when moving. J (1) 1 Dentons Brackenhaye Fields of Gold. Lovely 14 mths S/W, Loved this boy for his overall size and shape. Head has nice properties, good muzzle, lovely eyes and well set and used ears. Long neck, good shoulders into good length of back, with good rear, nice hocks. When he settled he showed nice movement in both front and rear. BD and BOSiS. N (1) 1 Manordeifi Bow Regard. L (2.1a) 1st Kinsey Sturtmoor Khaos Kaswyn. 2 year old sable. Head developing along the right lines, nice eye, would prefer tighter ears, good length of neck. Would prefer a better front, good length of back. Well angulated rear. Movement, although he has strong rear action, he was lacking good reach in front which made him step too high. O (6. 3a) 1 Leachs Manordeifi Dionysus at Hilltarn. 6 yrs B/M, Good head and expression, nice stop, good eyes. Nice ear set but reluctant to use them today. Adequate length of neck, good length in body. Won class on his movement. 2 Coles Ch Sturtmoor Dream of Kasvelyn. 2 yr Sable, Head handles well, good eye, nice stop, adequate ear set. Nice overall body shape, very unsettled today, not standing or moving well. 3 Trundleys Blamorder Back to the Future. V (1) 1 Russells Foxearth Fashion Guru for Koczkodan. S/W of 7 years. Head has a well rounded muzzle with good underjaw. Nice stop, has a good dark eye. Nice length in neck. Good shoulder placement, good length in back. Good hocks. Moved steadily. Ran the puppy close for RBD, BVD. Smooth Collie Bitches: MP (1) 1 Trundleys Juniperwood My Dream. B/M of 6mths. This pretty girl has a lovely wedge of head, nice stop, good eyes and good ears. Good length of neck. Nice angulations front and rear, her overall body shape was spoiled by carrying too much puppy fat, which let her topline down and showed in her movement. Feet also need attention. P (7.3) Four very promising bitches but all seemed to want to play up for one reason or another. Made my choices more difficult. I have no doubt that these will change places, but one has to judge on the day. 1 Moores Manordeifi Black Bess. 10mths tri, decent head, nice rounded muzzle, stop a little deep, nice eyes, well set ears and used well. Excellent front and shoulders, long back, good croup and well let down in hocks. Colour is against her with carrying too much brown in her coat but saying that it didn't distract from her movement, showing great stride in front and power from the rear. A real working Smooth Collie. 2 Flowers Breckamore Butterfingers. Tri of 11 months, decent head although a tad wide in back skull, good muzzle with correct stop, eye rather round which distracted from overall expression, well used ears. Nice length in neck, good shoulder placement, deep chest, she needs to come up on her front and felt she was a tad long in back which she lost her outline when she was moving. Good rear angulation, would prefer a longer tail. 3 Meachams Blamorder Curlywurly Girly at Zellamere. J (3.2) 1 Breckamore Butterfingers. N (3) 1 Russells Breckamore Bittersweet for Koczkodan. 18mths super tri. Very pretty bitch, lovely head, nice muzzle, perfect stop, lovely dark eyes. Great ear carriage that were bang on top and used to advantage. Good angulations front and rear. Nice tidy feet. When settled move extremely well. Only criticism is that she is too small. 2 Manordeifi Black Bess. 3 Plaisance Eva La Belle. PG (3.1) 1 Moores Manordefi Summer Magic. Tri that I have done well in the past. Nice head with well rounded muzzle, nice stop, eye and ear set. Adequate length of neck, deep chest and well laid shoulders. Long back. Good rear angulation. Moved well. 2 Kinsey Sturtmoor Kurious Kadence. 2 yr old bitch, head with a well rounded muzzle. Nice stop, eye rather round, would prefer tighter ear set. Would prefer better angulation at front, decent length in back, standing a bit high at the rear. Moved ok but would liked more reach in front. L (6.2) 1 Sweeneys Plaisance Blue Belle. I have to say that this young blue is not an 'in your face' girl but when you handle her you just realise how special she truly is. The first thing is how well her head handles. A wedge shaped head that is so balanced, with a good rounded muzzle, lovely slight stop, beautiful eyes giving a kind and sweet expression. Ears bang on top and used to her advantage. Long arched neck, the best of shoulder placement, correct length of back, good turn of stifle and well let down in hocks. Nice length of tail. She doesn't have to be moved fast to show her true stride, moved out well from all angles. BB, BoB and so delighted to see her go BiS at both shows. She surely has to be one for the upper house. 2 Hartleys Foxearth Finish Spirit at Jimjack Sh CM. Tri of 2 yrs, beautiful expressive head, clean and well placed stop, nice dark eyes and good ear set. Adequate neck, need to develop in chest and would prefer better front angulation. Good length in back, nice rise over the loin, decent rear angulation. Movement lacked drive, and needed better reach in front. 3 Moores Tomalca Button N Bows at Manordeifi. O (4.2) 1 Dentons Ch Kevranna Theras Enate Echo. 5 yr old sable of bigger type. Lovely moulded head, good parallel lines, nice dark eye. Good stop, nice ear carriage, lovely long and graceful neck, into good shoulders, good length in back and good angulated rear. Moved at a steady pace, covering the ground well. RBB. 2 Griffiths Alopex Little Summer. There is no secret that I adore this 8yr sable bitch, this girl has the best of heads, super wedge shape, lovely slight but perceptible stop, almond shape eyes that are dark that gives the true collie expression. Her ears are set correctly but sadly wouldn't use them today. Her overall body shape is as perfect as you can get, super shoulder placement, deep chest, lovely length in back, good rise over the loin, well let down hocks and great feet. Lovely long tail. She is so balanced. In this class she was over excitable on the move, going too fast and putting her front out. But was glad to see in the challenge for Best Veteran that she got it together and moved perfectly. How this girl does not have her title I will never know. BViB, RBViS. V (3,2) 1 Russells Manordeifi Satin Doll of Koczkodan. Tri of nearly 8 showing her age a bit but still has a sweet head and expression. Nice stop and good ear set, Long neck, good shoulder placement, nice length in back. Well angulated in front and rear. Moved well. Just preferred Little Summers overall balance for BV. Brace. Lovely to see these two duo of sables, first was more together on the move whereas second seemed to have more fun! 1st Denton. 2nd Moore

Marianne Benton

Special Award Classes

I'd like to thank the Smooth Collie Club for inviting me to judge their SAC classes at their open show and for the exhibitors for their generous entry and for accepting my placings. P Difficult class of puppies. The two bitches beat the dogs on balance, movement and functionality, despite all 3 dogs having the better heads. I'm sure I would place all 5 of these differently another day and look forward to seeing them mature. All the puppies had excellent happy temperaments and dealt with our little 'interruption' very well. 1 Russell's Koczkodan Serenity. 9 month old tricolour bitch. Very feminine, sound on the move once she was given a chance to settle. She has good ears, which were well set. Her head is not her fortune but her overall construction and movement was the best of all the pups and it won her the class. Very sweet and happy go lucky puppy. 2 Flower's Breckamore Butterfingers. 11 month old tri bitch. The oldest puppy in the class and her maturity definitely showed. Good deep chest and well boned. Her angulation is good but she doesn't have the best topline, fortunately time is on her side and I hope this will improve. She had a flat head with slight, well placed stop however I found it a little wide in back skull and her eyes were quite round and could have been better set which spoilt her expression. She excelled with her sound and fluid movement which was lovely to watch. Very happy, cool and calm puppy. PG 1 Russell's Breckamore Bittersweet for Koczkodan. 18 month old tri bitch. Very pretty head, with sweet eyes and good ear set. She moved well, is reasonably well balanced and has a good harsh black coat. I liked her overall type but unfortunately is just too small. 2 Carpenter's Plaisance Eva La Belle, 20 month old blue merle bitch. I liked this girl. She has a lovely flat head which was a clean wedge, ears right on top and used well. She is a bit heavily marked and could be a better colour but there was plenty to like about her. She has beautiful eye and expression, is well balanced and rear movement was sound. Unfortunately her front movement was difficult to assess but nothing a bit of ring craft wouldn't fix. Would love to see her again once she is used to being handled, as her reluctance to cooperate lost her the top spot. O A good sized class where some beautiful dogs left the ring empty handed. I found some dogs in this class were better to go over but were a bit lack-lustre on the move, I put this down to having already been shown that morning at the main show however for a breed that's designed to work all day it's a bit of a poor excuse. My top two were very different styles to one another but none the less both beautiful bitches. 1 Griffiths Alopex Little Summer. 8yr old sable, feminine bitch. Caught my eye the moment she started moving. She puts her head down and she can shift! Her movement is effortless with impressive forward reach and rear drive to match. To go over she is balanced with an excellent front, which I expected to find after seeing her move. She has a good depth of chest, enough bone and a harsh coat. Her head is a clean, flat wedge finished with beautiful almond eyes and good ears which she used just enough. What lets this quality girl down is her lack of showmanship, she doesn't scream 'look at me', which is the only reason I can find for her not having her title, which is a real shame. When it came down to it this was the dog I would take to move some sheep, she is fit for purpose, workman-like and I loved her. Thank you for bringing her, she made my day. 2 Denton's Ch Kevranna Theras Enate Echo, 5yr old shaded sable, larger bitch than the first and a lot smarter. She has plenty to like about her, excellent bone, balanced front and rear, clean flat head, good ears and sweet eye. Excellent tight and harsh jacket. She was very sound on the move but didn't have the reach and drive of 1. Abby Lusty