PD (2,1a) 1 Thorne’s Foxearth Crusader, good size & bone, ideal body & lovely firm quarters, well carried tail, good depth. A bit over strong in head & earset & carried too low, whether they will ever come right I doubt. Moved typically. JD (3) 1 Griffiths’ Alopex Matt Finnish, smart dog, pleasing head, smooth contours of skull, well set eyes & good gentle expression, neat ears, crested neck, sound front, good forechest, nicely bodied, perfect hard coat, strong rear, well up on his feet. Could show a little more enthusiasm moving but he goes well enough; 2 Moores’ Manordeifi Pathfinder, pleasing dog with an over heavy body for his stamp of head at the moment. Stylish & true enough, nicely chiselled under the eyes. Happy with his tail! 3 Wallis’ Freejack First Knight at Norfield. PGD (2) 1 Griffiths’ Alopex Skymaster Blue, similar stamp to previous winner although a merle this time. Same type of head, good strong muzzle but still quite refined. Neat ears, fair front, well boned, lovely lithe body, OK for bend of stifle & low hocks. Tan runs up a bit into his merle otherwise well marked; 2 F First Knight at N, lovely long light stride in side action, swings his front about coming towards & he is a little coarse in head & ears should be set higher. Good strong boy, delightful temperament. LD (2) 1 Wallis’ Norfield Soul Mate, fairly parallel planes to skull, ears set OK. A little too deep through skull & a bit too lippy. Very good lay of shoulder but he plaits in front & pasterns a bit too slack. Lovely body, good quarters & great temperament. Coating but texture nice & hard; 2 Trundley’s Lilymead Agamemnon, would like a more masculine head & ears could be carried more typically. Deep chest, well ribbed. Overheavy in body & needs more tuck up. Fair mover, in good condition other than his extra weight! OD (4) 1 Forbes’ Pelghart Paint It Black at Willowhurst, lovely Collie to go over, well made, good construction, typical front movement, alert, showing well, pleasing head, reasonable ears, elegant neck let into body, good hard coat, precision mover for the breed. CC & BOB; 2 Evans’ Southcombe Sunset Shadow, 6 years, a touch over heavy in body but a gorgeous head, eyes & expression. True front, well ribbed, pleasing angulation, strong bone, moved OK, well handled & presented as were all in this class; 3 Lister’s Ch Eridor Im Mr Blu at Newarp. VD (1) 1 Tuck’s Ch Dark Motif from Misstoff, in immaculate condition for 8 years, so well muscled & his backend is so strong, ideal size, good legs & fairly tight oval feet, nice outline standing with crested neck, nice tuck-up & firm backline. Mouth could be better but not bad at all for age.
PB (2) Two nice babies. 1 Hayward’s Rowvale Rainbow’s End Is Foxearth, sound in front & rear, pleasing neck & shoulders, good legs & feet, shapely body, slightly sloping croup, well set tail, lovely head & ears. Colour can still clear a little but difficult to see in this light today as the hall is fairly dark. Moved beautifully for such a baby. BP: 2 Neff’s Hightri Until, appealed for head, eyes & expression, very sweet, beautiful ears, fairly good front & shoulder, lovely body & nicely marked. Her rear needs to strengthen a bit more. Does have a tendency to pace now & then. JB (2) 1 Gay’s Manordeifi Sapphire Mist at Yagane, most beautiful bitch, a superb head, eyes set just right giving the correct Collie expression, good balance of back skull to foreface, ears set nicely, elegant neck & body which is lithe & well put together, firm backline, ideal bone for size & good firm oval feet, well set & carried tail. She is still rather soft in condition but certainly difficult to fault for her age. RCC; 2 Moores’ Manordeifi Penny Blue, head a bit small & pinched in foreface. Solid body, reasonable mover, heavily marked black patches, shows so well & a lovely temperament, in good nick. PGB (4) 1 Giddings’ Foxearth Gold Filligree, lovely bitch for type & quality. Took a while to settle down. Pleasing head & ears. A bit too upright in shoulder & can knuckle over now & then. Beautiful body, super legs & feet, sound mover both ways, in excellent body & coat; 2 Moores’ Manordeifi Silvadora, nice to go over & she is very exuberant & free moving. Takes a while to sort her back movement out & would probably look better outside in a grass ring. Good ribs & coupling, well up on her feet, good firm pasterns, parallel planes to skull. Ears should be set higher; 3 Evans’ Dawcher Decoram. LB (5,1) 1 Griffiths’ Alopex Out Of The Blue, neat & feminine, maybe could do with a little more strength in muzzle. Sound mover, well muscled & has drive from the rear, nicely marked. A bit down on her pasterns; 2 Robinson’s Dawcher Dream Searcher, standing looked the winner but her rear is very undermuscled & she is very weak there. Pretty head, good neck, fair front, lovely body ribbing & backline, good shape & type. Just needs some exercise; 3 Moores’ Manordeifi Silver Dawn. OB (4) A nice class. 1 Hutchings’ Foxearth Fluorescence at Molloney, scored on soundness & freedom of movement. A bit short in muzzle perhaps. Flat smooth backskull, OK in neck, good front & shoulder, sound legs & feet, immaculate coat & muscular condition, super behind. Just within the Standard for size. CC; 2 Hayward’s Sandcastle’s As You Like It at Foxearth, better head & foreface than 1 but her movement is rather busy & not so smooth a stride as 1. Good body & pleasing angulation, nice neck, well carried ears; 3 Hills’ Devern Fate A Compli. VB (2) 1 Gay’s Hilltarn Kiri at Yagane, neat & well put together, in lovely coat & muscletone, liked her head & ear carriage. Would prefer better markings. Tail carried well but could be straighter at the base. Shows well & a gorgeous temperament; 2 Hills’ Ch Devern Blue Silhouette, not keeping her outline quite so well & topline not so steady. Deep & well ribbed in chest, enough bend of stifle & although she could move truer behind she is free in profile movement. ZENA THORN-ANDREWS