Having looked forward to judging the breed at this show for almost three years, it was with some excitement that I entered the ring. This is a breed I have held dear since the mid ’70s when we had our first one & have generally been delighted with them here & in many other countries when I have judged.

However, & I have to say it, even with the wonderful entry, numerically, this is the first time I have walked from a ring feeling disappointed & with a serious concern for where the breed is heading. What has happened to depth of body & substance? Why are there so many tall, stilted legs with long, tubular bodies set on top? This is not what this breed is about. Correct type & balance needs to be addressed before it is too late.

Of course, there are the typical, beautiful Smooths & they saved the day but they were in a serious minority.

VD (2) 1 Howe’s Ch Rowvale Rainbow Warrior, beautiful & typical well marked/coloured merle of 12 years who I have judged before, went really well & still retains all the essentials & excellence in type & balance, quality head & expression, excellent teeth & showmanship; 2 Tuck’s Ch Dark Motif from Mistof, tri, smaller all through but well balanced. Good quality head & pleasing outline, very keen to get going & certainly knows his way around the ring with or without his handler, very sound & free. PD (3) 1 Woodstock’s Shulune Imperial Warrior, s/w & very mature for his 10 months, excellent outline, angulation & substance, balanced head of good overall type, well set ears, eyes a shade too full. Good quality, harsh coat, moved out with confidence & purpose. Just needs to harden up a little; 2 Purvey’s Freejack Midnight Dazzler, tri, not so confident but with good bodylines, angles & substance. Head lacks finish & ears erratic. Eyes are dark & well placed, moved sound & free; 3 Stilgoe’s Manordeifi Storm Shadow of Yeldust. JD (4) 1 Hyde’s Foxearth Follow On, quite beautiful & eyecatchingly handsome young male in excellent condition, superb body, angulation & substance. Head is balanced but a shade strong & could have a little more definition about the stop area. The muzzle is filled & skull flat, well placed, dark eyes & excellent ears, great showman, doing all the work expected & moving out sound & free. Seriously considered him further but preferred the head detail of the older dog; 2 Trundley’s Juniperwood King Of Kings, very good & well made dog, not the best showman, ears wide & a bit heavy, excellent eyes. Lovely body & substance, good coat & super movement; 3 F Midnight Dazzler. PGD (5,1a) 1 Moore’s Manordeifi Pathfinder, tri in excellent condition, balanced head, excellent ears, well placed eyes with good expression, good neck & topline, well set tail, very good substance, moved sound & free; 2 Evans’ Southcombe Starman, b/m top size male, excellent outline & angulation, balanced, clean head, excellent foreface & flat skull, well placed ears & dark eyes give excellent expression, sound mover; 3 Eke’s Foxearth Fred Perry, this is a heartbreak dog, has all the quality & balance of a well bred champion, exquisite head & eye features on an excellent neck which is arched & filled into the shoulders, great body substance, bone & angles, superb short, harsh coat, good tail & movement, showed well. So, you’re wondering, why is he third? Sadly he has the neatest pair of pricked ears & we know that is the death knell for any Collie in the showring. But, I seriously feel that all his other qualities should not be overlooked simply because of the obvious ear fault. He has such a lot to offer (if available) & a few of the rangy-heavy-wide eared bitches could do well to give him a go. LD (9,2) 1 Winter & Unwin’s Stuartmoor Alexavier Odessy at Snowtrekka, tri, lovely quality dog gives good overall impression of correct type, very typical & pleasing head, well set dark eyes & good ears, excellent neck, good topline & body. Could have a little more angulation. Moved free & true; 2 Moore’s Manordeifi Storm Breaker, good quality dog, balanced head, good ears, well set eyes, excellent neck & topline, good angulation, excellent coat, moved soundly; 3 Wallis’ Freejack First Knight at Norfield. OD (11,1) What a class & a fantastic turn out of superb males, most of whom I’ve been over before. 1 Lister’s Ch Eridor I’m Mr Blu at Newarp, found this dog very good to go over, head is of a different type with a little more lower cheek development, sides are clean through muzzle & skull, filled muzzle & flat skull are balanced with well set eyes & ears, good body with substance & depth & thankfully, not as bulky as he has been in the past. Excellent coat & colour, moved steady & soundly on good legs & feet, particularly good in front. CC; 2 Forbes’ Ch/Ir Ch Pelghart Paint It Black at Willowhurst lovely tri who I did well as a youngster, now matured into a top winning showman, has all the essentials & presents an excellent picture as a well balanced & quality male. Stood a bit slack & didn’t go quite as positive as 1. RCC; 3 Norman & Ratcliffe’s Ch Foxearth Flash Past, quite a stunning yet refined dog & here, while standing, I thought he would be my winner. Sadly he is showing some years now, particularly in front when moving but he retains his other outstanding qualities in head, eyes, expression, outline, substance & coat. A lovely dog & super champion. Went over 4 on this occasion as I felt the younger male was a little lacking in coat & body. GCD (4) 1 S Alexavier Odessy at S; 2 Ch Dark Motif; 3 F Royal Knight.

VB (5,2) 1 Garnett’s Sharidon Miss American Pie at Knipes, tri, absolutely belies her 11½ years, in stunning condition & fitness going round like a 2 year old. Clean balanced head, well set eyes, excellent ears, superb neck, topline, angles & substance, so well bodied & muscled for her age & full of showmanship, a credit to her owner; 2 Hills’ Devern Blue Silhouette, very sweet head & expression, has gained a fuller waistline but went well, in good coat of excellent colour; 3 Bullion’s Foxearth Flame Of Love at Ostarain. PB (4,1) Three sisters in this class. 1 Timperton’s Shulune Imperial Stormmaid at Triforce, well grown s/w, balanced head with length, good muzzle & skull, well set eyes, excellent neck & topline, well angulated, good body & coat, moved sound & free, good in front. BP over her brother; 2 McKenna’s Shulune Imperial Flower of Plaisance, s/w, smaller all through, clean balanced head, good eyes & ears, good neck & back, sufficient angulation, moved steady & true. Just tends to stand & move a bit close behind; 3 Williams’ Shulune Imperial Moonlight, no notes. JB (8,2) 1 Hartley’s Foxearth Silver Dream at Jimjack, sweet merle with beautiful colour & markings, well balanced, feminine head with sweet expression & excellent ears, very good outline with good substance for size & nicely angulated, in superb condition, steady, sound mover; 2 Trundley’s Juniperwood Final Affair, tri, sweet head & expression, ear tips a little too heavy. Excellent outline, body & angulation, superb coat, moved out freely; 3 S Imperial Stormmaid. PGB (6,1) 1 Neff’s Hightri Until, b/m, lovely overall, sweet head & expression, good muzzle & skull profile but could be more filled, excellent ears, good outline & sufficient angulation, excellent coat, moved best; 2 Purvey’s Freejack A Touch Of Magic, very good overall, excellent make & shape, good substance & angulation, pleasing head, good eyes. Ears too wide & not fully tipped. Sound, fluid mover; 3 Lusty’s Juniperwood Dream Maker, tri, nice type, balanced with good angles, sweet head, went well. LB (11,4) 1 Fort’s Shulune Lady Of Lorien, s/w, beautifully balanced, clean head, good eyes, flat skull, well placed ears, excellent neck, well made body with good angles & substance, has given a lot to her winning puppies. Moved out freely with an excellent rear, just a shade loose in front; 2 Moore’s Manordeidi Silvadora, very nice merle up to size. Balanced head, ears a little heavy, well set eyes with good expression, excellent outline, well angled with good substance. Lost out on her tendency to pace; 3 Gay’s Manordeifi Sapphire Mist at Yagane, litter sister to 2 & very similar. Balanced head, sweet eyes & good ears, just going a little on the strong side for a bitch. Very good neck & topline, well angulated, moved free & true. OB (11,4) 1 Asikainen’s Milli Miller Viisakas Virginia, g/s/w, most beautiful feminine outline with outstanding qualities all through, head is balanced though quite long enough, correct planes & not running deep, eyes & ears are well set giving a sweet, intelligent expression which was youthful & vibrant, she obviously delighted in all that she was doing. Body make & shape is outstanding, firm, well muscled with angulation beautifully let down into hocks. She truly out moved everything here keeping a steady pace with great reach & drive which was quite true coming & going. CC & BOB; 2 Hills’ Devern Fate A Compli, lovely tri, all quality, sweet, feminine & well filled head, well set eyes & excellent ears give sweet expression, good outline, nicely angulated, good body & bone, super coat, moved sound & free; 3 Asikainen’s Int Ch Sandcastles Storm In A Teacup, 7 years tri, very eyecatching having a balanced outline & good angles, well made body with depth & substance, clean, balanced head but rather too full in stop & eye which detracted. Excellent ears used non stop, a real showgirl & worthy champion, in superb coat & condition, moved out well on long loose lead. GCB (4) 1 Moore’s Manordeifi Silver Dawn, beautifully conditioned b/m of good overall type, balanced head, good foreface & skull, well placed stop & eyes, good expression, ears set OK but tend to tip a little heavy. Lovely outline, well angulated with good body & substance, moved out sound & free, showed consistently well & enjoyed her time. RCC; 2 Giddings’ Foxearth Gold Filigree, so sweet & lovely s/w, just missed out in previous class. Excellent type & very well put together, beautiful head & sweetest expression. Moved out well but throwing one foreleg; 3 Hutchings’ Ch Foxearth Fluoresence at Molloney, no notes.