Before judging commenced, a minute’s silence was held, in the ring, to remember
Linda Chapman (Sharidon), late treasurer of the SCC of GB who will be sadly
missed.
A very interesting entry including some from abroad, who I have judged
previously & awarded top honours in their own country but today, I felt the
depth of quality from the UK bred Smooth’s was excellent & therefore some of
these quality dogs had to leave the ring without a card.
My grateful thanks must go to stewards, Peter Sewell & Bill Botten for keeping
the ring moving, especially in the later classes.
On a concerning note, there were far too many exhibits with very short upper
arms & consequently straight shoulders, more so in the bitches. This is not good
for the future of the breed & must be watched as our lovely breed could easily
lose the breed specific movement. As such, it was of much concern & has been
reported under the submission of the Breed Watch scheme but on a positive point,
very few UK exhibits had small eyes but eye placement could be better.
VD (3)
1 Lister’s Ch Eridor Im Mr Blu at Newarp, now in his 9th year & still moves with
the drive one expects. His colour is just fading with time & has softened his
expression. Pleasing head with a well filled foreface, not quite the balance I
prefer but he could not be denied this class on his shape, outline & movement; 2
Unwin & Winter’s Sturtmoor Alexavier Odessy at Snowtrekka, striking tri of good
size & shape. Pleasing & balanced head. Well set ears. Not as positive on the
move as I would prefer but took the GC class with ease later in the day; 3
Trundley’s Lilymead Agamemnon, much smaller in type. Head is in proportion but
is much wider in backskull than I prefer. I am aware that weather conditions
have not been conducive to show preparation but attention should be paid to feet
as well as show presentation. The blue is not a good colour & has darkened with
age & he could have been cleaner.PD (1)
1 Gidding’s Legend Of Camelot’s Confusion at Ryecomb, this boy stood alone &
apart from his colour which needs to clear he has a very well balanced head,
with a well filled foreface & good earset. Moved very freely with drive from his
well made quarters BPD but lost out on both colour & to the femininity of the
bitch. JD (0). PGD (6,1a)
1 Bardill’s Plaisance Fenton Le Beau, well made tri who needs a bit more time to
come to his best. Interesting to note that his dam took the BCC in this quality
entry & he has inherited many of her virtues. Good balanced head well placed
stop & good eye set. Well placed & used ears. Good reach of neck & good
shoulders. Moved correctly both ways with nice tail carriage; 2 Denton’s
Ryecombe Jaffa Jake, another tri of similar shape but just lacked the head
qualities & shoulder placement I was looking for; 3 West’s Alopex Oysterman,
mature tri who appeared to be his own worst enemy as he was not happy using his
ears today, finer in head than those above him & lacked the moulding in foreface
for his age but has good shoulders & front angulations. LD (6,2)
1 Gidding’s Ryecomb Discovered Gold, young sable, not with his usual handler.
Moved out well with drive & kept his topline on the move. Another who needs a
bit more time to body up & mature. I liked his head pattern & foreface. Good
earset. Nicely made front assembly & moved with good front extension & tail
carriage; 2 Leach’s Manodeifi Dionysus at Hilltarn, blue of good colour but
rather heavily marked with black. In good hard condition. Not as positive in
front as winner but moved with drive with good rear action; 3 Alopex Oysterman. OD(13,1)
To give all the exhibits the same chance, I split this class of quality dogs &
feel that perhaps the Crufts show committee could return to previous years when
more places were offered in both the open classes, as, in my opinion, there were
more than 5 dogs well deserving of a place card. 1 Hayward’s Ch Foxearth Flintab,
my notes just say stunning! B/m of good colour with well broken patches.
Excellent size & shape. Pleasing head which is well balanced with a good
foreface & lip line. Well placed stop & good back skull. Very good showman who
was most attentive to his handler. Concentrated on the job in hand regardless of
the noise & others around him. Good neck flowing into well placed shoulders.
Nice length of upper arm & good depth of chest. Ample bone of correct type
leading to excellent feet & pasterns. I liked his depth of chest & length of
back. Good hindquarters & nice stifles. Good hind angulations giving a very
positive drive on the move, especially in profile movement & covers ground
easily & fluently. Good tail carriage. Never put a foot wrong in this class,
very pleased to award him the CC & subsequent BOB over a good bitch; 2 White’s
Ch Foxearth Frappuccino, lovely tri in good hard condition, sadly lacking in
some exhibits today. He started out with a lack lustre outlook but as the class
progressed you could see he was really settling down to the job in hand. One of
few who moved out well with good extensions front & rear with correct tail
carriage. Good head & foreface, correct stop & when he used his ears gave that
proud expression which just asked for a second look. Ample neck & well placed
shoulders. Lovely body covered with a gleaming coat of deep black with no rusty
tinges. Loved his outline & bone. Pushed the winner hard but had to settle for
the RCC in excellent company; 3 French’s Ch Foxearth Flock Master for Breckamore,
another tri also in hard condition & this showed in fluent movement but he just
lacked the forward extension of those above him. Good balanced head, nice eye &
foreface. With a well placed stop & used his ears well. Good depth of chest & he
has a lovely outline on the move but today just spoilt by slightly higher tail
carriage. To be honest, I was really splitting hairs between 2 & 3, & these 3
dogs will always change places. GCD (2)
1 A Odessy at S; 2 Trundley’s Juniperwood King Of Kings, tri of good size but
not enjoying his day out. I would prefer a more positive front movement & better
ear carriage.
VB (3,1)
1 Moore’s Manordeifi Silvadora, dam of my RBCC winner & easy to see where her
qualities come from. Not the best of colours in her blue but she is an honest
sound Collie. Pleasing head with a lovely expression coming from well set eye &
ears. Good neck & length of back moved quite well; 2 Robinson’s Ch Hilltarn
Valentine, tri, much finer in body & outline. Another who had a good balanced
head & well used ears. PB (3,1)
1 Kemp’s Breckamore Black Caviar, lovely tri growing up on good lines &
construction. She needs time to mature & fill out but at this stage is looking
very promising. Loved her head & expression. Good body & coat & moved well for
her age & pleased to award her BP; 2 Gladwell’s Coneypark Caffe Latte for Jotars,
young sable who is at this stage a tad unbalanced in body & outline. Shorter on
the leg at this age but she has time to grow on. I found her front assembly
slightly too upright which made front her movement somewhat stilted. JB (4,1)
1 Howard & Smith’s Jack Mack’s Hefin Huw, young blue whose colour could be
slightly better. She is of good size & shape. Pleasing head with a well placed
eye. Slightly larger upright but tipped ears placed well. Good neck & outline
but perhaps a little too wide in front assembly but moved easily in both
directions; 2 Hayward’s Foxearth Fly Orchis, a very promising young lady who was
not quite sure of herself but settled down once moved. She has a lovely outline
& very positive front movement. Very pleasing clean head with a good stop & a
lovely expression when she decided to show her ears. One I would love to see
when mature; 3 Sweeney’s Foxeath Fine Beauty, merle of similar shape & size &
l/s to 2. Not as positive in rear movement today. PGB (10,1)
One of my most disappointing classes of the day as the majority of these young
ladies were lacking the correct front construction I was looking for &
subsequently front movement was most erratic, however my winners were
acceptable. 1 Beeney’s Ryecombe Jolly Jonquil at Coneypark, sable bitch of good
size & outline, slightly finer in head than I was looking for but it is balanced
with a well placed stop & good ear carriage. Moved freely in both directions; 2
Roden’s Fortune Cookie from Breckamore, tri who was not happy following an
incident outside the ring which affected her stability. However, she soon
settled down to show off her virtues & take the GC class later in the day; 3
Campbell’s Ryecombe Dolly Mixture, another sable of similar type & shape to
winner but just lacked the more positive drive & outline of winner. LB (8,1)
1 French’s Finnish Touch for Breckamore, young tri bitch who appealed for her
breed type. Pleasing head & eye. I liked her neck & shoulders. Good outline legs
& feet, moved out quite freely here but in the challenge decided to change her
mind; 2 Robinson’s Southcombe Summer Special at Dawcher, nicely made sable with
a clean head & good eye placement. Pleasing outline & tail carriage but not as
positive moving as I was looking for; 3 Rice’s Kevranna Theras Enate Echo, very
similar in type to 2 but has a slightly better head pattern & foreface but again
failed in front movement. OB (10)
1 McKenna & Bardill’s Ch Shulune Imperial Flower of Plaisance, my star of the
day. I had previously awarded her a RCC as a youngster & felt that today she had
matured well & was on top form. Good outline & stood easily. Clean balanced
head, nice foreface with a well placed stop & good eye. Well used ears. Liked
her reach of neck & shoulder angulations. Neat feet & pasterns. Nice length of
back. Moved very easily with the extension front & rear I was looking for, well
deserved CC but met a dog on top form in the challenge & just had to give way to
him; 2 Lister’s Manordefi Miss Daisy at Newarp, this little lady is of correct
size & shape but today, was carrying just too much weight which was one of the
deciding factors in her placing. Very pleasing balanced head of good proportions
well placed stop but a little reluctant to use her ears fully today. Moved so
very easily with drive & good tail carriage & took a well deserved RCC; 3
Hayward’s Ch Kiiaramanna She Makes My Day at Foxearth young blue bitch who for
me is slightly too heavily marked. Her head is balanced but I would prefer a
better placed eye & stop which would result in a softer expression. Excellent
construction with well placed shoulders. Good topline & lovely legs & feet. GCB (5)
1 Fortune Cookie from B, easy winner of this class on her breed type; 2 Neff’s
Hightri Until, nicely made lady of good size. Liked her outline & head. Moved
quite well in profile but just lacked the quality of winner; 3 Lusty’s
Juniperwood Just A Dream, young tri bitch who moved out well. I like to see
fluent movement & the practise of this young & athletic owner of turning on each
corner precluded constant flowing movement. However, she is a nicely made bitch
of good proportions but just lacked the eye & expression I was looking for.
