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My first time awarding CCs, I would like to say thank you to the society for inviting me & to the exhibitors who gave me such a marvellous entry. I was very sorry that the dreadful weather conditions did stop us using the wonderful in/out tent to its full capacity. I allowed for the weather as much as possible but in the upper classes where the decisions were close I had to weigh the performance of each dog up. In the minor puppy classes some of them didn't behave perfectly but I felt that the experience that these puppies had to have was positive & that is why I moved them again if they needed to get some more confidence. I thought that there were a lot of positives in the breed at the moment, head shapes seem better, ears were beautifully placed & were very neat. Neck length seems good, along with length of rib & short loins, there were some truly beautiful thighs & the muscular condition of the dogs was amazing, tails in general were good. Now the not so good. The upper arms were not good on some, & light eyes seem to be pervasive in the breed. But the worrying part was mouths. The Standard says ‘scissor bite', however, I had a significant amount of dogs with overshot & I even had one that was level. This is a very worrying development, yes, they have always been lurking in the breed but breeders would exclude them from their breeding but I fear now that people aren't being truthful or maybe do not realise that their dogs have a bad mouth. I would suggest that if you can get any part of your finger under the top teeth then you have a dog with a bad mouth. This is a dominant fault & it is very hard to get rid of. This was not a fault just in the lower classes with young dogs that can improve but it was mainly seen in the top classes I don't say this lightly but for the good of this most marvellous breed. We are but custodians of the breed & we should give it to the next generation in as good as or better shape that the one in which we found it. Having said all of that I was thrilled with my winners & all my puppy class winners I am confident will be future stars.
PD 1 Finnett's Hyndsight The Gibson, beautiful 6 months puppy with a lovely masculine head, dark eyes, gorgeous front, bone & feet, lovely length of body & deep brisket, great quarters, lovely tail carriage, if he had coped better with the conditions he could have gone a long way; 2 Makosh's Pewtergrey Cord Du Roi, smaller puppy than 1, lighter coloured & lighter boned, needs to grow on more, lovely head; 3 Gatenby's Pewtergrey Moleskin.
P (1): 1 Edward's Dark and Discreet from Brackenland, really lovely young 11 months youngster, beautiful head & neck, decent shoulders, good length & depth of body, moved really well. Today he really asked for BPD.
JD (3, 1): 1 Peach's Kilbourne Fire Chief, very typy dog of just 17 months, lovely head with great ear set, good length of neck, with a good shoulder, lovely bone & feet, great length of rib with a lovely short loin, great turn of stifle, but when he moved he just came alive, easy active & true, showed well to win a well deserved RCC; 2 Taylor's Kilbourne James Dene, balanced dog that moved well, decent head, will look better in the months to come.
ND (3,2): 1 Cummings' Killoeter Luss, silver, lovely old fashioned type, lovely quarters, being unco-operative in the conditions.
PGD (12,4): Good class of young males. 1 Helps' Greyfriars Gille of Beardswood, beautiful head, lovely neck, could use a wee bit more return of upper arm, but has good length of body, moved superbly & presented beautifully; 2 Barter's Brutus Fraxinus of Ehlaradawn, another good mover again with good length of rib & short loin, lovely quarters, should be a useful dog; 3 Seymour-Jackson's Ghiltan Hero.
LD (13,3) One of the best classes of the day in terms of depth. 1 Finnett & Heathcote's Hyndsight Keep The Faith, when this dog walked in the ring I just smiled & fell in love, just my interpretation of the Standard, he reminds me of Ch Ardkinglas Val, Agag etc, I awarded him the Type Cup, he also moved superbly with width, length, & cadence, Thank you for allowing me to judge him. For BOB he just didn't moved with as much determination. Sire of my MP winners. CC; 2 Llewellyn's Kilbourne Macallan at Matahari, this dog is very deceptive until you get your hands on him, lovely pair of shoulders, moved well with true width behind; 3 Rhodes' Gentom Peacemaker, this dog is also lovely but just didn't handle the conditions today.
OD (6, 1): 1 Peach's Ch Kilbourne Macleod, really lovely dog, good length, lovely head, dark eye, nice shoulders, moved well; 2 Bain's Hillmorton Dazzle, this dog is deceptive, good old fashioned type, would not behave today; 3 Helps' Beardswood Marmion.
MPB (5,1): 1 Finnett & Heathcote's Hyndsight Who's That Girl, great front with exquisite layback of upper arm, gorgeous head, at first she wouldn't move but by moving her again she moved well, in the challenge the PB outmoved her with confidence, I would have cheerfully flat packed her into my suitcase to take her home; 2 Tresh's Trentdayle Glamis, this puppy is also typy but will need more time, lovely length of body, moved well; 3 Smith's Pewtergrey Pique of Nimloth.
PB (4,1): Lovely class. 1 Peach's Witch Way to Kilbourne, lovely old fashioned type, & think could be exciting in the future, everything is there for her to mature into, I will be keeping my eyes on this one. For BP she moved around the ring extending & showing beautifully. It was lovely to find out that BPD, & second in JB were all litter brother & sisters congratulations to the very lucky breeders; 2 Phillips' Kilbourne Just Jude for Ladygrove, another lovely puppy with the same type & look, just prefer 1's tail carriage; 3 Steinborn-busse Gentiehun Mercedes.
JB (5): 1 Another very good class. 1 Phillips' Ladygrove Belle Starr, nice quality youngster, nice head, with decent shoulders, good length of body, nice let down quarters, moved well; 2 Guinivere Starshine from Kilbourne, interesting one & one again for the future, lovely topline, moved well, good shoulders, litter sister to BP; 3 Duddell & Mansell's Canerikie Coco Chanel.
NB (6): 1 Another good class. 1 Seymour- Jackson's Ghiltan Tiercel, I was rather surprised that this 3 year bitch was in this class, thought she was lovely, beautiful head, good shoulders, length, quarters good topline, moved well; 2 Barter's Stainlonan Bit of Ehlaradawn, also nice type, not as good in topline & shoulders as 1; 3 Helps' Beardswood Octavia.
PGB (15, 4): Lovely class. 1 Cafferata's Readwald Cailleach, probably not the most obvious winner in the class but she is as sound as a bell, great turn of stifle, lovely upper arm, nice topline, the handler could do more to help advertise the virtues of this bitch but she is absolutely true to type; 2 Peacock's Kilbourne Macdeva with Blufawn, this bitch is also lovely, beautiful mover in profile, pretty head, good quarters, good shoulder; 3 Girling's Pyefleet Rokesby.
LB (13, 6): Great class to judge, first 3 are lovely examples of the breed. 1 Guise's Saintvalery Hope, this bitch is very curvy, with the most beautiful head, moves over the ground as a Deerhound should with elasticity, all the length you would want, beautiful shoulders, why she is not made up is amazing, shown beautifully. I was very pleased to give her the RCC; 2 Janson's Greyflax Lady of the Lake to Nixophel, this bitch is also lovely with everything that you need and want to see; 3 Finnett & Heathcote's Hyndsight A Box of Dreams.
OB (6, 2): 1 Bailey's Ch Greyflax Waterloo Sunset, this bitch just came, saw & conquered, she asked for it & who was I to deny her, all the quality in the world, she blew the opposition away when she moved, won the Head & Expression Cup. Thank you for allowing me to judge her. BCC & BOB; 2 Guise's Saintvalery Anticipation, lots of quality, decent shoulders, good length of body; 3 Parson's & Mackinnon's Ch Claonaiglen Orrin.
Emma North-Row
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