S COS CH SHOW, 29/05/15 -

Dalmatians

Many thanks to all exhibitors for their entries. I can only apologise for the very late appearance of this report.

It was a pity that heavy rain meant that quite a lot of the judging of the males had to be in the rather small indoor part of the in/out ring, & the outside portion eventually became too slippery even to run on. I tried to make allowance for the fact that the dogs moving with the best drive & length of stride were likely to be the worst affected by the inadequate ring size that resulted from this restriction. Fortunately, it cleared up & the grass dried in time for the dog challenge, & bitches were judged outside. I tried to give precedence to conformation & movement over exuberant showmanship (although the latter is very welcome!). I was somewhat disappointed in what I saw as a lack of depth of quality in the males, particularly in the early classes (with notable exceptions), but the bitches were better. Having said that, there were still too few in both sexes with correctly constructed fronts; disappointingly this failing included some exhibits who have consistently won well. I found that in many classes I was having to compromise on other factors if I wished to reward good fronts &, on later reflection, realised that I had somewhat favoured breeding incorporating overseas bloodlines, many of which were closer to the front construction that I was seeking. Another cause for concern of the entry today was the number of exhibits not truly straight in the hind legs when viewed from behind when standing, although not many were bad enough to qualify for the term cow hocked. I was also disappointed in the number of hand-shy exhibits, especially as this was not confined to the baby bitches, & these exhibits did less well than they otherwise would have as a result. I was however delighted by my main winners & quite a few other exhibits.

MPD (2,1a)

1 James & Vaux’s Tippledal A New Moon Rises, 6 months l/w, very raw but promising, substantial with lovely bone, as is to be expected he is not finished in head yet but he presented a balanced outline with strong hindquarters, good tail carriage, in good coat. Immaturity cost him in the next class.

PD (3)

1 Goff-Leggett’s Washakie Shoshone Chief, very substantial & eyecatching 10 months b/w with beautifully marked & correct head, intelligent expression with nice eye, well constructed front & good reach of neck, very well boned & good tight feet, level topline & good turn of stifle, low hocks, perfect tail carriage, deep pigmentation, moved satisfactorily, seriously considered him for higher honours. I shall watch his future with interest. BP;
2 Stocks’ Nospar’s Shaded Lanson, 9 months l/w built on a slightly smaller frame than 1 but close up, good front with pronounced forechest, again a good topline & tailset & carriage, slightly less developed in ribcage than 1, pleasing hindquarters with good turn of stifle, low hocks, slightly sparsely spotted & shown marginally overweight, moved well;
3 T A New Moon Rises.

JD (6,1)

1 Alexander’s Offordale Picasso, 14 months b/w, won this class with ease, loved his expression, excellent head & neck, correctly angled front with well defined forechest, good bone & feet, correct topline, lovely tail carriage, overall just right for his age, moved with a lovely long stride, close up in the challenge but just lost out on maturity, should have an interesting future;
2 Page’s Winflash Hugo Boss, striking 14 months b/w of obvious qua lity, heavily spotted face with lovely dark eye, less elegant in muzzle than 1, lovely arched neck, very good bone & substance, well defined withers, tail flows off his good topline, very well muscled, could not match 1 in length of upper arm & development of forechest;
3 Forrest’s Elabri Esprit Horizon at Spotswood.

YD (3,2)

1 McCarthy’s Domdallino Je Suis Kilndandy, very substantial 17 months l/w with an excellent outline, pleasing expression, good front & well balanced hindquarters, good bone & strong body, lovely liver colour, excellent tail carriage standing but a tad high on the move, did not cope with moving on the slope as well as some others did.

GD (2)

1 Hurst’s Philcarthom Xcaliber at Finnidal, 3 years b/w of very good substance & good depth of pigment, he has good bone & depth of body & an excellent ribcage, perhaps just slightly the heavier side of the elegance/substance balance that I was looking for, his handler struggled to get the best out of him on the move in the adverse conditions;
2 Hajee & Tidcombe’s Rainbeau Of Hope, a slightly more lightly built 2 year old b/w who still needed to develop in head, good pasterns & stifles, a little high on the leg & I would prefer slightly heavier bone, moved adequately.

PGD (5,1)

1 Sampson’s Stocklore Wizard Of The Forrest, 4 years b/w, slightly smaller & finer than many but still correct, very well pigmented with a lovely expression, better forechest than 2, very much at one with his handler, moved well with a good length of stride, would prefer slightly more masculinity;
2 Tingey’s Dallyador Aramis, 3 years l/w of lovely colour, taller than 1 & with a little more substance, I particularly liked his hindquarters, but he could not match the front angulation of 1, although he still moved with a good length of stride;
3 Rainbeau Of Hope.

LD (8,1) A stronger class.

1 Pratt’s Gwynmor Finch Hatton at Solostar, lovely 3 years b/w Dutch import who I have judged before & freely admit that I was not that impressed then, but the intervening time has made a big difference in my eyes, he has a pleasing expression, correct front angulation & well developed forechest, good depth of body & excellent hindquarters, although not quite as short coupled as I would prefer. His superb long striding movement was not helped in the restricted ring space in this class, but in the full ring in the challenge he came into his own, he is not the greatest showman (although rock steady while being examined), but his overall conformation & action just earned him the RCC;
2 Bolt’s Fakenham Ferrera Rocher, another who I have judged before, a 4 year old l/w of lovely colour, he has a good width of skull, excellent front, lovely depth of chest, correct length, moved soundly & with good drive, could not quite match the strength of hindquarters of 1;
3 Clarke’s Klarkeson One Vision.

OD (7,1)

1 Hultink & Hoie’s Ch/Multi Ch Solbo’s Kayo, 7 years b/w who I have watched with interest on a few previous occasions when he has come over from the continent, has a good if lightly marked head, lovely length of neck leading into the best front construction of the day, good body & superb hindquarters, correct tailset, very clean outline & elegant in overall appearance without in any way lacking in masculinity, his movement in profile was unequalled in this entry, & although not really appearing to like the conditions, he still had to win the CC. His coat was not quite as bright & tight as I would hope for & this was a major factor when up against the younger bitch for BOB;
2 Whincup’s Ch Tamilanda Panther Lilly, 3 years b/w in sparkling coat & showing superb fitness & condition, lovely dark eyes in a very handsome head, strong body on well boned legs & good feet, moved soundly & with enthusiasm but could not quite match the forward reach of 1 or of the Limit winner, easy to see why he has done so well, he has real ring presence & quality, I found the decision between him & the Limit winner for the RCC one of the toughest of the day & I really would have liked to be able to reward him with higher honours;
3 Goff-Leggett’s Ch Washakie Nutcracker Prince, completed a trio of lovely dogs.

V (5,1) I am not a fan of mixed sex breed classes at this level of show; I consider it a parsimonious move to save a trivial amount of time &/or money. I have given class wins to both 1 & 2 in their younger days & was pleased to see them both looking so well.

1 Lewis’ Man About Town at Hunterswood, lightly marked 9 years b/s dog of cobby type, good bone & substance & built with lovely angulation, giving an attractive outline, I would prefer a slightly more refined head & he moved in what could kindly be called a restrained fashion; nevertheless, moved very soundly;
2 Quayle’s Buffrey The Shaded Sun at Cubalibre, nearly 8 years b/s dog of heavier markings, I love his head & kind expression, good length of neck, correct topline & tail carriage, excellent hindquarters, I would prefer slightly more depth of chest & angulation of upper arm;
3 Hultink & Hoie’s Alphadirato Glitter Girl.

GC (4,1)

1 Wills’ Ottauquechee Talulah at Dallyvista, a 3 year old densely marked b/s bitch with dark eyes in a typical head, lovely length of neck, she is well boned with good front angulation & moderate turn of stifle, but difficult to assess as she was not showing very strongly & tended to stand with her topline not level. I suspect that the weather conditions played a part here;
2 P Xcaliber at F;
3 Salter’s Native New Yorker at Dalens.

MPB (8,1) There were a couple of babies who were hand-shy, but I tried to be as forgiving as was consistent with being able to make a reasonable assessment of them.

1 Brennan’s Daymadals In The Mood, a well grown 7 month old b/s with a pleasing expression, lovely bone, has a good width of chest & front construction, showing well defined withers, at this stage not quite settled in topline but a lovely tail carriage, needs time, I see that she is by my dog RCC winner;
2 Whincup’s Rapanooey Miss Continental by Tamilanda, very baby 6 months b/s, another with excellent bone, very attentive to her handler, well covered & ‘roly-poly’ as I would hope to see at this age, has a look of quality about her but at this stage still has quite a lot of development to do, particularly in head & in confidence. Her handler needs to stand further back from her to avoid her pillaring her front;
3 Edens’ Dalens Calendar Girl.

PB (6,1)

1 Wilkinson’s Gwynmor High Five to Hunacres, another Dutch import, really attractive, well grown 11 months b/s, very confident outlook, lovely head & neck into good shoulders, very well balanced with correct stifles & excellent tailset. Was BPB with something to spare & only lost out for BP on being slightly less developed in forechest at this stage. Would prefer her to be moved slightly faster, but others may not agree. I think that she will have a very interesting career;
2 R Miss Continental by T;
3 D Calendar Girl.

JB (5,1)

1 Alexander’s Offordale Larissa, 14 months b/s beauty who I have admired from the ringside, such a quality bitch with a very balanced outline, ideally, for me she would be just a shade stronger in hocks, but that aside she is very hard to criticise, classic head with dark eye, excellent front, good body leading to superb hindquarters, showed exuberantly & moved with a beautiful length of stride, very close up in the challenge but in the end had to settle for the RCC on maturity alone;
2 David & Saunders’ Dalcitino Interlagos from Dallydyl, 13 months l/s of a heavier build than 1, one I have looked forward to going over, she is of beautiful liver colour & has a lovely topline & tailset, slightly heavier in neck than I would prefer, but the most beautiful front construction with marked forechest, another with a lovely length of stride, could not match the showmanship of 1, but then few can;
3 Tingey’s Dallyador The Enchantress.

YB (9,1)

1 Petersen’s Daedalus Cliff Angel, another who I have admired from the ringside, I see that she is another by my dog RCC winner, a slightly larger 18 month old b/w with deep pigmentation, bold spotting, classic head & neck, lovely front with good forechest, well defined & clean withers, correctly angled pasterns, well developed body, beautiful cat feet, her perfect tailset finishes off her lovely topline & a good turn of stifle & low hocks complete a great outline, moved excellently without rushing around the ring, put in a very steady performance all round to win the CC, her first, in a tightly contested challenge, & later her perfect coat just got her the BOB award over the spectacularly moving dog, pleased to see her shortlisted in the group;
2 Hobbs & Whiting’s Rapanooey Rhapsody, 22 months b/s, very honest type, pleasant spotty face, lovely dark eye, very good front & pasterns, good topline & lovely tail carriage, not as clean over the withers or as strong in turn of stifle as 1, but she moved well;
3 Edens’ The Ice Queen at Dalens.

GB (2,1)

1 Thornthwaite & Patrick’s Spiral Desdemona, was VHC in Yearling, lightly built 22 months b/s, lovely head & expression, although I would prefer a slightly darker eye, nice hindquarters & good tailset, not as much forechest as I would prefer, good driving action but could move slightly more tightly in front. Alone.
PGB (5,1)

1 Bauert & Saunders’ Dallydyl Met By Moonlight, very exuberant l/s, nearly 3 years old, nicely made with a really good neck & front construction, lovely stifles, rather heavily marked, particularly on her neck, she was so animated that I had to be patient to see her standing correctly, moved with great drive;
2 Kroon’s Kykado Devina, 3 years l/s of nice type with a very good front, good bone & excellent pasterns, tight feet, lovely topline, good tailset, excellent turn of stifle, unfortunately slightly ticky, not very confident & outgoing on the day & did not move as accurately as 1, but had a good long stride;
3 Hipkiss’ Lilal Tiger Lily at Dalkiss.

LB (14,4) Numerically a strong class & a satisfying depth of quality on display, but the main impression that I got on looking round the ring was the wide variety of types present. As a result, I believe that this was the most challenging class that I have ever had to judge in the breed, & I ran out of cards well before I had rewarded all of the lovely bitches who I would have liked to place.

1 Christie’s Jezebel The Astonishing Sophtspot, yet another Dutch class winner, 23 months b/s of great substance with a classically angulated front construction & a gorgeous head & expression, good if slightly heavy forechest, lovely body & well angulated hindquarters, excellent size & density of spotting, tended to stand with a slightly high head & tail carriage which slightly marred the overall picture, moved with great drive but not quite the accuracy going away of 2, I would prefer slightly more strength of hocks, excellent showmanship;
2 Quayle’s Cubalibre Follow On, very close up to 1, lovely 2 year old b/s of excellent size, substance & outline, well marked ears, really classic flow of neck into shoulders, lovely ribcage, tailset & tail carriage, I preferred the slightly broader skull and better developed forechest of 1, but she is beautifully spotted & moved flawlessly with great accuracy & good drive, I have given high honours to her dam & she plainly has the potential to gain her title, scored over 3 on her more level topline;
3 Moate’s Leiahart Honolulu Honey at Sundowndal.

OB (4,2)

1 Emmett & Simons’ Ch Dalliviro Reba Mac at Ellemstra, lovely b/s 3 year old to whom I gave a class win the last time that I judged, has become an established champion since then & has most of the attributes that I was looking for, she has an attractive head & beautiful ears although I would prefer more facial markings, good eye & a lovely length of neck, good length & angulation of upper arm, excellent length & spring of ribcage, superb stifles, wonderful showmanship, on the stand she could not quite match the flow of neck into shoulders of my top winners & I would prefer a slightly lower tail carriage on the move, but a very strong contender in the challenge;
2 Stocks’ Ch Kalokairies Lady Bollinger at Nospar, a slightly smaller 3 year old b/s with lighter spotting than 1, good head & eye, I liked her width of forechest & general cobbiness, another who makes the best of herself on the stand & has a balanced outline, did not quite match the accuracy of hind movement or depth of chest of 1, but a lovely girl of great quality.

Dr W J E GARDNER