BORDER UNION CH SHOW, 20/06/15 – Dalmatians

Dalmatians

Many thanks to the committee of BUAS for inviting me to judge for a 2nd year, this has always been one of my favourite venues. I had two very efficient stewards who kept things flowing so that I didn’t keep the two following breeds hanging around for ever. Good stewards are essential to the running of a show & are too often taken for granted. Thankyou for doing a great job.
The Dalmatian folk had given me a nice sized entry to select from. The ‘Carriage Dog’ is a moving breed, & there were far too few who really moved correctly. My dog CC & BOB certainly could, he easily out moved every other male by a mile. Totally sound no matter what angle he was viewed from, completely effortless movement with a good ground covering stride, & no exaggeration, he really could go all day. Several of the younger dogs looked good standing but the large undulating ring pinpointed the toeing in, close hocks, over reaching, lack of forward extension etc. Very few outstanding stud dogs for the future there!
As usual a lot of cathedral fronts & lack of angulation to the upper arm. What surprised me from previous times judging was how unbalanced many were, with the depth required in front, but going away to very flimsy over angulated rear construction. Many of these were too short in back, the Dalmatian should be slightly longer than high. Where have all the muscles gone? Not a lot of second thigh in evidence. Please study the standard & pedigrees before breeding, & always try to improve on what you already have. It takes time & effort, there is no short cut to breeding a top winning dog.

PD (3,2a)

1 Goff-Leggett’s Washakie Shoshone Chief, alone but certainly deserved the class. 11 months old black spot, of good breed type, presenting a balanced outline. Good reach of neck into well laid shoulders, sufficient depth & forechest. Moved soundly covering the ground powered by well muscled quarters. Pleased to award him BP over the bitch on his superior movement & construction. One of only a few I would be happy to own. Look forward to seeing him in a couple of years as he should have a bright future.

JD (6,1)

1 Alexander’s Offordale Picasso, eyecatching young man with good clean lines, attractive decoration & sound movement. No real competition in this class, & had he been a little more together on the move would have considered him for RCC, lacked a little maturity against the OD but his time will come;
2 Page’s Winflash Hugo Boss, had to forgive his ‘battle scars’ as apart from the winner he was the only one to move well, despite being a little over exuberant at times. His construction is good, balanced outline & with good angulation;
3 Donnelly’s Tamilanda Berry Ice Lilly.

ND (2)

1 W Shoshone Chief;
2 T Berry Ice Lilly, 3rd in JD attractive head with lovely dark eye colour & nicely broken ears. Moved OK behind but lacked forward reach due to being somewhat upright in front.

PGD (10,3) A class of truly dreadful movement. Seriously considered withholding a number of awards, but didn’t as I know some can move better than seen today. I appreciate the ring was far from level but those with correct construction managed to move soundly;

1 Newton & Newton-O’Briens’s Chizzmic Chase Me, was the best mover in this class. Nicely decorated good coloured liver boy with attractive head & good body proportions. Would prefer more angulation to front but rear is strong showing a fair turn of stifle & well let down hocks;
2 Tingey’s Dallyador Aramis, very attractive liver spotted dog with a lovely head & expression. Was amazed what excellent profile movement this dog had, as he is so upright in front. Tremendous forward reach, kept a good level topline when moving driving well from the rear. He has a nice turn of stifle;
3 Smith’s Deipunti Double Trouble.

LD (11,2)

1 Pratt’s Gwynmor Finch Hatton at Solostar, delighted to award this stunning dog his crowning CC. While he may not be the greatest showman on the planet, his outstanding movement more than compensates for this. For me he was the only male who really moved correctly & effortlessly from every angle. There is nothing exaggerated about this male, he is perfectly balanced with the correct depth & forechest, strong torso with nice firm loin flowing into well muscled quarters with good turn of stifle & decent second thigh. He holds his topline on the move & carries his tail correctly, wagging it gently. If only he was a little more animated when standing, he’d have multiple tickets. This boy has a kind expressive face, with lovely dark eyes & nicely decorated ears, & the best of temperaments. CC & BOB;
2 Todhunter & Robinson’s Millbelle Young Gun, when his handler slowed down a gear this boy moved true fore & aft, & had a good long stride with positive driving action & plenty of forward reach when viewed in profile. Substantial dog who has a balanced outline with just a little more length than height, well muscled rear with good second thigh. Brought him in for RCC as I like his type but just felt there was a bit too much of him;
3 Hobbs & Whiting’s Boutonneux Baby Buco avec Rapanooey.

OD (7,5)

1 Whincup’s Ch Tamilanda Panther Lilly, flashy, eyecatching male who has won well on many occasions. Expertly handled to show off his movement, covering plenty of ground. Balanced when standing with even spotting throughout. Pleasing head with dark eyes framed by well broken ears held correctly. Today had to award him RCC;
2 Cuthbertson’s Ch Kalsidoni Cameo, slightly more rangy in type than 1. Lovely kind expression to his head with good dark eyes. Nice front assembly, with well laid shoulders, good length of back. Sound on the move with plenty of driving action & a good firm topline.
VD (1)

1 Alcock’s Mapplewell Chocolate Box for Dalspartan, liver spotted 9 year old, acting like a youngster, full of himself on the move. Nice decoration, evenly distributed with attractive head & good amber eyes.
PB (4,1)

1 Whincup’s Rapanooey Miss Continental by Tamilanda, first of three litter sisters who were quite different in many ways yet all very raw babies. This young lady moved the best of the 3 & was very sympathetically handled to show off her attributes;
2 Hobbs & Whiting’s Rapanooey Shimmerglisten, similar to her sister but has better depth to body at present. Kept her topline on the move;
3 Talbot’s Rapanooey Vanishing World at Leaveslake.

JB (8,1)

1 Alexander’s Offordale Larissa, yet another lovely Dalmatian from this kennel, in sparkling form with well defined spotting & pretty feminine head. Balanced throughout with good slope to shoulders & rear to compliment. Moved out well doing everything her handler asked of her. Seriously considered her for RCC but just lacked the maturity of the OB winner. Certain it won’t be long before she reaches the top;
2 Tingey’s Dallyador The Enchantress, liver spotted girl evenly decorated over body, a shade lighter in eye than I would prefer but should darken with age. Sound in movement when viewed from all angles with impressive side gait;
3 Burrow’s Elaridge Hawkes Phoenix at Shacarlu.

NB (4)

1 Hartley & Griffiths’ Creaganbrec Glory Be at Miragua, a sound honest young lady, nothing flashy about her, but everything in the right place. Her correct construction meant she moved soundly & covered the ground in an economical fashion. Pretty feminine head with kind expression & nice even decoration; 2 Whincup’s Rapanooey Miss Continental by Tamilanda;
3 Noble & Fort’s Shulune Celtic Snapdragon.

PGB (12,2)

1 Petersen’s Daedalus Cliff Angel, beautiful young lady with dense black spotting on pure white coat, pretty feminine head with lovely dark eyes. Excellent front assembly with good slope to shoulders, nice depth of brisket & ribbing carried well back. To be hypercritical I’d prefer her a couple of millimetres shorter in loin. Correctly carried tail on nicely sloping croup, strong quarters & well defined second thigh, well let down hocks. Moved soundly from all angles with economical low ground covering action. Looked like she could move effortlessly all day. Pleased to award her the CC, sure a third won’t be far behind;
2 Finlay’s Dvojica Black Swan at Dalfin, another lovely bitch who has caught my eye ringside on many occasions. Balanced throughout & another sound moving girl. Good even black spotting on a tight white coat, nice head & expression. Moved out well with good forward reach & driving from well muscled quarters;
3 Valentine’s Sophtspot Evolution.

LB (12,4)

1 Quayle’s Cubalibre Follow On, headed the best class of the day. A beautifully spotted girl very typical of this kennel just oozes quality. Ultra feminine with very pretty head & lovely melting expression. Good clean lines, neckline flows into well angled shoulders & good topline which she held on the move. Strong rear assembly which drove her evenly & effortlessly around the ring. It can only be a matter of time before she reaches the top;
2 Christie’s Jezebel The Astonishing Sophtspot, another lovely bitch with beautiful markings. Similar in construction to winner with balanced outline to body, excellent depth & forechest. Good angulation each end, but today not as positive on the move as winner;
3 Addy’s Creaganbrec Evie Rose.

OB (5)

1 Emmett & Simons’ Ch Dalliviro Reba Mac at Ellemstra, shown in great condition today, lovely even spotting covering her balanced outline. Angulation at each end well matched, with good slope to shoulders & upper arm, strong quarters with well defined second thigh. Moved with purpose & drive. RCC;
2 Pickup’s Roadcoach Reine Des Roses, a bit more rangy than my preference but could not be denied this placing on her superb movement. No matter what angle she is viewed from she is totally sound. Absolutely true fore & aft, with a long ground covering side gait quite effortless & unexaggerated. Excellent forward extension & good drive from the rear. She has attractive markings & a pretty head;
3 Quayle’s Ch Cubalibre Spot On.

VB (5)

1 Cuthbertson’s Ch Kalsidoni Garnet, just over 9 years old but acting like a youngster & showing no sign of age in either face or demeanour. Balanced in body with good length to height ratio, sufficient depth to brisket. Good length of stride in profile & sound coming & going;
2 Smallwood’s Ch Mapplewell Dancing Queen of Lascelles, another 9 years old liver spotted girl with good balanced outline. Pretty head with nice amber eye colouring, pleasantly spotted body. Moved out well would put many a youngster to shame;
3 Barrett’s Marricdale The Gold Digger of Dalamanti.

ILEX E WHITING