East Of England Agricultural Society

YKC HANDLING – EAST OF ENGLAND CH SHOW 2018

Judge MARINA SCOTT

A huge entry over the three days and I thoroughly enjoyed judging this latest generation. The quality, especially the 12-16 years classes on all 3 days was exceptional and many superb handlers went cardless. I think it is so important to offer feedback on the day as there is always room for improvement and I was delighted to see all handlers accept my offerings of advice with dignity and good grace.

DAY 1 – HOUND/TOY/TERRIER

YKC HANDLING 6-11 YEARS (4)

1.Ellie Darling Steele, Ridgeback. Wow what a fabulous young handler! Won this class with ease due to her understanding of standing her dog to advantage, technical skills and super, friendly and polite personality. Everything I asked her to perform was executed at the highest level and this was very impressive considering she was relatively small in stature and was handling a large, strong breed. She knew exactly where to place the dog’s feet and she was always focussed on ensuring the dog looked right. She was dressed suitably for the occasion, sensible shoes and navy blue skirt and jacket combo to complement her dog. Very much look forward to watching this young lady’s progress as she comes up through the ranks.

2.Lacey Stevenson, Mini Longhaired-dachshund. Topped a trio of young girls handling the same breed. She just had the edge as she was more confident than the others and was looking at her dog more when moving it at the right pace round the ring. I liked her hand/arm position when moving the dog and she had the correct length of stride to complement the dog. Teeth presentation could be cleaner, so showing all three sides of the teeth clearly and a little more slowly. Had full control of her dog on the table.

3.Jaymie-Lee Hedgecock, Mini Longhaired Dachshund

YKC HANDLING 12-17 YEARS (17)

This class was large in quantity but also one of the very best in quality, right down to handlers who were sadly unplaced on the day.

1.Bryony Fossett, WH Dachshund. This breed is not a flashy breed but Bryony did so well to stand out among handlers who showed breeds that had that little more glamour. She was one of the best to ‘change hands’ moving seamlessly around her dog when on the go around at the start of the class and I had moved to the side. She then continued to stand out during her own performance. It was simply excellent breed handling with the good crisp technical side on top. I really couldn’t fault her but huge credit to her for still standing out in this top quality class with precise straight lines on the “L” pattern and superb final present which was around 2 paces and completely parallel and straight in front of me. Hair could have perhaps been a bit tidier but I told her on the day which she accepted happily. Good luck for the future.

2.Evie Tinegate, Parson Russell Terrier. A handler who I’ve done well before and is simply one of the best for always putting on an excellent performance. Don’t think I’ve ever actually seen her having an ‘off day’! Absolutely loved her outfit which suited the breed of dog down to a T. Her pattern work was simply sublime and faultless and she had a really super rapport when working with her dog – always keeping one eye on me without making it obvious. She’s one that you can see she puts a lot of work in behind the scenes. Another with a superb attitude – willing to listen to me after on how to improve. Today, she was just beaten by a handler who I felt was handling a more tricky dog and made it look like she was having to work harder to achieve the same polished performance. Very well done on this placing today.

3.Ella Findlay, Beagle

YKC HANDLING 18-24 YEARS (5, 2a)

1.Rhianna Brooks, Pomeranian. An experienced handler who I have watched come up through the ranks over the years and can sometimes be a little untidy. Today, she impressed me greatly and presented her dog so well in the line-up and on the table. In fact, they had such a good rapport together, I thought it was her own dog – but was told after that it wasn’t – full credit to you! To get that level of performance, technical and good natural breed handling out of the dog, was class in itself. The teeth were especially shown in a very calm and clear manner. A very good round today in a class of experienced handlers who all did a very good performance.

2.Charlotte Dalgarno, Ridgeback. Have always loved Charlotte’s handling style and today was no exception. Taking on her a Ridgeback that wasn’t her own, she always steps up to the challenge and made it look really special. She was sympathetic and encouraged at all times. Teeth presentation was simply fantastic and loved how she slowly just took one step to the front when I was going over the dog. One of the best all breed handlers who seems to be able to handle anything and make it look fantastic. Just not as tidy on the T as 1 on the day so sadly paid the price. But a handler who is always going to trouble the best as she’s so natural when handling dogs.

3.Claire McGregor, Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen.

DAY 2 – GUNDOG/UTILITY

YKC HANDLING 6-11 YEARS (10, 3a)

1 Olivia Cogan, GSP. Won this class on solid breed handling and moving the dog at the correct pace at all times. She had good breed knowledge of placing the feet correctly and lifting successfully by the upper arm and rear legs, teeth presentation was good also with minimal fuss and reassured the dog verbally throughout. She strode out well, moving in harmony with her dog. Clearly when she’s showing, she’s very focussed and sometimes it can come across a little too serious, so just relax a little, and let the enjoyment show on your face a bit more.

2.Isobel Khawaja, Standard Poodle, very confident, full of life and cheery little girl who was ultra polite and said that all important ‘thank you’ when finishing her performance. Dressed immaculately to complement her flashy breed. Continuously talking to her dog at all times and when moving the dog, she was beaming, clearly enjoying being the big ring with this breed. Just needs to concentrate on not getting carried away and understanding that when showing her dog, she needs to keep looking at her dog much more when on the move and in the stack. She tends to look at me in the line-up rather than concentrating on whether her dog is standing correctly.

3.Evie Parkes, Labrador

YKC HANDLING 12-17 YEARS (19, 3a)

This class was the best in quality over the three days and I was truly spoilt for choice with handlers who could win at top level easily.

1.Abby Webb, Tibetan Terrier. Her handling literally gave me goose bumps and what is even more exciting, is that she’s THIS good at 15 years old with hopefully many more years to come in handling! I was so impressed with her demeanour and quietly assuming confidence with her dog. The rapport these two had together was first class and clearly have put a lot of practise in together because it pays off when the pressure is on in tough competition. Both of them literally didn’t put a paw/foot wrong! It wasn’t just me who noticed her talent – after I left the ring, I had several all breed judges and exhibitors agreeing that she put on a top class performance and deserved the win.

Her technical skills are first class and she literally puts the dog as the prominent feature in the pairing so she is just helping to guide the dog to look its best. She’s won under me before and I didn’t hesitate to award her first place on this day in the toughest of competition. Well done and keep it up!

2.Sophie Wildig, Pointer. Another super slick, polite and attentive handler who puts her all into the dog she’s handling. Very unassuming and gentle and always has her dog’s welfare at the forefront of her mind, you simply don’t notice her when she’s stacking or moving the dog as she makes sure it’s the dog that’s looking at its best. Her patterns were extremely accurate and her final presentation was the correct distance away and each paw was perfectly placed. She just couldn’t match the rapport of 1 as the dog she was handling wasn’t her own and sometimes you have to work extra hard to get that connection going between dog and handler. Always will be in the top placings as she’s just so natural and talented at showing dogs of any size, shape or experience.

3.Erin Russell, Tibetan Terrier

YKC HANDLING 18-24 YEARS (6, 3a)

1 Elanor Brown, GSP. A very accomplished performance from this young lady where basic breed handling was on show at its best. This, coupled with, super straight lines, tight turns and excellent teeth presentation, she had no trouble in topping this class. She made sure she encouraged her dog at all times and always kept her eyes down so never trying to ‘eyeball’ me. Loved how she thanked me when finishing her round and moved the dog with the correct stride to match her dog. A good solid round.

2 Tess Newson, Nova Scotia Duck Toller. Really admired Tess for showing a puppy in this class who was making her work hard to achieve as polished performance as possible. She never got flustered and remained calm even when he wasn’t altogether happy at having three sides of his teeth shown. Her lead control was excellent, as was her length of stride and ability to make her dog look a real picture on the stand.

3 Meg Oliver, Portuguese Pointer

DAY 3 – WORKING/PASTORAL

YKC HANDLING 6-11 YEARS (8, 2a)

Extremely close between 1 and 2.

1. Emily Moores, Sheltie. Outstanding polite young handler who has the most wonderful character and attitude for showing dogs. She is very skilled in the technical side of junior handling but also demonstrates a wonderful rapport and natural showmanship with her dog. She thinks about her own presentation as well as her own with her hair tidy in a bun and wearing a pretty pink skirt suit to complement her dog. She’s completely focussed on her dog throughout her performance and showed the teeth gently with precision. A pleasure to judge and a handler who could easily win top titles in years to come.

2. Paige Hughes, Australian Shepherd. Another superb natural handler who made such an excellent partnership with her dog. She never takes her eyes off her dog in the stack and on the move to ensure its looking at its best during the whole performance. She placed the dogs legs in A1 position and gaited at the correct pace along with very neat lines and turns. On her final presentation she set up her dog about a pace off to the right hand side and her teeth work could’ve been slightly slower and in a more gentler manner but she is a quality handler who you could give almost any dog to and she would do a very competent job.

3.Isaac Shorer-Wheeler, Norwegian Buhund.

YKC HANDLING 12-17 YEARS (10, 3a)

1.Tamsin Blyton, Australian Shepherd. She caught my eye from the moment she walked into the ring with her professional and confident attitude and then was one of the few who completed a seamless ‘moving forward’ turn on the ‘go around’ at the start of the class. From then on, she impressed with an unfussy handling style and made her dog look outstanding in the stack. Loved how she stacked correctly and then stood off the dog for a fabulous freestand to show off its excellent outline. On the move, she moved her dog at exactly the right pace with the correct length of stride and her lines were accurate with a superb final present. A friendly and polite handler who is definitely in her prime and today put on a faultless performance to win a quality class.

2.Georgia Brown, Briard. This young lady has the determination and ability that all handlers would dream of. Her years of competing at top level means that she can truly compete with the best with any breed of dog. Today, with a Briard, certainly not an easy breed to handle – she was in absolute full control from start to finish and all I could see was this beautiful Briard its movement as her handling style just blends into the background. Showing the teeth was super accurate where I saw almost every tooth on all three sides but still a little fast for my liking. And when she made her final present after her pattern, her dog’s front leg was slightly out of alignment which she didn’t notice however she deserved this second place in this top class for the polished performance and effort she put in on getting this dog to look its best from every angle.

3. Lauren Huyton, Shetland Sheepdog.

YKC HANDLING 18-24 YEARS (2)

1.Antonia Leech, Bearded Collie. One of the most polished performances I have seen from this young lady and I’ve judged her several times. She is so experienced with the Beardies that she can accentuate the virtues of any dog of this breed. This one was not her own, but you wouldn’t know that from the performance they gave together. She was one of the few on the day to position her dog correctly in front of the table with plenty of space behind just in case the judge wants to walk around the other side. When I moved a foot, she calmly readjusted the dogs foot into the correct position and ensured the hair was also lying flat. A super polite and cheery handler that on the move, look like a pair moving in harmony. Excellent final positioning too. Well done.

2.Katie Robson, Pyrenean Sheepdog. Katie had a tough time to keep her dog focussed on her as the noise in the hall was somewhat spooking the dog and making it nervous but full credit to Katie for staying calm and trying to engage with the dog throughout the performance. If the dog sat, she didn’t panic, but gently lifted up underneath the body and reassured the dog at all times. They made a much better pair on the move as the dog truly moved well but Katie kept a little bit of tension on the lead so the dog was moving in as straight a line as possible. All credit here to Katie for not being disheartened while she had a tricky time to get the best out of her dog. Really good effort.

JUDGE MARINA SCOTT