• Show Date: 08/08/2018
  • Show Type: Championship Show
  • Judged by: Pam Blay Contact Judge
  • Published Date: 27/07/2023

United Retriever Club

Breed: Best in Show

UNITED RETRIEVER CLUB, August 8, 2018

There is nothing better than spending the day at a sub-group show & nothing can compared to the welcome extended by this group. Malvern is the ideal setting for this very friendly show & the day started with lovely sunshine & just enough breeze to make it comfortable for all dogs & handlers. A good atmosphere prevailed & it was a joy to wander around meeting up with old friends & making new ones. Thank you for making me so welcome.

This show has a good committee who work very hard to make it an enjoyable day for everyone. With two judges in both Goldens and Labradors, I was the referee. Luckily, I was only needed in the Labradors where I was faced with two excellent examples of the breed for BOB. I could quite see why the two breed specialists couldn’t decide, as they were a joy to behold. My choice went to the bitch and the same happened in puppies, where the bitch got the nod. On another day it could easily have gone the other way.

Such a shame that as the BIS ring was being prepared, the heavens opened & we had to move indoors. A huge ring was already set up and an appreciative audience was there to watch the six BOBs show their socks off to win the top award. After careful examination & watching them all move, my final choice for BIS went to the Golden Retriever male, Zubair & Loach’s Billy Elliot de Ria Vela, in excellent coat & condition, this well balanced boy is very masculine in head & expression with an excellent neck & shoulders, good depth of chest & well boned legs & feet, moved effortlessly to cover the ring with style. RBIS went to the Curlycoated Retriever, Stephens’ Sh Ch Brightmeadow Never Say Die, I didn’t recognise this boy, my how he has come on! Masculine head & expression with a good neck & shoulders, held a good topline with a well set tail, he has certainly matured into a quality, typical Curly, put down in excellent muscular condition & moved well to win this place in good company. BOS in Show went to Bidin’s Anuedis Isabella, such a pretty yellow Labrador bitch, not overdone in any department, in excellent coat & condition, she is balanced & quality & I just loved her expression, she was just starting to tire after a long day but she did enough to win the award.

BPIS, Catterall & Jackson’s Golmas Guardsman, another excellent male Golden Retriever with such potential, he is quality & balanced, excellent head & expression with a good neck & shoulder placement, well boned legs & feet, good topline & well set & carried tail, moved with verve & style, well presented coat in good condition. RBPIS, Newson’s Tivalake Let’s Misbehave, a cracking Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever male, who is just right for age, put down in excellent coat & condition, a lovely puppy with a masculine head & expression, good neck & excellent topline & tailset, well balanced & he is quality with a future.

BVIS, Fox’s Sh Ch Steelriver Blazin Hot at Blacktoft, an eight year old Flatcoated Retriever male who is so very typical & quality all through, excellent head proportions with good neck & topline, well set shoulders, good depth & width of chest with a strong loin, well set & carried tail, moved well on well boned legs & feet, a credit to his owner, he is looking great. RBVIS, Loverock’s Putjade Pink Diamonds for Lovissa, this pretty Golden Retriever bitch was winning her crown on the day. So very feminine & balanced, in good coat & condition, pretty head & expression, moved well covering the ground with ease, showed her socks off to win her place here.

PAM BLAY