Crufts

CRUFTS 

STANDARD POODLES 

Coronavirus concerns threatened whether this year’s Crufts would go ahead & people’s travel plans. In a breed which often attracts strong competition from overseas, one wondered how many might be deterred & what affect this might have both on the quality present & that unique Crufts’ atmosphere. I need not have worried, despite a few overseas absentees & some UK exhibits/spectators perhaps choosing to stay away over health concerns, I was spoilt for choice in several classes & the magic was definitely there. I congratulate & thank the breeders/owners & handlers for providing so many wonderful high quality exhibits. They were a joy to judge & there were many to whom I would have happily awarded a CC. The large entry & strict time limits meant an efficient pace had to be adhered to, thus I was indebted to my stewards Alan Hards & Judith Middleton for helping to keep the classes flowing.  

VD (3,0): Excellent class of 3 blacks. 1 Brekkerud & McBlain’s Alusio Street Talk by Kossab JW ShCM, handsome well balanced lad, good head, great construction, not overdone, good feet, nice ribcage & topline, good carriage & movement, lovely tail; 2 Vigorita’s Ch Huffish American Gigolo (Swe), really stylish on the move, loved his eye & head, joyful character. Preferred front of 1; 3 Dainty, Harrison & Khawaja’s Myall Storm, good quality boy, well handled. Out shone on the move today & wanted more ribcage. MPD (2): 1 Kendall & Watkins’ Magin Johnny Depp, handsome black, gorgeous head, nice eye & chin, good ribs, nice feet, excellent coat, lovely tail. Could have more front angulation & loose but only a baby; 2 Brooks’ Afterglow Hellboy with Atelex, white, full of energy, super feet, good front, well ribbed. Could have better tail carriage. PD (5): Headed by 2 stunning whites. 1 Elrick’s Pitfour Duke Of Sussex, fabulous head, eye & chin, fantastic feet, lovely construction, moved true with good carriage when he had his act together. Learnt afterwards this was the first time his handler had entered a ring. An impressive start, good luck for the future - enjoy! 2 Carter’s Somanic Latin Lover, another gorgeous head & eye, in fabulous coat, lovely to go over but a bigger lad & more maturing to do which showed on the move; 3 Coates’ Jaspalie Ghost, nice white, handsome, lovely outline, excellent coat & confident temperament. JD (10,1): First 3 stood away. 1 Elrick’s Pitfour Duke Of Cambridge, stunning outline on this white, larger more masculine version of 1 in PD, his litter brother. Lovely feet, great ribcage, well angled both ends, super neck. BP & an extremely bright future ahead; 2 Langdon’s Huffish Rewrite The Stars with Atastar (Imp Swe), stunning outline, fab head, super ribs, lovely topline, good eye & expression; 3 Parker & Winwood’s Montego Biffy Clyro, well made & moved accordingly when he behaved. YD (8,2): Headed by 2 stunning whites. 1 Drewitt-Barlow’s Am Ch Piedmonts Conquistador (USA), fabulous head & expression, gorgeous feet, well constructed, super balance, wonderful carriage & a joy to judge. Was a contender in the challenge; 2 Reijerkerk’s Hashtag Mr Dynamite (Swe), breath-taking with lots of charisma. Should have an exciting future but currently a little loose on the move; 3 Roche’s Myall Storm Breaker, nicely made white, good expression. A little straight in front angulation which showed in his movement. PGD (9,1): 1 Phillips’ Sarnia Midnight Magic, well made & sound, good carriage & balance moving, lovely soft yet masculine expression, nice feet; 2 Willis’ Twoofus Crackerjack, attractive outline, stylish on the move but slightly narrow; 3 M Storm Breaker. LD (12,2): Fabulous class. 1 Davidson’s Samarcanda Son Of A Gun, stylish well made white with stunning head, fab feet, beautiful presentation, captivating on the move. Should make up, another contender in the challenge; 2 Doyle’s Haylesdown Halvor, smaller but well made blue, lovely carriage, gorgeous head & eye; 3 Buchan’s Highla Special Delivery for Michericele, another blue, so sound & well made, lovely expression & chin, looking super in a stylish pet trim. OD (16,5): What a class! I was spoilt for choice. I thank the owners, and congratulate the breeders and handlers whose talents forced me to make some agonising decisions. On different days with varying performance levels the placings could well change. Headed by 2 blacks who swapped positions a couple of times in my head before I was confident with my final decision. 1 Campbell’s Ch/Am/Seuch Ch Dawin All The Buzz (Can), captivated me from the off, gorgeous in every way, wonderful head & expression, well made throughout, in super coat, a complete picture standing & moving, looking the best I have seen him on his handful of visits to this country. DCC, BOB and may I add my congratulations on his going group 2 behind the fabulous Min Poodle who went on to RBIS; 2 Merati’s Multi Ch/Int Ch Samarcanda Italian Lover Euw'18 (Ita), fabulous dog who I have much admired at recent Crufts, divine head & expression, beautifully made, moved well with terrific style & showmanship, pushed incredibly hard but had to settle for the RDCC this year by the narrowest of margins. A truly great dog who it was a privilege to judge; 3 Thorvaldsen’s N Se/Dk Uch Huffish Rave Master Dkv'18 Sev'18 Nov'19 (Norway), white with enormous showmanship, lovely head, great pigment, good feet, well made with good movement; 4 Topan’s It/Am/Lux/Hung/Int Ch Lakeridge Summer In Seattle (Ita), high quality white with lovely head & expression, made an excellent picture on the move; 5 Thorndyke’s Ch Vicmars Ring Me at Taranmur, a very nice black lad, a worthy champion. KC Good Citizen D (7): 1 James’ Bel/Ger/Ir/Int Ch Afterglow Just William at Blackmine, lovely to go over, good head & expression, moved well, nice feet; 2 A Street Talk by K; 3 M Storm. 

VB (13,3): Beautiful class headed by two impressive girls, both so well made & moving in a way which put many youngsters to shame. 1 Wade & Patterson’s Ch Girl Gone Wild with Afterglow JW, white, so correct, strong in chest & ribcage, beautiful feet, lovely head, good chin, super topline & carriage. She came even more live in the challenge & I was unable to resist her many charms, as she powered round the ring with proud head carriage & perfect foot placement, her picture on the move was pure poetry. RBCC & BV. After judging I was reminded her first CC was from me 6 years ago; 2 Gadsby, Lynn & Stone’s Ch Afterglow I Should Coco with Tolpi, black of good colour, super outline, gorgeous head & expression, good neck, lovely topline, good ribcage. On checking year of 1’s previous win under me, I saw Coco’s 2nd CC was from me 8 years ago - still just as classy; 3 Buchan’s Highla Because I'm Worth It to Michericele, wonderful blue, lovely feet, soft beautiful expression, lovely chin, so sound & fluid moving. MPB (3): I was nit-picking between 1&2, both very stylish with great outlines & well made. Lovely heads & feet. In the class’ initial run round 2 stood out, then 1 settled to give a super account of herself & take the class. 1 Lath’s Afterglow Hellcat among Sambuca, despite being less mature her quality construction & potential won her BPB; 2 Patterson Rogerson’s Magin Sophia Loren via Kamarri. Both should have exciting futures; 3 Dennison’s Labamba Made To Play, and she did! A nice but exhuberant bitch with good ribcage. PB (7,2): Difficult class with so many immature & excitable. 1 Ansell’s Somanic Popthe Cork for Chalkwell, black of good outline, lovely head & expression, good feet, super topline & tailset; 2 Brown’s Jaspalie Indecent Proposal, nicely made, good head & pigment. Some nice moments moving but still to settle & chest to fill; 3 Stokes’ Jaspalie Exceedingly Diva at Madsovtik, very nice in so many ways but Crufts demands much from a pup & she needs to gain more experience. JB (13,2): 1 O'Higgins’ Catwalk Stage Doll at Sarnia (Imp Nor), tall black girl, so well made, nice head, moved out soundly with style, very promising; 2 Vigorita’s Saxon La Prohibida(Ita), white whose absolutely stunning outline caught my immediate attention, fabulous head & expression, moved with much panache; 3 Stafford, Fuller & Lynn’s Kekemara Bronte at Dizzneestar, black, nice head, fab feet, good outline, nice tail, moved well. YB (20,3): What a class, with many close decisions. 1 Pekkola & Crummey’s Gortier Unstoppable Me Fijw'19 Fiw'19 (Fin), stunning black, very sound & stylish, fabulous head & expression, darkest of wicked eyes, lovely feet, excellent topline & neck, made a wonderful picture on the move. Was a strong contender in the challenge. Discovered the following week that I have a grandma (Carlos’ sister of Dino) & gt grandma of hers at home; 2 Jennings & Hindley’s Alibama Double Platinum, elegant silver, nice feet, lovely head & eye, nice chin, good front & chest (lacking on many), lovely carriage; 3 Topan’s Aigrette Dans Le Chignon Pou De Couture (Ita), beautiful white, nice head, so feminine, lovely on the move. PGB (17,4): 1 Aubert’s Fabulous Black Dream'S Olympia Den Sota, beautifully made black, very feminine, nice feet, good chin, nice dark eye, super outline & carriage, eye-catching on the move; 2 Sakina’s Villanders Bring The Magic, striking outline, truly beautiful head & presentation. Pushed 1 hard, who just had the better front; 3 Brown & Carter’s Somanic Licenced To Thrill for Jaspalie, white, made a lovely picture stacked, gorgeous head, nice feet, moved well but just not the pizzazz of 1&2. LB (8,1): 1 Topan’s Bar-None Avatar Cool Water for Decouture (USA), quality girl, beautiful head & expression, tightest of feet, stunning on the move, good tail carriage, was a strong contender in the challenge; 2 Patterson Rogerson’s Kamarri Jane Russel, black with plenty of qualities, lovely mover, only just missed out on a tight decision; 3 Ansell’s Somanic Wotsit All About at Chalkwell, in a stunning pet trim, a joy to watch on the move, gorgeous eye & expression. OB (21,4): What a class. A joy to behold. I selected a large shortlist as so many were excellent examples of the breed and deserved recognition for their quality despite not having enough places. 1 Knudtzen’s N SE UCH Catwalk Performance (Nor), she captivated my attention from the start, absolutely stunning black girl, gorgeous head & expression, lovely feet, wonderful outline & proportions, good angles both ends, moved most impressively with elegance too. Just loved her & she never dropped her performance for a moment. BCC; 2 Merati’s Int/Euro/It/P Ch Samarcanda Arcana Mundi Jw Hw (Ita), pushed hard, another black, so well made, beautiful head & eye, wonderful balanced outline, fabulous mover apart from a couple of times she slipped into pacing, however she got her act together when final decisions were being made. Nearly the RCC, but at the last moment I couldn’t resist the veteran; 3 Foley, Lynn & Isherwood’s Am Ch Afterglow PS I Love You, lovely white, breath-taking headpiece, good chin, well balanced outline; 4 Dennison’s Ch Labama Melisande, well made balanced black who thoroughly deserves her title; 5 Harwood & Langdon’s Atastar Rhythm Is A Dancer at Alusio, very stylish black with much to commend. KCGCB (13,1): 1 Fury’s Vanitonia I'm No Angel, 4th in VB, well made sound white, nice head, enjoyed her showing; 2 Winnington’s Fingolfin's Galadriel, 5th in VB, went better here, well balanced & sound, lovely expression; 3 Cliffen & Hart’s Violaceae Wittrockiana, slightly immature silver junior, but so feminine & moved with elegance.     Judge, Mhairi Aikman