Ladies Kennel Association

LKA Championship Show 8th December 2023 Afghan Hounds

My sincere thanks to the Committee of this established Association for their very kind invitation to judge my all-time favourite breed. It was a super entry and there was some quality Afghan Hounds present, my biggest concern being that there is such a mixed bag now so I hope that dedicated connoisseurs of the breed will begin to go back to breeding super stock and that future exhibits can represent the breed well, after all this is the King of Dogs!

Minor Puppy Dog (1 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Heritage’s Amaserwah Any Way The Wind Blows at Jazzmeenah (IKC), lovely looking balanced golden. Stood alone here but impressed for his overall type & angulation, level topline, had good fallaway & low set ringed tail, inclined to be slightly loose on the move but has got time on his side, he had good carriage & was nicely handled.

Puppy Dog (2 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Lancashire & O’Donnell’s, Drishaun Baby's In Black well what an impressive young man! Black/tan & quite a lot of him, carries the most stunning detailed head, dark expressive triangular eye & boy does he have attitude. Has a little way to go to mature & drop into himself, superb presentation, flexible pastern, lovely big feet, depth of brisket all there & strength through his body. Long raking strides, tail raised, & definitely a look at me air of independence, he knows it too - future star. Best Puppy

2nd Thompson’s Drishaun Rock Me Baby Gothika, attractive shaded pale golden litter brother to one and quite different, thought he was promising & had a much slower growth rate, still needing to fill in & develop some width. He is masculine & more compact than his brother & will be interesting to see how he eventually matures.

Junior Dog (7 Entries) Abs: 1

A full but difficult class with all of them so very different.

1st Lockett-Davies’ Rhazmakh Sun O'Summer, up to size self-white, very masculine with good dark pigment & I hope that maturity will put more detail through his muzzle, a rangy dog that will take some time, has good strong bone & body, prominent hipbones, angled fallaway, tail with ring, used his legs well in this class with a very free moving action which secured this placing.

2nd Harwood’s Altside Too Hot To Handle pale blue domino of smaller stature to 1, had a masculine head of good length, nice eye, had a balance of reasonable angle fore & aft, level back, strong loin & well-set tail, moved collectedly with a moderate springy action & handled to advantage.

3rd Drage’s Zendushkas Born To Run

Graduate Dog (2 Entries) Abs: 0

Again, two very different dogs.

1st Roper & Moore’s Sitana The Kingsman at Temenshu, most attractive & shapely b/m golden with a lovely profile when stacked, balanced angulation front & rear & scored with reasonable return of upper arm, still needs to refine in head & develop his body & has plenty

of time. When concentrating had a reasonable stride on him with good spring but this still needs to settle to maximise the qualities that he has.

2nd Gizewska Shahfoladi Thunderbird (AI) black/silver male, lovely balance & leanness to his head, dark eye, good length of neck & is of nice size & strength, absolutely gleaming with condition, strong front, balance in his body with decent depth, sweeping quarters, feet well down, a nice prospect handled well.

Post Graduate Dog (5 Entries) Abs: 2

All three very different

1st: Semple & Beck’s Ayoubkhan Stargazer (AY3) appealing yet ultra-refined self-masked white, quite exotic in look & of very balanced appearance. Has developed through his body ribcage & loin, prominent hipbones, sweeping quarters, well set ringed tail, deep saddle, perfectly presented coat, moved lightly with spring, slightly over exuberant at times, & would like to see him outside on the grass; had terrific pasterns & feet & has gorgeous peach cream colouring which is reminiscent of so many past greats.

2nd Drage’s Shimalma Drambuie, lovely looking shaded/m pale golden/cream, classic head of balance & lovely eye, reasonable length of neck, good width in front, fair spring of rib, similar angles fore & aft, could do with a bit more weight at this stage, moved with reasonable stride but I know he can do better.

3rd: Kellett’s Geordele Born Free

Limit Dog (9 Entries) Abs: 4

A lovely class of totally different types here.

1st Parker’s Saxonmill Majic Moment at Khatira was pleased to see this black/silver here, is good for size, balance & shape, lovely masculine yet elegant head, good dark eye, had strength, good angulation, & depth of body, strong over his loin, sweeping quarters, great condition, drove around the ring with long easy stride, forward reach & good spring. Can be slightly over the top at times but should make his title fairly easily.

2nd Hurl &Nisbet’s Zandahar Xcuse Me Mister, larger framed dark silver/brindle, very male & had a huge coat. Quite square through his body, strong short loin & displayed a good outline, strong in body & good depth, large feet well down, sweeping quarters, prominent hipbones & ringed tail, handled nicely & moved with a good length of stride, wish him well for his 3rd CC.

3rd Newton’s Shimalma Jagermeister

Class 1124 OD (7 Entries) Abs: 0

Fabulous class of six Champions, difficult to separate as I truly liked them all & was honoured to have the privilege of judging them.

1st Gardner’s Ch Drishaun Said Tiger To Lily red brindle of lovely size & balance, was a total surprise how much I liked him. Textbook breed standard construction, had correct shoulder placement & return of upper arm, super body, first & second thigh good & in profile looked amazing, lovely masculine head of good length, good eye shape, huge coat gleaming, clean saddle showing off his topline & loin, superb in muscle tone, looked every inch a Champion, moved with spring, carriage & precision, used his pads well, lovely easy action, pleased to award him Dog CC & BOS.

2nd Pascoe’s Ch Lux Ch UK Popovs Aladdin at Sarakhan (Imp NLD) sh/m golden of nice size, masculine yet elegant head, strong jaw & good type coming through his expression, reachy neck, nicely angled front, nice balance through his body, pin-bones prominent, falling away gently on his croup, nicely angled hindquarters, good condition in his thighs, ringed tail, silky coat, handled well & moved freely, striding accurately with good spring to take Res. CC.

3rd Lancashire & O’Donnell’s Ch Drishaun Fair As A Lily JW ShCEx OSW

Veteran Dog (1 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Winters Garamond Cloudberry for Tokando at 101/2 years old, this black/silver is a credit to his owners, has always appealed for his type & outline, masculine head & good dark eye, good length to his neck, front straight & large feet well down, good depth & spring, nicely angled, well set ringed tail, moved well enough with his handler, has been unlucky not to be titled, shown in lovely coat.

Minor Puppy Bitch (2 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Lancashire & O’Donnell’s Drishaun A Gift Of A Thistle, self-masked pale red/gold, hugely appealing for her femininity & angled shape, super front & rear angles. At her first show & obvious potential for the future, used all her assets well & came into her own on the move, stylish youngster who seemed to take it all in her stride.

2nd Shepherd’s Amaserwah A Kind Of Magic With Casachared bl/br and of a similar balanced shape as her brother in the earlier MPD class. Had a wealth of coat & she was a good size, feminine head with dark eye, could body up a bit & couldn’t match the angles of 1 but had some spring to her movement & had good carriage.

Puppy Bitch (3 Entries) Abs: 1

1st Lancashire & O’Donnell’s Drishaun Don't Call Me Baby well what an attractive young lady she is, pale golden with self-mask, feminine, good length of foreface, strength of body right through, complementing angles, lovely coat & body condition, good pastern & feet, full of herself & put in some pace moving around the ring, should have some good times with her.

2nd Shepherd’s Amaserwah A Kind Of Magic With Casachared (as previous class)

Junior Bitch (1 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Moyes & Lockett-Davies & Shaw’s Rhazmakh Heart O'Summer By Bryelis very nicely balanced black/silver, quite square in outline and very different to her litter brother in the JD class. She is feminine with a nice eye shape, reasonable neck, good in front & nicely returned upper arm, adequate depth & spring for her age, level topline, good pin bones, angled hindquarters, ringed tail, moved with good springy action & is eye catching.

Graduate Bitch (1 Entries) Abs: 0

1st Hudson’s Shimalma Izarra sh/m cream a feminine bitch whose lean head & overall balance is appealing but definitely needs much more body & weight on her, lacks a ring in her tail & would benefit from more encouragement on the move as she has the capability to move out if she wants to, has a lovely temperament.

Post Graduate Bitch (4 Entries) Abs: 2

1st Fisher’s Shimalma Campari Goes To Ifmaraf classic sh/m cream with the most exquisite lean head & expression, lovely eye shape with gorgeous eyelashes & all enhanced by her mandarin whiskers. Adequate neck length to decently laid shoulder, feet well down, has

depth of brisket & adequate spring, level topline, prominent hipbones, good fallaway to sweeping quarters, tail set on well with ring. Really nice type of bitch and once in her stride displayed a nice springy easy action & covered her ground well enough, silky coat & natural saddle.

2nd Humphreys Ayoubkhan Porcelain Dove, ultra-feminine self-masked cream/white carries a good balanced construction which is fully used on the move to show off ground coverage with long springy strides which are undoubtedly her forte, just needs to completely fill out her body to enable her to finish well enough.

Class 1132 LB (9 Entries) Abs: 3

Another class of nice bitches in close competition all carrying good qualities & at different stages, quite a tricky one to finalise.

1st Hughes & Luty’s Gezancol Fallen From Grace, bl/m golden whose head & expression is classic, dark eye, lovely outline from her reachy neck to her well angled quarters, shown in good bloom, has a good depth of body & quite racy in appearance, movement was sound enough here in this class & she had a decent length of stride.

2nd Raper’s Tulak Just Go With It For Amariz, one that has caught my eye on many occasions, shaded red with grizzle markings, lovely balance to her head, nice expression, strong jaw, good length of neck, a shade longer in back but she has good angles, nice body condition & good depth, good feet, could make more of herself on the move as could No.3 - all very nice bitches.

3rd: Lancashire & O’Donnell’s Syrdarya Ceylon Chai Drishaun

Class 1133 OB (6 Entries) Abs: 0

A nice headache of a hotly contested class!

1st Tromp’s Ch Lux Ch UK Popovs Sazerac at Sarakhan (Imp NLD) shaded/m red feminine, lean head with slight stop, strong jaw & underlining that oriental expression that has a certain keen fierceness, looks at & through one there is no doubt, total Afghan. Left to her own devices she was able to display her outline superbly, shown in the most fantastic body condition, coat of supreme silk, she swept around the ring with her head held proudly, long raking strides & shown on a loose lead, good head carriage, covered the ground with an easy springy action, she was on the money today, Bitch CC (her 19th) and BOB.

2nd Dowd & Malia’s Ch Saxonmill Mirror Image have admired this black/silver many times & recall seeing her as a young puppy. Feminine with a keen expression, dark nicely shaped eye, strength of neck to nicely laid shoulder & return, straight front, square in outline, good sweep to hindquarters, ringed tail, gleaming coat. She is a most worthy Champion & was pleased to award her Res. CC in good company.

3rd Moore’s Ch Cloudside Sunflower JW

Class 1134 VB (3 Entries) Abs: 1

Two very nice and very different bitches here

1st Gizewska’s Ch Saxonmill Zan Zan very appealing black/silver with stunning lean head of nice balance & dark eye of good shape, her huge coat hid most of her attributes, but you can feel the nicely laid shoulder, good front & body, quite short in back, sweeping hindquarters & thoroughly enjoying herself striding around the ring. Best Veteran

2nd Gunn & Cannon’s Int Ch Lux Ch Amal Salang Hey I'm The Star At Zushkhan this feminine black scored well in outline & body, had a good front & rear, was handled, and moved to her best advantage, shown in very good bloom.

Jill Cross (Gilari)