Beagle Club

Judging The Beagle Club 125th Championship show was a highlight of my involvement in our beloved breed. Being selected to judge The Club Show in the country of the breed origin is the biggest honor for a breeder judge. I would like to express my gratitude to The Beagle Club for this exquisite privilege. Thank you to the show committee for all their hard work in putting on such a wonderful show. My job standing in the middle of the ring was significantly eased by a brilliant stewarding crew led by Tim Jepson. And, finally, thank you to all exhibitors who brough their lovely hounds to me for evaluation.

Before I critique my class winners and runners-up, I would like to provide some general comments. Overall, the quality of entry was outstanding. I have seen a lot of compactly made hounds with beautiful clean heads, those with wrinkles and frowns were rather exception to the rule. No entries were clearly lacking substance and all the dogs had nice scissor bites, except for one that had a single incisor misaligned. Feet were generally good, and I was delighted not to see a lot of deviation from parallel limbs movement when observing dogs gaiting down and back. On the downside, I saw quite a few lighter eyes and some dogs would benefit from more sprung rib cages. Because there is no size disqualification in the Kennel Club’s beagle standard, both big and small hounds received equal consideration and my decisions were based mainly on the type, structure, and movement.

Specific critiques:

Class 1, Minor Puppy Dog 2 entries

1. #76 Blunderhall Jacks The Lad. 8-month-old dark tricolor puppy, well boned with moderate angulation on both ends. Clean head, low set ears of good length, tight eyelids, eyes could be a little bit darker. Short coupling, sufficient length of legs, deep chest, good tail set. Slightly east-westing when hand stacked but it, most likely, will be corrected with maturing. Moves very well, with drive and reach.

2. #167 Haggaty Bonafide. 8 ½-month -old tricolor puppy with solid substance, good forechest, strong round bone and knuckled up feet. Head of correct shape with low ear set; would prefer slightly tighter bottom eyelids. Clean shoulders, level topline, good coat. I would prefer to see more bend of stifle. Moves decently down and back but could use himself better on going around and that’s where his competitor in the class got the winning edge in the close competition.

Class 2, Puppy Dog, 4 entries

1. #119 Charterwood Chancellor. 11 ½-month-old tricolor puppy of bigger size. Very good bone and body proportions, up on legs. Well boned straight front legs with short and strong pasterns. Good layback of shoulders, nice forechest, good return of upper arm. Dence weatherproof coat. Attractive head– masculine, but dry and clean, with dark eyes. Moves true on down and back but could show more reach and drive going around.

2. # 67 Stormpasture Saddlesoap. 10-month-old bicolor puppy of very nice smaller size who offers a lot to like about him. Long beautifully arched neck with smooth transition into well placed slopped shoulders, nice forechest, level and firm topline, good tail set and carriage, superb hindquarter angulation. If it was in my power, I would make him a little bit shorter in body and would give him a more masculine head with more filled-in and square-cut muzzle. Very sound mover on down and back, while going around demonstrates effortless ground covering gate.

Class 3, Junior Dog 4 entries, 1 abs.

1. #87 Clairdale Fusilier. Almost 17-month-old tricolor male, moderately built with compact body, long neck, good shoulder placement, level topline and tail set moderately high. Has enough bone, straight front legs, very good feet, strong pasterns. Could have a little bit more filling of muzzle and a shade darker eyes, but, overall, head is pleasing. Moves well from any angle with level steady topline.

2. #70 Rossut Villien At Molesend. Just over 12-month-old tricolor puppy with solid substance and tight well knuckled up feet. Good dark eyes, low set ears, soft expression. Head is a little bit wider in cranial part. Ribs extended well back, long sternum, strong short loin. True mover on down and back and easy going around, however, topline is not ideal on move as he is somewhat higher in rear and has a slight dip in the back, which, probably, will be corrected with age.

Class 4, Yearling Dog 3 entries

1. #16 Kellitcreed Sweeney Tod. 19-month-old tricolor high quality typey male of very good size (quite small) and cast, with rich tan color. Very nice head of correct shape and proportion, pleasing expression. Good substance with strong round bone and good tight feet, could be slightly stronger in pasterns. Good angulation front and rear, firm level topline – stacked and gaited. True mover showing efficient gait with very good reach and drive.

2. #83 Rosanka Merger With Emorlen. 23-month-old taller male with less substance, up on legs. Good and quite clean masculine head with dark eyes and low set ears. Very tight cat feet. Would like to see more spring of ribcage and depth of body. Angulation on both ends is more open but matching. Has good tail set and level firm topline and that placed him over his competitor that ended up in the third place.

Class 5, Novice Dog 3 entries, 1abs.

1. #167 Haggaty Bonafide. See critique of the second place in the minor puppy class.

2. #113 Troopersway Grecian Boy. 11 ½-month-old heavy built and overall substantial dog with very nice round bone and tight cat feet. Nice darker eyes and low set long year but head is on a heavier side, has extra loose skin and that results in excessive dewlap. Very good dense weatherproof coat. Backline is level but tail set could be a bit higher. When moving, slightly close in rear and could show more reach and drive.

Class 6, Graduate Dog 2 entries, 1 abs

1. #37 Morsefield Tommy Holedigga. Almost 16-month-old tall dark tricolor male with quite open angulation on both ends, front assembly shifted forward. Decent bone and nice compact cat feet. Toeing-in of front legs results in elbowing-out. Head with nice dark pigmentation of nose and eye rims, dark eyes, acceptable ear set. When moving, good going and slightly wide coming. Could carry both head and tail higher when going around.

Class 7, Post Graduate Dog 5 entries, 1 abs

1. #108 Serenaker Saltydog. 10-month-old tall faded open marked puppy. Pleasant head with good proportions, dark eyes, correctly set ears and pleasing expression. Good substance, strong pasters, and correct cat feet. Compactly built, well up on legs, very good reach of neck and absolutely level topline with good set and carriage of stern; rather moderate but well matching angulation front and rear. True mover coming and going and shows excellent ground covering gait when seen in profile. Outmoved his puppy competitors and was awarded Best Puppy Dog.

2. #104 Darvicard Picasso At Rhosyndu. 24-month-old faded tricolor with good outline. Pleasant clean head with darker eyes, correct ear set and well flewed lips. Beautiful reach of neck, well placed sloped shoulders, good return of upper arm. Topline somehow rounded in loin resulting in slightly sloped croup. Viewed from front, has straight front legs (and it was a factor in placing him second in the class over the competitor who finished third); however, has narrow for his age chest and toes in.

Class 8, Mid Limit Dog. 8 entries

1. #82 Eardley Walk The Talk At Tagahound. 8-year-old bicolor dog of good size, solidly built, on a heavier side (could benefit from losing a pound or two). Gorgeous headpiece that would have been a top contender if “The best head” competition had been held at this show. Well balanced, good reach of neck, excellent front assembly, solid round bone and tight feet. Good topline with well set stern, deep in body. Moved very well from any angle.

2. #92 Molesend Dice Jw. 21-month-old bicolor male of excellent size and in great condition that was placed very close behind the class winner. Very attractive outline, excellent and well-matched front and hindquarter angulation, adequate bone. Smooth topline with level back and lovely tail set. Sound mover coming and going and seen in profile. I would like to see a more developed masculine head. Also, he was not relaxed and, because of that, lifted his ears higher than desirable and occasionally knuckled over in front when stacked, and that cost him first place in the class.

Class 9, Limit Dog 5 entries, 2 abs

1. #144 Poppyville First Edition. 5 ½-year-old very nicely built open marked male, big but without a hint of coarseness. Pleasant and clean masculine head of good proportions with soft expression. Clean outline with level topline, good tail set and smooth underline. Well sprung rib cage, ribbing extending well back, long sternum. Balanced angulation that is reflected in sound and efficient movement.

2. #73 Lanbur Kissing Bandit At Fallowfield. Almost 4-year-old male of excellent (smaller) size and attractive breed type, shown in good condition. Good front assembly with nicely placed shoulders, good forechest and return of upper arm. Level topline, excellent tail set, deep in body. Head is nice but could be a little bit cleaner. Good mover but not as smooth as #144 who won the class in a very close competition.

Class 10, Open Dog. 11 entries, 3 abs

1. #153 Pol Dk Ch Johgra Endeavour. 4 ½-year-old faded tricolor male of superb quality, very typey and well proportionated, without any hint of coarseness. Elegant, still has good bone and well-developed musculature. I liked his breadth of the thigh and depth in loin. Attractive head of correct shape with dark eyes and soft pleading expression, low set ears and proper amount of stop. Long neck smoothly blends into well laid-back shoulders, topline is level when stacked and on the move, good stern set and carriage. Perfectly trained and performed up to his potential. A bit wide in front coming but absolutely parallel going away, light on legs. Ended up as my Reserve CC Dog.

2. #65 Stormpasture Rocketrman. 3 ½-year-old dark tricolor male of very good smaller size and of attractive breed type, was very competitive in the strong open class. Dark eyes with soft expression, low set and gracefully hanging long ears, well defined stop. Totally straight well-boned front legs with tight cat feet and strong but flexible pasterns. Long neck seamlessly blends into nicely sloped shoulders. Well ribbed body, excellent hindquarter angulation. Moves very nicely observed from any angle. Was a very serious contender to win this class, however, his topline was slightly sagging when stacked and was not as strong on move as that of the class winner; and it was the reason why he was placed second.

Class 11, Veteran Dog 6 entries

1. #127 Ch & Vdh Ch Dialynne Peter Piper. This 7 ½-year-old dark tricolor male is not overdone in any respect and serves as a great breed standard’s illustration as he is “a sturdy, compactly build hound, conveying the impression of quality without coarseness”, indeed. Shown in great condition and handled to perfection, he did not put a foot wrong. His head is gorgeous, masculine but very clean with tight fitted skin, low set ears, square-cut muzzle and pleading expression. His body is perfectly balanced. Nice bone, straight front legs with knuckled up cat feet and strong pasterns. Long arched neck smoothly blends into well sloped shoulders and then continues into the table-level topline that stays level and firm on the move. Ribbing extends well back, he has well sprung ribs, long sternum and short strong loin. His underline is as smooth as his topline. He has a sound movement, watching his huge open side gait just takes your breath away as his legs don’t go above the ground a millimeter more than needed for productive forward progression. He was my CC Dog and eventually ended up as BIS.

2. #54 Ch Janfrey Randal Upon Rundle Jw Sh.cm. Substantial and very solid almost 10-year-old male presented in good condition. Beautiful clean head with soft explosion, low set years and correct muzzle to skull length ratio. Excellent body proportions with long neck nicely set into sloped shoulders, good return of upper arm, straight topline kept level on move, correct tail set. Sound un down and back and easy going around.

Class 12, Vintage Dog 2 entries 1 abs

1. 9 Goldbelles Snowy At Viracocha. 15-year-old open marked male in a great for his age condition, beautiful head of correct shape and proportions, nice bone, sound on coming and going and still efficient mover going around.