Gundog Club Of North Wales

My thanks to the Secretary, Roger Perkins, and his committee for the kind invitation to judge, to my two stewards who kept the ring running smoothly and to the exhibitors who were kind enough to enter their dogs for my consideration, it was a shame there were so many absentees, not just in the breeds I was judging but across all the breeds. I enjoyed my day very much and was absolutely delighted to see my Bracco BP go on to take BPIS, well deserved.

Bracco Italiano

P (4,2abs): 1. Warburton’s Owlspoint Loads of Trouble BP & BOB 9M O/W D, head of correct proportions with a melting expression, strong neck into well laid shoulders, good in forechest and depth of chest, strongly boned legs to super feet, well angulated fore and aft, he holds a strong topline both standing and on the move which he does with ground covering ease, I gave this boy Puppy Group 1 at Otley when he was just 6.5 months old and was delighted to get my hands on him again, he is maturing beautifully and is so steady for a baby, I have no doubt his future will be very bright, BP, BOB & BPIS, congratulations. 2. Fazenfield & Smith Owlspoint Askin for Trouble litter brother to 1 but not as together at present, he is longer cast and doesn’t have the width or depth of chest of his brother at present, that said, he is also well angulated all round and moves well although his feet need to tighten, he will just need time to mature into his frame & tighten up all round

J (4,2abs) 1. & 2. Repeat of Puppy

PG (3,2abs): 1. Warburton’s Withamfriary Lush Blossom 22M C/W B, sweet head of correct planes, eyes of correct shape, I would like a slightly darker eye colour but that’s a personal preference, she has enough neck into a good front assembly, well boned without being overdone, good feet, strong topline to correct tailset, all held well on the move, moved out well but had a tendency to go a little wide in front coming towards me, a nice honest girl but not the presence or showmanship of the younger dog today.

O (1,1abs)

GWP

P (1,1abs)

PG (3,2abs): 1. Jones’s Germanus Hotwyr Monaro 18M L/W D at his first show, balanced head with good eyebrows & beard, felt his earset was a little high which became more obvious when his attention was gained which spoiled his expression, coat of correct texture, correct angles all round, chest to elbows which were tight and held close to body, topline strong down to correct tailset, he was a little “lively” on the move & giving his novice handler a hard time but settled enough for me to see his movement was ok

O (3,1abs): 1. Donnelly’s Kimmax Who Cares Wins JW 5yr old B/W B, I liked this girl for size and balance, head of correct proportions with lovely eye colour giving a gentle, knowing expression, enough eyebrows & beard, strong topline with correct tailset, balanced angles and enough forechest, well boned legs down to good feet, coat of correct texture and length, a sound, sensible mover BOB 2. Kimmax They Kall Me Mr Tibbs B/W D of just over 2y, he has a good head of balanced proportions, strong neck into well-laid shoulders, enough depth, wasn’t being handled to advantage which resulted in him dropping his topline and looking bum-high, he moved well but preferred the overall balance of the bitch

NSDTR

P (1): 1. Peat & Fox’s Tollisty Ginger Chai 8m bitch, pretty head with soft expression, she uses her ears very well, enough neck into good shoulder placement, straight front, correct feet, moderate rear angulation, coat of correct texture with undercoat, a bit erratic on the move, not helped by the handler having the lead too long allowing her to keep dropping her head and veering off, a bit more practice and shorter lead and she will look a different picture, BP

J (3,2abs): 1. Repeat of puppy

PG (4,1abs): 1. Adshead’s Afonbach Syrax JW 16m B, I liked her for type & size, good head with dark eye, strong neck into well laid shoulder, correct front assembly with good depth of chest and spring of rib, well-muscled hindquarters, probably the best muscle tone of my whole entry today, I would have liked slightly rounder, tighter front feet, coat of a lovely rich red with correct undercoat & well feathered, lively mover covering her ground well

O (3,1abs): 1. Adshead’s Afonbach Winter is Coming JW 6 yr old D, masculine boy with no coarseness, loveliest of heads with dark, expressive eye, strong neck of a good length into well laid shoulders, well off for forechest, straight front legs down to a slightly sloping pastern and super feet, good length of back, strong topline and correctly set on tail, super coat of rich red with undercoat, driving off well angulated hindquarters and well let down hocks keeping a strong topline and well-held tail as he drove round the ring BOB 2. Golding’s Kymin Va Va Voom avec Whenova 5yr B, her head, when viewed front on, is a little squarer than I like but not unattractive, as feminine as the dog was masculine, strong neck, well laid shoulder, balanced angulation fore & aft, slightly lighter colour of coat with correct undercoat, enough furnishings, moved soundly.

Spaniel (English Springer)

PG (2): 1. Le-Clerc’s Hunterheck Fade to Black BOB 20M B/W D, lovely head with dark eye and kind expression, ears of correct set and length, good front assembly, strong neck to good topline, tail well set on, well boned legs to good feet, moved steadily around the ring holding his topline BOB 2. Le-Clerc’s Hunterheck Lost in a Spell half sister to 1 but very different, much more of a working type, not the head for me, that said, she had a sweet, kind expression with a dark eye, ok for bone, coat and construction, enough bone and correctly shaped feet that would benefit from shorter nails, movement was hard to assess as she was very erratic and giving her handler a hard time. I appreciate it was quite damp outside the venue but I was very surprised that both these exhibits were presented in a less than ideal condition, they were both extremely wet underneath which detracted from their overall presentation, a quick towel down and comb through before coming in the ring would have done the trick.

Elaine Bradley (Judge)