City Of Birmingham Canine Association

City of Birmingham Championship Show

IRISH TERRIER

Many thanks to David Bell and his committee for asking me to judge the Irish Terriers at The City.

SBD 1 Bilarny Hotcross Bun. Nice one to start the day with. Pleasing outline and good for overall size. Very nice head with well-placed small ears which are well set. Would prefer a slightly smaller eye for preference. Good neck into well laid shoulders. Good depth to chest. Level topline with correct slight rise over muscular loin. Nice hindquarters. Well muscled up. Could have fraction more behind the tail. Moved soundly but could have a little more drive from the rear. Pleased to see him winning the SB group on day. Very well done.

PD 1 Lodgecroft Singing Master. Impressive upstanding young 10 month old male who presents a very typical silhouette. On further inspection he is a high quality exhibit. Head is correct in its proportions and is no way broad or course. Super keen dark eye and nicely chiselled. Good overall length to his head. Lovely length of neck into good well laid shoulders. Typical Irish front assembly. Nice for bone and tight feet, the lack of which spoilt a few exhibits today. Well sprung with good length to him and correct high set tail with something behind him. Moderate hind angulation. Moved well with good drive. In good condition and with a lovely harsh jacket. BD BOB and Puppy Group 4. If I were to be critical, I would like his ears carried a fraction higher. 2 Ivyblue Red Moonlight. Nice young male but not the maturity of 1. Pleasing head and expression. Good length of neck into good shoulders. Nice bone and good length of leg although would prefer tighter feet. Good topline. Not quite the body of 1. In decent jacket. Moved well.

JD 1 Montelle Flash Light To Lionwood. I awarded this young male the puppy dog stakes at The Welsh Kennel Club two weeks ago. I thought him a very nice prospect then and my opinion has in no way changed. He is very typical and of good size and of correct racy appearance. Pleasing head of good length and width, with small, neat ears on top and keen small keen eye which completes expression. Good length of neck into correct well laid shoulder. Correct forehand for an Irish Terrier. Good depth of chest for his age and well ribbed back. Of decent length, and with correct and desired slight rise over loin. Good hind quarters. In the best of Irish jackets of super hard texture, well presented but with no excess of flat work allowing adequate coat assessment. Moved well fore and aft. RBD. 2 Bilarny Hotcross Bun Winner of SBD.

LD 1 Holbam Midsummer Knight At Ruffmar {ai} JW. Pleasing male who won this class on his correct size and overall outline. Good head length and correct skull to muzzle ratio. Ideally, I would like a fraction less to his skull width for perfection. Neat ears and good dark eye. Well-made overall and racy in outline. Good hind quarters. Moved very well. 2 Bonosue If's An Illusion. Pleasing for size and outline, placed over 3 on his size and I preferred his head and expression. Good neck and shoulder. Good front. Correctly angulated behind. Moved well. Just not in his best jacket. 3 Tootrock Arcturus.

OD This was a challenging class with two very different dogs. 1 Rufous Gubbeen Of Cleeve. Completely different type to the second dog. He is a nice dog of correct size and shape. Today he was well bodied with good depth of chest and well ribbed back. Correct muscular topline and nice hind quarters. Moved very soundly. He doesn’t have the head and expression of TRed Lucifer and is not as well chiselled. He at initial inspection appears slightly dished, he is not, but needs another head trim to improve the overall appearance of his head. 2 Ch Swed Fin Est Int Ch Red Lucifer At Bonosue. This dog I have admired greatly in the past although not had my hands on him previously. Today I am still impressed by his overall outline and his racy appearance. He has such a keen expression with a sharp keen eye and the best of ears set well and of correct size. I would just like a fraction (and I am being hypercritical) more underjaw. His front assembly is superb. Good topline and tail set. Super hind quarters. However today for me he was not in the best jackets nor carrying enough weight. He was lacking in any head furnishings and appeared narrow thorough which some weigh would benefit. Moved ok although could be a fraction tidier coming at you.

VB 1 Holbam Celtic Kate VW Sh.CM. I have judged this bitch on a number of occasions. She is so good for her age. Apart from losing a little colour and not using her ears as well as I suspect she did when she was a youngster. she is a lovely Irish terrier. Well-constructed throughout and in good condition for age the credit to her owner. Her movement is still very good. Best veteran.2 Balirolyat Molly's A Diva. Another bitch who despite her age is still a good fit Irish terrier. She dips a little in her top line now which is expected with age, and this lost her some points over the first placed bitch. She has the most beautiful head and expression. Move very well. Probably stripped out a little too much for me today.

PB Good class with two nice bitches. 1 Eata The Great With Brazan. Lighter coloured bitch who I thought was very promising and in my opinion one for high honours in the future. At eight months old she is very well collected and all of a piece. She is of good size for a bitch and her overall shape is ideal. Good length of head with correct head proportions and with good overall length. Clean back skull with no cheekiness. She has a lovely pair of ears which are well set and are of good size. Just throwing her left in the challenge which cost her. Very feminine but no loss of strength here. Clean front and good depth of chest despite her age. Lovely length of neck into good shoulder. Well angulated behind and in super hard condition. She won this class on her overall performance and movement. RBB but pushed hard for top spot 2 Ivyblue Red Sunlight. Another nice promising young bitch. She also has a very good head and expression is nicely made throughout. Not quite the tail set of the first placed bitch and her tail is very heavy which detracts. She is a sound mover although was rather diss interested in proceedings today.

JB. Good class. 1 Bonosue Shooting Star. This was a very pleasing bitch for overall type and size. She has a super head of good length who has a very nice small dark eye which helps give the desired Irish expression. Good length of neck into well laid-back shoulders. She has enough length of leg and is well boned with nice tight feet. She is well ribbed and has the correct top line with good tail. Nicely angulated quarters. In decent harsh jacket. Moved well. 2 Pinleygreen Irish Star For Montelle. This is a quality Bitch who is made nicely throughout. She is already very mature for her age. I thought highly of her and expect we shall see more of her. However I preferred the overall expression and slightly smaller eye of the first placed bitch. She is a very sound mover. She has a super harsh top jacket and is so well put down. In good hard muscular condition. Not using her ears particularly well today which cost her higher honours.

PGB 1 Holbam Shamrock Connie. Lovely Bitch for overall size. Present a nice outline. She has a good length of head with correct overall proportions. I would prefer her ears a little less heavy and with more lift and I would prefer a fraction more gentle chiselling under the eye to complete the picture. Beautiful neck and shoulder. Good front. Level top line with desired slight rise over the line. Good tail set. Moved well. In very good jacket and well exercised as in good hard condition.

LB. This was a well filled class with a number of good bitches present. There was a variety of type and size. 1 Holbam Celtic Rose (a.i.) JW. This bitch stood out for me today with her correct size and her lovely outline. She has a super head of expression and good long length of neck into well-placed shoulders. Correct front with good bone and nice feet. By far and away the best feet in this class. Deep chest with good rib. Good top line with tail on top. Nice hindquarters. In good hard nick. Moved very well in both directions.2 Dotsfirth Pearl's A Singer. Different in type compared to the first placed bitch but another very nice bitch. Not quite using her left ear as she might but nice small ears well set on the skull. Lovely dark eye. Good neck and shoulder. Nice overall body proportions. Good hind quarters. Could have tighter feet to complete the picture.3 Holbam Midsummer Sprite (a.i)

OB 1 Ivyblue Crinkles. This is just a very nice, good honest bitch. Not flashy in anyway but very little that is incorrect. She does have a very typey head and a lovely expression. She uses her small well set ears very well and has a very keen dark eye. Nicely made front with good neck and shoulder. Not a small bitch but is overall very well made with good bone a nice tight foot. She is well ribbed up and has a correct muscular loin. Hind quarters are adequately angulated. Tail on top with plenty behind. She was in a harsh jacket and moves very well. She was pushed hard by the puppy bitch in the challenge but overall put in a good performance. BB.

Dr Ian Gabriel