Irish Setter Club Of Wales

IRISH SETTER CLUB OF WALES, April 20, 2024

The Irish Setter Club of Wales held two championship shows at the Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh on the same day & I was lucky enough to be able to judge dogs at one of the shows. Thanks to the Club for your hospitality & kindness, you run a good show with a lovely atmosphere all day. A lovely entry awaited me & I was delighted with the quality of the dogs. A few mouths that were not quite right & upright shoulders still seem to be a problem but at the end of the day I was delighted with not only my winners but the added bonus that my co-judge, a breed specialist, was in full agreement to the dog going BIS and BVIS also going to my male. Thank you to my stewards who had to work hard all day keeping the ring running giving us a reasonable time to finish.

Best in Show went to Gwendariff The Grand Master at Jacwilins; RBIS & BOS was the bitch Ixia Snow Vixen; BVIS was Thendara The Watchmaker & BPIS was the bitch, Marlland Lily On The Valley by Suteresett.

DOGS - MP (11) What an interesting class to start with including some very promising babies. 1 King & Eccles’ Zakhan’s Dragonstone at Byztsar, nearly 9 months & mature for age, he moved just as a baby should but was well made & showed promise that when he muscles up, he will come together. He is balanced & gives a lovely profile both set up & moving with a lovely head carriage, he has a masculine head coming with is just right for age, put down in a lovely coat & condition holding a good topline & a well set & carried tail. He is quality & should have a good future; 2 Murray’s Henaleas Maximilian, absolute baby who is so sound & caught my eye in profile movement, obviously at present up & down movement is still loose but he is just right for age with a lovely kind expression from excellent eyes or a lovely colour & shape, good neck & topline which he held set up & moving, in good coat which of course will change with age but he is quality & racy & enjoying his day; 3 Bott, Allen & Morgan’s Quensha The One Man Show. P (8) 1 Holehan-Green’s Loganrish Tiger Warrior, caught my eye as soon as he came in, just right for age & the more I watched him the more I thought he would be the winner. He is so sound with a good profile both set up & moving with lovely head carriage. I loved his type & attitude, he is masculine with such a lovely head & expression, good topline & tailset & a good depth of chest coming, put down in excellent coat & condition, good hindquarters used to cover the ground with ease, won a strong class on his quality & type & went on to take BPD; 2 Gardner’s Danish Troubadour, very close up & again a lovely type, good body proportions, he is a well coated masculine boy who is full of quality & breed type. Masculine head & expression & at 11 months has all the attributes I look for in an Irish puppy. Moved well on well boned legs & feet, good neck, topline, tailset & hindquarters, showed well & tried so hard for his owner; 3 Russell’s Tiroen Touch Of Magic by Settesoli. V (4) 1 Pym’s Thendara The Watchmaker, interesting to see veteran after the puppy classes, it enables you to see how the breed finishes. This class had four from the top drawer but I kept being drawn back to the winner for his breed type & quality, this beautiful boy was the best of movers & because of this, he was carefully considered for the top awards. He belies his age with his masculine head & expression, correct coloured & shaped eyes, good head proportions with well set ears, correct length of neck leading into a strong, well held topline & well set tail with the correct action on the move, good depth of chest & a strong loin, lovely hindquarters not over long & when set up he had good body proportions, put down in excellent coat & condition with lovely fringing & a good colour. BVD & thrilled that my co-judge agree with me & made him BVIS; 2 Ostman’s Copper’s Riddarsporre, again quality throughout, he is balanced & a good size, just preferred the topline on 1 set up on the day but this dog had good profile movement with lovely head carriage & topline ok on the move, again lovely bone & feet & a good depth of chest, good hindquarters used to advantage to cover the ground; 3 Murchison’s Pawsword Paperback Writer from Corphin VW. J (7,1a) 1 Edwards’ Coppers Get Off My Cloud by Bonhomie, maturity & balance took this class over my puppy winner. This well coated dog of the correct texture & good fringing looked very masculine set up with a lovely head & expression with a good eye of the correct colour & shape, strong neck & topline with the correct tailset, good depth of chest & nice hindquarters, when he moves he just comes alive with good forward movement & strong hind action which comes together to cover the ground with ease & style, again in excellent condition, this quality dog is an excellent type; 2 L Tiger Warrior; 3 Richardson’s Bardonhill Mcintosh Red at Montgreenan. Y (2) 1 Lucas’ Gwendariff Bachelor Boy, reserve in the last strong class but here he moved better & had settled down, lovely type & balance, well boned & put down in excellent coat & condition, masculine head with good balance & a kind eye of a good shape & colour, nice neck & topline which he held on the move with a slashing tail, good depth of chest & a strong loin, just needs maturity to settle & finish to go to the top; 2 Berry & Morris’ Copper’s Midsummer Night’s Dreams, I felt so sorry for his handler today as he was playing her up & thoroughly enjoying himself & not concentrating on the job in hand! Shame for he was put down in excellent coat & condition, when he decided to settle down, he move well although up & back he is still loose but in profile he kept a good head carriage & a strong topline & well set tail. Masculine head & expression with a kind eye & well set & carried ears. N (7, 1 w/d, 1 a) 1 L Tiger Warrior; 2 D Troubadour; 3 T Touch Of Magic by S. UG (6, 1 w/d) 1 G Bachelor Boy; 2 Davison’s Bardonhill Million Reasons, a typical Irish Setter with a good masculine head & expression, well coated & mature with a lovely head carriage & strong topline & loin & a good hindquarter. Today just preferred the movement & outline of 1, a nice type who is very masculine in outlook; 3 Richardson’s Bardonhill Mcintosh Red at Montgreenan. G (6,1) 1 Sheldon’s Bardonhill A Million Ways to Delsanto, litter brother to Million Reasons & similar but an over exaggerated type at all, he is racy & balanced, he is a good size with an good coat which was well presented, he has a masculine head & expression with a lovely eye of a good shape & balance, good topline & tailset & an excellent profile both set up & moving, this typy boy has potential for he is quallity; 2 Kolbach’s Kerryfair Zoom In On Pawsword, again another dog without exaggeration, a nice dog with lots of breed type, he is such a sound mover on well boned legs & feet, good neck & topline, well set & carried tail, today just wasn’t having the presence & masculinity of 1 but well deserved his placing here; 3 Bott’s Bardonhill Carry On Dick. PG (7, 1 w/d 1 a) 1 Beresford’s Jetsetter Wind O Dreams, this dog showed maturity & balance, he is masculine in outlook with a good head which was also in balance with a lovely eye & earset, put down in excellent coat & condition, strong neck leading to a well held topline & correctly set & carried tai. Good depth of chest with a strong loin & good hindquarters, moved well particularly in profile; 2 Macaulay’s Harreds Lachlan at Stylersetts, another well bred dog who looked the part in profile once he had settled, he is balanced & very masculine in outlook with a lovely head & expression, a good eye & earset, good neck, topline & tailset, put down in lovely coat, he is racy & a lovely type who must just continue to mature up to his full potential; 3 Berry, Morrls & Fitzmaurice, Brinara Country Boy. ML (9) 1 Richardson’s Bluesprings Now I’m Here at Forestfire, this balanced dog is full of quality & breed type, he is a good size & lovely proportions, he is well coated & showed so well to win a good class, in excellent coat & condition but his movement particularly in profile is where he really excelled, carrying his masculine head at the correct angle on the move with a strong topline & well set & carried tail, really using his hindquarters to advantage to carrying him round with ease & style. Showed well & set up this racy dog looked the part; 2 Nicholls’ Strathmead Alexei, not an overlarge dog but he is balanced & full of quality, masculine head & expression with a good, well coloured eye, good neck & topline, tail well set & carried, he moved well on well boned legs & feet, particularly clean in movement up & back & covered the ground with ease in profile to take his place; 3 Green’s Staratlanta Get A Wiggle On to Marzanne. L (8) 1 Willis’ Gwendariff The Grand Master at Jacwilins, here he was, he came & he conquered! He gave me goosebumps for his type, quality & balance, such a masculine head & expression, his head is balanced with a well set & carried ears, excellent neck & shoulders with a good width between forechest leading on to a correct ribcage of good depth & width, strong loin & topline well held set up & moving with a correct tailset & well muscled hindquarters, in excellent coat & condition which was so well presented, moved well up & back but it was in profile with correct head carriage & well held topline & slashing tail that he came alive, today he fought well to win the class & go on to beat the open dog to the CC & later with the co-judge’s agreement he took BIS; 2 Holehan-Green’s Loganrish Lets Go Crazy, another lovely type with excellent shoulder placement & forechest, well boned legs & feet, in good coat & condition, masculine head & expression, good balance on his head in profile, he is also masculine in outlook & there is no mistaking his sex, showed off his assets to win his place in this strong class; 3 Walker’s Gwendariffs Flags Are Flyin. O (7, 1 w/d 1 a) 1 Millian-Bott & Bott’s Sh Ch Thendara Big Love, loved his type & masculine outlook, masculine balanced head with a lovely expression from a correctly shaped eye, well set ears leading to a good neck & topline held set up & moving, well set & carried tail, good depth & width to ribcage with a strong loin & well muscled hindquarters, good forequarters & well boned legs & feet, moved so well giving an excellent profile movement & outline, put down in excellent coat which was prepared so well. Won a strong class but after seeing both the limit& him together the limit dog just had the nod but it was so close & I thank you for bringing him for me to judge, I was really taken with him. RCC; 2 Edwards’ Sh Ch Gwendariff Ucan’tmissme Bonhomie, an old favourite of mine & interesting to see he is half brother to the CC winner & the same top quality in him too. It is one I have liked before & I was thrilled to see his progress from when I saw him last. He has grown into a quality Irish Setter from the top drawer who was presented in beautiful coat & condition, he is so typy & he moves so soundly up & back & in profile just looks the part. I can see why he has done so much as he is very true to type & a good representative of the breed; 3 Crocker & Lewis’ Sh Ch Riverbrue Wonderwall at Hernwood. B (3,3).

PAM BLAY