Great Yarmouth Gorleston & District Canine Society

Great Yarmouth, Gorlestone and District Canine Society

Open Show, held on Thu 13th June at Forest Edge Arena

My thanks to the committee for the invitation to judge Rough Collies, Smooth Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs at their show. Always interesting to see how many enter these weekday shows, so thanks to the exhibitors who entered under me, and special thanks to my two capable stewards who kept everything running smoothly.

Rough Collies

My first time judging this breed and whilst I was pleased with my overall winners, exhibitors need to be aware of presentation. More than one exhibit was presented with obvious trimming lines which distracted from the outline of the dog and excessive product in the coat, which certainly would have affected the weatherproofing (thankfully not tested at this show, as we were blessed with decent weather!) There were a couple of level bites and tails were also, in my opinion, too short, with a few reaching to the hock, and none extending below it.

Puppy (4, 2)

1st Walder, Mr S & Mrs H - Hanvale Patsy Stone. Sable bitch. Perfectly feminine, and the definition of “great beauty, standing with impassive dignity, with no part out of proportion to the whole. Beautiful head, with correct eyes, ears and dentition. Decent neck onto well angulated front, straight front legs. Hindquarters of correct angles and proportions, with well bent stifles and hocks well let down. Moved well with correct action, light on her feet, and always at one with her handler. One I will watch with interest. BP and RBOB, and delighted to see her take Pastoral Puppy Group 1.

2nd Gatt, Miss M J 0 Imaginist Superior Sun. Sable dog. Rangier type to 1st. Very masculine and a good size for his age. Needs a bit of time to fill out a bit. A bit unsettled in the ring which threw his movement a bit.

Special Yearling (3, 1)

1st Walder, Mr S & Mrs H - Hanvale Patsy Stone. 1st in Puppy.

2nd Corben, Mrs P – Wisewyn Don’t Stop Me Now Via Caprioara (IMP PRT). Blue merle bitch. Nice proportions to head. Slightly long in body. Moved ok.

Limit (3, 0)

1st Walder, Mr S & Mrs H - Hanvale Patsy Stone. 1st in Puppy and Special Yearling.

2nd Moore, Miss C – Aqualita Dreams Come True. Sable bitch. Nice feminine head, of good shape. A bit unsettled on the stand, but handler did well to get some lovely movement from her.

3rd Corben, Mrs P – Wisewyn All The Time In The World Via Caprioara (IMP PRT)

Open (3, 1)

1st Benton, Miss M K – Ch Brooklynson El Dorado ShCEx. Sable dog. Very masculine, and another that, in my opinion, showed “great beauty, with impassive dignity” with excellent proportions throughout. Good head with correct well-blunted wedge shape, nicely placed ears and eyes definitely giving off sweet expression, full of intelligence. Nice muscular neck and well angled front, with correct round bone and straight forelegs. Firm back and good depth to chest. Hindlegs well angulated and muscular, really giving good power to the movement, which was correct in all directions. BOB, and delighted to hear he later went Best Veteran in Show.

2nd Corben, Mrs P – Ambartr Black Knight At Wicani. Tri dog. Another oozing masculinity with a good head. Slightly over long in body than my interpretation of the standard. Movement was a bit wide coming and going.