Crufts

Judge’s Report Crufts - Bloodhounds

It was a great honour to be asked to judge the bloodhound classes at this event and I thank the exhibitors for their entry. It has been a little while since I attended a show in this country and I was pleased overall with the progress the breed has made. None showed worrying movement and in fact I found gait quite encouraging; the vast majority of hounds gave the impression of being able to acquit themselves admirably on the trail. Eyes were generally very good and correct eye shape prevailed. There were significant variations in type and it has always been thus, making a bloodhound judge’s job interesting. My top winners were everything I hoped to find.

GCD (0)

PD (1,0)

1 Howie, Avery and Miller’s Quiet Creeks Limelight at Millvery for Marksbury (imp USA). Substantial liver and tan youngster. He benefits from a lovely long skull with good width of nasal bone and well defined occiput, long well curled leathers, excellent front and shoulder, strong deep ribbing and firm topline, well built rear. He moved precisely and purposefully. Preferred the eyes of the bitch puppy in puppy challenge.

JD (0)

PGD (3,0)

1 Prior’s Houndseeker Falcon. Impressive well proportioned black and tan. Lovely long lean skull with well defined occiput and good lip. Excellent front, bone and ribbing. He is of correct length and presents a pleasing outline with well muscled hind quarters. A purposeful lengthy stride.

2 Burnside and Manley’s Houndseeker Endeavour. Another nicely proportioned male with good length of skull, leathers could show more curl, good reach of neck, nicely angulated front, strong loin, good stifle angulation and nicely set hocks. Not quite the ribbing of 1. He demonstrates good width of thigh and well knuckled up feet. Nice fluid movement.

3 Massey’s Castledee Mistletoe.

LD (3,0)

1 Adshead’s Farlap Kashmir. Impressive masculine hound, very typical. Lovely skull shape with excellent length of foreface and a nice dark muzzle, noble expression and good eye, presented a very balanced outline with good neckline and topline, a well filled in front, excellent angulation fore and aft, nice tight feet. Moved out very well. I look forward to watching his progress. RCC.

2 Prior’s Houndseeker Dauntless. Happy red hound. Somewhat strong in backskull and his very long leathers would benefit from more curl. Fair reach of neck, well filled in front and well angulated quarters, strong bone and good depth of rib. A touch soft in pastern. Well placed hocks enabling sound swinging gait once he got going.

3 Massey’s Castledee Mistletoe.

OD (6,0)

1 Clark’s Ch. Farlap Keepsake. Quality black and tan. He demonstrates a lovely skull with excellent parallels, correct length of foreface and square lip, excellent eye, nice curl of leather and a fine pelt. Excellent neck line into well placed shoulders. Long firm topline and shows strength in loin. His hind quarters are well muscled and feet well knuckled. He excelled on the move, enthusiastically demonstrating reach and drive off well set hocks and his nicely set stern was used to good effect. Presented a picture of soundness and functionality. CC and BOB.

2 Westron’s Farlap Kaleb. Fit active hound with lovely balance of foreface and backskull, good eye, nice well curled leathers, good reach of neck, correct shoulder lay and front assembly, well ribbed. A touch higher on the leg than his brother in 1. Correct hock placement and nice width of thigh. He demonstrated very sound fluid movement.

3 Priestley’s Ch. Maplemead Malazar of Quikotic

SWTD (2,0)

It is good to see two show champions in the working trial class, highlighting the dual purpose nature of the breed. I liked both of these dog hounds.

1 Pennington’s Ch. Moorlander Guy Laroche. Very lovely head with very good length of foreface, good reach of neck, quarters are well made and nice firm topline, a little too high on the leg. Excelled on the move with a lengthy purposeful stride and shown in lovely condition.

2 Priestley’s Ch. Marksbury Railway of Quikotic. Medium sized dog hound of excellent breed type showing a nice silhouette. Lovely typical head and beautiful expression, balanced outline with good reach of neck, firm topline, well made quarters, tight elbows and well ribbed. Moved well in profile, not quite as sturdy in hock as 1 going away.

VD (0)

GCB (2,0)

1 Freer’s Immervahr Fryony. This little liver bitch would benefit from more parallel head planes, otherwise she presented a pleasing picture with excellent front and shoulder and good length, strong topline and well muscled up. Moving precisely and efficiently, would like to see her moved a little quicker to stretch her stride.

2. Cruickshank’s Wychway-Crown' s Ghillie Gin’s Island at Culsalmond (imp USA). Well presented dark black and tan bitch. Lovely fine pelt. Good head proportions with a nice drop of lip. She demonstrated a pleasing outline with good depth of rib and nicely angulated quarters, though could be a fraction higher on the leg. Lengthy coordinated stride. Was not overly happy in the ring today.

PB (1)

1 Burnside and Manley’s Astors Piety at Houndseeker (Imp Swe.) NAF. I judged this young bitch a few months ago in Sweden as a timid four month old; lovely to see her confidently tackling her job today and enjoying herself. She presents a nice length of skull and good eyes, nicely curled long leathers, fair reach of neck. Her overall body proportions are pleasing at this stage of development with strong topline and nicely made quarters. Good reach in her stride. BP.

JB (0)

PGB (1,0)

1 Burnside and Manley’s Houndseeker Enchanted. Good length of head, skull narrow all through, long well curled leathers. Excellent front and good overall proportions. Nicely angulated hind quarters and good width of thigh. Strong sound movement with nice length of stride.

LB (3,2)

1 Burnside and Manley’s Houndseeker Dragonfly. Love her name. This red bitch benefits from good overall length of head though backskull could be more refined. Would benefit from greater reach of neck and could be longer cast overall. Decent shoulder. Good width of thigh and nicely placed hocks. Feet could be better knuckled up. Moved soundly.

OB (5,1)

1 Clark and Hayden’s Ch. Farlap Qui Martha (AI). A beautifully sculpted red. No part of this bitch disappoints. Elegant and typical well proportioned head, well furnished with nothing overdone, long leathers with decent curl and excellent eye, good length of back whilst maintaining strength in her topline. Well made front and nicely sprung ribs, good width of thigh and exemplary hind angulation. Hocks are nicely placed to generate a lengthy effortless stride. Unfortunately she was not as settled when challenging for best of breed, possibly due to a change in handler. CC.

2 Rowland’s Castledee One In A Million. Nice black and tan bitch of lovely proportions, good length of skull, enough lip, lovely neckline and firm topline, decent shoulder, good length and depth of rib, correct croup and tail set, nicely made hind quarters and well placed hocks. Moved efficiently with lengthy stride. RCC.

3 Miller, Avery, Howie and Emrys-Jones' Ch. Marksbury Regina at Millvery.

SWTB (1)

1 Freer’s Immervahr Fryony. Seen hound from GCB.

VB (1,1)

D. E. Gore