| Border | Driffield 2008 Judge's Critique |
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KC
Breed Standards W.E.L.K.S.2008 The Scottish Kennel Club 2008 Southern Counties 2008 Three Counties 2008 Border Union 2008 Blackpool 2008 Windsor 2008 South Wales 2008 Paignton 2008 Bournemouth 2008 Welsh KC 2008 SKC August 2008 City Of Birmingham 2008 Darlington 2008 |
BORDER DRIFFIELD 08 Judge: Ms Lesley A Gosling BORDER JUDGE DRIFFIELD 08
Such a good entry on a week day. I was pleased to find the dogs in good condition with good temperaments. Bitch classes were generally of better quality than the dogs, particularly among the babies. Coats varied from no coats at all, to coats about to blow, with only a handful exhibiting evidence of the breed’s required correct double coat. There were plenty of harsh single coats & a number of shaved exhibits. Several tails had kinks. Being a working breed, I was looking for a good rear assembly with a decent turn of stifle & muscle development sufficient to power & propel the dog forward on the move or when working underground. What I found were many straight rearends from light rear assemblies. While probably 99 per cent of Borders no longer work, the requirement is to produce a dog equipped to work. Several puppies shown lacked bone & had round eyes, with front feet at the ‘ten to two’ position. Even at this immature age fronts should be straight & parallel. Some babies couldn’t be spanned. When I judged the breed three years ago I commented about poor fronts giving rise to plaiting or swinging movement & it was evident again today. However, my major problem was the increasing inconsistency in head shape. A Border’s head should resemble that of an otter, with little stop, a flat broad skull, close set ears, a dark, non-protruding eye & a short strong jaw – a well attended, illustrated seminar discussed this feature at length some months ago. Today, I found many domed heads with pronounced stops & a number of Borders with suspect mouths. Some also had long narrow, untypical boxy heads. Some good exhibits could have been helped by some careful trimming of feet hair & claws, while others suffered from over zealous hair trimming. MPD (10,3a) 1 Gilpin’s Otterbobs Riggindale, narrow, balanced youngster with a well proportioned head, good reach of neck & beautiful front, good turn of stifle with neat feet & excellent grizzle jacket, maintained a level topline on the move & covered the ground easily. Will watch his progress with interest. BP; 2 Wilkinson’s Otterkin Raconteur, very unsettled on the table & still very much the baby, but similar size to 1, good tailset & jacket, easily spanned with level topline & neat feet, promising head still to develop further, enthusiastic on the move; 3 Foster’s Pebbledyke Tempus Fugis. PD (9,2) 1 Sharp’s Radnorvalley Goshawk of Rhozzum, lovely otter head with perfect bite, well positioned ears, narrow body with clean lines. Would have preferred more angulation behind but he answered the Standard perfectly. Good grizzle jacket; 2 Dickinson & James’ Blackmine Rossington to Badgerholme, larger puppy than 1, but quality, elegant light red dog with good coat & pelt, good head & reach of neck, moved well with perfect level topline; 3 Davis’ Hesslemere Hi Karate. JD (9,2) 1 Dean’s Cedarhill Authorised, caught my attention straight away. Not exaggerated in any way. Open, keen expression, dark eyes with plenty of fill beneath, Broad skull & short strong muzzle with perfect bite – just a little too much stop. Well positioned dark ears & good reach of neck into clean shoulders, Good body length & excellent double grizzle jacket, easily spanned, carrot tail straight off topline & well carried, good neat feet & enough bone, great angulation behind, moved easily & covered the ground well. CC, BOB & G3; 2 Morton-Shaw’s Fehmarn Reap The Harvest, deeper than 1, great feet & enough bone, good flat skull with tremendous teeth & perfect bite. Would have liked a little more body length & rear angulation. Tail correct; 3 Davis’ Hesslemere Hi Karate. YD (9,3) 1 Scales’ Doramil Adventurer, shaving this exhibit spoiled his appearance & his good feet. A useful light red dog with a well proportioned broad flat skull, with very little stop. A narrow front & level topline on the move, good carroty tail; 2 Woolrich’s Mansergh Song Thrush, balanced dog falling away slightly at the croup, but well angulated behind, stronger, shorter head than 1 with a more pronounced stop, but liked the type. Both carrying decent jackets & both moved with drive; 3 Houston’s Earthwise Wolfbane. PGD (8,1) 1 Morgan’s Badgerbeck Festive Spirit at Blewecourt, upstanding smart grizzle dog with great rear assembly & plenty of muscle, his gay tail carriage detracted from the overall picture, but kept a level topline on the move. Narrow front with good feet. Would have liked more jacket. Lovely flat skull & great dentition; 2 Houston’s Earthwise Follow Me, narrow right through, moved strongly from well constructed rearend, good reach of neck from clean well angulated shoulders, good tail & tail carriage, like 1 was easy to span, good head with well placed ears; 3 Richardson’s Ragatam Hawk at Staynorwood. LD (14,4) 1 Fryer’s Up Helly Aa, narrow, easily spanned r/grizzle sporting a correct double coat, driving well from a muscular behind, good carroty tail well set on & held a level topline on the move, well proportioned head, very typical of this kennel, keen expression, good bite, well placed ears; 2 Sugars’ Foxcraig Jester, similar remarks apply here, better feet presentation would help. Head slightly narrower than 1 but good reach of neck into narrow shoulders. Not much animation on the move, but this is a typical Border; 3 Kelly’s Tythrop Jupiter. OD (10,1) 1 McPherson’s Ch Brumberhill Bestseller, put down to perfection with a wonderful thick double coat, no shaving here. The neatest of carroty tails straight off a level topline, spannable & narrow with good shoulder angulation & good feet. Would have liked to see more head & his expression, but he could not be faulted for balance & overall size. RCC; 2 Hollingsbee’s Ch Otterwood Amex, typy Border with a good well proportioned head, keen expression & very little stop, good shoulders & front, easily spanned & drove positively on the move, good tailset & good jacket; 3 Gilpin’s Ch Otterbobs Ninezergh. MPB (14,2) 1 Furness’ Tallowbrook Memento of Quatford, bl/t, lovely to examine, good double coat, well ticked through, just enough bone, neat feet & narrow to span. Not too much stop on a good head. Moved well. Tail could have been better covered; 2 Singh’s Comberdown Claddagh between Vandermere, grizzle with excellent topline, like 1 moved out well for a baby, great feet & just enough bone, good tail & tailset, spannable & narrow; 3 Martin’s Stineval Celeste at Merumhor. PB (9) 1 Davis’ Hesslemere Miss Lemon, light r/grizzle with lovely otter head, a dream to handle, narrow, spannable, good angulation, moved with plenty of drive, good topline & good reach of neck into clean shoulders, enough bone & neat feet, good tail well set on. Would have liked more coat. One to watch; 2: Gregory’s Remony Barley Twist, rich r/grizzle sporting a beautiful crisp jacket in first class fettle. Just preferred the front movement of 1, but another with good front & rear assemblies. Carried a level topline on the move, good carrot tail well set on; 3 Hopper’s Terracao Nell Gwyn at Esyntona. JB (13,5) 1 H Miss Lemon; 2 Armstrong’s Totemia She Knows You Know at Justrite, light r/grizzle with sweet head, good ear placement, good mouth & bite, feet neat, strode out covering the ground well, good tail well set on; 3 Newsome’s Kighill Cheeky Minky. YB (11,4) 1 Barrett’s Irton Strawberry Fair at Howthwaite, this rich r/grizzle has lovely, narrow racy bodylines, perfect bone & neat feet, balanced well, good head & perfect bite, well set on tail from strong quarters; 2 Barber’s Alcumlow Starry Night, good bodylines on this bl/t bitch, well ticked throughout, lovely shoulder placement & good topline on the move, head was a disappointment; 3 Morgan’s Glebeheath Minnie The Motor at Blewecourt. PGB (12,2) 1 Fray’s Benattivo Plum at Eltonfurze, attractive light red bitch with good narrow body length, good feet & bone, level topline, good tail & harsh jacket, good otter head with flat broad skull, good dark eye. Covered the ground well on the move; 2 Bryan & Pounder’s Hemlockstone Jinni, light red bitch with a shorter body & slightly wider in front. However, typy bitch with a good head & she covered the ground well on the move, good tight feet & a good jacket; 3 Sugars’ Foxcraig Magic. LB (14,3) 1 Wanless’s Thorneyburn Minnie The Minx, bl/t well ticked bitch, not a bitch to ‘fill your eye’ on first acquaintance, but a pleasure to handle. Not heavy, easy to span, good bone, tight feet, very harsh jacket in double coat on a thick skin. Dark eyes with plenty of fill beneath, lovely otter head, no exaggerations anywhere. Moved steadily on a loose lead from a well angulated rear assembly. RCC; 2 Dickinson & James’ Stoneygin Ripon Ruby by Badgerholme, slightly longer bodied bitch in harsh coat & condition, well muscled quarters, good head, good bite, dark eye, well set on tail off level topline, good bone & feet, moved out well; 3 Price’s Oxcroft Ruby. OB (13,3) 1 Singh’s Nanrich Lets Go To Vandermere, what a lovely package in this bitch, the harshest of bl/t jackets, perfect size & easily spanned, enough bone with narrow parallel front & tight neat feet, good head with nicely placed ears, broad flat skull, dark well shaped eye with plenty of fill beneath, good bite & strong teeth, good reach of neck into well angulated shoulders, a level topline with perfect tailset & good carrot tail. Would have preferred a better turn of stifle, but she moved out well & held her level topline. CC; 2 McPherson’s Brumberhill Breeze, lovely bitch, grizzle jacket on good pelt, racy lines & good body length, good reach of neck into level top & good, well set on tail, moved with drive & covered the ground well; 3 Fraser & Butler’s Blue Tutu via Ycart. LESLEY A GOSLING
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