Glen Of Imaal Terrier Darlington 14 Judge's Critique

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Glen Of Imaal	Darlington 14 Judge's Critique
KC Breed Standard Darlington 14 Judge	GLEN OF IMAAL DARLINGTON 14 Judge: Mr H Gay BEST OF BREED : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey Dog CC : 1171 ASHCROFT Mr S J & Mrs M R Romainville Typhoon Res Dog CC : 1170 ALSTEAD Dr J Golden Spurs Bitch CC : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey Res Bitch CC : 1172 ASHCROFT Mr S J & Mrs M R Romainville Moira Best Puppy : 1170 ALSTEAD Dr J Golden Spurs Best Veteran : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey Best Breeder : GLEN OF IMAAL JUDGE DARLINGTON 14 Glen of Imaal Terriers There aren’t a lot of exhibitors near to Darlington & I thank everybody who made the trip. In view of what one spectator said to me today ‘do you realise you actually scratched your head when looking at class X?’ It is time to come clean; my conclusion of today is that there are no easy answers for Glen of Imaal Terriers at the minute. They are one of the greatest breeds that ever lived but at the moment appear to be at a crossroads where some things are stalling. One thing that isn’t though is the ‘health’ that everybody now has to be so aware of whether judge, breeder or exhibitor. There was only one front that I considered extreme & two shorter (not super short) upper arms; both things the bane of many achondraplasic breeds. Eye colours were all acceptable, jaws & teeth continue to improve & without exception strength was apparent in both throughout the entry. These things certainly appear to have been cracked but what about the actual breed? Where are things going? The BOB was 10 years old & the BD was coming up 7 & both were an out & out credit to Glendom but is that a sign of the longevity of the breed (talking to exhibitors afterwards it was nice to see the look of disbelief on a newer persons face when they realised how mature the top senior winners were) or a startling example that younger Glens aren’t really cutting the mustard that well? I’m fully aware that it’s the entry on the day, just my opinion etc but certain things should be the hallmark of Glen of Imaal Terriers & they were missing in around 50 per cent. All judges interpret a Standard slightly differently & some things are considered more important to some than to others, it’s why exhibitors keep going month after month, but there are things that should be sacrosanct so where’s the bone? Where’s the movement? Where’s the all over musculature? Where’s the fitness? Those things, particularly the last three, aren’t rocket science whatever the level of expertise of the owner but in quite a few of the dogs today they just weren’t there. A judge, once they have gone over a dog, should have a pretty sure idea of what to expect in movement. Moving is used to confirm what the hands (& eyes) have already found, apologises in using another analogy, it should be the icing on the cake & it’s up to exhibitors as to whether the judge sees Royal or just a bit of jam slapped on. On decently cut, reasonably flat ground with an overall collection of good backends & rather decent fronts, with hardly any straighter angles, some of the movement was rather a surprise & it lifted the old-fashioned road walkers up into a different league. That may have caused head scratching but ribs didn’t. Two strange things to bracket together perhaps but an apt example of ‘the crossroads’. Movement in Glens used to be King but the frames being carried around were often poor in the rib department; slab sided, short & shallow often being found. Today the slab was gone, the shortness was gone & it was ticks mainly all round in that department. There were ears, thankfully none of those high flyers currently fashionable in some countries, there were toplines that were basically where they should be. Exhibitors know their dogs & don’t want the list of nice this, nice that & good the other. They want to know why a judge placed their dog where they did & why they were above or below a particular animal; my reasons are below. PD 1 Alstead’s Golden Spurs, he’s a baby & he’s raw. He walks well then he throws his front everywhere. He has a topline then he hasn’t. He can stand balanced then he doesn’t know the meaning of the word. He handles well & has all the essentials in one so young. To use an old-fashioned term-a prospect. RCC & congratulations to his owner on turning a brindle coat out so well. JD 1 Golden Spurs. LD 1 Howarth’s Donvaleset Liffy at Arkview, a longer length dog who appeared even longer due to his full coat. Underneath it all was excellent bone right through with the right amount of substance (not the fat that many Glens carry). Excellent drive from well muscled quarters but quite short in front reach & flatly refused to settle. OD 1 Ashcroft’s Romainville Typhoon, this is a Glen of Imaal Terrier dog. He was shown under me in 2012 & the critique said ‘this brindle dog is often hidden in the ring by an over heavy, over long coat but today he looked the business. His strong head, nice turn of front, good neck, typical topline, drive & balance just shouted. If his owners could just get it all together this dog could be like many of the Glens throughout the years; gets older & gets better.’ He got the RCC then & since that show has rarely been hidden by coat so his virtues can be seen & appreciated. His owners have worked really hard & now he only occasionally changes his weight & leans forward at the stand so flattening his topline. CC & congratulations on your first champion. VB 1 Seall’s Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey, my notes say ‘she’s still got it’ which was the thought as she walked into the ring. Bone in proportion to size, excellent reach & drive, head, topline, jaw, balance, shape, it’s still all there & she knows it. The package was topped off with a tight, tidy coat of correct texture. BV, CC & BOB despite the change of handler at one point! PGB 1 Baldock’s Ellerton Dusty Beauty, this bitch just doesn’t match on the move what examination tells you. Good body proportions, decent topline, nice angles front & back are on the table but on the move it’s a different story; reach & drive are a bit short & she flattens her topline...oh & why should she stand balanced? Read her sire’s critique for 2012. LB 1 Ashcroft’s Romainville Moira, a plain looking bitch with her coat only just coming through; she was a revelation. There was an excellent outline & proportion, nice bone, good legs, good angulation, a body with shape & she moved out well with good reach & drive. RCC; 2 Seall’s Bregorrey Madam Defiance, a smaller feminine bitch rather swamped by excessive feathering. Like the Post Graduate winner she moves differently to what the table examination tells you. Beautiful body proportions, correct angles front & back but on the floor moves a little short despite excellent rear parallel drive. Her topline, which handled well, didn’t look good on the move. She is actually a textbook example of what happens to a natural tail when the set on isn’t quite correct, the slightly higher position alters the angle of the croup on the move & up goes the topline; 3 Hannington’s Romainville Uptown Girl. OB 1 Seall’s Bregorrey Lady Belleisle, this bitch is a showdog rather than a Glen who is taken showing. She is eyecatching & moves with balanced rear & drive. For preference she should have a little more bone just had to have this class despite her awful coat which was why she went no further in the challenge; 2 Rogers’ Jeonty Meme Fern, feminine bitch of good type, proportion & outline. On the table has literally everything going for her but yet another that unfortunately failed on the move; 3 Baldock’s Ch Jeonty Maybe Daysee. HAROLD GAY Go To Top Of Page
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Glen Of Imaal

Darlington 14 Judge's Critique

KC Breed Standard

Darlington 14 Judge

GLEN OF IMAAL DARLINGTON 14

Judge: Mr H Gay

BEST OF BREED : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey
Dog CC : 1171 ASHCROFT Mr S J & Mrs M R Romainville Typhoon
Res Dog CC : 1170 ALSTEAD Dr J Golden Spurs
Bitch CC : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey
Res Bitch CC : 1172 ASHCROFT Mr S J & Mrs M R Romainville Moira
Best Puppy : 1170 ALSTEAD Dr J Golden Spurs
Best Veteran : 1180 SEALL Mrs A Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey
Best Breeder :

GLEN OF IMAAL JUDGE DARLINGTON 14

Glen of Imaal Terriers

There aren’t a lot of exhibitors near to Darlington & I thank everybody who made the trip. In view of what one spectator said to me today ‘do you realise you actually scratched your head when looking at class X?’ It is time to come clean; my conclusion of today is that there are no easy answers for Glen of Imaal Terriers at the minute. They are one of the greatest breeds that ever lived but at the moment appear to be at a crossroads where some things are stalling. One thing that isn’t though is the ‘health’ that everybody now has to be so aware of whether judge, breeder or exhibitor. There was only one front that I considered extreme & two shorter (not super short) upper arms; both things the bane of many achondraplasic breeds. Eye colours were all acceptable, jaws & teeth continue to improve & without exception strength was apparent in both throughout the entry. These things certainly appear to have been cracked but what about the actual breed? Where are things going?

The BOB was 10 years old & the BD was coming up 7 & both were an out & out credit to Glendom but is that a sign of the longevity of the breed (talking to exhibitors afterwards it was nice to see the look of disbelief on a newer persons face when they realised how mature the top senior winners were) or a startling example that younger Glens aren’t really cutting the mustard that well? I’m fully aware that it’s the entry on the day, just my opinion etc but certain things should be the hallmark of Glen of Imaal Terriers & they were missing in around 50 per cent. All judges interpret a Standard slightly differently & some things are considered more important to some than to others, it’s why exhibitors keep going month after month, but there are things that should be sacrosanct so where’s the bone? Where’s the movement? Where’s the all over musculature? Where’s the fitness? Those things, particularly the last three, aren’t rocket science whatever the level of expertise of the owner but in quite a few of the dogs today they just weren’t there.

A judge, once they have gone over a dog, should have a pretty sure idea of what to expect in movement. Moving is used to confirm what the hands (& eyes) have already found, apologises in using another analogy, it should be the icing on the cake & it’s up to exhibitors as to whether the judge sees Royal or just a bit of jam slapped on. On decently cut, reasonably flat ground with an overall collection of good backends & rather decent fronts, with hardly any straighter angles, some of the movement was rather a surprise & it lifted the old-fashioned road walkers up into a different league.

That may have caused head scratching but ribs didn’t. Two strange things to bracket together perhaps but an apt example of ‘the crossroads’. Movement in Glens used to be King but the frames being carried around were often poor in the rib department; slab sided, short & shallow often being found. Today the slab was gone, the shortness was gone & it was ticks mainly all round in that department.

There were ears, thankfully none of those high flyers currently fashionable in some countries, there were toplines that were basically where they should be. Exhibitors know their dogs & don’t want the list of nice this, nice that & good the other. They want to know why a judge placed their dog where they did & why they were above or below a particular animal; my reasons are below.

1 Alstead’s Golden Spurs, he’s a baby & he’s raw. He walks well then he throws his front everywhere. He has a topline then he hasn’t. He can stand balanced then he doesn’t know the meaning of the word. He handles well & has all the essentials in one so young. To use an old-fashioned term-a prospect. RCC & congratulations to his owner on turning a brindle coat out so well.

1 Golden Spurs.

1 Howarth’s Donvaleset Liffy at Arkview, a longer length dog who appeared even longer due to his full coat. Underneath it all was excellent bone right through with the right amount of substance (not the fat that many Glens carry). Excellent drive from well muscled quarters but quite short in front reach & flatly refused to settle.

1 Ashcroft’s Romainville Typhoon, this is a Glen of Imaal Terrier dog. He was shown under me in 2012 & the critique said ‘this brindle dog is often hidden in the ring by an over heavy, over long coat but today he looked the business. His strong head, nice turn of front, good neck, typical topline, drive & balance just shouted. If his owners could just get it all together this dog could be like many of the Glens throughout the years; gets older & gets better.’ He got the RCC then & since that show has rarely been hidden by coat so his virtues can be seen & appreciated. His owners have worked really hard & now he only occasionally changes his weight & leans forward at the stand so flattening his topline. CC & congratulations on your first champion.

1 Seall’s Ch Brockland Belle Bregorrey, my notes say ‘she’s still got it’ which was the thought as she walked into the ring. Bone in proportion to size, excellent reach & drive, head, topline, jaw, balance, shape, it’s still all there & she knows it. The package was topped off with a tight, tidy coat of correct texture. BV, CC & BOB despite the change of handler at one point!

PGB

1 Baldock’s Ellerton Dusty Beauty, this bitch just doesn’t match on the move what examination tells you. Good body proportions, decent topline, nice angles front & back are on the table but on the move it’s a different story; reach & drive are a bit short & she flattens her topline...oh & why should she stand balanced? Read her sire’s critique for 2012.

1 Ashcroft’s Romainville Moira, a plain looking bitch with her coat only just coming through; she was a revelation. There was an excellent outline & proportion, nice bone, good legs, good angulation, a body with shape & she moved out well with good reach & drive. RCC;

2 Seall’s Bregorrey Madam Defiance, a smaller feminine bitch rather swamped by excessive feathering. Like the Post Graduate winner she moves differently to what the table examination tells you. Beautiful body proportions, correct angles front & back but on the floor moves a little short despite excellent rear parallel drive. Her topline, which handled well, didn’t look good on the move. She is actually a textbook example of what happens to a natural tail when the set on isn’t quite correct, the slightly higher position alters the angle of the croup on the move & up goes the topline;

3 Hannington’s Romainville Uptown Girl.

1 Seall’s Bregorrey Lady Belleisle, this bitch is a showdog rather than a Glen who is taken showing. She is eyecatching & moves with balanced rear & drive. For preference she should have a little more bone just had to have this class despite her awful coat which was why she went no further in the challenge;

2 Rogers’ Jeonty Meme Fern, feminine bitch of good type, proportion & outline. On the table has literally everything going for her but yet another that unfortunately failed on the move;

3 Baldock’s Ch Jeonty Maybe Daysee.

HAROLD GAY

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