London Provincial Collie Club Open Show 19/02/2017

My thanks for the invitation to judge at this well run show, also to my stewards for their assistance throughout the day.
Type varied considerably; I will always put up dogs that differ in type provided they are quality animals. It is easy to find fault in animals that are a different type to your own but there are qualities to be had in all lines. I would rather see outstanding quality in slightly different types than all one type & all equally mediocre. Mediocrity breeds mediocrity.
The blunt wedge shape head is in the minority, there were many triangular shapes with pointy forefaces, serious lack of underjaw in most. This is becoming very prevelant fault.
Movement was difficult to assess wthin the confines of the hall.
Thank you to all exhibitors for their entries, I enjoyed judging all the collies on show today.

ROUGH COLLIES
Veteran dog(1)
1st Fullers Damos Diamond Legend. Tall elegant tri standing with all the impassive dignity required by the standard. Real old favourite of mine, I thought he looked terrific today. In possession of the most beautiful head, true wedge, clean but masculine. Lovely moulded foreface, kind eye, flat skull, neat ears well used all combined to give soft intelligent expression. Correctly constructed with excellent bone. Moved well just a bit narrow coming toward. In serious contention for best dog, just losing out to the younger boys. One the judge would most like to take home.

Minor Puppy (1:1a)
1st  Muffetts Velikolpniy Rixon. 6 month old sable boy full of puppy exhuberance today. In good conditon & coat. Needs to grow on & lengthen all over. Head shorter than I like but he had a lovely flat skull & oblique eye. Stood alone so BPD.

Puppy (0)

Junior (3:1)
1st Ludlows Tudorlyn Golden Dreamer For Malina. Sable boy who really doesn't want to be at a dog show. Pleasing type who moved ok. Head is balanced with correct stop, ears well placed when used. He does himself no favours & I"m sure would rather be at home.
2nd Muffetts Friden Storybrooke. Happy chap who I thought would be my class winner.
Nice type of head giving attractive expression. Structually sound front end but falls away badly over his croup making him very unsound at the rear.

Yearling (3)
1st Randalls Ladnar Moondust. Eye catching tri lad in top form, beautifully presented with jet black coat. Excellent type, so well constructed from his arched necked through to his well bent stifles & short strong hocks. Excelling in bone & substance with neat feet. Attractive head of good length, clean through his cheeks, nice chin giving blunt wedge. Pleasing in eye with flat skull, excellent ear placement well used. Moved out & back steadily. Full of promise for the future. Res best dog.
2nd Page Lynmead Amalie Bring Me Back. Rich sable boy just coming back int o coat.
Attractive type but smaller in statue though adequate bone for size. Well balanced boy who had a decent lenght of back, he moved precisely up & down as construction suggested. Very clean in head with good flat skull, correct shaped eye well placed.
Would prefer a little more moulding to foreface & Stronger underjaw. Showed well & will always be there abouts.
3rd Tudorlyn Golden Dreamer For Malina

Post Graduate (4)
1st Maxwell & Wallis Trenley Tavanagh at Hamisks. Sable rising 2 1/2 yrs & quite mature outlook. Good type presenting pleasing outline. Balanced head with flat skull, eye correct & ears well placed, showing typical expression. Moved well enough at the front but rear movement less positive.
2nd Mertrisa Secrets And Magic at Stavods. Lovely coloured blue who presented an attractive shape, well balanced throughout. Correct length of head with good moulding to foreface, correct stop. Slight rise over the eyes but ears were good. Moved enthusiastically but tail carriage an issue.
3rd Tudorlyn Misty Dreams for Malina

Post Graduate (3)
1st Wrays Takhisis Trick or Treat. All male tri boy who presented such a pleasing silhohette in the ring. Lovely arched neck into strong shoulders, good rib cage, strength over his loin, strong bone with plenty of substance. Well angulated rear & strong hocks.
Very appealing head qualities, masculine but clean, no flaring in skull, correct stop, lovely moulding with almond eye set well in flat skull. A little lazy with ear set but something caught his eye in the ring & bang, up they came, to give very sweet expression. Moved correctly out & back, just a little untidy in topline. Last judged him as a gawky teenager & my, he has really come on. Best Dog, well done.
2nd Pages Lynmead Amalie Let Me Go. Totally different type to winner & much smaller in statue. Shorter in head but was clean with lovely eye & good ear carriage. Would prefer more length in back & Generally a size larger all over. Well presented & shown in good condition, moved well enough.

Limit  (4;1)
1st Maxwell & Wallis Trenley Tatenen at Hamisks.. Upstanding dark sable boy who was in top form & excellent coat. Lots of ring presence, he made a lovely outline & carries himself well. Well made, reachy neck, strong body, excelled in hindquarters, standing over plenty of ground. Attractive head, beautifull eye set & shape, clean cheeks skull, flattest of skulls, just lacked true wedge in profile would prefer stronger chin. Full of his own self importance, quite a character & handler shows him to advantage. Moved true enough. Lots to admire & I suspect will be looking at top honours in the future as he is approaching his best.
2nd Maqueeba Just a Dream for Malina. In complete contrast to the winner just not doing himself justice. Slightly different type but pleasing in head witn excellent flat skull & soft expression. Moved ok fore & aft.
3rd Bellcot Winter Bliszard at Dycoshem

Open  (3)
1st Muffetts Lizmark Black Gold. Mature more workmanlike dog who initially is easy to pass by. He is correct & balanced throughout, excellent height to length ratio with rise over loin. Good front & strong quarters. Pleasing one piece head, correct stop with parallel planes, almond eye, flat skull. Not a showing fool but did enough. Moved freely & easily.
2nd Howard's Darahill Chaos at Sablemyst. Another mature rich sable who was in complete harmony with his owner. Different type, being shorter in back & head. However he was balanced throughout & moved accordingly. Attractive head, nicely moulded, slight stop, neat ears just a little wide placed but did not detract. Just Preferred the overall length of 1st.

Veteran bitch (5;1)
1st Clark's Buebezi Bijou Aged Derbypark. Blue approaching 10 yrs but don't tell her that.
Full of verve, showing her head off, trying so hard for her dad. Very pretty head, good wedge, decent chin, soft moulded foreface into clean cheeks & skull. Lovely eye correctly set with ears on top, nicely tipped. Lovely reach of neck, good shoulder placement into deep ribs. Strong flowing quarters enabled her to move powerfully down the ring, correct coming towards. My eye kept being drawn back to her, well deserved BB, BOB & RBIS.
2nd James Morvania Summer Affair at Deanjan. Bright sable of good type. Very feminine outlook, attractive one piece head with neat ears. In good fitted coat over well made body, accordingly she moved very well.
Some really promising young bitches in the puppy classes

Minor puppy (4:1)
1st Wrays Takhisis Vision of Dreams. 6 month old golden sable at first show, full of puppy enthusiasm & charm. Not normally my preferred type as she needs to lengthen all over but she is an obvious potential star & completely won me over. Such a well balanced head for age, for me needs to lengthen, very clean, slight stop, beautiful dark eye, foreface like velvet, very flat skull, would prefer less tipping to ears but very sweet expression. Strong well made body, excellent bone on neat feet, adequate angulation & moved so positively. Excellent presentation of profuse puppy coat. Extremely charasmatic for one so young, will expect her to rise to the very top. Good luck. ResBPIS.
2nd McDades Fridens Captavation with Lyndale. Good coloured blue who was very unfortunate to meet winner today. Presented very attractive profile, excellent type with shapely body. Good angulations & well arched neck, nice size with strong bone. Moved very well & showed steadily. Classic head, quizzical expression from lovely shaped eye with her pretty blue flecks. She scored over 1st with spot on ear carriage. Will be interesting to see her develop as she has all the essentials.
3rd Halls Sambreeze Whispers of Love

Puppy (3)
1st Randall's Data Turchina Ladnar Di Cambiano. 11 month blue of correct colour. Classic type of correct size, adequate bone. Very well balanced, she has strength but retains her femininity. Attractive expression from lovely eye, well placed & used ears. Good underjaw but would like less depth in skull. Moved very positively out & back. Will expect her to go on to greater things. She was pushed very hard by the pretty sable for BP but her classis type scored in her favour. BPIS.
2nd Waterhouse Lynmead Quest for Love. Ultra feminine girl of 10 months. A little unsettled especially when moving, would benefit for a little more practice. Presented very curvey silhouette, some lovely angles especially in her quarters, good front with reachy neck. Totally feminine head, completely clean through in cheeks & skull, slight stop, pretty eye placement,, very flat skull & loved her tiny ears not often seen these days.
No depth in skull but would prefer better chin. Would love her to be two shades bigger as she is pocket size.
3rd Ingledene Ebony Lace

Junior (6;1)
1st McDades Beldones Sweet Illusion with Lyndale. Sable girl of excellent type, showing steadily throughout. Good one piece head, very clean all through, correct stop, flat skull, good wedge shape in profile. Oblique eye & ears on top meant she had an intelligent outlook. Well made body, with good length of back. Moved cleanly with purpose. She is another who will improve with age.
2nd Wrays Beldones Pandora. Litter sister to 1st but slightly different throughout. Lovely soft expression with exquisite eye but not so good ear set, stronger in skull & deeper stop. Well made, excellent bone & moved ok. Preferred head type of 1.
3rd Martlese Azure Mine at Albakin

Yearling (3;1)
1st Beldones Sweet Illusion with Lyndale
2nd Blackmore's Derbypark Dame Edna at Magenta. Very pretty tri bitch who was new to me. In good coat & condition. Slightly shorter in head but very balanced, wedge shape, rounded foreface, well placed stop, lovely eye giving cheeky expression. Nicely arched neck, deep chest into strong body, well angulated quarters. Difficult to assess movement as she was all over the place. Full of herself but keen to show. Nice girl.

Graduate (4)
1st Derbypark Dame Edna at Magenta. Change of handler was to her advantage, she moved really well & showed steadily.
2nd Laktika Actis Poland at Dycoshem. Larger stronger sable girl who is very well made throughout, she moved accordingly. Balanced in head with correct stop, decent chin, almond eye, good flat skull. Liked her as a puppy but she seems to have lost her way somewhat. Not in coat & condition, she was also not happy so not doing herself any favours today.
3rd Brooklynson Miss Dior for Stavods

Post Graduate (4;1)
1st Skinner's Samhaven Time Is Money. Mature tri built along strong, classic lines. Correct size, strong but feminine. wedge shape head, good chin not quite the eye I was after & ears need to be a little tighter. Moved well. Presented attractive outline.
2nd Ladnar Kiss N Temptation at Dycoshem. Very similar to 1st with more length to head & better ear carriage, needs more definition in stop. Not in coat of 1 & have seen her move better. Happy girl.
3rd Amalie Lynmead Hello Dolly.

Limit (3)
1st Wrays Beldones Duchess of Dreams. Darker sable girl coming off maternal duty in sparkling new coat, super condition. Well put together, robust, strong correct size without losing any femininity. Moved so positively with purpose. Pleasing head type though slightly shorter than I would prefer. Wedge with good chin, enough stop, moulded foreface, almond eye well placed, ears larger but used to advantage. Soft kindly expression. Lots to admire, has excellent future.
2nd Daley's Tremaro Tainted Love at Rahlissa. Bright orange sable in lovely fitted jacket. Super type with excellent body lines & balanced throughout. Movement was spot on. Not the sweet expression of 1st, as eye placement a little square on, but nice wedge head with correct ears, flat skull. Showed very well.
3rd Trenly Gold Feather

Open (7;3)
1st Arrowsmith Saganan True Blue. Mature bitch with beautiful blue jacket. Classic type who looked like she could do a day's work. Very well put together, excellent shoulder placement, good depth to chest., Strong rise over loin, decent length of back. Moved easily with drive.. Correct wedge shape head, broken by slight stop, well filled foreface, clean cheeks. Would prefer a slightly sweeter eye, Ears a bit erratic today. She is very easy on the eye. Res best bitch
2nd Waterhouse Lynmead Amalie. If 1st represented the working side of our breed, then this feminine tri bitch represented all that is glamorous. In full fitted coat with long petticoats, well presented & handled sympathetically. Very clean head, correct stop, with flat skull, lovely small ears, pretty eye all added up to give attractive expression. Appealing smaller type, she was well made but did not move as well as she might, lacking in confidence mostly.
3rd Mertrisa Damsel in Blue at Deanjan

SMOOTH COLLIES

Post Graduate (1)
1st Theobald's & Norman's Seamus Softly Softly, 2 yr old rich sable bitch in good coat & condition. Pleasing type of correct size, well balanced & moving strongly. Head of correct proportions, with good earset, not quite the sweet expression I was after being slightly stronger throughout.

Open Dog (3)
1st Norman's Seamus Signature. Very mature young male, representing a slightly squarer profile but still balanced & moved powerfully. Head well proportioned but quite strong, eye shape ok but placement not quite correct. Ears well placed & used to advantage. Full of himself & handler does well. BD.
2nd Benton's CH Oakestelle Vivaldi. Tri male who was in complete contrast to the 1st. 3yrs old but still seems physically immature. Good type with more length in his back, excellent shoulder, nicely angulated quarters. He moved well enough. Long Head still needs to come on, I would prefer to see better moulding to foreface, correct stop, good ears, eye a fraction round but did not detract. Think the best of him is still to come.
3rd Ryecomb Discovered Gold

Open bitch
1st Benton's Alopex Marionette of Oakestelle 8 yr old blue bitch of exquisite type. Last time I judged I could find nothing to beat her & today was no different. I won't list her many virtues as I would only be repeating myself, except to say I love her. Just starting to show her age when I look into her sweet grey face. But she showed , as always, like a trooper & moved like a 2 yr old. Very sad to see she remains untitled, she is a little gem of enduring quality, thoroughly deserving her title, sincerely hope she makes it. BB, BOB, BIS.
2nd Benton's Oakestelle Venus dear Milo, daughter of the above & she has many qualites to admire. Appealing type, shade longer cast but good rise over loin & deep chest & spring of rib. Presented beautiful profile along with her eye catching blue jacket. Moved very well. Like her brother in a previous class, head still needs to develop fully but has typical feminine outlook with pretty eye.

Judge
Tracey Jackson