SCOTTISH COLLIE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW
ROUGH COLLIE BITCHES
19/05/2024.
JUDGE. CAROLYN WATERHOUSE

I awarded my very first set of CC's for Scottish Collie quite a few years ago. So coming back brought back many happy memories.  I would really like to thank the officers & Committee for the opportunity to judge bitches this time.

My thanks go to my two stewards Lyn & Rose.  Ladies you did a great job and I enjoyed your company greatly.

What a marathon weekend some exhibitors had with their dogs. I really admired your stamina.

I really appreciated you all for presenting me with such a nice entry. I have always looked at the youngsters to gauge the future.  With the bitches presented to me today I see no reason why our beloved breed cannot move forward.

Some of the bitches looked a little tired today. The hall was noisy and some of the exhibits found this a tad stressful. I tried to give each exhibit the time to settle and did not attempt to go over any dogs when the Tannoy system was blaring! All of the dogs coped well with the floor surface. Some did not like the manhole cover in the ring! Or moving towards the walls. I again tried to give them all every opportunity to move at a pace that made them comfy, knowing how quickly stress can creep in when dogs get tired. I would never make any exhibit do anything they did not feel comfortable with especially in a noisy hall.

Please be careful with how much weight your bitches are carrying. Some have a layer of fat on them which does nothing but hinder their movement.

One other point I would like to make. Please try and take a step back and look at your bitches toplines. Do not fluff up the coat on the rumps. When they are in full coat it really does need to be flattened right over the rump so that it fits/enhances their outlines.

It was a real pleasure to sit and watch all of the winning bitches taking all the top awards.

MINOR PUPPY BITCH (2,1)

1. Johnston's Geosamka Loves Kiss. What a delightful puppy to start my day with. At just 7 months old she is very shapely. I really loved her style. Lovely neck which she used to full advantage. My hands flowed over a very nicely put together youngster. She is well made and has good shoulders.  Good spring of ribs and lovely hind quarters with short hocks. She carries a nice amount of bone but still retains her femininity. She moves out well and took everything in her stride. Her head is about right for her age. Clean through the cheeks. Eye dark and skull flat. A tad veiny in foreface, I would not criticise her for this at this stage in her development. Stood, move and showed steadily.

PUPPY BITCH (6,0)
1. Hodge's Unusual Beauty Des Conquetes De Don Juan at Jopium (IMP FRA) Wow.  Now these next two exhibitors had prepared their collies to the highest levels. They were both immaculate.  This class was headed by a really lovely blue merle of good colour and even in this hall her whites shone. She will I'm sure have a bright future. I was captivated by her very feminine head qualities. She has a lovely eye set, clean stop, well filled back skull. She used her ears well and has a lovely expression. I found her balanced and her shape was feminine.She held her topline well on the move and covered the ground with a free steady gait. Pleased to award her BP.  Really enjoyed watching her go on to take BPIS. Well Done.
2. Mitchell's Avonfair A Million Dreams, so unlucky to meet the blue as this gorgeous sable has so much to like about her. She was presented in sparkling condition. She was one of the few that was shown on a loose lead. Her head is lovely to handle with a long lip line. Clean cheeks.  Nicely filled foreface. Clean stop and a lovely dark eye. Her expression is sweet. She is balanced throughout and moved out well.
3.Turner's Paulara Born To Be My Baby

JUNIOR BITCH (7,0)

1. Congdon's Aaronwell Able Mabel. This is another youngster who is a star in the making. She oozes elegance from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail. Everything about her is balanced. She has a correct neck with a lovely length to her back. Correct length to her leg and strong hindquarters. I loved her animation both standing and on the move. She covered the ground well and was shown sympathetically without any fuss. Her head is a good wedge with clean cheeks. She has a good eye set with neat well used ears with only the top third tipping which we do not often see now. She has a lovely, sweet expression. She really pulls herself up and holds herself with confidence. I had great pleasure in awarding her the Res CC. Really enjoyed watching her going on to take Res BIS. Well Done.
2. Hodge's Unusual Beauty Des Conquetes De Don Juan at Jopium (IMP FRA)
3. Mill's Hanvale Edina Monsoon at Lemivee

YEARLING BITCH (1,0)

1. Proctor's Didek Moonshine for Cathbri, feminine tricolour at 16 months old . She is a nice type. Her coat fitted her outline but was just past it's best. Balanced throughout with a pleasing shape. Good well arched neck.  Adequate bone, I would like tighter feet. Head is pleasing with dark eye and clean lines. Skull is flat. She was well muscled and moved out well.

MAIDEN BITCH (0,0)

NOVICE BITCH (3,0)

1. Hodge's Unusual Beauty Des Conquetes De Don Juan at Jopium (IMP FRA)
2. Hutching's Riverside Song Flor D'Luna at Scottrye (IMP ROM) , Now this tricolour was a great surprise. She has lovely head qualities, a long tight lipline. Very clean through the stop with good underjaw. Her skull is flat with a well filled back skull. The noise disturbed her a tad and her ear set is decent enough but she did not use them to full advantage. It is difficult to get a tri that is soft in expression, but I found it with her. She has a lovely length to her back, good neck and shoulders. I just wished she was not in between coats as this did not help her top line. Moved well. I will follow her progress with great interest as I really found her appealing.
3. Walder's Hanvale Patsy Stone

GRADUATE BITCH (1,0)

1.Hobkirk's Chantique Sugar Moon, interestingly this sable is a daughter of the CC winner. Excellent for size. Good length of back. With the corrcet length of leg. Head is pleasing with a dark well place eyes, expression could be sweeter. Neat ears used well. Her overall balance and correct shape was really appealing in profile. She moved well but I was surprised she did not cover more ground. Maybe try moving her at a slightly faster pace might help her to extend.

POST GRADUATE (4,1)

1. Mitchell's Avonfair A Million Lovesong, sable bitch again presented in tip top condition from this exhibitor. This one is the dam of 2nd in puppy. She is feminine with a good neck. Length of back. Lovely hindquarters. Her head handles well. She has well placed dark eye. Clean in stop. Ears used well with a pleasing expression. She moved well. I just found in the challenge when giving her serious consideration that each time I glanced over to her she had lost a little of her outline.
2. Proctor's Opernball at Intermittent Lake (IMP SVN), Blue merle who really did not want to be in the noisy hall. She could not match the head qualities of either the 1st or 3rd placed bitches. She did not like the surroundings and would not pull up her ears at all. Her expression was so sad. But she certainly could move covering the ground freely with extension and with real drive. Balanced in profile. Good muscular neck. Good front angles and a strong well muscle hindquarters. She was one of the few that was carrying the right amount of weight to cover her outline.
3. Mcentee's Lynway Sunblossom Through Gerian

LIMIT BITCH (4,1)

1.Turner's Paulara Keep The Faith, Sable in good condition. Slightly stronger  in skull than my ideal. She really was not happy with the noise in the hall and only gave me fleeting glances of how lovely she is when she pulls it all together. Looking across at her I found her balanced in profile. Good rounded bone. Good front with a decent chest. Strong hindquarters. Her head eye and expression is pleasing. Interestingly she is the dam of the 3rd in puppy so another lovely bitch passing on her many attributes. Such a shame we was not outside as I bet she would have really pulled it together. 
2. Finney's Millubie Rewind (IMP SERB) 4 year old, petite tri colour. Her coat colour is really black and the texture is harsh. Balanced and very shapely. Very well presented. Her head handles well. Dark eye, neat ears. Pleasing expression. I would just like a little more moulding in foreface. Moved and showed well.
3. Melvin&Jopson's Lillyway Lemon Sparkle at Nithview

OPEN BITCH (5,0)

1. Scott's Chantique Deja Vu, the last time I judged, I gave this sable the Res CC. Today she looked fabulous was in tip top conditions and demanded to be looked at. She is in full coat which fitted her outline and was well presented. Her head is gorgeous to handle, being well filled with lovely moulding under the eye. A lovely ear set and the darkest of eyes. Clean in stop. Flat in skull. When she looked across the ring at me she has a soft kind knowing expression which just makes me smile. She is balanced in body. Good muscular neck, correct shoulder placement. Slight rise over the loin. Correct tail set. She moved out well and covered the ground with great style holding her topline. It was a real pleasure to sign a CC for her. Later I had the pleasure of watching this gorgeous bitch go on to take BIS. Huge Congratulations.
2. Congdon's Riverside Song Desiderata at Aaronwell. This sable is a new one to me. I see she is the dam of the Res CC winner today. This gorgeous bitch would be an asset in any kennel as she has so much going for her. She is proving her worth not just in the ring but with her gorgeous young daughter. She is beautifully balanced throughout and was in good condition. I loved her length of back. Front angles. Strong hindquarters. Her head is clean with a slight stop. Dark eye , neat ears. She pushed her daughter all the way in the challenge for the Res CC, but for me she just could not match either the CC or Res CC for the sweetness of expression. But a truly gorgeous collie.
3. Lockyer's Gataj Good Time Girl

VETERAN BITCH (5, 3)
1. Brooker's Telforth Sweet Dreams to Corisian, Wow what can one say about this gorgeous girl at nearly 11 years old she is amazing. To keep a coated breed in any sort of condition takes a huge amount of care. To then keep her in hard condition with muscle tone to be able to freely move is testament to the hard work her owner puts in to all her needs. She stood and looked across the ring at me showing me her gorgeous expression, which was a lovely trip down memory lane. I could see so many dogs within her expression that are sadly long gone. It brought a tear to my eyes. She has lost none of her qualities in her head. She has retained her gorgeous eye set. Correct ear carriage. Her lip line is tight and her bite is still correct. She moved out well and was as keen to show even at the end of a long day. BV. Later watching her take BVIS Congratulations.
2. Shipp's Gillyflower Della Buca Delle Fate (IMP ITA) ,this sable was BPIS when I judged bitches some 6 years ago. She has had a great show career. I could not believe she has now reached 7 years old. She looked a little tired today. But she is still gorgeous. Her head handles well with a well filled foreface. Dark Eye. She is very balanced. With a good neck. Correct length to her leg. Moved well.