First Place in Puppy - Bitch, Judge: Mr Bob Wright (Totherend)
Many thanks to the East of England Agricultural Society for the opportunity to judge my fist Championship Show and to the excellent stewards who nursed me through with efficiency and humour. I was humbled by the size of entry and the willingness of the exhibitors to travel the length and breadth of the country despite the intense heat from which we tried to protect the dogs as much as possible.
I was particularly impressed by the quality of the open classes which were peppered with exhibits worthy of a ticket but unfortunately they only gave me two. A large number of exhibits were up to size and only just spannable but thankfully many of them were also narrow. I found one kinked tail, several borderline mouths and many promising exhibits that disappointed in the width or movement of their fronts. There was also a dearth of muscle particularly on the upper thighs but there were plenty of loose thick pelts and harsh coats. I was delighted not only with my winners but many of those who came close but regretfully had to leave empty handed despite being worthy of more.
Showy, attractive, well balanced, good typey head stop and expression, dark eyes, good reach of neck into well laid shoulders, narrow with good length of rib, easy span, level topline, well set tail, moved freely on neat feet, would have just liked a little more turn of stifle to complete the picture.