What the judges said...

It was a great honour and privilege to be invited to judge at the Grand Final of the Petplan Junior Stakes. I thank the staff at Petplan for their very kind hospitality. With Andrew Brace giving the commentary, Keith and June Young completely in charge of the ring and Jill Peak organising the fourteen heats at the championship shows throughout the year. The organisation and timing of the event was bound to be a complete success in every way.

To judge at this final is very different to judging at any other show, due to the system of allocating points out of 10 for conformation, breed type, and movement, followed by the allocation of points for “star quality”.

I must admit to feeling a little apprehensive about this before the start of judging. But when one is judging along with two of the countries top lady judges I soon felt at ease. Surprisingly with 28 dogs and three judges our opinions did differ greatly and the top five dogs soon became apparent.

In addition to the top five dogs there were several who will make a great impact on the dog scene in 2002, but unfortunately the system only allows for five.

The Petplan Junior of the Year was the Pekingese Yakee Leaving Me Breathless. A small well balanced quality dog, lovely head with good pigmentation, profuse coat, moved round the ring with great style. 2 The Norwich Terrier Ch Ragus Name Your Poison, a short compact dog very stylish never stopped showing. 3 The Lhasa Apso Saxonsprings Secret Dream. This lovely puppy bitch, correct in every way. Lovely head, gd coat & super topline both when stood and on the move. Moved round the ring with great style. 4 The Italian Greyhound Salatini Symphony. A lovely elegant and graceful hound. Correct size, has great ring presence, I’m sure she will gain her third CC in he near future. 5 The Miniature Poodle, Navarre is Explicit. Lovely black b, super head, nice dark eye, short backed, exc coat, moved v soundly.
Martin Freeman

How enjoyable to judge at this prestigious event. The venue, Eastnor Castle, is I think one of the best that Petplan uses. The hospitality is superb as is the organisation of the event by Keith Young and helpers.

First was the Pekingese Yakee Leaving Me Breathless, I loved his head, all you would want and black pigment so essential on nose, lips and eyes, small, well balanced , sound steady mover, in excellent coat, lovely to handle.

Second, so close for me the Norwich Ch Ragus Name Your Poison, super dog, head, balance, compact and strong, correct substance and bone, correct movement.

Third, the Lhasa Apso Saxonsprings Secret Dreams, well balanced, sturdy, moved soundly, beautifully put down and handled.

Fourth, the Italian Greyhound, Salatini Symphony, elegant and graceful, good head, fine strong bone, moved well.

Fifth, the Min Poodle, Navarre is Explicit, well balanced and elegant, fine head, good eye, straight front, deep chest, well bent stifles, sound free light mover.
Valerie Foss

This year’s final was held at Eastnor Castle, situated between Malvern and Ledbury, really handy for me. It is a super venue and the chef is good too.

The finals were held in a marquee connected to the castle; there were 28 finalists and all were present.

The high standard of exhibits gave the judges, Valerie Foss, Martin Freeman and myself, a hard task. Each judge marks the dog out of ten points for conformation, ten for breed type and then ten for movement.

Each judge then has their own steward who gives in their judges points to be collated with the other two judges’ figures. Until the final top five are announced no-one knows which dogs will be coming in for the final placings.

There was a knowledgeable audience watching; this year, as well as invited guests, seats for the competition and a super lunch in the Grand Hall of the castle were available to other interested parties.

The five finalists placed by the points system were:

1 Pekingese Yakee Leaving Me Breathless;

2 Norwich Ch Ragus Name Your Poison, who won after a tie over

3 Lhasa Apso Saxonsprings Secret Dreams;

4 Italian Greyhound Salatini Symphony;

5 Min Poodle Navarre Is Explicit.

The hospitality afforded to everyone was excellent and appreciated by all who attended this smooth running event.
Margaret Everton

	No, not a funeral cortège just a couple of the lovely floral displays leaving as a gift to judge Mrs. Margaret Everton pictured here with Michael Quinney!
This was Nick Poole’s first Petplan Junior Stakes Final as Commercial Director, everything went very well and he received some expert guidance from Events Manager Jenny Perks.	Jason Hunt, one of the competitors, waiting for afternoon tea!
Valerie Foss, one of the judges for the event enjoyed a chat with Annette Oliver at the champagne reception following the judging.	Bill Browne-Cole shares a joke with John James, Secretary of Eastwood KA and Sheila Brooks.
David Keel of Petplan not only stewarded but also celebrated his birthday at the event.	Josie Wood, PR Executive for Petplan was stewarding on the day is seen here with Jack Bennett and his wife Irene alongside commentator for the event Andrew Brace (sorry we missed you out last week Josie!).