The
judge’s comments
HAVING ATTENDED most of the finals of this prestigious completion
since the early 1970s, I have seen both good years and bad.
Luckily for me, this was one of the former.
It was a real pleasure to judge so many good youngsters. Of
course, nearly all are now out of puppy owing to their qualification
at the earlier heats during the past year, and so, can now
be said to be going through their ‘teenage stage’.
This was apparent in many, allowances have to be made for
this natural stage in a dog’s life and I was careful
not to penalise the larger breeds who suffer more from this
than the quicker-maturing small breeds.
I pulled out ten for my shortlist and I can tell you, it was
not easy to leave out so many stars! The Cardigan Corgi, Salvenik
Secret Agent of Elmsmore; Min Schnauzer, Leecurt See More
Business; Golden Retriever, Mousse Glen MacMay; Rottweiler,
Tysar Pure Chance With Juffther; Norfolk, Ch Kinsridge Free
’n’ Easy; M/SH Dachs, Bronia Stunning Sophia for
Siouxline; Pointer, Hookwood Top Marks; Great Dane, Myhalston
Miss Kiara; Peke, Yakee Coalition Forces; and the IWS, Cuboglach
Woodland Brown.
A further assessment standing and moving and I regretfully
had to say goodbye to six of them. My final four were really
stunning youngsters. The lovely quality Great Dane bitch,
Miss Kiara owned by Owen Greechan – she really keeps
a lovely outline with a perfect topline on the move. Well
grown and reared, she really looks promising for the future.
The Rottweiler, Pure Chance, owned by Ruth Hill. I loved the
type and quality, Chance showed he has personality too! A
final gait around the ring and a free stand to show a bit
of sparkle and it just had to be between two. The exuberant
IWS and the cheeky Norfolk. I pointed to Martyn and Margarita
Ford’s IWS, Cuboglach Woodland Brown as my Pup of the
Year.
He could not be faulted for presentation, movement and personality
on the day. A gorgeous boy who was not only the first of his
breed to qualify, but obviously the first also to win. An
extremely close runner-up was Diane Jenkins and Richard Allen’s
Norfolk Ch Free ‘n’ Easy. His side action with impeccable
outline could not be bettered. Added to that superb construction
and precise up and down movement, a spot-on jacket and a clever
handler and he well-deserved his runner-up title.
My thanks to the co-sponsors, Dog World and Purina Pro plan
for their organisation and super hospitality. Full marks to
Anne Bliss for her impeccable running of the ring. All combined
to make this great event truly memorable.
Zena Thorn-Andrews
