2009

This young dog embodies the phrase from the standard “ emphasis on agility, elegance and soundness with no tendency towards massiveness”.
He has an excellent well-angulated hindquarter with thickness of thigh and well let down hocks. He has a masculine head clean at the throat and lips without the heaviness we sometimes see. He has a dark eye, although I would like to see a larger, rounder eye. He has lovely long, strong, clean neck and moves with a straightforward easy gait. His ridge is correct and he has a sleek, glossy red wheaten coat.  He is a little taller than I would like, but showed an outgoing attitude in the runoff for challenge.

This is another excellent young dog. He is of moderate height, with excellent top line and sound movement. He has a very good ridge, is well muscled and has a clean, well-balanced outline. He has a very masculine head that is perhaps a little too broad across the skull. Although also a little broad across the chest, he is very sound and has a well-constructed front and shoulder assembly. He was placed second as he did not show the “agility and elegance” of the first placed dog and is a more solidly built dog.

This dog has a very nice head. He has the appearance of agility and elegance along with masculinity. He is a little narrow across the front and shows a weakness in his front feet and pasterns. His hindquarter is well angulated but he doesn’t have enough width across the thigh muscle. I would like a little less slope to the croup.  He has an excellent ridge.

This dog has a very good coat and ridge. He has excellent depth of chest and is well ribbed back. His hindquarters are well angulated and cleanly muscled. I felt he had good proportions to his head, but it was not masculine enough. His incorrect croup caused him to carry his tail much too highly. I would like to see more strength in his pasterns.

This dog is well over size, but shows a good body type for the breed. He has a free and easy movement, an excellent ridge, a well muscled, and well-angulated hindquarter with a well let down hock. He carries his tail correctly. His head is not typical of the breed, being heavy with flew, deep set eyes showing a bit of haw and not at all clean and tight. His pasterns were weak, although he moved well.

A very different dog to the other one in this class. He is of moderate size and a light wheaten colour. He has a good ridge, with a sound front, good top line and good tail set with correct croup. This dog appeared to be very indifferent on the day. He would not hold his ears up and let them hang low, and was very sluggish on the move. He is a little straight in the rear with front feet not well arched enough. He appeared to be carrying excess weight and had no tuck up.

The second of 2 very nice dogs in this class. This is a well-muscled dog with a good top line, well-angulated hindquarters and good tail carriage. He is a very well muscled dog. He has a very nice head, better than the first placed dog. His front feet are quite small and his pasterns too upright so that on the move he throws his front out. On the day this dog was very tense and stiff when handled and his movement was not naturally free flowing.

This is a well-balanced dog with a free and easy movement. He is well muscled and has a good hindquarter. He has a very nice masculine head, with dark eye and dark muzzle. He has good length of neck, depth of chest and a good ridge. He has an excellent outgoing attitude. He carries his tail too high and is too big overall for me, but is otherwise a really nice dog.

 This dog moved very slowly giving the appearance of being older than his 5 years. He is of correct size with a good ridge and excellent top line. His hindquarters are well muscled and thick across the thigh. He has a smaller head, which isn’t quite masculine enough. He has a bit too much slope to the croup and his front and rear movement isn’t as well balanced as the first dog.

This dog is a correct sized elegant and agile looking boy. He has excellent breed type. His top line is excellent, as is his hindquarter and side movement. His head is lovely and masculine without any coarseness or heaviness. Unfortunately his front let him down greatly. He has no fore chest and his movement coming towards is poor. In all other areas this is a very nice ridgeback.

Another very nice dog. This boy is bigger, but is still well balanced and moved well. He has a lovely ridge and is a very masculine dog. He has a well-proportioned head, which is a bit loose skinned for me.  This boy didn’t have the appearance of elegance and agility as much as the first placed dog.

This puppy is just 4 months old but is very well balanced and made up of graceful curves. She has a very pretty head and a very good ridge. She was a little reluctant to move for her handler, but when she did, she showed a balanced symmetrical outline.

This puppy is 5 months old and she is very finely boned. She presented a square, angular outline with a very narrow head. She is too fine for me and I feel she is too small for her age.

This puppy has lovely breed type. On the move she travelled with her head low, but her movement was effortless and well balanced. She is a mid wheaten colour with a very pretty feminine head.

This puppy also has good breed type, and may be going through a growth stage as I found her to be a little long in leg with poor feet and pasterns. She is straighter in angulation and has not enough curve to her shape for me. Her head is a little narrow. She moved well, showing good front and rear balance.

This pretty and elegant puppy was poorly handled and tended to throw her front legs a lot on the move. On a looser lead she looked better. Her front was lacking in pro sternum and her shoulders a little straight. She looks very nice on the side profile and should benefit from better handling.

This is a very nice bitch of correct size. She is well balanced and moves straight and free. She has a very nice front with good feet. Her ridge is good. She has a well-proportioned feminine head but I would like to see better ear carriage.

This lighter wheaten bitch has a lovely head and good top line. Her ridge is good and she has well angulated strong hindquarters. Her tail carriage is correct. I found her to be weak in pasterns and feet with loose elbows, which affected her front movement. From behind her hocks showed weakness and she moved too close.

I feel this lovely bitch is exactly the correct breed type we should be looking for. She is well balanced, strong, symmetrical in outline, sound and very feminine. She has an excellent head and the correct front we should be breeding for. Her top line is excellent sloping into a correct croup with a strong well-muscled hindquarter with well let down hocks. On the day she was a little slow on the move, probably due to pregnancy, but her movement is true and sound.  It was very easy to award her Best In Show.

This is another lovely bitch of very good breed type. She has a lovely head, and good top line. She is a free and easy mover. Coming toward she tends to throw her front feet and she isn’t quite as well angulated in the rear as the first placed bitch.

This is a light coloured liver bitch. She moved very well and has a lovely fore chest. Her top line is a bit soft and her head is not as good as the first 2 girls. Her coat was presented in poor condition.

This is lovely coloured dark liver bitch. She has a very pretty feminine head and showed a nice outline. On the day she was extremely tense and showed that she did not want to be there. This caused her top line to roach and her handler had difficulty getting her to stand.

This is a very nice type of bitch but unfortunately she wasn’t balanced. Her ribbing was poor and she wouldn’t move for her handler. Her coat was in very poor condition.

This bitch was a little smaller than the others. She is a nice type with a very pretty head. She was presented in an overweight condition. Unfortunately I was unable to handle her on the day so had to leave her at the end of the line.

This is a smaller dark red bitch with a well-balanced clean and agile outline. She has a good length of neck, lovely depth of chest and correct croup and tail set. She is a little too wide across the front and is consequently out at elbow. Her head is plain and could have more length of muzzle.

This girl was presented in very poor coat condition. She has a nice profile, but is a little too long and lean in her head. Her front has also let her down and she is out at elbow.

This is a bigger bitch that did not look like she would be capable of “great endurance and a fair amount of speed.” She also had an incorrect front with weak pasterns and was out at elbow. I would like to see more strength of hindquarter. Her head was not clean enough for me.

This class had 4 bitches of differing type. This girl was placed first because she is young, elegant and agile looking. She is red wheaten with an excellent ridge. She is correct size with a good head. She has a well-angulated hindquarter with correct croup and tail set. I would prefer a better front assembly.

This liver girl presented a lovely curving outline. She moved very soundly, but was a little stockier with a heavier head than I would like in a bitch.

This girl was too big with a masculine appearance. She moved very well and had a good outline. She was not handled well on the day.

This girl was struggling with the heat and did not want to be here.  She had a poor front assembly and a quite dark head.

This was an older girl, but beautifully balanced with excellent movement, a very good front, and well-muscled and angulated hindquarters. Her top line is excellent and she carries herself with soundness and elegance. Her head, although grey, has lovely proportions and she has lovely length of neck. I really loved her type and was able to award her reserve challenge as I thought she was very similar to my challenge bitch..

This girl has an excellent profile on the stack with a lovely hindquarter. However on the move she was disappointing. She didn’t want to run and her front and rear weren’t in balance. I would like her head to be cleaner with less slope to the croup. Unfortunately she had lost most of her coat on the day.