Judge T JACKSON
I thoroughly enjoyed my judging of a breed
that is dear to my heart & I grew up with, though sadly there were a few classes
where I felt the quality was lacking, & disappointing, guess I was hoping to see
some young dogs with the wow factor. The breed still does not have a uniformity
of type, with some dogs & bitches still having heavy heads that are too deep in
muzzle & flatted on the sides. The breed should have a head that forms a blunt
wedge, no stop or prominent eyebrow ridges. The head shape along with eye shape
& set is fundamental to the correct expression for the breed, it should not look
like a white newfoundland. A number also had far too much neck, the Pyrenean
should have a short strong neck, too long a neck would give bears/wolves plenty
of target for attack. There were a number of dogs that were not very well
schooled, making it hard to assess movement, if you are going to pay the high
prices for an entry at a championship show can I suggest that putting in some
time to practice has to be worthwhile. Also a number of dogs could have been
presented better, just brushing the surface is not enough with a Pyry coat,
saying that my main winners were presented to perfection.
VD (4,2a) 1 Maggs’ Gillandant Kathy's Clown of Dewyche, tall strong male, lovely bone but retains elegance, & in good coat. Attractive head, correct wedge, eyes of good shape. Would prefer tighter flews. Moderate angulation, strong short neck, moves strongly behind – would just prefer little more width in front; 2 Thorne’s Alchazandis Rupert Bear at Pyrajay, well coated & strong boned. Good angulation, but rather lazy mover. Not the head of the winner, as not as broad or defined a wedge. Eyes & flews could be tighter.
PD (4) 1 Downes’ Belshanmish Orange Crush, elegant dog, sufficient bone, attractive head, very attractive eye shape & placement. Obviously still needs to broaden as would expect at this age. Moved soundly. Promising puppy who needs little time to strengthen & broaden; 2 Burwell’s Bursville Summer Knight, very attractive in profile, excellent coat, good bone, & lovely head with good eye. Good angulation, but very erratic on the move, would benefit from more ring practice; 3 Kearey & Henn’s Belshanmish Brown Sugar, would prefer little more neck & angulation. Good size pup with promising head, another that would benefit from more ring training.
JD (6,2) 1 McDowell & Asher’s Granchester Imoulou, good size youngster but is at that gangly age & needs to body up, adequate bone. Elegant profile, good angulation. Head is correct wedge just to fill little under eye. Good eye & tight flews. A little narrow in chest but hopefully will broaden as he matures. Moved very light on his feet & sound, making the lovely wheel over back; 2 Holmes’ Lisjovia Slick As A Whistle, taller framed, with excellent bone. Lovely tight cat feet. Attractive head, but found his muzzle little too strong. Good eye, lovely pigment around. Moved soundly, good topline; 3 Draper’s Desalazara Jerez, Good size, firm back. Rather raw at moment & head needs to broaden to produce wedge. Rather naughty on move so hard to evaluate.
PGD (7,2) 1 Salter’s Kricarno Kookie, strong made dog, well boned, & with good weatherproof coat. Well angulated & good neck. Head is attractive shape, but eyes could be tighter to give correct expression. Found him rather narrow in front, & stands & moves the same, won class on outline & substance; 2 Munson’s Pyrbern Blond Lynx, tall elegant dog, with good angulation. Well boned legs to tight feet, chest OK. Head is rather narrow. Little unsettled when handled at first but not aggressive & settled better when relaxed. Moved OK; 3 Thompson’s Aurealis Okenite, tall dog, adequate bone, good neck & angulation. Head not the wedge required in standard – rather a two piece formed from defined muzzle & skull. Nice tight cat feet.
LD (10,4) 1 Greenfield’s Gillandant Shakeelah, won the class with lovely head & expression, very typical correct wedge with lovely oblique eye, well rimmed with dark pigment. He is a good size, with strong bone & stands on tight cat feet. Angulation behind & topline is good, would just prefer more front angulation. Moved light on feet & made a wheel with tail. I see he is out of my CC winner; 2 Roudot’s White & Black Bears' Symphony Hard As A Rock, elegant w/t, lovely head, beautiful wedge, with muzzle joining skull through gentle slope. Lovely dark well set almond eye giving the classic far away expression. Sadly had some eye staining which spoiled the overall picture. Strong topline, good size & elegant throughout, well angulated. Moved soundly. Not quite the presentation of some of others in ring; 3 Wilcock’s Penellcy Guard Of Honour, tall dog very well presented & in good weatherproof coat. Head is attractive but rather strong in muzzle, with ears set a little high, combined with looser eye than 1 & 2, he just lacked the expression I was looking for. Good strong back, well angulated, moved OK.
OD (13,2) Super class, best class of the day with a lot of quality dogs, & not enough cards. 1 Danielsson’s Vi'skaly's Harlem Shake, super young male, has the strength & substance required but with elegance, nothing overdone. Beautifully presented & sympathetically handled, his exuberant nature is not exactly typical for the breed, but does mean you have to look at him! He has an excellent head, classic curved skull, smooth transition from skull to muzzle & blunt wedge. Eyes are dark, almond shape, set obliquely for that exquisite expression. Excellent pigment & tight flews. Well boned legs to tight cat feet. Well angulated, strong neck, firm back. Moved very well, covering ground easily & with power from behind, lovely tail carried in a high wheel. CC & BOB, delighted to see him take G2; 2 Pollard’s Ch Gillandant Rockafella, one of my favourites a very strong made, tall male with lovely bone, excellent presentation. Correct wedge shaped head with rounded skull & another with a lovely eye & expression. Well angulated from & rear & kept topline on move. Good width of chest. Lovely powerful mover, sound from all angles, RCC; 3 Waters’ Ch Sketrick Next Connexion, elegant dog, good coat. Very good angulation, firm back. Very attractive head, correct wedge & fill under eye, smooth transition from rounded skull to muzzle. Lovely eye shape & obliquely set. Correct expression. Sound mover, but just trying to run away from handler making him tend to crab at times.
GCD
(3,1) 1 G Shakeelah; 2 P Blond Lynx.
VB (3,2) 1 Pollard’s Ch Gillandant Sugar And Spice, lovely elegant bitch, who has plenty of substance. Good firm topline. Strong boned legs to tight cat feet. Lovely head, displaying correct wedge, rounded skull & no stop. Dark almond eye, lovely expression. Stands four square with good width to chest. Definitely no signs of being a veteran standing, or in terms of her condition or on the move, where she was sound from all angles & effortlessly covered the big ring. CC.
PB (4,1) 1 Dunk’s Bursville Summer Zizana with Zalute, good size, well coated & strong boned blaireau, lovely angulation, & tight feet. Promising head, rounded skull, lovely eye colour & shape. Head just needs to fill below eye. Well angulated & moved very soundly & strongly for one so young, sired by RDCC. BP; 2 Baverstock’s Kalkasi Dream Chaser, tall elegant bitch, lovely tight cat feet. Head at present is a shade long through skull & muzzle needs to broaden as matures to complete wedge. Less mature than winner & standing little rump high as is common at this age; 3 Meakin’s Belshanmish Lady In Red, the baby of the class, though the same age as winner, & not quite the coat & bone of 1 & 2. Needs time to develop in head, at moment ears are little high set.
JB (5,1) 1 B Summer Zizana with Z; 2 Salmon’s Isla du Pyrdanti, elegant bitch, of correct type, good size & substance, weatherproof coat. Lovely angulation. Loved her head, being a correct wedge with correct eye shape & set, bring picky would like eye colour a shade darker. Not as settled in the ring as some, & was trying to run away with handler on move, so hard to assess & cost her higher placings; 3 Murphy’s Desalazara Valencia, tall bitch, rather long in back, good bone & OK for coat. Head is rather long through skull & muzzle & ears are very low set affecting expression. Needs to firm up on move.
PGB (9,3) A disappointing class, I chose to withhold the three lower placings as I felt the dogs were either not very typical in type or movement. It stands to reason that had the puppy been entered in PG she would have won! 1 Isla du P, improved a little on the move in this class; 2 Tadd’s Kricarno Krystal Konchita, tall elegant bitch of good size. Would prefer little more definition to angulation, firm back. Her head is rather plain – with too much stop, I would prefer a stronger wedge with more fill under the eye. Moved OK; 3 Weir’s Capyrmount Mississippi, another tall elegant bitch, good coat & bone, good angulation. Another where the head lacks the wedge shape being flatter in sides. Moved OK.
LB (7,3) 1 Burwell’s Shanlimore Phoebe at Bursville, good size bitch, coat a little curly. Well boned legs, being picky would prefer tighter feet. Correct wedge head, with lovely eye set obliquely to give the correct expression, head rounded across skull & ears correctly set level to eye. Good strong back. Has tendency to turn front feet out a little. Moved well, serious contender for RCC, I see she is the dam of the BP; 2 Lord’s Laudley Prudence, attractive in profile, very good coat. Excellent hind angulation. Well boned to good feet. Found her head a little strong & flews loose. Strong mover but little close in front; 3 Baverstock’s Mizeka A Touch Of Class with Kalkasi, elegant bitch, like her body shape & well boned to tight feet. But another who does not have the correct wedge shape – still needs more breadth to skull & rounded skull to complete picture, eye shape is good & eye of dark brown. Good size.
OB (14,9) 1 Edwards’ Ch Gillandant Leyla via Shanlimore, tall all white bitch, excellent coat & presentation & bone, lovely tight cat feet, well angulated good neck. Head attractive, showing wedge from top with excellent pigment framing correctly shaped eye of good colour. Perhaps a little deep in muzzle from side. Lovely profile, & very sound strong easy mover, (daughter of the BCC). RCC; 2 Sandstrom-Mattinson’s Sw Ch Vi'skaly's Mama Quilla Qui-Mu, t/w, good size bitch, lovely bone & tight feet. Head attractive from side, but prefer slightly more width to complete the wedge & fill under eye, eye is good shape & position. Standing is attractive in profile & moved well from side, but rather close behind; 3 Baverstock’s Ir Ch Kalkasi High Expectations, tall elegant bitch, just not having quite the substance or coat of 1 & 2. Head is attractive but I would prefer more fill under eye, OK for angulation, moved OK.
GCB
(1) A.