The South of England Basset Hound Club Open Show                2nd July 2023

 

I was delighted to receive this invite to judge your Open Show and being held in conjunction with Windsor show made the day even more special. Unfortunately due to circumstances that were out of the hands of the committee judging did not commence until later in the day than we had all anticipated and despite this the entry although depleted by those wishing to head for home was both enjoyable and not as bad as it could have been numerically. Due to hold ups waiting for dogs in the other ring we did not complete until the same time as Windsor were calling for B.I.S. Thank you for this invite and also to my helpful steward who had a difficult task of getting dogs from one ring into another. Your help & understanding were very much appreciated. I was told the entry was up on previous years and with 50 Dogs making 53 Entries I thank you all for your entries and allowing me the privilege to lay hands on your delightful Basset Hounds. I found no health issues of concern, all were clean & well presented. All exhibits moved without showing any concerns and only one or two misplaced teeth were in evidence but certainly no wrong bites. I congratulate breeders who I think have done wonders to improve the breed in a short period of time to correct faults that were creeping in previously.

B.I.S. in my opinion is a dog who really is special Cudlip’s Ch. Woferlow Voyager At Harvidene not yet 3 years old I last judged him as a raw youngster and he impressed me then. I have to say he even surpassed my expectations and today could not be denied top honour. Excels for balance & lovely flowing lines from head to tail, has good strength of neck , fair length & arched which holds his head correctly and is a pleasing shape, correctly set eye & ears just right. Loved his front & has excellent top & under line, just the right amount of wrinkle on legs, has well sprung ribs carried well back, firm loin, correct rear & good bend of stifle, long tapering tail correctly set & carried on move, has correct functional feet, in excellent coat which was well presented, his movement is memorable for all the right reasons, a dog to be proud of.

B.O.S. & R.B.I.S. Johnston’s Burnvale Black Diamond JW, correct size bitch with most lovely head & eye, low well set ears, her shoulders are correctly well laid back with elbows well held to body, has good bone & her fore chest fits snugly, well rounded ribs carried well back, correct textured coat well presented, she certainly looks like she could do her job, moved well but particularly liked her rear movement, correct feet, tail tapering & carried correctly when gaiting, both looked pleasing in the run off for BIS just prefer the cleaner under line of the dog.

M. Puppy D (3) : 1 & B.P.D. Turner’s Devonhound Miracle Of Love quite mature on first impression, correct jaw & skull proportions with lozenge shaped eye, well placed leathers, in good body for young age & liked his movement fore & aft, firm loin, well set tail & has desirable feet ; 2 Jone’s Clanwillow Ace High, another nice youngster just not yet got the body development of 1, slightly smaller all through but has balance, pleasing head, neck & shoulders, sound rear & correct tapering tail ; 3 Melbourne & Murray’s Diheath Toffee Tart.

Puppy D (2-1abs) : 1 Cooper’s Houndsbay Vito Andolini, lovely movement & is quite mature in stature  and body development, holds top line well both stood & moving, correct feet & in good coat, when he got into his stride it was highly desirable.

Jun D (2-1abs) : 1 Woodworth’s Armardio Against The Wind, lovely male who moved soundly but thought he was looking tired after a long day, has correct eye shape with that lovely calm expression, ears curling inwards & were correctly low set on a good skull, well bodied & in excellent condition with gleaming coat, hocks well let down with correct amount of wrinkle, good tail set & tapering from root.

Yearling D ( 2-1abs) : 1 Lane’s Clanwillow Golden Child, liked his profile & size, nothing exaggerated, well shaped head with good dentition, firm neck of good length, well set shoulders, very jolly & enjoying himself, when settled into his movement I thought his rear more positive than his front, correct feet.

Novice D (2) : 1 Bate’s Diheath Pyjama At Karames nothing out of proportion this dog was sound in movement, masculine but not heavy, has a good front & was driving well from his rear, good body size & weight, well set tapering tail ; 2 Steer’s Clanwillow Future Star not as together in movement as 1 & preferred the body length of 1, desirable head & neck, excellent functional feet, good coat & in muscular condition.

Grad D (2-1abs) : 1 & R.B.D. Jone’s Clanwillow Back To The Future lovely male who took my eye & in the challenge excelled himself in movement, finding out later he was sired by my BIS I can see why, so sound on the move & with maturity should gain top awards, lovely head shape, lozenge shaped well set eye, correct neck & firm fitting shoulders, good ribbing carried well back with firm loin, well set quarters with tapering tail.

Limit D (5) : 1 Saunder’s Wellsbayview Sorrento 4 yr old male who is balanced in profile, lovely clean top & under lines, masculine head with correct eye & ear sets, in good body condition & well muscled sound rear with correct tail set, moved well fore & aft just not the same verve in the challenge ; 2 Jone’s Clanwillow The Emerald King liked this dog on entering the ring but sadly was playing handler up today on the move, liked his head & body proportions, sound in shoulder & rear just needs to get his act together, lovely coat & condition with good size feet ; 3 Freudenreich’s Lockolea Rocket Man.

Open D (5-2abs) : 1 Ch W Voyager At H ; 2 Woodworth’s Ch Armardio Firestarter almost 5 year old & well worthy of his title, a dog I have done well on a few occasions and still like for breed type, size & substance. He is masculine & has desirable flowing lines which flow together, good head & desirable shoulder set, excellent body condition, gleaming coat & excellent muscular condition, lovely free movement & presented to perfection, has good feet both in shape & size, correct tail carriage, in good competition today & not disgraced behind 1 ; 3 Lane’s Lantern My Hearts On Fire.

Minor Puppy B (3-1abs) : 1 Turner’s Devonhound Who’s That Girl very raw & unsettled on the move but prefer her size over 2nd, enjoying her time which is vital at this age. Lovely shaped head with well placed eye, good leathers, well bodied for young age, more positive in front movement than from her rear ; 2 Gray’s Forever Long Ears Love At The First Sight, smaller all through than 1 but still very raw in development, lovely laid back temperament, good lay of shoulder, pleasing body proportions, correct tail set & carried on the move correctly, good feet shape & size.

Puppy B ( 2) : 1 & B.P. Cudlip’s Woferlow Foolish Pleasure At Harvidene, very appealing on the stack, lovely outline, took time to relax but when she did loved her positive movement, domed head with excellent jaw & correct dentition, excellent front, body developing correctly, lovely rear with correct tapering well set tail, excellent feet, gleaming correct coat ; 2 Pearson’s Armardio Candle In The Wind, slightly bigger build than 1 all through, liked her head & neck, would prefer slightly shorter ribbing, well set tail, not the stride in front of 1, good coat & well presented.

Jun B (3-1abs) : 1 Pearson’s Armardio Wind Of Change I see is litter sister to 2nd in previous class and at this stage of development is much more together in balance, quite mature in body, lovely eye placement & correct leathers, good flews, moving with a positive attitude & drives particularly well, correct feet & tail set ; 2 Jone’s Clanwillow Future Dreams, feminine head with calm expression, well set leathers, has ok  front &  correct ribbing, needs loin to firm up but  feel will with maturity.

Yearling B (3-1abs) : 1 Johnston’s Burnvale Queen Of Diamonds JW, litter sister to my B.B. very similar breed type, very appealing in head with well set eye of correct shape, correct ear set & length, she was using her ears in the ring as ground covered in many scents, firm neck, lovely body proportions, firm loin, moved particularly well in rear, correct amount of wrinkle & has correct tail set, lovely coat & condition ; 2 Sauander’s JW Beckshounds Luminara another pleasing bitch who was unlucky to be in same class as 1, similar in size & shape, good head proportions with correct lozenge shaped eye, well placed leathers, excellent ribbing & loin, just prefer rear driving thrust of 1 today.

Nov B (3-2abs) : 1 Beckett’s Beckshounds Layerorgana, young b who was striding out well in front however when stood was rather sloppy in her stature, pleasing in skull & jaw with well placed ears of correct length, has very good ribbing which is well back & firm loin, holds her top & under line well, correct tail.

Grad B (4-1abs) : 1 Colvin’s Lagniappe Time To Shine 2 yr old b with lovely feminine head & calm expressive eyes, lovely clean top & under lines, well set tail, well bent stifles with a little wrinkle, moved well fore & aft, good coat ; 2 A Wind Of C ; 3 Mclean’s Switzerland Final Chase At Stookeswood.

Limit B (7-2abs) : 1 B Black D JW ; 2 & R.B.B.  Cudlip’s Harvidene Sapphire another very pleasing b who is sired by my BIS winner, this breeder is certainly producing quality kennel recognisable breed type which is to be applauded, liked her very much & with maturity will go to the top, feminine all through but correct substance, lovely in profile & excels on the move, excellent coat & well presented, particularly good hindquarters ; 3 Freudenreich’s Lockolea Circle Of Life.

Open B (3) All Absent.

 

Mark Ord (Judge)