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Judging a
Club Show is always a joy and a great honour especially when
abroad and you are an ambassador for your country and our
breed. I have judged twice in Norway and Sweden, once in
Finland and now in Denmark completing my experience in
Scandinavia. It was well worth the wait, from the wonderful
airport, the beautiful hotel, the lovely friendly people, the
tasty food and of course the magnificent dogs. In Denmark the
Show is just one part of a great experience. The pre-Show
Dinner was in a rural restaurant, away from the May Day
Celebrations in Copenhagen, and some 30 people enjoyed a
wonderful meal in pleasant company. The next day, Sunday 2nd
May was hot and sunny and the venue for the Special Show was in
the historic town of
Tikøb to the north of Copenhagen and just
across the sea from Sweden. This was the venue for the first
Club Show back in 1967.
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A
sunny day |
Ray and Angela Owen at work |
The spacious
ring was outside on the grass surrounded by a village of
colourful tents each housing a hopeful Bobtail. The ring
steward was Susanne Salling and the critique writer was Angela
Owen. At 10.30 the welcome was made by
the popular Secretary Lisa Nielsen with a very good champagne
toast, and the Baby Puppies made their entry to the ring. The
31 OES made it a quality show with only 4 absentees. My
individual critiques were detailed and I hope will give the
owners a positive view of their dogs`qualities. I spoke quietly
to the handlers where I needed to explain why I had not placed
their dog higher. I was very impressed with the standard of
presentation. Not one dog had mats or dirty ears, or pads not
clipped out. Clipping and stripping was not evident, certainly
nothing to that found in some countries, and grooming had left
an abundance of undercoat in the dog and not on the comb. Handling was good overall, a few novices were easy to spot but I
know they will be helped by the sporting Danes. I liked the
idea of a prize for the best handler and I watched carefully for
the person most in tune with their Bobtail and forming a close
partnership. I like to see an OES moving on a free lead with
head down low and driving from the rear.
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My very first performance |
Enjoying a good show |
Too many are strung up at the neck and find it difficult to
reach out in front and finish up mincing at a pace that is not
Bobtail movement. Overall the movement is very good in Denmark
and has a lot to do with the fact that most of them are built
correctly. I was so impressed with the dogs presented to me
that I graded them all Excellent as I could not find a serious
problem with any. In fact many line ups had me splitting hairs
in my search to separate the high quality in front of me. As a
judge I relish this challenge as in many rings around the world
only a few exhibits are meeting the requirements of the
standard. Coat quality is perhaps the biggest challenge to the
breeder. I found many good quality jackets of the correct colour and texture. A few were soft and thin even brown in
parts, and I have commented on them. Heads were excellent, eye colour good, stops pronounced, muzzles of correct length and
breadth generally, and dentition correct with teeth set level in
the gums. Necks were disappointing, too many are stuffy, not
the swan like length that gives that proud bearing and useful
for a working dog. Shoulders are OK, a few too upright but only
a
few were well laid back. Some were far too heavy with excess
fat pushing the points out. Fronts were neat, a few were too
wide and I could get a fist between the upper thigh and more. Bone was strong, and the correct flat shape. Briskets and
chests were generally deep with the correct spring of rib. Most
had a nice tuck up from the ribs to the loin and almost all were
beautifully coupled, that is the area between the rib cage and
the rear assembly, the area where many Bobtails get their length
of back from. About 4 were over long and lost that cobby
appearance. All dogs had a rise an important and unique
characteristic of the OES and to be preserved. Rear ends were
generally superb, a few were cow hocked to a lesser degree and a
few hocks were weak lacking definition and angulation. All were
correctly muscled and obviously getting good exercise. As a
traditionalist and a lover of the Bobtail I do not care for the
tail and prefer not to see it. I disregard the appendage from
my judgement as I feel it is too early to decide on the correct
set when time is needed to get over the shock and let breeders
take another factor into their programmes. The new tail clause
dictated to us by the English Kennel Club is certainly better
than the first one but very few dogs carry their tails low, only
when at rest. Most are curled over the back when on the move
but as I said I disregard them and was pleased to see that all
my line up looked to me to be typical with no sign of loss of cobbiness or overall balance because of a tail added. The
bitches were slightly higher in quality overall than the dogs
and this is a welcome balance as you girls can always choose the
best boy for stud. My challenge for the best bitch gave me the
greatest pleasure with an excellent line up of top-quality
ladies. If there is a better selection this year in any country
then I want to be there to witness it. My choice of Gentle
Georgia from Beautiful Highland filled me with delight. She is
a stunner, lovely dark markings giving her character and she is
a joy to handle and watch her move. I see from the catalogue as
I sit in my hotel room after the judging that she comes from a
German Kennel that I have placed highly at
other shows. She is all class and there is still time for more
improvement.
She matched my choice for best male, Dreamdancers Ballantines
who was looking so good, in peak condition, all male demanding
the top award. I understand this gives him his Danish
Championship today and well deserved. He was so well handled and
presented. I hope he doesn't get any more preparation on his
head. Let him look like a male and not too much of a coiffeur.
His drive around the ring is powerful and he has that presence
that top winners must have. Another one with an international
pedigree and a credit to the gene pool that is getting ever
smaller. I thought the two top winners complimented each other
and were a true pigeon pair. I was delighted with all my
winners and know that the breed is very strong in Denmark, and
we look forward to returning in a year to be with the Great
Danes again. Thank you Lisa and all the Nielsens plus the
organising committee for inviting myself and Angela to your very
Special Show and to all the exhibitors for giving me the honour
to handle your very worthy specimens. I enjoyed myself so much.
God bless you all,
Ray Owen
photo by Johnny Nielsen |
