Four Counties Beagle Club

Judge's Critique​

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Championship show: It was a great pleasure to judge this well run show, where for many years I was a committee member. The dogs and bitches - apart from the Veteran classes - were all new to me. The entry was excellent, with 155 making 178 entries, with 28 absentees, and 11 NFC.

I would like to make an overall observation of the breed as I saw it on the day. Temperaments were excellent, hind movement in almost all cases was as it should be, not too close viewed from behind and with drive from the side. On the other hand, front movement coming towards me was again, in the majority of cases, very good, but unfortunately from the side the foreleg moved forward from the elbow, instead of from the shoulder, making it short step. Toplines don’t appear to be a problem, but oh dear!  good heads and expressions seem to be in the minority. All of my winners excelled in this department.

DOGS

MPD (5,1) 1 Parker and Stevens’ Serenaker Devil in Disguise. BPIS and Res CC. Loved this baby, from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail! Soft expression. low set leathers and the right amount of neck to balance the picture. Well laid shoulders leading into a level topline, tailset sopt on and carried at the correct angle. Short coupled, lovely quarters that drove him around the ring. He looked the raw baby that he is but he moved with reach and drive, keepinmg that level topline. I wish him well for the future. 2 Dunn’s Cliffmere Ivor. Unlucky to meet the winner who was on top for,. A tan and white with a good head shape and soft expression. Well shaped ribcage and a level topline. Moved well. 3 Havard’s Annavah Barbarian.

PD (5,1) 1 Havard’s Annavah Artist. I liked the size and style of this puppy. He is balanced overall with a lovely outline when stacked. Just preferred the reach in from of the MPD winner, but still a puppy to be proud of. 2 Weir and Kelly’s Ardvreck Caer Laverock. A well trained youngster who was shown to obtain the very best performance. He lost out on size to the winner, but is a handsome dog. 3 Fraser’s Misken Lewis at Wyvisview.

JD (8,1) 1 Lewis’ Fallowfield Bartholmew. CC and BIS. Super young dog, good size and a lovely soft expression. Balanced neck to back, excellent forechest, elbows under body and a good body depth with round bone and well padded tight feet. Topline and tailset correct. Broad quarters, so sound in all directions. 2 Clacher’s Misken Armani. Very good in topline and quarters, but size and expression let him down. 3 Bailey and Jetten’s Kyledam Cedar Doulas from Salenko. MD (2,1) 1 Dunn’s Cliffmere Ivor.

ND (4,1) 1 Parker and Stevens’  Serenaker Devil in Disguise.2 Clacher’s Misken Armani. 3 Haslam’s Ulradis Zweet Zpike of Rossgay.

GD (3) 1 Dunn’s Nedlaw Silent Spectator. Typical of his breeding, a broken tri with a soft, appealing expression. Well laid shoulders with a good return of upperarm. Good bone with well padded feet. Excellent quarters, moved and showed very well. 2 Macdonald’s Fallowfield of Finmorlan. JW. A size bigger than the winner, but not the shoulders. Still a good, honest Beagle. 3 Bailey anmd Jetton’s Kyledam Cedar Douglas from Salenko.

PGD (10,1) 1 Anderson’s Rossmaith Renoir. Nice size, well balanced hound with a dark eye, well set leathers and pleasant expression. Shoulders and upperarm could have been slightly better, but his many good breed points outweighed this. 2 Dunn’s Nedlaw Silent Spectator. 3 Linden’s Bruadair Buadhmhor.

LD(7) 1 Calikes and Bradley’s Newlin Sailor. A quality t/w of a nice size. Soft expression and low set leathers. Adequate neck and a short, level back. A shade upright in pasterns, but well padded feet. Excellent quarters with firm second thigh. Well handled. 2 Brown’s Raimex Theo. JW. Different type to the winner, but he still has a lot of positive breed points. A shad elong in back which upset the balance. He has well laid shoulders leading to a level topline, quarters are broad with well turned stifles. Moved well. 3 Purves’ Craigmount Saturn. Sh CM.

OD (3) 1 Anderson’s Ch Rossmaith Black Velvet. Won this class on front extension, he has a plain head, but it is balanced and matched his body. He was one of the few with a double, weatherproof coat. A worthy Champion. 2 Poclington-Hall’s Macall Back to Zac. Sh CM. Lost to the winner on front movement and not quite as balanced in bodt. Strong in head and expression with a good neck and level topline. Very deep chest, making the front legs appear very short. Good quarters, moved with a short stride and was well presented. 3 Brown and Todd’s Bayard Carrick of Ramsayville.

Vet D (7,1) 1 Hargrave’s Ir Ch Kenzed Weaver of Bondlea. JW. A lovely type of Beagle. Typical soft expression, neck fitted into well laid shoulders and a level topline, well carried tail and broad quarters. Moved with freedom on well padded feet. 2 Ambridge’s Deerhunterhound. Another good looking veteran with many of the atrtributes of the winner. 3 Haslam’s Rossgay Ruffian. 

BITCHES

MPB (12,2) 1 and Best Puppy Bitch, Lewis’ Fallowfield Dusty Doll. A beautifully balanced puppy and there is not a lot I would change for her age. An appealing, soft expression, low set leathers. Excellent neck leading to well laid shoulders, topline, tailset, depth of chest and quarters plus sound movement. Althogether this made for a very promising puppy. 2 Ambridge Cliffmere Iris. Another nice puppy, another day could easily have been my winner. 3 Parker and Stevens’ Serenaker Devil May Care.

PB (12,1) 1 Alexander’s Rossmaith Nectar. A very typy bitch with a soft expression. Good neck, topline and tailset. Shorter coupled than 2nd. 2 Lomax’ Newlin Una of Lowyck. Quality bitch with a lovely soft expression. Moved well and was expertly handled. 3 Ambridge Cliffmere Iris.

JB (10) 1 Craig’s Davricard Glitter. Super size, very sound to go over with good shoulders, short level back with terrific width of quarters and short hocks. Considered her for top honours, but on the last run down she tended to crab, which lost her a higher award. 2 Havard’s Annavah Solitaire. Another very nice bitch with low set leathers framing a pretty head and expression. Just lost out to the winner on width of quarters. 3 Loudaros’ Makthornley Fantasy.

MB (11,2) 1 Ambridge Cliffemere Iris. 2 Goldberg’s Molesend Smokescreen. One of the nicest mottle bitches I have seen. Super dark eye giving a delightful soft expression. Conformation was spot on, giving correct sound movement. 3 Parker and Stevens’ Serenaker Devil May Care.

NB (10) 1 Binks’ annahill A Touch of Class. A mature puppy of some quality. Balanced throughout with well padded feet. Moved well. 2 Alexander’s Rossmaith Nectar.  3 Lomax’ Newlin Una of Lowyck.

GB(11,1) 1 Hall’s Cliffmere Flourish. A shad eplain in expression but head is balanced with a lovely dark eye. One of the best front constructions in the entry. Good bone and excellent feet, moved well. 2 Jones’ Kyledam Candytuft Daisy. Has many of my winner’s attributes, but a shade bigger. In this class I was splitting hairs. 3 Clacher’s Misken Querida. JW.

PGB (15,1) 1 Lennard’s Butterow Joyful. Big enough for a bitch, but balanced overall and very sound moving. Good in most departments, a nice and typy bitch. 2 Brown’s Raimex Maisie. Another by my Veteran dog winner. He is certainly stamping his quality on his offspring. A better size than the winner but not quite as good in front. When standing she has a super outline. 3 Clegg’s Vixarden Aphrodite. JW.

LB (12,3) 1 and Res BCC, Butters and Theobold’s Orchardvale Angelica of Breskar. What a stunning outline, everything fittred together from head to tail, with correct free flowing movement. Beautifully shaped head with low set leathers. Shame about the lack of pigment, but I still loved her, could make a worthy Champion. 2 Roderick’s Barterhound Whisper. JW. Soft expression. Short back and well padded feet. Balanced outline but just lost out to the winner’s elegance. 3 Wood’s Marada Venus.

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<Webmaster notes: Open Bitch critique is unfortunately missing from the original write up>

Vet B (4,1) 1 BVIS, Gempeni’s Wildflower. What a lovely way to finish my day’s judging with a bitch I had awarded a CC and BOB to a few years ago. Apart from colour fading and a few grey hairs, she still looks amoves as well as ever. 2 Norris’ Moondancer of Sirron. 2 years older than the winner, but her age didn’t show in her movement. Still very sound to go over, just preferred the winner in head. 3 Arden’s Newlin Almond at Madika.

My overall impression was that the dogs were not as good as the bitches, in some of the bitch classes I was spoilt for choice. On another day some of my decisions could well have been different. Thank you for bringing your Beagles for me to assess. I only had one disappointment, at the completion of judging my hands were very dirty, which doesn’t reflect well for the show presentation of some of the Beagles, one of the easiest hounds to prepare for the showring.

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Jean Westren