[ SHOWGSD-L ] W. MASS Critique
- From: "RivendellP" <rivendellp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-l" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 11:03:11 -0700
It was an interesting day for sure. I walked out of my palatial digs in
Hartford to a drizzle. I followed Marilyn's directions to a T and the closer I
came to the Polish American Club the heavier the rain became. Long story
short...it rained all day. Harder at times than others but it never stopped.
New Englanders are a hardy lot and I compliment them for their constitutions.
It was a large show...5 points each going in and ended up 5 in dogs and 4 in
bitches. I was very impressed with the overall quality but I can't remember
seeing such a strong group of dogs in a long time. Bitches...in general are
normally deeper. Both sides were high quality and that is a Judges dream. There
were large classes and in some I was hard put to find a bad one. As Dave Rinke
has said...there wasn't a Hobo on da train. I want to touch on my Winners,
Reserves, and an absolutely great Specials class.
My WD...BOW was Tinderock's Fire Storm At NIMH. He came from a deep class of 8
and performed beautifully on a loose lead. He is all male and in great
condition. I believe I ended up working four at the end before I pointed to him
and they were all deserving animals. I ended up asking myself which one I would
take home and it came down to 2. I pointed to the Open guy but it wasn't an
easy decision. I found out later this big guy was the RWD from the Nationals
and my award finished him. That always makes a Judge feel good. He was expertly
handled by Patty Comeau.
I have never given the points to a dog out of the puppy class. This day,
however, I came that close to giving this guy the points. This guy is Kismet's
King's Ransom. What a great young puppy. I say puppy but he performed like a
seasoned vet. He performed on a loose lead with an effortless gait requested by
the Standard. Not quite a year old, he looked mature and didn't act like a
puppy at all. I found out later this was his 3rd Major Reserve in like 4 shows.
George Berstler handled him to RWD and BP. This is a fine young dog destined
for great things.
I admit it...I love bitches...and this show had some great ones. I normally try
and pare down my classes before I select the placings but in American
Bred...virtually the entire class was in contention to the end. The winner of
that class is a lovely bitch named Hardrock's Fascination. Phillip Moore did a
fine job handling her as she is a real dynamo. He got her to go loose...and she
looked great. I ended up working 3 in Winners. My 12-18 bitch is a future star.
Her name is Acara's Tru-Calling. I see she is out of Ponca Hill's Snake and an
Acara bitch so she comes by her beautiful motion naturally. The 3rd girl was
from Open...Kaleef's Gracie. She is stunning and her motion is breathtaking.
She has that effortless ground coving gait that I love so much.Well no, all 3
of these girls were very similar in motion. It was a joy watching them go
around that large ring...rain or no. I admit I probably took them around a few
too many times but I become bewitched when I see such quality in motion. I
ended up pointing to Gracie who went WB and BOS. I thought the RWB would surely
come from the remaining 2 girls. That is until my 2nd place Open girl came back
in with new élan. It was already a given she could move. She and Gracie had
fought it out for the Open class. Oh...She is Amber's Ebony Lace and is a
lovely bitch standing (ala most Amber bitches) as well as in motion.
Beautifully conditioned and shown by Patty Comeau. I went back and forth
between those 3 and with each pass Lace just kept getting better. I pointed.
BOB was a great class and each Special was...Special. There was no doubt why
they were Champions of Record but only 1 can win. CH Karizma's My Guy and CH
Bodans Place Your Bet of Grey Pines ended up competing for the Brass Ring...or
medallion. My Guy is a stunning dog standing and beautiful moving. The Place
Your Bet AKA Keno is younger but is beautiful in motion and has an attitude
that just kept saying Pick Me...Pick Me and I did. His attitude mixed with
excellent motion spells Success for this guys future. It's never an easy
decision when you have such lovely dogs. My Special bitches were beautiful and
if I hadn't been so enamored with my WB would have been in there, too.
Lastly I want to mention some very fine young handlers. I know we're always
talking about the aging legs of the current "ruling class". Based on my
observation Saturday, Sean Conboy, Abbey Hathaway, and Ariel Cassista are
awesome at the end of the lead. I was very impressed with all of their talent
and expertise. The Breed will be in good hands if the hands belong to Abbey,
Ariel, and Sean.
So there it tis...I want to thank the W. Mass club for superlative treatment
and the exhibitors for superlative animals. As a Judge...you cannot ask for
more. Thank you all.
Paul Root
Visit Rivendell on 'da web' at www.rivendellgsd.com
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