Natl. Championship Group & BIS Judges Critiques

BY JOAN HARRIGAN
PHOTOS BY LISA CROFT-ELLIOTT

After the AKC National Championship in Orlando, Florida on December 15 and 16, the Canine Chronicle asked the Group and Best in Show Judges for their comments. This show is well-known for its recognition of owner-handlers and breeders with its Bred by Exhibitor Best in Show and National Owner-Handled Series finals, as well as its Junior Handler completion. The judges of those events were also asked for their comments.

THE SPORTING GROUP

The Sporting Group judge, Thomas H. Bradley III of Watertown, New York, wrote: “thanks for this opportunity to comment on my judging of the Sporting Group at the AKC National Championship in Orlando in December. Thanks, too, for asking for my ‘comments’ and not a critique. That would be difficult at best. My comments are in what I call my “FOR ME” category.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that I have judged a Sporting Group in which all 33 breeds were represented. One would expect high quality, and I got that in spades. I had 10 breeds make the ‘cut’ and I easily could have pulled more. On another day, in another place and time, my final decision might well have been different. The choices between first and fourth (and fifth and sixth as well) were so minor that I had to depend on my FOR ME category frequently.

“First, let me say that I do not believe that I have ever judged any of these four dogs previously:

Group One:
GCHS. Nani Breica N Crosswinds Aloha
Weimaraner
Bred by Jessica L. Mendez Cervera and Brenda B. Doub
Owned by Derek Beatty, Suzanne Burns, C. Grisell and J. Doud
“First place to the Weimaraner. A handsome dog and a true sporting dog. I don’t see where I would change him anywhere. He moved with the confidence and displayed the ability, for me, that he could do the work that he was bred to do all day long. It made my decision.”

Group Two:
Ch. Gallivant Safari
Labrador Retriever
Bred and Owned by Fabian Negron and Thomas Flaherty
“Next to the beautiful, and oh so correct, Labrador Retriever bitch. Near perfection for me, with a beautiful coat and correct movement and, without doubt, the best tail wrap that I have ever seen. For me, I would make her slightly stronger in head. Would that I had ever bred a bitch this good.”

Group Three:
GCHG. Chesterhope Never Ask Why For Daykeyne
Pointer
Bred by Diane O’Neill
Owned by Tabatha Buckley-Bettis and James and Janet Moses
“Next to the Pointer. I was very inter- ested to discover that he and I are very distantly related through Ch. Luftnase So No Wonder, one of my very favorite Pointers bred by Elliott Weiss, Ellen Frost and myself. This is a lovely dog. Would I make changes? Sure. But they are miniscule and, once again, for me (as I admit, I am harder on this breed than any other that I judge). For me, the Pointer should give the impression of elegance. For me, I would have preferred him to be shown with a bit more restraint. Such little things that change a picture.”

Group Four:
GCHP. Clerwood Silhouette Speed of Light
Black Cocker Spaniel
Bred by Linda Pitts and Laurie Ferland
Owned by Ellen Charles, Regina Beinhauer, Stephanie Kaul, Linda Pitts, and Motoei Furukawa
“Next to the Black American Cocker Spaniel. Again, a lovely dog. Correct size. Lovely strong mover with a beautiful topline and carriage. This dog has an exceptional middle piece but, for me, it is disguised by too much coat, which is also distracting on movement.
“You will notice that I didn’t refer to any of them as second, third and fourth. Any one of them could have been first. As I approach the end of my judging career, I am pleased that I can look back on this Group as certainly the finest Group that I have ever judged. It was an honor and I am grateful to all of those who made this experience possible.”

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Posted by Alex on Feb 27 2019. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.