Collie Club of Northern California – February 17, 2017 – San Jose, California

Collie Club of Northern California

Friday, February 17, 2017

San Jose, California

Judge: Matt Stelter

This critique was originally published in the October 2017 issue of Collie Expressions magazine.

Thank you to the Collie Club of Northern California for the invitation to judge at their 2017 specialty weekend. In spite of the rainy weather that has continued to douse California this winter, I enjoyed my time in the Bay Area. The club goes to great efforts to ensure a good day (& good food) for everyone. A special thank you is due to Paul and Mary Wells for the first-class treatment of the judges, as well as to the Diaz family for making sure I arrived at my destinations. Thank you to Sandra Nowinski who served as the ring steward for my assignment. The trophies were deserving of mention, being handmade by the very talented Laura Weiss. Special care was given in the awarding and receiving of them.

The entry numbers were solid and ensured I had my work cut out for me in sorting through them. This was a challenging assignment, being confronted with quite different types in dogs of relatively similar quality. I struggled to find correct Collie expression in this entry, which forced me to weigh other breed virtues more heavily.  “Consistent” is an adjective that is often used in description of a judge’s winners – typically as a compliment. However, the best dogs often do not give a judge the opportunity to be consistent other than consistently selecting the highest quality dogs in the entry. Consistency in winners’ type is fine, provided the winners are also the best specimens.  My winners at this show were quite different from each other. However, in my estimation, they were the best Collies on day.

ROUGH

Best of Breed: Ch. Edenrock Raven Radiance (Rough/B)

Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed: GCh. Heiress Gimme The Chills (Smooth/Vet/D)

ROUGHS:

Best of Variety:

Ch. Edenrock Raven Radiance (Ch. Edenrock King Of The Road ex GCh. Raven’s Virtual Reality of Edenrock) Breeders: Anna Gervasio, Adria Weiner & Jennifer Weiner. Owners: Jennifer Weiner & Karin Bennett

A feminine sable bitch who won on account of having the finest headpiece of the show. It was long, light, and detailed with a full, round muzzle. Both the sides of her head and topskull were flat. I especially appreciated the very clean cutback and jawline. Her ears were set quite well on her skull. She was in a plush coat and had nice bone to complete the picture.

Best of Winners/Winners Bitch:

Milas Moxie La De Da (Ch. Alfenloch Countryview Starpower ex Milas Alfenloch Dancing Queen) Breeders: Diane Fitzpatrick, Lynn Butler & Lotta Hedman. Owners: Melinda Barber, Lynn Butler & Lotta Hedman

An attractive bitch who pushed hard for the day’s top honors. Her body was quite well-balanced, being longer than it was tall in proportions. She had some pretty curves to her body, particularly in the rear with a bent stifle and a short hock. She was in great condition with a beautiful rich sable coat. She had good bone and body substance. There was a level of detail to her headpiece, plus a good lipline and ears nicely tipped.

Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Variety: 

Ch. Bravo’s Breaking Hearts (Ch. Aurealis Endeavor ex Bravo’s TNT Tiffany) Breeders: Alicia & Ron Altier. Owners: Jessica Wittman, Melinda Sunnarborg & Alicia Alter

This was a difficult decision as a number of the rough male specials were under consideration for Best of Opposite Sex. I ultimately went with this large, upstanding tri-color dog. He was a masculine dog with good bone and substance.

Winners Dog: 

Sea Lord of Foremost (GCh. Susitna Royal Strider of Tara Dells ex Ch. Highcroft Bannerstone Seashore) Breeder/Owner: Dr. William K Brokken

This dog came from the Open Tri-Color class. He was a good-sized, athletic dog – and quite full of himself. He was light on his feet and moved nicely. He had a small dark eye with placement that was superior to his competition. The head showed some detail in profile with a round muzzle.

Reserve Winners Dog:

Foggy Bay Seaside Rodeo (GCh. Chelsea Casanova Cowboy ex Gentry’s Foggy Bay Firelight of Arrowhill) Breeder/Owner: Diane Parness

A young puppy with a body that still looked to be staging at this age. He had some body angles he was working to control. The headpiece was long and inclined to lightness. He was fairly clean, still needing to flatten in stop and fill in skull. He had nice coat color as well.

Reserve Winners Bitch:

Edenrock Dancing After Midnight (Ch. Edenrock Gold Trace ex Ch. Edenrock Crystal Charm) Breeders: Adria Weiner, Cindy Weiner-Robinson & Jennifer Weiner. Owners: Jan & Ken Jones

An elegant, almost seven-year old tri-color bitch who showed some class & virtue. She was quite different in type than the Winners Bitch, being more square and upright. Nice, short hocks. Her profile was highly-detailed, almost to an extreme. She had a tight lipline and clean cutback. This bitch needs to be finished.

Select Dog: 

Ch. Edenrock I Like It I Love It (Ch. Edenrock Gold Trace ex Edenrock Hearts Desire) Breeder: Barbara Loux. Owner: Jennifer Hull

A nearly nine-year-old blue merle dog that was quite elegant. He earned Select on account of his head virtues. He had a very long, light headpiece with a tight lipline. He also had a long neck and body lines.

Select Bitch:

GCh. Blu Ridge Triumph Brighter Than The Sun (Ch. Sealore’s Shore Leave ex Ch. Blu Ridge Ride The Waves) Breeder: Joan Johnson. Owners: Elaine Goto-Tamae, Tomie Goto & Steven Tamae

This sable bitch was awarded Select honors on account of the softness in her expression that was superior to her competitors’. She had a nice length of back with curves in the rear.

SMOOTHS

Best of Variety:

GCh. Heiress Gimme The Chills (Ch. Northshield Oktoberfest ex Ch. Collaire Bedazzled By Genwit) Breeders: Jessica Wittman & Claire Cone. Owners: Janette Blackwell & Jessica Wittman

This was an upstanding tri-color dog coming from the veteran class. He was the classiest dog of the day and pushed hard for the show’s top honor. Great masculinity and bone without being overdone. He exhibits great athleticism and strength, particularly as a veteran. Nice length of head with flat topskull and ears set-up well.

Best of Winners/Winners Bitch:

Demuir Barefoot Contessa (GCh. Headline’s Soldier of Light ex Demuir Midnight Expresso) Breeder/Owner: Lana Group

A proud, well-balanced sable merle puppy bitch. Pretty shape, angulation front and rear, with some nice curves to her body. Showing length, lightness, and detail of head, she was still just needing to fill, finish, and flatten in the stop slightly as she matures. This was an impressive puppy, who certainly shows some potential for the future.

Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Variety: 

GCh. Heatherlyn Sentimental Journey (Ch. Edenrock Bronze Warrior ex Ch. Heatherlyn Edenrock Legacy) Breeders: Marian Darrow & Mary Sadler. Owners: Carol Erends & Barbara Burns

Another winner coming from the veteran class, she had good body balance and nice curves – particularly in the back half of the body. She exhibited her attractive length and arch of neck well. Her muzzle was soft and round.

Winners Dog: 

Absolute the Band Played On (Absolute There Can Only Be One ex Absolute Give Me A Sign) Breeders: Jennie Grover, Genee Foulkes & Diana Grover. Owners: Mary & Courtney Carrizalez

A smaller dog, but had nice body balance, angulation, and good length of back. He was very sound going around the ring. He had the softest expression in the Winners class.

Reserve Winners Dog:

Blumatra Time ‘N Time Again (Blumantra I’ll Have Another ex GCh. Timeless Like A Rose) Breeder: Beverly Ann Schwab. Owner: Debra Reynolds

A tri-color male coming from the 12-18 class. He had good depth of chest and some body curves. Simply second best on the day.

Select Bitch:

GCh. Encore’s ‘N Zandria’s Parlor Trick at Tercan (Ch. Bravo Zandria’s Party N’A’ Box HIC, CGC, RN ex Encore’s Bronze Illusion) Breeders: Corinne Boon, Alexzandra Erb & Candace Hunter. Owners: Candace Hunter, Alexzandra Erb & Corinne Boon

This smooth bitch had angulation and moved very well around the ring. She had a nice profile, flat topskull and good finish of underjaw.