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Collie Club of Georgia – February 5, 2017 – Atlanta, Georgia

Collie Club of Georgia

Saturday, February 5, 2017

Atlanta, GA

Judge: Matt Stelter

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

Thank you to the Collie Club of Georgia for the invitation to judge at their 2017 specialty show, held in conjunction with the Cherokee Rose Cluster. In spite of the declining entry numbers being seen across the country, the Collie Club of Georgia attracted a few very nice Collies that would be competitive at any of the major specialties around the country. It was an honor to reward them.

A special note of appreciation is due to club member Bob Geller, who went above and beyond to facilitate our transportation logistics and ensure our wellbeing during the weekend. Thank you, Bob. We were surprised to discover that Bob’s son lives just minutes from us in rural southwest Wisconsin where Bob had been visiting the previous week. It certainly is a small world. We look forward to getting together with the Gellers sometime this summer to enjoy some New Glarus Spotted Cows.

I take this opportunity to describe the winners on the day.

 

ROUGH

Best of Variety/Best of Breed:

GChG. Lochlaren Kings Valley Fire Within Fiero

GCh. Lochlaren Kings Valley The Fire Within (Ch. Barksdale Lochlaren Liaison ex ex Barksdale Lochlaren Dulcinea) Breeders: Barbara Cleek & Leslie Rappaport. Owners: Brenda Walker, Barbara Cleek, Nancy McDonald & Diane Wade

A beautiful, mature sable dog in terrific condition. Great presence. He had proper length of back with beautiful low bend of stifle and correct hocks. Full muzzle, cornered backskull, and clean on the sides. A little more length of head would take the head profile to another level, and give a more perfect balance with his wonderful body length. Regardless, this was a high quality head piece. He commands the ground he stands over, and was presented in the manner a Collie special should be. It was a pleasure to judge this dog.

 

Winners Bitch/Best of Winners/Best of Opposite Sex/Best of Breed:

Ch. Southland’s Artistry of Accolade

Southland’s Artistry of Accolade (Southland N’ Larkspur’s The Journey ex Aurealis Rumor Has It) Breeder: Sheela Cheatham. Owner: Crystal Jose Stoner & Sheela Cheatham

A very attractive sable puppy bitch. She had a light, detailed headpiece with a good expression. An attractive outline with good height-to-length proportions. Her front could have been a little more underneath her, but she had a nice back with pretty curves in the back half of her body. It will be interesting to see what she develops into at maturity. This is a pretty, feminine Collie.

 

Winners Dog:

Ch. Blu Ridge Full Moon

Blue Ridge Full Moon (Ch. Blu Ridge State of Mind ex Ch. Blu Ridge Ride The Waves) Breeder/Owner: Joan Johnson

Coming from the Open Blue class, this dog had great length of head, inclined to lightness, with a pretty profile and round muzzle. A proud, impressive dog with great body size. He was a bit upright at this stage but could still set-down some with maturity.  He was lacking coat on the day, but that certainly did not factor in the awards. This is an exciting young dog.

 

Reserve Winners Dog:

Kirklyn’s Storm Trooper (GCh. Afterhours Soldier of Fortune ex Ch. Millcreek’s Blown Away) Breeders: Lynn McDermott, Blaine Mason & Shelley Caldwell. Owners: Lynn McDermott & Blaine Mason

A good-sized tri-color dog – another dog presenting a proud picture. Masculine, with great bone. Nicely groomed and presented. Good length of head, but edged-out by the Winners Dog on profile and head detail.

 

Reserve Winners Bitch:

Ceilidh Mountain Laurel (Ch. Westwood’s Game Plan, P.T. ex Ch. Pine Cone Smoke on the Mountain) Breeders: Micha Elliot, Kathy Drabik & Kathy Moll. Owner: Lindsey Ergas

This was a smaller blue bitch that required closer examination to fully appreciate. A light headpiece, nicely-detailed, with a pretty expression. A compact body with a solid back. Just lacking a little coat, size and body substance at this stage.

 

Select Dog:

Ch. Alfenloch Cosmic Force (Ch. Alfenloch Countryview Starpower ex Milas Alfenloch Dancing Queen) Breeders: Diane Fitzpatrick, Lynn Butler & Lotta Hedman. Owners: Kathleen Thomas

This dog had good bone and size. Ears set well up on his skull.

 

Select Bitch:

None awarded.

 

SMOOTH

Best of Variety:

GCH Bandor's the Wyching Hour

GCh. Bandor’s The Wyching Hour (Ch. Fantasy’s Midnight Thunder ex Bandor’s Teardrops After Midnight) Breeders: Bertha & Sarah Garrison. Owners: Lynda J. Cox & Jacque Bailey

An impressive tri-color smooth dog. This was an upstanding dog presenting a proud picture. He had a considerable level of head detail, almost to an extreme. He had a chiseled stop, flat topskull, tight lipline and full underjaw. This was a compact, but powerful dog. While he could use a little more angulation fore and aft, his athleticism and body balance gets him around the ring well – strong and smooth.

 

Winners Bitch/Best of Winners/Best of Opposite/Best of Variety:

Belfair Sherloch’s An Irish Dark One at Tamiami (GCh. Blu Ridge Make Way ex Ch. Belfair Lochlaren Midnight Interlude) Breeders: Deborah Rymer, Alene Evans & Barbara Cleek. Owner: Kate Long

A nicely-balanced smooth bitch that I appreciated even more upon further examination. An upstanding show dog, head inclined to lightness, with soft, curved body lines. Pretty expression with dark eyes. This was a pretty bitch.

 

Winners Dog:

Stornoway Hereafter Wishing Star (Ch. Taliesin Karavel Counting Stars ex Ch. Larisa’s Suite Chrysalis) Breeder: Paula Clairday. Owner: Thomas Plummer

A balanced dog, with good length of head, but not as light as desired. He has good depth of chest and bone.

 

Select Dog:

GCh. Afterhours Citizen Soldier, PT (GCh. Headline’s Soldier of Light ex Ch. Afterhours Sands of Time) Breeders: Carole Stanley & Amy Bubolz. Owners: Sandra Reuter & Guenter Reuter

Upstanding sable dog with good bone. He got around the ring well.

 

Select Bitch:

Not awarded.