3 minute read
May ‘21 ‘mini Show’ pages
SATURDAY 30th May 2021 Wellfield House
Advertisement
Judge: Barbara Cherry
I would like to thank the Midland Counties Labrador Retriever Club for their kind invitation to officiate at their event. I am sure everybody wants to thank Judy and Michael for allowing the Club to use their lovely grounds. As most dog owners and their dogs have had little opportunity to socialise during this pandemic, with no shows and only occasional restricted ringcraft classes, there has been no chance of groups meeting – not a good thing for youngsters. Luckily the sun shone and being outdoors with brollies, gazebos, etc., things seemed back to normal. This small outdoor event was so welcome.
The babies were stars – not one dog backed off or appeared nervous. For a strange face, masked up, with glasses and smelling of hand-sanitizer to go over the puppies, could have been very off-putting for them. Their tails continued to wag...... in fact, the whole of their rear ends wagged!
The overall quality of the exhibits was excellent, and I didn’t have one dog that was an inferior specimen. Often 6 or more exhibits appeared in a class, all good quality well-constructed animals that moved well and were balanced and sound. This made some difficult decisions when placing them – a good thing for the breed. Several breeders had dogs exhibited in several classes and they looked like clones. There is a lot to be said for the clever breeders breeding to a type.
In my opinion, although I don’t have the pleasure of owning a Labrador, the breed is in a very good place with many knowledgeable breeders breeding to type sound well-constructed animals for themselves and others to show.
The Club seemed to have many younger exhibitors who seemed enthusiastic, and some excellent young handlers who readily helped some of the slightly senior exhibitors run their dogs. Often young people are not apparent in some breeds. These younger enthusiasts can only be good for the breed moving on.
I was pleased with the final line-up and the three principal winners were topflight exhibits. I loved the femininity of my final winner. She was so balanced and sound, standing well and moving soundly, lashing her tail. The runner-up (a male) was masculine with a lovely profile, good to handle and totally sound. The puppy, this time a black, was a very balanced baby with loads of confidence and ring presence. A lovely day was had by all judging from the smiles of the exhibitors and a group of happy dogs. It was good to see how supportive you all were with your fellow exhibitors and dogs. A special thankyou to the Club for the beautiful arrangement of flowers – the colours were lovely, and I gather they were grown in Yorkshire.
Barbara Cherry
