The French Bulldog Club Of England
Open Show, Worplesdon
October 17 2010
Judge: Simon Parsons
My thanks to the club for inviting me to judge the open show. It was an enjoyable day with plenty of happy Frenchies to go over. As always there was quite a variation in size, type and balance especially among the males. All had charming temperaments, some obviously needing a bit more practice in the ring for dog and owner. The size of the hall doesn't allow for a great deal of movement but most seemed to be adequate; a few tended to 'crab' and I am sure would look better with a bit more training. Obviously the breed isn't one where you want an exaggeratedly long elegant neck, but some are very stuffy and I'm sure that concentrating on producing a neck of moderate length with the desired reach, coupled with a decent lay of shoulder, must be good for the breed's health as well as its looks, the BIS winner being a classic example of how you can have a good neck and shoulders and at the same time retain the Frenchie balance and substance.
BIS was Ch Norcairn Dark Angel; RBIS Abbeymills Javu Day at Nirojo; & BP Nirojo Santa Rosa Abbeymill – in general the bitches had the edge & there was plenty of quality in the higher bitch classes.
My thanks to stewards Jim Pech and Kenny Rawsthorne and to all who helped run the show. It was great to see our president Vivien Watkins in such good form.
MPD (3,1a) 1 Fraser, Kaye & Bootle's Harrowhill Sweet William at Daitoff, typy correct size pup, plenty of substance, scored on head proportions, well carried ears, good body shape, gentle roach, front could be a touch straighter & would like a little more hind angulation but scored on Frenchie balance at this stage; 2 Fisher & Bootle's Tommyville Tchopper at Grandesign, well boned, good topline, plenty of substance, better hindquarters than 1 whose expression I preferred; 3 Ashworth's Nirojo Nighthawk. PD (1) 1 Cairns & Brooks' Kidwelly Eight, striking eyecatching pied, handsome masculine head, well placed ears, good skull shape, OK in front, shapely body, sufficient length of ribbing, enough roach & reach of neck, strong hindquarters, can stand a little straight in stifle but when he settled he strode out with some enthusiasm and true coming & going, has a touch of style which won him BD. JD (3,3). PGD (5) 1 RBD, Phillips' Fatboy Bouncer, classier than his name, good all-round boy of smart outline, scored in front, gentle roach, reasonable hindquarters, OK head type, well placed ears, neat feet, just preferred bone of BD; 2 Bryant's Risethor Tiger Tiger, handsome head & expression, dark eye, plenty of type, good size, distinct roach, not quite so true in front nor the hind angles of 1; 3 Thick's Ageancourt French Thyme. LD (4,1) 1 Hutchison-Hudson & Birks' Birique Yoshi, handsome brindle, impressive head type, holds his ears upright, straight front, good feet, OK roach, strode out well in front, a little long cast which will be less obvious when he bodies up; 2 Gordon's Rustibee Maximus, different type, much more compact, head in proportion, good feet, plenty of substance, slight roach, not as true in movement as 1 nor reach & drive; 3 Simpson's Ruomyes Bete Blond. OD (3) 1 Fletcher's Abbeymill Zingin D'Blues at Koinonos, good type head, dark eye, OK front, good angles, back could be shorter & with more roach but really strode out with enthusiasm; 2 Barham's Hetana Celtic Gold at Karlbull, bigger more compact fawn, handsome head & eyes, lots of bone & substance, preferred angles & movement of 1; 3 Evers' Inyawood Wicked Gent. VD (2,1) 1 Bonsall's Ch Muggshotts Cassanova, impressive pied, a real character, super bone, not quite the expression I prefer but I can see why his unusually true sound movement & determined stride took him to his title. Fawn D (2) 1 Hall's Risethor Rumbaba, well balanced substantial boy, impressive masculine head, could do with a little less wrinkle, enough neck, compact body, well angulated powerful hindquarters, moved very well behind, slightly close in front, close up to BD and reserve whose size I preferred; 2 R Bete Blond, smaller clear fawn, quality head, good neck & shoulders, not quite bone or hindquarters of 1. Brindle D (1) 1 A French Thyme, neat typy dog, quality head which could be a shade more masculine, good ear carriage, true front, good roach, could have a shade more bone & hind angulation.
MPB (6,2) 1 Partridge's Abbeymill Hi Society; 2 Fletcher's Abbeymill Hi Class at Koinonos, almost identical twins, scored on shape, outline & style, correct roach, carried themselves well for 6 months babies, pretty feminine heads which have plenty of time to develop, good ears, will be fascinating to see how they mature, 1 marginally had the edge on bone & front movement but they'll change places many times; 3 Tanner's Robobull Echo over Bexbull. PB (2) 1 Partridge's Nirojo Santa Rosa Abbeymill, classy fawn, not much older than the babies but much more finished, lovely shape, correct topline, super head, eye & expression, good strength of muzzle, nose pigment can darken, strong hindquarters, super feet, really strode out. BP; 2 Hines & Ashard's Bredwardine Ridyah, substantial brindle, strong skull, dark eye, rather reluctant to use ears, plenty of body, OK roach, not angles or drive of 1. JB (6,4) 1 Bootle & Harrison's Tutu Much at Foleyfarm, impressive bitch of tremendous bone & substance, strong skull & muzzle, good ears, shapely body, the right neck, strode out well, not the easiest to show but very handsome. Felt my final winners were a shade more feminine but had a great deal to offer, one I'd like to own; 2 Evers' Princess Tilly, smaller pretty feminine girl, shapely body, sound mover, not quite bone, muzzle or ear set of 1. PGB (8,1) 1 Fisher's Grandesign's Photogenic, certainly looks a picture, great showgirl with a gorgeous smooth outline, no lumps or bumps but flowing from ear to rear, neat front, pretty feminine head, dark eyes, strode out beautifully, just a shade close behind, splitting hairs with the RBB, should do very well; 2 Smith & Edwards' Fayeloui Blanche, attractive overall type, super head with good blance of muzzle & skull, plenty of bone & substance, shapely body, not quite hind angles of 1 nor so collected in movement; 3 Bonsall's Muggshotts Pansy Potter. LB (7) Definitely the class of the day. 1 BIS Chapman & Conway's Ch Norcairn Dark Angel, after going over her I can appreciate why she's had such a meteoric career, wonderful head type with skull & muzzle in perfect proportion, super eye shape, ideally set ears all combining to give a classic expression, dead straight front plus unusually good feet, all combining to give a superb picture head-on, well laid shoulders, enough neck to balance her body, sufficient bone & substance, defined roach without exaggeration, strong hindquarters, moved steadily with dignity with a slight crest to her neck to give that extra bit of quality; 2 Gavaghan's Vaghna's Izzadora, smart typy girl I've admired before, super size, head & ears, shapely body, looks the part going round. 1 scored in pasterns & hind angles but I considered this one for RBB; 3 Martin's Skybull Blanche D'Castile. OB (3) 1 RBB Quin's Abbeymills Javu Day at Nirojo, lovely quality brindle of appealing balance & outline, so feminine, attractive head type, straight front, well bodied, compact but still has sufficient scope to stride out, not just a pretty face as she's dam of BP; 2 Tearle's Kingrock Illusion of Terlingfair, bigger substantial girl but still has quality, handsome head, good eye shape & colour, plenty of bone, slightly longer cast. Looked the part standing but tended to crab on the move; 3 Bonsall's Muggshotts Go With The Flo. VB (3,1) 1 BV Harrison's Tommyville Thora Thorndyke, lovely fawn, good skull, super bone & feet, plenty of substance, compact but not exaggeratedly short, strode out with great style; 2 Martin's Sadepa Happy Hattie at Skybull, very showy girl, super ears & eyes, in great condition, free easy mover, slightly longer cast than 1. Pied B (2,1) 1 Ash's Rosdyke Fallen Madonna at Zandaplatz, charming feminine shapely girl, pretty as a picture, sweet head, appealing expression, neat front, shapely, moved out well but a shade close behind, perhaps could have have more substance but one I found hard to resist. Fawn B (2,1) 1 T Thora Thorndyke. Brindle B (5,2) 1 Lamont's Laroyal Drama Queen, good type substantial girl, attractive head type though rather reluctant to use her ears, good ribbing, enough roach, perhaps could have a shade more neck & angles but made the most of what she had on the move; 2 K Illusion of T; 3 Purcell's Castlehaines Bronwyn.
SIMON PARSONS