Journal-Donaue 2017

58
| UW 10 | 2014 | Ausstellungen
JuDGES-rEporTS – W i n d h u n d F e s t i va l D o n au e S C H i n g e n 2 0 1 6
BJÖRG FOSS | NOR
(CAMICI AFGHAN HOUNDS &
XPLORING WHIPPETS)
What a great weekend it was! The show venue
was the very best, the sun was shining
(perhaps a little too hot for some dogs as
well as for some humans), the athmosphere
was friendly, the hospitality perfect, the
ring stewards effective; thanks to everybody
involved for making this such a wonderful
experience!
Saturday – Afghan hounds
Most of my class winners were very good
representatives of the breed, and some
were really outstanding. Even so, the general
quality of Afghans seems to be declining
everywhere in the world – so very sad, and
the general quality in such a good entry was
slightly disappointing compared to my previous
visits to Germany. In Scandinavia we
see a lot of Afghans with completely wrong
proportions, too long and with rather short
legs. I was happy to see that most dogs in my
ring in Donaueschingen were square and leggy
and in general the muscle condition was
very good. I was surprised, though, too find
quite a few dogs with dirty teeths, long nails
and coats brushed only on the surface. When
exhibitors spend a lot of money on entry fees,
travel, hotels etc. it is rather strange that they
do not take an hour or two to groom their
dogs properly and make the necessary preparation
for the show ring.
Veteran winners, males and females, were
the two 8 years old litter mates Agha Djari’s
Xpect No Less and A.D. Xception To The
Roule – both in excellent condition, with
lots of energy in movement and lovely attitude.
Number 2 in veteran bitches, Esme del
Ghyryo, deserved to be mentioned; loved
showing so much, strong topline and superb
condition – very impressive for a 12 year old
lady!
BOB Baby was Preston The One and Only Del
Ghyryo, a well developed boy with correct
proportions, sound anatomy and good breed
details.
My Best Puppy (Jüngstenklasse) was Awakening
of a Dream Is’ad Amara, a masculine and
well developed boy. Typically for his age, he
was still å little staight in angulation and his
topline could have been firmer.
Both my Junior Winners were of absolute
outstandig quality. Agha Djari’s Lionheart,
BOB Junior – I could have taken him home!
Strong head, but still elegant enough, and
with lovely expression. He had all the spesific
breed details, typical coat pattern and the
correct springy gait, carried himself beauti-
fully and with lots of attitude – I am sure he
will have a great future in the show ring. BOB
Junior, Agha Djari’s Kilimanjaro, a very eyecatching
young bith. Not small, but very feminine.
Her proportions are excellent; square
and leggy. Long, elegant neck, well set into
the shoulders. Really efficient movement and
head carriage.
Intermediate class (Zwichenklasse) is usually
not were you find the best Afghans; this is
normally a rather difficult age for this breed.
Khaos Maximillian Emerald was an exception;
he was very well put together, had
”grown well into himself”, with sufficient
angulation and a well developed body, just
slightly unstable in elbows.
Champion males was impressive, with many
dogs of high quality. My critiques mention
a couple of dogs with too weak underjaw.
Quite a few Afghans of today have too refined
heads, in my opinion, some with no stop
at all and not sufficient strength. This is not
satisfactory for the Afghan’s hunting ability.
Sure enough, they do not often need a powerful
bite today, but nevertheless we must
respect their original purpose and strive to
keep as many of the typical breed details as
possible. My winner in this class was well
known to me; Amal Salang Coeur d’Coeurs.
No dog is perfect, neither is he – he is on the
big side and his shoulder could have been
better laid back. But he is a dog it is impossible
to ignore; his attitude, the way he moves
and carries himself – he owns the ring and
claims to be the King!
Working class presented another really attractive
dog, Jirkan Y-Shirvan. So well put
together, nothing extreme or overdone, just
correct construction and movement – and
with lovely proud carriage.
Open class was slightly disappointing, and
Onur Ebn Rashida von Haussman had an easy
match. He deserved a much tougher competition;
he is not big, but very maculine, with
strong head and excellent expression, correct
anatomy and powerful movement with sufficient
flexibility. Dog CAC.
There was no way I could avoid to make the
champion male, Amal Salang Coeur d’Coeurs,
Best Male.
I have already mentioned my Veteran and Junior
winners, both males and females.
I found several quality bitches in Champion
class, and one of them was really outstanding.
Shaira Bint Benasid von Haussman sure
is a spectacular bitch. But, as said before, nobody
is perfect. It is a risky business to offer
advice to such a successful equipage, but still
… When the handler stacked this stunning
bitch in front of me, my first thought was:
«Oh no, please …!» Stretched too much she
seems to be slightly low on her legs, which
she is not! She has absolutely correct proportions,
and has so much quality all over – from
her beautiful head, proud expression and
long neck to the generous, well angulated
hindquarters and typical long tail. Going over
her felt like a priviledge!
One bitch in Working class, Ayoka de Chas
Avel, lvely head, well constructed and very
efficient mover.
As for the males, Open Class bitches was
not very impressive, I could only find two
who deserved an «excellent». My winner,
Oshaname’s No Name No Number, had an
easy win. She is a quality bitch with many
really good points, correct proportions and so
much Afghan! Bitch CAC.
So, in the end, it was time for the King to
meet the Queen in Best of Breed competition.
It was really emotional to have two
such high class Afghans – I had awarded the
Russian King BOB twice before, but this time
he had to give way for the South American
Queen!
In the afternoon/evening I had the great honor
of judging BIS Puppy as well as the «real»
Best in Show. BIS Puppy was the Whippet
bitch Crème Anglaise’s Eat My Dust. She is
very feminine, with classical curves and
smooth movement – a real «diamond»; I am
sure she will have a great future in the show
ring!
And then, the highlight of the day. Wow,
what a line up; all the beautiful Sighthound
breeds at the same time – I have never seen
anything like this, it was a marvellous sight.
I would have loved to have placed so may of
these great dogs, and had to bid farewell to
far too many. Finally I kept Afghan, Irish wolfhound,
Pharaoh hound and Whippet – four
stunning representatives for their respctive
breeds. The magnifique Wolfhound veteran,
Karla dei Mangialupi, had already been
awarded BIS Veteran, and was nr. 4 here – a
tribute to her owner! Nr. 3 was another classical
and true type of Whippet, Red Cardinal
Boogie Shoes – masculine, but still very elegant,
and he demonstrated the much sought
after «daisy cutting» movement.
At the end I faced a hard decision. I loved
the Pharaoh hound, Reedly Road Lynway;
excellent head and expression, correct size
and proportions, and marvellous movement.
Seeing these to great dogs floating around
the ring was spectacular, I would have been
happy giving the «big» rosett to any of them
– but this time the glamorous Shaira Bint
Benazid von Haussman had no merci with
her final competitor!
Sunday – Salukis
Another bright and sunny day, and more than
60 Salukis on my hand. Judging Salukis is allways
a challenge. The breed shows a variety
of types, and most fits into the standard. My
biggest worry is that there is a lot of dogs
lacking many of the breed-spesific points,
all the details that make a real Saluki, not
only an ordinary dog looking like a saluki.
Many are too coarse and have round bone og
incorrect feet, and short ribcage and a steep
croup (often combined with a tail carried
far too high) can also be seen quite often.
Judges have a big responsibility and must
keep the details so important for the type in
mind when judging this ancient breed. I was
fortunate enough to have the late Birgitta
Runmarker (from Sweden) as a mentor for
Salukis (as well as other breeds); she had
such great understandig for the Sighthound
«feeling», real «fingerspitzgefühl» – and she
told me never to compromise on breed type
and those very important points that are essential
for type.
I had not been judging Salukis anywhere in
Mid-Europe for a very long time and did not
know what to expect. A fellow judge told me
I would probably not see many good ones.
With this in mind I thought maybe my day
would not be very «funny». That porved to
be so wrong! I found that most of the Salukis
were quite good, with only a few «seht gut».
There were not so many really outstandig
dogs, but I found quality dogs in all classes
Looking through my critics I cannot find any
comments on round bone and feet, most had
the typical «bladed bone» – which is good.
There were some with short brisket and steep
croup, though, but not many.
All the veterans were in good condition for
their age and of good type. My Veteran Winner,
the bitch Marhamati-Mahnaz Dorr-e-
Dorran (9,5 years), was of exeptional quality,
correct proportions, lovely head with correct
expression and the very attractive «chiselling»
– and she moved effortless and with
long sidegait. She was awarded BIS 3 Veteran
in the finals in the afternoon.
My Best Baby was a very attractive boy, Junus
Dahabi; very well developed for his age and
strong topline and correct angulations,
enough of everthing, but not too much. This
little boy also did well later on, he was placed
as nr. 3 in Baby BIS.
Saluki puppies and youngsters can be a little
shy, and I had a couple of them in my ring.
These dogs need to be trained and meet peo-
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