Glen Of Imaal Terrier Crufts 10 Judge's Critique

Glen Of Imaal	Crufts 2010 Judge's Critique
Breed Notes - Constant Update KC Breed Standard Archive Archive 10 Results And Critiques Crufts 10 Judge	GLEN OF IMAAL CRUFTS 2010 Glen of Imaal Terrier Judge(s): MR H GAY BEST OF BREED CH/BEL CH BROCKLAND BRAYHEAD LAD Dog Owner: MRS R WELCH BEST PUPPY GLENWELLIEKA FLINT OF FLYNN Dog Owner: MR D & MRS M CROFT DOG CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH/BEL CH BROCKLAND BRAYHEAD LAD Dog Owner: MRS R WELCH BITCH CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH JEONTY FERN GRASS Bitch Owner: MRS C J ROGERS RESERVE DOG CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH/BEL/NDL CH JEONTY WANNABE BUSTER Dog Owner: MRS C J ROGERS RESERVE BITCH CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE BROCKLAND MERRYLEGS FOR BREGORREY Bitch Owner: MRS A C SEALL GLEN OF IMAAL JUDGE CRUFTS 10 Glenn of Imaal Terriers The first Crufts to be judged under the ‘new’ breed Standard & as the first breed specialist to award CCs at the event since the Glen of Imaal Terrier was awarded CCs it was an interesting appointment. I was more than pleased with my main winners but I have to register concerns about the way the breed seems to be going. The Glen got off lightly with the Kennel Club re-writing with just one word, slightly, being added to the description of the bow of the forequarters. It is understood why it was felt necessary to do this & it is acknowledged that, in the early 90s, quite an exaggerated front was seen in some Glens but the breed itself realised things had begun to go a bit far & mainly sorted its own problem out with there only being a couple of fronts today that I would consider excessive. One previous Standard change that was hardly commented on was the changing of the word ‘desired’ regarding height, to ‘maximum’ but never including a minimum to counter-balance this so how small can a Glen be? Early photographs, particularly the official St Patrick’s Day 1934 first breed classes, show dogs with daylight underneath & distinct legs so combining that with the construction of the breed anything under 12 inches or so might be considered a fault. Smaller does not automatically mean wrong though because of that most important sentence in the Standard – maximum substance for the size of dog. It doesn’t mean fat, it means bulk made up of muscle, body & bone. A mature Glen should neither be a stick insect nor a slug. Even though there is no height difference between the sexes it should be no problem to tell whether you are looking at a dog or a bitch. The Glen of Imaal is not an easy dog to judge (or breed) if the basics of type & structure have not been fully grasped & the entry today leads me to think that such a fundamental principle has not been really understood since CCs were awarded in 2007 as I haven’t seen such a mixed entry in over 30 years! Mixed entry isn’t a reference to mixed type. The Glen has always been a breed that embraced multi-type & thrived because of it. It is the reason that for years Glen of Imaal exhibitors were seen with slight consternation by many judges; they were a breed that actually wanted to know exactly why decisions were made & expected to debate it. People who knew the breed wanted to know if their judges did. A slightly old-fashioned system now, but Glens have seemingly not been altogether well served by changing judging to a seminar based activity rather than out in the real world talking to a lot of different people & actually seeing dogs. The Glen structure isn’t unique, there are other achondroplasic breeds, but they are the only Terrier that did have to earn a working qualification before becoming a champion & is still, legitimately, worked so form & function says there should not be a short upper arm so where has it come from? Is it that judges aren’t recognising the fault & getting it mixed up with some Glens being shorter on the leg or do some people not realise what it is? A short upper arm restricts forward movement. To the uninitiated eye a dog is moving properly, but rather than extending the front leg to pull it back the leg performs a more up & down movement. It can look spectacular & the dog can appear balanced rather than uneconomical in movement but the higher lift of the front feet gives lie to the Glen ‘covering the ground effortlessly’. Maximum substance for size includes bone & in some of the younger dogs more was needed. The senior classes were excellent & bone can develop but the basis has to be there to lay down the frame for the adult Glen. Body shape, proportions & overall balance are all included in the overall picture & one or two were just wrong. Glens are not a long breed but there were some that certainly fitted this description & the longer coupling was compounded, in a couple of cases, by shortness of leg which totally distorts the balance of the dog & gives rise to a flat topline; something that is a complete antithesis for the breed. Mouths for a long time were a big problem in Glens but the improvements made here go from strength to strength with all dogs having good sized teeth & only two dogs having a poor bite but coats are obviously still a problem for some. A Glen of Imaal Terrier with a correct coat, & none here today were soft, is easy to look after; strip it & it grows & needing little work if kept on top of. The poor winter just experienced was manna from Heaven for growth & coat preparation of a breed that thrives in the cold so it was a bit of a surprise to have dogs with coats way past their best. Not everybody can strip at exactly the right time but not to strip at all does rather let the dog down in an entry that had some animals looking the best they have for years. The effort was noticed ringside as well because after judging some long term admirers & judges of the breed also said how well some of the dogs looked better than they had for years. VD 1 Calloch’s Multi Ch Perfect Lionheart of South Wind Kalyani, the first of the multi-titled dogs & like his ‘younger brethren’ in Open you can see he earned his awards, classic Glen & good to look at. Showed his age in movement by appearing rather stiff in front & behind. PD 1 Croft’s Glenwellieka Flint of Flynn, actually a better dog handled than viewed as his coat hid everything & correct shape & proportions are under there, when he finally settled there was good drive from a well muscled & nicely angulated rear. BP; 2 Hardy’s Amhard Freebooter, smaller than 1, nice head & adequately boned but his proportions at this age leave a bit to be desired. JD 1 G Flint of F; 2 Barnaby’s Kenocto Chief’s Song, well up to size dog, with bone & muscle, that looks even bigger through sporting a huge coat. Rather close behind. PGD This class is always a difficult one as it is the only place the teenagers can go & in Glens 12-18 months can make all the difference. 1 Horton’s Jeonty Highland Boy, nice dog for his age with everything as it should be, head coming along, rib & bone present, topline retains well both moving & standing, muscled behind. His conformation indicates he should have more to give in the movement department; 2 Ashcroft’s Romainville Typhoon, another who handles better than his coat indicates, nicely boned all through but is his own worst enemy as he stands in a way that does not flatter his shape & is inclined to half-passe when moving; 3 Roger’s Jeonty Wannabe Bauer, handsome dog with nice proportions who needs to body up. The best put down of the three but his movement was not up to it. LD 1 Garner’s Johnny Be Good at Romainville, this dog is a good illustration of substance for size, he is a smaller dog so it would be easy to think there should be more of him but he could never be mistaken for a bitch, a total showdog, including showing his handler up, in the best coat of the day, nicely proportioned & an eyecatching mover, front structure slightly unbalanced but sound; 2 George’s Feohanagh Bryan at Romanville, nicely boned dog, more of a ‘conventional’ size, good angulation behind but tends to be unsound coming towards as he overpowers his own front. OD The three well boned, well muscled, well put down, good headed dogs in this class were all champions under more than one kennel club, all of a different type, all had points that made it easy to understand why top awards have been given in numerous countries & all are related to each other. 1 Welch’s Ch/Bel Ch Brockland Brayhead Lad, the better proportioned of the three, retained firm topline both on the move & standing. Slightly straight behind but moved totally true. CC & BOB; 2 Roger’s Ch/Bel/Dutch Ch Jeonty Wannabe Buster, eyecatching dog with excellent rear drive, slightly let down by being not quite as good in front. RCC; 3 White’s Multi Champion Abberann Conan, a master handler gets the best out of this dog but needing better rear drive & front extension was what placed him number three in the best class of the day. My compliments to all three owners. GCD 1 Barnaby’s Kenocto Chief’s Song. VB It was nice to see that Glens still continue to be competitive as Veteran is reached. 1 Seall’s Brockland Merrylegs for Bregorrey, I gave this bitch BP at Crufts nine years ago & she is everything anticipated back then. Still retains her outline, shape, rib & proportions & moves with reach & parallel drive behind. RCC; 2 Welch’s Bel Ch Brockland Brenna Anne, beautiful senior bitch who has retained her quality. Now a little broad in front & tending to upright stance behind; 3 Forbes’ Ch Jeonty Hasaceilidh for Karensbrae, lighter build all through, exceptional movement & balance, coat not of the quality or state of preparation. PGB 1 Baldock’s Jeonty Maybe Daysee & 2 Sage’s Jeonty Lola May at Wickholm, two litter sisters & very similar, nice proportions, bone, rib & heads on the pair & both have balance & parallel drive behind. On the day it went to Daysee, despite still carrying her winter warmth in coat & body layers, as she was better balanced on the move & Lola May kept insisting on moving a little close at the front; 3 Smith’s Grizzlemarsh Dorathea, nicely headed bitch that just did not want to move in anything like a settled manner. LB 1 Seall’s Brockland Belle Bregorrey, nicely packaged & presented, well shaped, good proportioned, smaller bitch who is balanced on the move & handles well but tends to stand over at the front & under at the rear; 2 Allerman’s Emeldir Priness Astrid at Glenwellieka, sound moving with nice outline & shape, needs more body & bone all through. OB 1 Roger’s Ch Jeonty Fern Grass, beautiful wheaten bitch who has it all – well most of it. Bone & substance but still feminine, retaining topline both at the stand & on the move, good reach & drive. Coat just at the stand off stage which made her appear fatter than she actually was. CC; 2 White’s Ch/Ir Ch Abberann Ennya, well presented, well handled bitch with excellent drive but stilted in front movement; 3 George’s Romainville Miss Moneypenny, stands well but lets herself down on the move by being too close. Body shape & proportion better than her coat indicates. HAROLD GAY Go To Top Of Page

Glen Of Imaal

Crufts 2010 Judge's Critique

Breed Notes - Constant Update

KC Breed Standard

Archive
Archive 10 Results And Critiques

Crufts 10 Judge

GLEN OF IMAAL CRUFTS 2010

Glen of Imaal Terrier

Judge(s): MR H GAY

BEST OF BREED CH/BEL CH BROCKLAND BRAYHEAD LAD Dog Owner: MRS R WELCH
BEST PUPPY GLENWELLIEKA FLINT OF FLYNN Dog Owner: MR D & MRS M CROFT
DOG CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH/BEL CH BROCKLAND BRAYHEAD LAD Dog Owner: MRS R WELCH
BITCH CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH JEONTY FERN GRASS Bitch Owner: MRS C J ROGERS
RESERVE DOG CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE CH/BEL/NDL CH JEONTY WANNABE BUSTER Dog Owner: MRS C J ROGERS
RESERVE BITCH CHALLENGE CERTIFICATE BROCKLAND MERRYLEGS FOR BREGORREY Bitch Owner: MRS A C SEALL

GLEN OF IMAAL JUDGE CRUFTS 10

Glenn of Imaal Terriers
The first Crufts to be judged under the ‘new’ breed Standard & as the first breed specialist to award CCs at the event since the Glen of Imaal Terrier was awarded CCs it was an interesting appointment. I was more than pleased with my main winners but I have to register concerns about the way the breed seems to be going.

The Glen got off lightly with the Kennel Club re-writing with just one word, slightly, being added to the description of the bow of the forequarters. It is understood why it was felt necessary to do this & it is acknowledged that, in the early 90s, quite an exaggerated front was seen in some Glens but the breed itself realised things had begun to go a bit far & mainly sorted its own problem out with there only being a couple of fronts today that I would consider excessive.

One previous Standard change that was hardly commented on was the changing of the word ‘desired’ regarding height, to ‘maximum’ but never including a minimum to counter-balance this so how small can a Glen be? Early photographs, particularly the official St Patrick’s Day 1934 first breed classes, show dogs with daylight underneath & distinct legs so combining that with the construction of the breed anything under 12 inches or so might be considered a fault. Smaller does not automatically mean wrong though because of that most important sentence in the Standard – maximum substance for the size of dog. It doesn’t mean fat, it means bulk made up of muscle, body & bone. A mature Glen should neither be a stick insect nor a slug. Even though there is no height difference between the sexes it should be no problem to tell whether you are looking at a dog or a bitch. The Glen of Imaal is not an easy dog to judge (or breed) if the basics of type & structure have not been fully grasped & the entry today leads me to think that such a fundamental principle has not been really understood since CCs were awarded in 2007 as I haven’t seen such a mixed entry in over 30 years!

Mixed entry isn’t a reference to mixed type. The Glen has always been a breed that embraced multi-type & thrived because of it. It is the reason that for years Glen of Imaal exhibitors were seen with slight consternation by many judges; they were a breed that actually wanted to know exactly why decisions were made & expected to debate it. People who knew the breed wanted to know if their judges did. A slightly old-fashioned system now, but Glens have seemingly not been altogether well served by changing judging to a seminar based activity rather than out in the real world talking to a lot of different people & actually seeing dogs.

The Glen structure isn’t unique, there are other achondroplasic breeds, but they are the only Terrier that did have to earn a working qualification before becoming a champion & is still, legitimately, worked so form & function says there should not be a short upper arm so where has it come from? Is it that judges aren’t recognising the fault & getting it mixed up with some Glens being shorter on the leg or do some people not realise what it is? A short upper arm restricts forward movement. To the uninitiated eye a dog is moving properly, but rather than extending the front leg to pull it back the leg performs a more up & down movement. It can look spectacular & the dog can appear balanced rather than uneconomical in movement but the higher lift of the front feet gives lie to the Glen ‘covering the ground effortlessly’.

Maximum substance for size includes bone & in some of the younger dogs more was needed. The senior classes were excellent & bone can develop but the basis has to be there to lay down the frame for the adult Glen. Body shape, proportions & overall balance are all included in the overall picture & one or two were just wrong. Glens are not a long breed but there were some that certainly fitted this description & the longer coupling was compounded, in a couple of cases, by shortness of leg which totally distorts the balance of the dog & gives rise to a flat topline; something that is a complete antithesis for the breed.

Mouths for a long time were a big problem in Glens but the improvements made here go from strength to strength with all dogs having good sized teeth & only two dogs having a poor bite but coats are obviously still a problem for some. A Glen of Imaal Terrier with a correct coat, & none here today were soft, is easy to look after; strip it & it grows & needing little work if kept on top of. The poor winter just experienced was manna from Heaven for growth & coat preparation of a breed that thrives in the cold so it was a bit of a surprise to have dogs with coats way past their best. Not everybody can strip at exactly the right time but not to strip at all does rather let the dog down in an entry that had some animals looking the best they have for years. The effort was noticed ringside as well because after judging some long term admirers & judges of the breed also said how well some of the dogs looked better than they had for years.

1 Calloch’s Multi Ch Perfect Lionheart of South Wind Kalyani, the first of the multi-titled dogs & like his ‘younger brethren’ in Open you can see he earned his awards, classic Glen & good to look at. Showed his age in movement by appearing rather stiff in front & behind.

1 Croft’s Glenwellieka Flint of Flynn, actually a better dog handled than viewed as his coat hid everything & correct shape & proportions are under there, when he finally settled there was good drive from a well muscled & nicely angulated rear. BP;

2 Hardy’s Amhard Freebooter, smaller than 1, nice head & adequately boned but his proportions at this age leave a bit to be desired.

1 G Flint of F;

2 Barnaby’s Kenocto Chief’s Song, well up to size dog, with bone & muscle, that looks even bigger through sporting a huge coat. Rather close behind.

PGD

This class is always a difficult one as it is the only place the teenagers can go & in Glens 12-18 months can make all the difference.

1 Horton’s Jeonty Highland Boy, nice dog for his age with everything as it should be, head coming along, rib & bone present, topline retains well both moving & standing, muscled behind. His conformation indicates he should have more to give in the movement department;

2 Ashcroft’s Romainville Typhoon, another who handles better than his coat indicates, nicely boned all through but is his own worst enemy as he stands in a way that does not flatter his shape & is inclined to half-passe when moving;

3 Roger’s Jeonty Wannabe Bauer, handsome dog with nice proportions who needs to body up. The best put down of the three but his movement was not up to it.

1 Garner’s Johnny Be Good at Romainville, this dog is a good illustration of substance for size, he is a smaller dog so it would be easy to think there should be more of him but he could never be mistaken for a bitch, a total showdog, including showing his handler up, in the best coat of the day, nicely proportioned & an eyecatching mover, front structure slightly unbalanced but sound;

2 George’s Feohanagh Bryan at Romanville, nicely boned dog, more of a ‘conventional’ size, good angulation behind but tends to be unsound coming towards as he overpowers his own front.

OD The three well boned, well muscled, well put down, good headed dogs in this class were all champions under more than one kennel club, all of a different type, all had points that made it easy to understand why top awards have been given in numerous countries & all are related to each other.

1 Welch’s Ch/Bel Ch Brockland Brayhead Lad, the better proportioned of the three, retained firm topline both on the move & standing. Slightly straight behind but moved totally true. CC & BOB;

2 Roger’s Ch/Bel/Dutch Ch Jeonty Wannabe Buster, eyecatching dog with excellent rear drive, slightly let down by being not quite as good in front. RCC;

3 White’s Multi Champion Abberann Conan, a master handler gets the best out of this dog but needing better rear drive & front extension was what placed him number three in the best class of the day. My compliments to all three owners.

GCD

1 Barnaby’s Kenocto Chief’s Song.

It was nice to see that Glens still continue to be competitive as Veteran is reached.

1 Seall’s Brockland Merrylegs for Bregorrey, I gave this bitch BP at Crufts nine years ago & she is everything anticipated back then. Still retains her outline, shape, rib & proportions & moves with reach & parallel drive behind. RCC;

2 Welch’s Bel Ch Brockland Brenna Anne, beautiful senior bitch who has retained her quality. Now a little broad in front & tending to upright stance behind;

3 Forbes’ Ch Jeonty Hasaceilidh for Karensbrae, lighter build all through, exceptional movement & balance, coat not of the quality or state of preparation.

PGB

1 Baldock’s Jeonty Maybe Daysee & 2 Sage’s Jeonty Lola May at Wickholm, two litter sisters & very similar, nice proportions, bone, rib & heads on the pair & both have balance & parallel drive behind. On the day it went to Daysee, despite still carrying her winter warmth in coat & body layers, as she was better balanced on the move & Lola May kept insisting on moving a little close at the front;

3 Smith’s Grizzlemarsh Dorathea, nicely headed bitch that just did not want to move in anything like a settled manner.

1 Seall’s Brockland Belle Bregorrey, nicely packaged & presented, well shaped, good proportioned, smaller bitch who is balanced on the move & handles well but tends to stand over at the front & under at the rear;

2 Allerman’s Emeldir Priness Astrid at Glenwellieka, sound moving with nice outline & shape, needs more body & bone all through.

1 Roger’s Ch Jeonty Fern Grass, beautiful wheaten bitch who has it all – well most of it. Bone & substance but still feminine, retaining topline both at the stand & on the move, good reach & drive. Coat just at the stand off stage which made her appear fatter than she actually was. CC;

2 White’s Ch/Ir Ch Abberann Ennya, well presented, well handled bitch with excellent drive but stilted in front movement;

3 George’s Romainville Miss Moneypenny, stands well but lets herself down on the move by being too close. Body shape & proportion better than her coat indicates.

HAROLD GAY

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