19th November2005

SOUTH WEST HOUND CLUB OPEN

Judge  - Louise Tope

I would like to thank the South West Hound Club for inviting me to judge their Handling classes. In my opinion, a good handler should not detract from their dog. I do not like ‘over handling’ and do feel the need to complicate things with excessively complex patterns. All the exhibitors were very polite and accepted my decisions graciously. And remember parents and grandparents, these young handlers are the future of dogs and dog showing. Yes, they have lots to learn, but they have plenty of time to do it in.

JUNIOR HANDLING

6-11years (8)

1. Katie Pinkerton. Handling a Whippet. Very smart and competent young lady. Neat and precise patterns. Nice natural style with plenty of confidence. Used lots of encouragement to get the very best out of her dog.

2. Tieryn Clark. Handling a Beagle. Another excellent handler. A very close decision between these first two. Very confident and natural with a good flowing style.

3. Angel Champkin. Handling a Saluki. Very promising young handler. At only 7 years old did exceptionally well to handle this big dog. Made a couple of simple mistakes on the day, but should have a bright future. Keep up the good work.

12-16 years (3)

1. Amelia Siddle. Handling a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Very stylish handler with great natural abilites. Technically correct. Totally in harmony with her dog projecting an excellent overall picture. My style of handling, the deciding factor which won her Best Overall Handler.

2. Helen Rishworth. Handling a Greyhound. Another very competent handler. Coped well with a very big dog that wasn’t particularly enhtusiastic. Technically very good with very precise patterns. Pushed winner very hard.

3. Sophie Hawkins. Handling a Finnish Spitz. Not the easiest breed, but still very well handled. Good overall picture. Just made a couple of silly mistakes by putting herself between me and her dog.

ADULT HANDLING (7)

1. Tracey Hoare’s, Handling a Whippet. Very natural handler who worked hard to give confidence to a slightly overawed young Whippet. Technically excellent with good flowing patterns.

2. Mandy Carter. Handling a Beagle. Excellent handler, very confident. Thought she would be my winner until she made the simple error of putting herself between me and her dog.

3. L Randle. Handling an Afghan. Very smart and efficient. Coped well with an exuberant youngster. Personally I would prefer a little more communication with the dog, especially as it was a puppy.

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