Firstly, thanks again to your membership for the invitation to judge your Specialties. I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Australia, it was amazing!

The quality of the entry overall was quite good and many shown to me have bright futures! Dogs were mostly of the correct size, something I feel is a bit out of hand in America (too big). Proportions were good & animals were “low set, strong and sturdy”. A majority of heads were foxy in shape and appearance. Movement varied as usual and temperaments were fairly strong, with some definite exceptions – perhaps unnerved by the flags, but no exhibits I could not evaluate.

I found most outlines to be correct height to length and proper depth. The majority had reasonable necks with respectable flow into the shoulder, some were very good in that respect. I found toplines mostly level, a few were high in the rear, a normal growth stage is my assumption. Prosternums were noticeably correct and most had well fitted fronts, with correct brisket depth between the forearms. Angles were relatively good and most exhibits had correctly shaped bone and feet. There were a few who tended toward overly heavy and a bit clunky and several who were overrefined. I could wish for some of the Cardigans to have more strength of bone with a more correct foot shape.

Movement coming was mostly correct. Rear drive, unfortunately, was more lacking in a lot of exhibits, possibly a contributor to the most noticeable fault I observed, which was a lack of a smooth topline on the move. In my opinion, a smooth and free mover should have a ‘quiet’ backline. There should be no roll or bounce, nor should the hair on the back “flap”. Some exhibits were just moved too fast and when the pace was a bit slower, the toplines did quiet down.

Heads overall ranged from good to extremely nice. Pembroke ears and earsets were mostly correct, some Cardigan ears were too small which does take away from breed type and expression. A few Cardis were a bit too “Pemmy” and some Pembrokes were really quite “pixie” like with steep stops and overly refined muzzles – however, these were exceptions in the entry with the majority being quite pleasing. Eye shape & colour were very good and only a few lighter eyes. Bites were good with only a couple level and one was definitely undershot. I was impressed by the lack of exaggeration in the overall entry.

My CC line ups, particularly the Pembroke bitches, were very nice and I was quite pleased with all of my winners – well done breeders!

Betsey Ormond