8

Bull Terriers
It is always an honour to be asked to judge, but of course judging Crufts is perhaps the highest honour of all. I thank the selection committee for their confidence & also the exhibitors for entering their dogs & for taking my decisions with good grace.
I found it a difficult appointment, not as one might imagine because of the nature of the occasion; that merely forced me to concentrate particularly hard, but rather because some decisions were very close & it is unfortunate for those exhibitors who found themselves in a class where the quality was so high, many worthy of the title of champion had to go unplaced.
A benefit of Crufts is the size of the green carpeted rings where every dog gets an opportunity to stride out. Clearly many found some smells difficult to resist & kept their noses pressed to the floor which I guess is a consequence of being on the fourth day. However I think it is fair to say that movement in Bull Terriers is probably the area where the breed has improved most in the past few years.
Twenty nine years ago I exhibited at Crufts with a red dog at a time when quality dogs of that colour seemed to be a rarity. Is was therefore interesting to me that there are currently many red dogs in the ring of the highest order & I feel that this was reflected in some of the placings.
What a pleasure to see no dogs plastered in chalk or any other noxious substance. It just goes to show that it is possible to present dogs for the showring sensibly, & without the need to cover everything in a cloud of white. Let’s hope that this is a trend that continues.
VD (2) 1 Malden ’s Jaggers Wonder, w ell made white. Showed like a trouper never putting a foot wrong. Good straight front with good round bone. Nice long neck & well laid shoulder. Well shaped hindquarters. Moved freely if a if a little close; 2 Benny Boy, compact brindle with good body type. Well placed ears & eyes giving an excellent expression. Good straight front with excellent round bone but rather large feet. Short back & good deep ribcage. In good fit condition. PD (1) 1 Padhen’s Abraham of Lincoln, very showy tri. Nicely shaped head. Perfect mouth with big teeth locked over. Terrier type, a little light in bone but with a good straight front & well bent stifles. Moved parallel both ways & really strode out on the move. JD (4) 1 Roberts & Grieves’ Teirwgwyn Son Of A Gun at Meilow, top quality r/w, beautiful head filled up & turned over with a smooth profile. Lovely eye & well placed ears giving him an excellent expression. Lovely clean neck flowing into a well laid shoulder, providing the correct front angulation. Perfect topline, which completely fits the Standard. Good straight front with strong round bone. Moved very well going away, strode out well, but was a little loose when coming towards. I first saw this dog in October when he was still a puppy & I was highly impressed. He has now turned into a stunning dog that can compete at the very top of the tree. At just 15 months old he still has some maturing to do & it was only this, & the fact that he met a fully mature dog, in the very best of form, which cost him in the challenge. He fought off some top competition to win the RCC; 2 Marsden’s Tulsadoom Get Em In at D Bar, heavyweight typy square dog. Strong head with plenty of fill, lacking a little in arc. Deep brisket & heavy bone. Misplaced canine, short cobby body. Needs more angulation to give him drive, but a useful typy dog with plenty of substance; 3 Lambert‘s Ebullient Falcons Fury,upstanding white with a lovely long neck & well laid shoulder, good straight front, with adequate bone. Well balanced throughout but needs more weight to complete the picture. Rather uncoordinated on the move. PGD (12,4a) 1 Hodges & Lewis’ Shwntarw Comfortably Numb, typy white dog with quality & substance. Wide powerful head but a little flat in profile. Tiny eye & an excellent expression. Deep ribcage & short stocky body. Wide & muscular hindquarters. Moved fairly well both ways; 2 Rafferty & Hancock’s Bulacey's Master Moondust, elegant dog with a good head & a correct mouth. Nicely made throughout with shapely bodylines. A little light in bone & I would prefer a little more substance. Moved with drive & was parallel both ways; 3 Carter’s Kilacabar Constantine, tall white dog with obvious quality. Good head with excellent roman finish. Very good exopression. Well made throughout with good angulation but is rather lackadaisical & would not help himself. Moved exceptionally well both ways. LD (9,3) 1 Jastrzebska’s Lord Of The Timar, tall white stallion of immense substance & quality. Stunning head, completely filled up & smooth in profile with a strong deep underjaw. Well placed small eye. Beautiful long muscular strong neck, dead straight front with huge round bone. Deep brisket & good firm topline. Excellent shapely bodylines, showing good tuck-up & with muscular & well angulated hindquarters. Moved reasonably well both ways. I am usually drawn towards more compact & typy dogs, but this dog is quite remarkable, so full of virtue & quality, making him impossible to ignore. In the breed ring he showed exceptionally well, stood like a rock & was handled perfectly. I was disappointed therefore to see him distracted by a TV camera in the group ring, which I feel somewhat spoilt his chances. I guess that Bull Terriers for you! CC & BOB; 2 La-Rocque’s Bilboen Prince Of Darkness,quality tri, nicely shaped head with an excellent profile, but rather lacking in width. Good neck & well placed shoulder. Good straight bone & nice tight feet. Very good balance of substance with shape & quality. Well angulated at the rear & moved excellently both ways. A worthy champion who did not show as well as he usually does & gave his handler a fitful time; 3 Baker & Chant’s Battleton Conquistador,very good headed brindle. Very good expression. Excellent straight front with nice tight cat feet. Clearly not relaxed or happy in the ring, he still needs to body up & learn to show himself off. Moved parallel but lacked a little in drive & would not stride out. OD (15,2) Without doubt the class of the day & the one that caused me the biggest headache. The quality ran so dee p that animals of champion quality that I have previously rewarded or admired from the ringside, went unplaced. 1 Foster‘s Ch Bilboen Latin LoverMr Substance, compact & powerful red. His head is packed right up & filled under the eye. Correct mouth. He has excellent round bone, a straight front with good feet. Very good lay back of shoulder & an ultra short back & a nice firm topline. Excellent spring of rib & deep forechest. That rare commodity; an extremely typy, heavy boned & substantial short backed dog that also moves well! In excellent firm muscular condition which was the final decider that won him this class. In the challenge just lost out to the ticket winners both of which had greater length of leg giving them better overall balance; 2 Martinez Mestre’s Sp/Fr Ch Avonjul Astronomer Royal, a great favorite of mine. Extremely balanced dog, completely middle of the road, a great combination of bull & terrier; the type that we should all be aiming for. Excellent head, filled up & turned over, completely filled up under the eye, but maybe not quite as deep in underjaw as those above him. Good straight front with excellent feet. Good neck & shoulder & correct topline with just the right amount of roach over the loin. In many ways he was the dog that I would most liked to have taken home but I was eventually swayed by the positive virtues & overall condition of the winners; 3 Cox’s Ir Ch Badlesmere Ballyhooligan, tri dog of the highest order. Another favorite of mine & similar to the second placed dog in type. Good strong & well shaped head, just lacking the classic arc. Straight front, but a fraction loose at elbow. Excellent body type, extremely well made & completely balanced. Good neck, well laid shoulder & firm topline. Excellent hind action, moved with purpose & drive. GCD (1) 1 Martin & Miller’s Waybully Shadow Dancer, very handsome white dog with eye patch. Excellent filled head with a gentle profile & good roman finish. Undershot mouth. Strong round bone & a good front. Well made throughout with very good well angulated quarters short typy body. Moved with drive but a little close when going away.
VB (3,1) 1 Foster’s Ch Heavenly Body from Bilboen, very well made red bitch. Well shaped head & bodylines. Lovely long neck & plenty of type. Has lost her underline but it would be wrong to penalise a brood bitch for this. Very good quarters, moved & showed exceptionally well; 2 Jefferies’ Bulbrum Porcelain Queen, very well made elegant white bitch with a very good head & expression. Excellent bodylines Good front with good tight feet. Shade light in bone. If she had shown like she did today when she was younger she could well have won her crown. PB (4) 1 Sewards’ Padhen Precious Pearl, r/w bitch, very nicely made with shapely bodylines. Good head with a perfect mouth. Very good quarters, with good bend of stifle, & well let down hocks. Excellent confirmation. Moved & showed well. Just needs to mature throughout. BP; 2 Wright’s Rightstuff Time, white bitch with an outstanding head & expression. Correct mouth. Nice round bone. Very feminine & teeming with quality & with a Beautiful snow white coat. Rather upright in shoulder & lost her topline on the move; 3rd Edwards’ Bullimage Kizzee, well marked heavyweight b/br bitch. Very good head & tight front. Excellent make & shape. Plenty of substance, with good bone. Excellent spring of rib. Moved reasonably well. JB (5) 1 Roberts’ Teirwgwyn Treacle Tart, typy tri. Stunning head, completely filled up & turned right over. Undershot. Powerfully built throughout with a short stocky body. Muscular & wide hindquarters Moved well both coming & going; 2 Roderick’s Warnerdales Looney Toon, shapley white bitch. Feminine & elegant throughout, with plenty of quality. Well shaped head & good eye. Ear placement could be better. Nice sweeping bodylines, & good spring of rib. Moved fairly well; 3 Lambert’s Ebullient Nevaeh Angel, very good head. Elegant shapely bodylines, but failed a little in topline. Good length of neck, & shapely hindquarters with well bent stifles giving her the correct angulation. PGB (8,3) 1 Ley’s Fortifer Freyr Fenrir, very elegant & shapely r/w bitch Beautiful sweeping head profile. Slight mouth fault. Lovely long neck & well laid shoulder. Very good straight front with nice tight feet. Shade light in bone. Lovely long neck with good shoulder placement. Strong topline. A beautiful elegant bitch with very pleasing bodylines. Just needs to mature; 2 Lever & Grieves’ Borsalino Pearly Queen at Meilow, typy square bitch, with a very good head. Solidly built throughout. Shapely body, nice round bone with tight cat feet. Short coupled. Moved reasonably well going away but pinned in slightly when coming; 3 Hollindrake’s Bilboen Naughty But Nice at Bulian, square & compact typy white. Well shaped head with well placed ears. Slightly round eye. Good front & good bodylines with good tuck-up. Moved with drive & well in front but a touch close behind. LB (13,4) Best class in bitches with very little separating the first three. 1 Toner’s Lamellar Magic Millie,the surprise of the day. One who I admired as a puppy but who has suddenly matured in to a first class quality bitch, with bags of substance. Excellent well shaped head with both fill up & turn. Correct mouth. Extremely typy, she has lovely bodylines with a beautiful long neck, excellent layback of shoulder & short substantial body. Lovely round bone. Her ears are not best placed & the fact that they are colored rather draws attention to them, she also has a tendency to turn her feet out slightly. In profile however she is stunning with everything in the right place & all in one piece. To cap it all she shows like a bomb & demands attention. A beautiful bitch who fully deserves to wear her crown. RCC; 2 Newberry & Gates’ Ukusa Cosmopolitan, very similar to the winner, she has similar faults & virtues, but is somewhat less mature & built on rather lighter lines. Lots of quality, excellent head shape & good flowing bodylines. Well made & with plenty of quality she moved fairly well too. I don’t think that we have yet seen the best of this bitch, she is not yet the finished article & if she showed a little more verve in the ring I feel she could really sparkle; 3 Paterson’s Topfuel Miss Fire at Golitha,another typy square bitch with a really short back. Powerful head with plenty of fill, deep brisket & lovely round ribcage. Slight mouth fault. Good round bone. Short stocky body & well put together. Moved OK & showed & handled exceptionally well. Perhaps not the overall quality of the bitches above her, but an excellent bitch who I suspect may prove her true value in the whelping box. OB (9) 1 Crossan, McGill & Wannop’s Crossgarley Cacharrel, beautiful shapely bitch of outstanding quality with plenty of substance. Powerful & muscular yet completely feminine. Lovely head with a smooth gentle profile & completely filled under the eye. Good straight front with nice feet Lovely long neck & well laid shoulder. Excellent heavy round bone. Moved exceptionally well going away but a touch wide in front. Won the CC with something in hand. A stunning bitch of the highest merit that thoroughly deserves her award. In the challenge for BOB she pushed hard & clearly has greater breed type than the dog. However I felt that the exceptional positive virtues of the dog & his greater showmanship just won me over. CC; 2 Dettmar’s Dutch Ch Seventh Heaven The Joker, white bitch with a glorious head. Long filled & turned over. Mismarked neck. Straight front when standing but rather pinned in when coming. Nice square front with heavy bone. A bitch with obvious faults but balanced out by extreme virtues; 3 Howes & Sheppard’s Bilboen Legally Blonde for Polanca, very well made bitch with excellent make & shape. Lovely head. Shapley bodylines & carrying just the right amount of weight. Well balanced throughout & in excellent condition. GCB (1) 1 Waycott’s Waybully Bewitched, well marked & very eyecatching brindle. Excellent brood bitch type. Very substantial with good heavy bone. Powerful deep body. Very good well filled head with excellent strength. Undershot. Very showy with a good neck & shapely quarters. Moved exceptionally well behind, & really strode out on the move.
WILLIAM LAMBERT