It was a great pleasure to be given this opportunity to once again judge afghan hounds in the USA.
While entry numbers were a little down this year I did find quality in the classes to be higher than on other occasions where I have judged larger classes. I generally found the dogs to exhibit all hallmarks of our breed. Heads were very good with a few being a little bigger than I like to see, fronts and rears were all very sound, spring and extension with typical carriage on the move was great.
In particular I had a class full of quality dogs for my best of breed competition. This made my job extremely difficult to choose just one winner. As on all other occasions when I judge afghan hounds I place emphasis on all facets of movement, soundness coming and going, spring and extension, carriage and ability to cover the ground when required to do so. Those dogs that ended up on the winners pegs exhibited all these qualities.
The following are some comments that I made about my placements as each class was judged.
6-9 Month Puppy Dogs
1. Fablehaft Keltic Colors (Turjoman/Dalton)
Black masked cream - nice rangy puppy with good shape and lovely on the move.
2. Jagar's Lord Maestro Gentian (Bajona/Stortini)
Nicely made blue puppy who moved somewhat sideways on the day.
9-12 Month Puppy Dogs
1. Charsada Beyond Thunderdome (Burns)
Self masked apricot puppy, nicely constructed , a little busy on the move.
12-18 Month Dogs
1. Boanne's Dragonheart (Evans)
Dark brindle dog with big body. Good spring and extension on the move, but would prefer to see more refinement in head.
2. Lorenwood's New Millenium (Starinsky/Badra)
Cream dog with refined pretty head but lacking some substance.
Bred by Exhibitor Dogs
1. Andros Conquistador (Osuna) and Winners Dog
Dark brindle very nice moving and stylish afghan. Well made and impressed me a lot. Perhaps a little more refinement in head would complete the picture. This very nicely balanced dog went on to be awarded winners dog and best of winners.
2. Murph's HMF Dante of Maya (Corbett)
Very nice blue male with a very refined head. An honest performance on the day.
3. Amare's Sky Walker (Vaughn)
Black and tan dog with a pretty head. Did not do much on the move.
4. Lugins Premier Edition (Gindlesperger)
Uptanding gold dog, little straight in front and somewhat lethargic on the move. Would like to see more refinement in head.
American Bred Dogs
1. Maya's Tuskeegee Airman (Faulkenhelmer/Morris)
Black nicely constructed dog with nice head. Would like to see a little more substance.
Open Dogs
1. Wind Against Future Fantastic (Cassidy/Moser) and Reserve Winners Dog
Black masked gold dog, very stylish on the move with good shoulders and head.
2. Paladin's Black Gold (Rosenblatt/Liss)
Black and tan dog that got better as class went on. Moved very well, nice head, not as good in shoulder as first place dog.
3. Overlooks Smack Water Jack (Hastings)
Pale brindle, nice all round dog with nice head.
4. Rolling Glenns Mercedese (Glenn)
Black and tan dog, nice moving but a little roached in back on the move.
6-9 Month Puppy Bitches
1. Casbar Color Xotica (Cassidy) and Winners Bitch
Black and brindle stunning puppy, very complete all over, lovely head, absolutely beautiful on the move. This puppy impressed me a lot and went on to be awarded winners bitch - a very rare occurrence for me to award this to such young exhibit.
2. Obiwan Witchcraft (Gaudin/Coulter)
Brindle puppy, similar in style as first place but did not do quite as well on the move as the first puppy.
3. Obiwan's Last Dance Vin Dela (Graat/Gaudin)
Black and brindle puppy, perhaps not quite as nice in head as first two but very nice puppy also.
Three extremely nice puppies in this class who all could win anywhere.
9-12 Month Puppy Bitches
1. Charsada Aboreinal Dreamtime (Burns)
Cream puppy, quite unsure of herself, nicely made but did not perform well.
12-18 Month Bitches
1. Willowmoor Fortune Cookie (Matarazzo)
Black bitch, nice shape, small and petite, very nice on the move
2. Willowmoor Sapphire (Matarazzo)
Blue bitch, looked a picture standing but did not do as well on the move as first bitch.
3. Dragon's Jewell of Boanne (Evans)
Black masked brindle bitch, much bigger than first two and nice moving. Perhaps a little on the large side for me.
Bred by Exhibitor Bitches
1. Kia's Strike A Pose-Vogue (Llano/Cuevas/Gonzalez) and Reserver Winners Bitch
Black masked silver bitch with great ring presence. Very beautiful head and nice moving. Very little seperating first and second.
2. Obiwan There's Magic N The Air (Gaudin/Coulter)
Black masked silver with beautiful head and good ring presence. Nice moving and difficult to separate from first place. Perhaps the first placed bitch was a little better in front assembly.
3. Lugins Blaze To Glory (Gindlesperger)
Black and tan bitch, nice shape and nice on the move. Pretty head when you look under the face hair.
4. Triplicity Little Liza Jane (Long/Yeloushan)
Pale brindle bitch with a pretty head, nice moving.
American Bred Bitches
1. Rolling Glenns That O Blk Magic (Glenn)
Black and brindle tan bitch, beautiful head, perhaps a little long in back for my liking. Obviously recovering from a broken leg sometime in the past.
Open Bitches
1. Llacus's Core 'Ngrato (Cuevas/Llano/Morelli)
Black an tan nice moving pretty head, good ringed tail good outline got better as class went on
2. Bokhara's Victoria of Kebir (Springer)
Cream bitch, very pretty and petite, nicely constructed and good on the move. Would like to see more body.
3. Tahkira Eye of The Tiger
Black and brindle bitch, nice moving and nicely constructed, not as good in head and neck as the first two bitches.
4. Llacue's Karamoor Amapola, SC, Fch. (Laudermilch/Llano/Cuevas)
Black and tan bitch, very leggy and rangy and nice moving.
Best of Breed Competition
BOB
Ch. Karamoor Llacue's Camellia (Givens)
Cream bitch, absolutely beautiful who did everything right on the day. Looked the part both standing and on the move. She is very well constructed with great head, neck and shoulders. The more I moved the class the more I liked her, she kept performing as she did when the class first entered the ring. A very fitting best in specialty show winner.
BOS
Ch. Casbar-Mezra Color Me Bad (Springer/Cassidy)
Black masked cream dog who was also stunning on the move. His effortless spring and extension really impressed me. As with the BOB winner he did everything right on the day. A lovely dog.
BOW
Andros Conquistador (Osuna)
BP
Casbar Color Xotica (Cassidy)
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