Journal Donau 2018

JUDGES-REPORTS – SIGHTHOUND FESTIVAL DONAUESCHINGEN 2017
energy and drive at times it was a little overwhelming.
No doubt these German women nate and dedicated people, please do not loose
Breeders and exhibitors, you are clearly passio-
STEPHAN WHEELER | AUS / ES
(JACOSTA KENNEL (AUSTRALIEN)
EHEM. SCANDINAVIAN SIGHTHOUNDS MAGAZINE) have hidden powers. Julie hosted quite a few your focus.
of the judges, checked on us several times
great panel of co judges and some of the most each day, made sure all was running smooth Apart from being confronted by so many
professional and experienced Sighthound and then spent time with us after the shows beautiful dogs, class after class one thing was
breeder judges that I have admired and have each day. What a warm and caring person, very obvious to me. Almost all my entry were
respected for many years.
she worked from sun up to sun set always had shown in such good condition. I could almost
a smile and laugh she made the weekend so write a novel on my thoughts and I could single
Perhaps that is why this year the club draw the
largest entry of all times in the history of the
club. The entry of most breeds was quite over
whelming, certainly for the breeds I judged on
both days.
I know the great difficulties it is to stage a
show of this size and magnitude. In past years
I have been the worker/organizer, not the
judge. So I know first hand all the difficulties
and the many, many months that go into staging
a show of this size. My hat goes off to the
dedicated, hard working band of workers, each
and everyone of you make this Sighthound
Festival the great success it has become over
the years.
I have no doubt the entry for this show will
continue to rise. It has become clearly the
Number One Sighthound Show in Europe,
actually, I doubt any other Sighthound Show
anywhere can match its numbers.
It seems a little unfair to single out just a few
of the workers, so I do apologize to those that
I may not mention. Olaf, you are quite a magician,
I do not know where you get your energy
and continued drive to work as you do, year
after year. I think you may have been born with
a microphone in your hand and not the normal
baby rattle. Your drive, energy and enthusiasm
makes one feel tired. PLEASE, keep up your
passion and love for Sighthounds, thank you so
much for such a wonderful weekend.
I was met at the airport by Julia, a warm welcome
and a good driver who eventually drove
several of us to our hotel. Julia was about all
weekend, driving and carting for most of the
judges, thank you so much Julia you helped to
make the weekend special. I hope our paths
will cross once more. I was very much looking
forward catching up once again with Angelika,
secretary of the club. We have a passion
we share, our beloved Afghan Hounds. I first
met Angelika many, many years ago, as a previous
judge and then a sponsor for the show
for some years. She is an amazing worker, so
dedicated and just like Olaf, I have no idea how
she keeps going, without Angelika the show
would not be the same.
One other special person who made my weekend
and many others so memorable was Julie
Hübner. An incredible women with so much
special.
Judging started somewhat behind on the Saturday,
all judges had excellent entries, including
myself.
DEERHOUNDS.
What a nice entry this was. It is quite rare to
have the opportunity to judge this breed in
such high numbers. Some of the classes were
very large and some decisions I made were
not easy. My overall impressions of this entry,
Excellent. The depth of quality was very good
with 98% of the entry very sound in basic movement
and very good side gait. Teeth were
very good, had just two suspect bites. Many
times in the past when judging Deerhounds I
have had several bad bites and from an entry
of this size I was very happy. Type overall
was very, very good. Most exhibits were well
balanced, nicely bodied and bone matched
the exhibit for overall weight and size. Feet
on the whole were very good, most exhibits
had excellent foot placement and covered the
ground on the move. My only real criticism of
my entry was the great variation in height of
this entry. Personally I do like this breed well
in standard height. Having said that, I found
my final two winners to be well up on leg but
both in my opinion excelled in conformation
and both displayed such excellent movement. I
thought many of the youngsters showed great
promise for the future, my best male if he does
not coursing too much could well prove to be a
dog to watch in the future. My beautiful BOB
bitch excelled in most areas. A lovely type with
excellent balance. She moved so easily, soundly
and just covered the ground with effortless
ease.
GREYHOUNDS.
WOW, this entry was incredible. Not only very
large in numbers but also very high in quality.
It was a great pleasure to judge the Greyhounds
and some decisions were so difficult
to decide and thus having to split some dogs
was very hard. Perhaps on another day, I could
easily turn around some placing.
My overall impressions, the Greyhound is in
a good place especially compared to many
of the other Sighthound breeds. Type was
outstanding. Yes, clearly I could see breeder/
personal preference but that’s a good thing for
any breed. Keep up the good work Greyhound
out many dogs but space does not allow this.
It has been hard to just mention a few dogs
that left a lasting impression. My very young
almost white baby – Hermes of Naifhounds
Kingdom (Fendi des Légendes du Moyen Age
x Ferwinn des Légendes du Moyen Age), bred
and owned by Annalisa Gallio / IT – was such
a well put together and sound moving puppy.
It is very hard for a Greyhound puppy to collect
himself on the move but my best baby did just
that. I wish him well for the future and hope
he hold his beautiful shape. While on youngsters,
my beautiful red Junior bitch was quite
something special: Sobers Beguine (Sobers
Vertigo x Sobers Ulexia), owned by Natascha
Thamm / DE. Clearly still needs time, but what
an amazing and so correct moving Greyhound
for her age. She was of great Type, good balance
hope she continues to slowly reach her
maturity.
I had a truly beautiful dark brindle male, think
he was the open class: Fionn Clann Keefer (Epic
Honourable x Fionn Clann Radella), bred by Katya
Arkhipova / RUS, owned by Paul Daenen / BE
He was quite a stand out in the line up, wonderful
type and overall balance. Sadly, he was
favouring his shoulder and not moving soundly.
If he was not injured, I have no doubt she
would have been a major contender. I found it
impossible to dismiss him. I made the decision
not to move him again and he was so deserving
of his excellent grading.
Another truly beautiful bitch that I could not
take my eyes off in the line up, an almost white
girl with the most classic, correct and beautiful
outline she truly filled my eyes: Sobers Vanilla
Sky (Estet Classic Self Made at Sobers x Sobers
Orienne), bred and owned by Pieri & Bitte Ahrens-Primavera
/ IT. I was a little disappointed
when she moved, I did give her a few attempts
hoping she would get into a better rhythm but
it did not happen. If this girl had moved as I
had hoped, she may well have changed some
major decisions.
Another truly beautiful and very classic male,
think he was in the open class: An all black
dog with such an impressive outline, he flowed
from head to tail: : L’Avocat du Diable ad Honores
(Jets Signed ’n Delivered x De ad Honores
des Légendes du Moyen Age), bred and owned
by Francine Belgherbi / FR. His handler struggled
to move him out, with another handler this
dog would have been a contender as well.
My reserve male although young was a stand
out for me: Sobers Amadeus Karkati (Karkati’s
Cesare x Sobers Orianne), bred by Sobers / IT,
owned by Ina Koulermou / DE. Beautiful type,
clean flowing lines, well angled but not overdone.
Took him a while to settle but he moved
with ease and showed both strength and elegance
on the stack and kept this on the move:
My best male was quite exceptional. He cut
a very impressive outline. Every inch a male
showing both strength and power. Yet, he was
also elegant. He was shown in outstanding
condition. Muscle was long and lean and what
an amazing body and well developed front.
Moved so soundly, a true joy to judge and
award: Karkati’s Cesare (Windrock Fernando
x Fionn Clann Penelope at Karkati), bred and
owned by Roberto Posa & Pierre Floesser / SE.
– Turned out, my two top males were father
and son.
My reserve bitch came from the very strong
champion class. My first three in the class were
all outstanding bitches. This light red brindle
(Ina’s Fashion Chic (Boughton Baggio x Epic
Invincible), bred and owned by Ina Koulermou
/ DE) just flowed in outline for me, beautiful
flow from neck into shoulders and into topline.
I loved her overall balance, well angled front
and rear yet not overdone. She moved with
ease and covered the ground with great ease.
My best bitch which probably shocked some
just had something special about her that
caught my eye. It did take the handler a little
while to get her together but then it all happened:
Fortheringhay’s Awakening of Love
(Guld’s Only O’Brian x Fionn Clann Derry Duchesse),
bred and owned by Christina Wüger,
co-owner: Hanne Cornelia / DE. A very classic
outline, beautiful head and clean flowing lines.
She still needs a little time to mature but
I think she can only get better. She was excellent
to go over and was beautifully balanced,
she stood over a lot of ground with great ease.
Shown in tip top condition, just enough muscle
and a very correct strong, firm loin.
So, that ends my Greyhound report. I cannot
thank all the Greyhound handlers enough for
your gracious manner in which you accepted
my decisions. You all showed such good sportsmanship,
a rare thing at times in our sport. I
will remember my Greyhound day at Donaueschingen
for some years to come, thank you
all so much for making my day so memorable.
Saturday finished rather late and what an honor
for me to judge BIS.
Must admit, it was at times rather difficult to