Posts filed under ‘Mahalia Jackson’
Championship Show Roundup.
In between all the puppy shenanigans back here at HQ team Belatarr have been enjoying a terrific run at the last three Championship shows.
The Scottish Kennel Club Championship, under judge Anne Moss, brought a 5th CC for Sh Ch Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM (Billie) as she was named Best Bitch, and, having just moved up to Limit classes, young Belatarr North By Northwest was rewarded with Reserve Dog CC too. This win makes Billie the second highest awarded bitch in breed history, an incredible achievement, whilst North gained his KC Stud Book number with his RCC, another great milestone for him and Irene.
The following weekend saw the Bath Championship, presided over by judge Blake Crocker, where Billie and North both had a repeat of the same results that they achieved in Scotland, with Billie named Best Bitch and North Reserve Best Dog:
Next up was the Southern Counties Championship, under judge Betty Smith, and this time it was the boys time to triumph, with Belatarr winning all of the top three male classes – Belatarr Vertigo (Sabi) was 1st in a tough Post Graduate class, Belatarr Charlie Parker ShCM placed 1st in Limit Dog and Sh Ch Belatarr Hercules took 1st in Open Dog, before going on to be awarded Best Dog and then Best Of Breed. This was a particularly impressive achievement for Herc as, on the way to be named Best of Breed, he needed to beat all 3 of the highest awarded bitches in breed history (including his own older sister, Billie!) who, unusually, were all entered and present in the ring on the day.
Huge congratulations to Jenny, David, Irene and Vivien on all of their achievements with their Belatarr girls and boys, and I’m very much looking forward to joining you all back on teh show circuit once puppy duties have been completed!
Billie the Champion!!
A truly wonderful, memorable day at the National Gundog Championship today under breed specialist Christine Schofield.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM collected her 3rd CC for Best Bitch and so becomes Belatarr’s first Champion!
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM – Our New Champion!
….whilst her litter brother, Belatarr Charlie Parker ShCM also picked up his third RCC for Reserve Best Dog.
Belatarr Charlie Parker ShCM
Needless to say an incredibly proud day for us and we are so expecially thrilled for Irene and Billie on their great achievement today.
Billie goes BEST IN SHOW at the HWVA Championship…again!
A simply amazing day for Belatarr at yesterday’s HWVA Championship – the biggest annual gathering of the breed anywhere in the world:
Junior Dog
1st – Belatarr Vertigo
2nd – Belatarr North By Northwest
Belatarr Vertigo.
Belatarr North by Northwest.
“1. Ryan’s Belatarr Vertigo, won by a head! Loved his classic head & expression with a lovely eye & well set & carried ears, good neck & shoulders, lovely profile movement really using his sound hindquarters & well made forequarters, he is balanced & a lovely type, a good size, well boned, excellent coat in tip-top condition with lovely muscletone; 2. Collier’s Belatarr North By Northwest, well boned & bodied youngster who still has his puppy head on! Correct neck & shoulders, still has his old jacket on but his new coat is coming through, lovely topline & tailset, he is balanced with good muscletone but oh what a handful for his owner, when he settles, nothing should stop him. Today beaten by his brother, I reckon these two will have many a battle in the future.“
Graduate Dog & Special Working Dog
1st – Belatarr Sculptor
“Not quite the head I was looking for but his overall balance & free movement took the class, good coloured & correct shaped eye, good earset & carriage, in lovely coat & condition, he is well muscled with the correct hindquarters, topline & tailset, good neck & strong forequarters, steady up & back but excellent head carriage & tailset carriage in profile.“
Limit Dog
1st – Belatarr Hercules
Belatarr Hercules (photo courtesy of Hayley Bradshaw)
“Very balanced dog of a lovely type, excellent masculine head & expression, good neck & shoulders, good forechest, lovely topline & tailset, good depth of chest, in excellent coat & condition with a well muscled hindquarters, he is quality, he kept a strong topline set up & moving & his profile movement was a joy to see, showed well to win a good class.”
Open Dog
1st – Belatarr Charlie Parker ShCM
Belatarr Charlie Parker ShCM.
Junior Bitch
1st – Belatarr Thirtynine Steps
Belatarr Thirtynine Steps.
“No wonder I wrote nice type, it is yet another littermate to the JD 1 & 2! Feminine head & expression with a lovely eye, good neck & shoulders, lovely topline & tailset, she is balanced of a good size & outline, nice depth of chest, moved soundly on well boned legs & feet, well muscled hindquarters, excellent coat of the correct texture.“
Open Bitch
1st – Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM
Best Bitch CC – Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM
BEST IN SHOW – Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM – Best in Show
“I make no secret of the fact that I have liked this bitch before. This is the third time I judged her, first time she wasn’t ready, second time she was the best bitch but boy look at her now! Now the finished package and am very surprised that she is still wanting her third CC. So very feminine in outline & outlook, such a pretty head & expression, I love her type, she is balanced & quality & is everything I want in a Hungarian Wirehaired bitch. She moved so true on well boned legs & feet, excellent neck & shoulders, strong topline & well set tail, good depth of chest, moved with ease & style covering the ground with an excellent head carriage & tailset, the bonus is that she has an excellent coat of the correct harshness & a beard, not an overlarge one, as I am know to prefer less, but just enough for perfection, her muscletone just gleamed on a sunny day, even though we were inside, when the sun caught her going round in profile, it completed the picture. Thrilled to give her the CC & BIS“
Pam Blay
Absolutely thrilled for Vivien, Marie, Jenny & David and particularly Irene for Billie’s 2nd CC – Billie is also the only dog ever to have twice won Best in Show at the HWVA Champ Show!
Thank you so very much to judge Pam Blay for thinking so highly of the Belatarr clan – it means the world to us – these results are all I could ever have wished for, and make me so proud of everyone’s achievements – more pics to follow!
Richmond & Darlington Championships: more wins for Billie.
The Richmond Championship Show proved to be another great day in the ring for Billie, Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM, where judge Marion Waddell awarded her 1st Open Bitch and then Best of Breed (her second Champ Show BOB in a week) which allowed her to once again represent the breed alongside the 26 other Gundog BOB’s in the the Gundog Group:
Billie having her examination the Gundog Group in the Best in Show Ring.
and on the move with Irene in the Gundog Goup.
The judges critique was:
“Robustly built bitch with a strong frame which is constructed well, strong developed chest down to elbows, which are well tucked in, moderately broad skull with oval eye, strong in neck, well ribbed body reaching back to well developed thighs which showed in her driving ground covering gait.“
MARION M WADDELL
A week later, and despite feeling distinctly under the weather, Billie managed to continue her fantastic form by winning her third Champ Show Open Bitch class in a row, this time at the Darlington Championship, where she was in a class comprised entirely of CC winners & Show Champions, under judge Gordon Haran:
Billie in the Open Bitch class at Darlington.
Belatarr Birmingham Big Treble!
A truly amazing day for us at the Birmingham Championship show, presided over by judge and Gundog expert Di Arrowsmith – Belatarr took a record-breaking Best Dog, Best Bitch AND Best Puppy:
Belatarr North By Northwest 1st Puppy Dog & Best Puppy, at 7 months of age.
“A very happy baby, up to size already he excelled in skull proportions, forehand angulation, topline & hindquarters. Very balanced on the move for one so young. BP.”
Di Arrowsmith
Belatarr Charlie Parker – 1st Open Dog & Best Dog.
“Loved this boy. Typical all through & just as the Standard states, robust & stronger boned than its cousin the smooth Vizsla. He excelled in coat, head & expression, leathers & clean neck. Sound front & on good well padded feet, ideal angles fore & aft, firm topline held throughout the class. Best on the move in this class. A very worthy Best Dog.”
Di Arrowsmith
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM – 1st Open Bitch, Best Bitch and Best of Breed.
“Substance, bone, type & quality. A grand bitch who I later learned is sister to my BD. She has all his qualities, head planes, eye, expression, leathers, front & feet, heartroom, angles fore & aft & a firm topline in between. In good coat & very good on the move. BB & BOB”
Di Arrowsmith
Billie & Charlie going head-to-head for Best of Breed.
As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day North’s sister Ethel, Belatarr To Catch A Thief, also made her (and her handlers!) show debut and was rewarded with an excellent 2nd Puppy Bitch, which also immediately qualified her for Crufts 2016 – Many congratulations!
Immediately following the Champ Show the HWVA hosted it’s annual Open show (in the same ring as the Champ Show classes) and the Belatarr Boys collected another three 1st places, with North taking 1st Minor Puppy Dog, Best Puppy Dog and Best Puppy in Show, whilst his big brother Hercules was awarded 1st Post Graduate Dog and Charlie was 1st Limit Dog. Their brother Kofi took second in Graduate Dog and baby Sabi was a close 2nd to his litter brother North in Minor Puppy Dog, all under judge and long-time breed expert Diane Parry.
Charlie & Herc’s lovely HWVA trophies.
North’s three HWVA trophies for 1st Minor Puppy Dog, Best Puppy Dog & Best Puppy in Show.
Billie & North’s great haul of Birmingham awards.
Phew!
Belatarr at Crufts 2015
A brief day off from puppy duties saw a terrific and very memorable (historic, even!) day for us at Crufts 2015. Belatarr was one of only 6 Gundog kennels to qualify for the final of what was to be the last ever Kennel Club Breeders Competition. It was a great honour to be invited to take our place in front of a big crowd in the Crufts main arena today, where we were very proud to represent the breed alongside over 200 other dogs from all of the other groups.
The Breeders Competition was in the evening, but prior to that came the breed judging, and the Belatarr boys really did us proud today too. Young Belatarr Hercules was now just out of Junior and in his very first Post Graduate Dog class, where he was placed 3rd out of an entry of 10 – a very nice result which also automatically qualifies him for Crufts 2016.
His big brother Belatarr Charlie Parker was unquestionably the star of the day though, and we were thrilled, and delighted for Jenny and David, to see Charlie awarded 1st Limit Dog from a very classy line up of males.
Belatarr Charlie Parker stacked in the Limit Dog Class.
The examination.
And 1st place!
Belatarr Hercules – examined in the Post Graduate Dog Class.
Charlie & Herc with their Crufts winnings!
Billie, Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM, was the third member of our Breeders Team today, and she didn’t go home empty handed, picking up Reserve in another very high quality Open Bitch Class.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM – stacked in the Open Bitch class.
Belatarr makes breed history at Boston Championship!
A truly incredible start to the year for team Belatarr with brother & sister taking both Best Dog and Best Bitch today at the Boston Championship Show under judge Jill Peak. Belatarr Charlie Parker was awarded Best Dog and Belatarr Mahalia Jackson ShCM (Billie) took Best Bitch & then won Best of Breed with Charlie Reserve Best of Breed.
Many, many hours later Billie then thrilled us beyond measure when she also won the Gundog Group under judge Aidine Howes – the first and only time EVER that a Wirehaired Vizsla has been awarded Best Gundog at a General Championship show and so the highest show level reached by any HWV in the UK.
We are just so unbelievably proud of Irene & Billie’s historic win and this first for the breed! 🙂
The judge’s glowing critiques for Billie were:
“I was so pleased with the beautiful dogs in this group.
.. my choice for G1 was Belatarr Mahalia Jackson, W/h Vizsla, I was looking for a winner who not only possessed the correct structure but was also sound on the move with good ring presence – this bitch fitted the bill & in addition she was presented in excellent body & muscular condition with a correct wire coat which gave beautiful face furnishings & covered her whole body from the tip of her nose to the tip of her toes. She did not put a foot wrong with her true & steady movement, I feel privileged to have been told afterwards this has given this breed its first group winner.“
Aidine Howes
“3 years old bitch excels in breed type, shown in good coat & condition. lovely head well balanced, good neck & shoulders, good bone, legs & feet, lovely body & balance, good quarters & set on, moved well both ways with reach & drive maintaining her topline. BB & BOB, was delighted to see her take G1 in a strong gundog group.“
Jill Peak
image courtesy of Chris Morgan
Billie representing the Gundog Group in the Best In Show ring.
The BIS examination.
Welsh double wins for Billie.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (Billie) continued her fabulous year by taking 1st Open Bitch and Best Bitch at both of this weeks two Championship Shows. Firstly renowned judge Pam Blay awarded her at the weekend’s South Wales Kennel Association Championship Show, and also rewarded her with this wonderful, memerable critique:
“This cracking bitch has come on so much since I judged her last. She is now the finished picture of a typical Wirehaired Vizsla, she has the stance, bone & outlook needed for this breed. She is so balanced that she couldn’t put a foot wrong, she has substance but maintains her femininity, in excellent coat of the correct texture with undercoat, feminine head & expression with a lovely eye & pigment, excellent neck & shoulders with a lovely depth of chest, in hard muscular condition which showed in her excellent, precise movement. Delighted with her progress, no hesitation in making her BB.”
Pam Blay
Just four days later Billie beat a classy line up of HWV bitches at the Gundog Society of Wales Championship Show to be awarded Best Bitch once again, this time under judge Jill Peak.
These two wins now give Billie 6 Championship Best of Sex wins for the year, and all before the age of 3!
Billie makes breed history!
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (Billie) took best of breed and then Gundog Group 4 today at the Newton Abbot & South Devon Canine Society Open show under judge Mark Boswell. This gave her the final 2 points needed for her Kennel Club Show Certificate of Merit, an award that her brothers Belatarr Django Reinhardt and Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie have also both achieved this year. The boys were the first ever HWV brothers to gain their certificates and now with Billie having made the grade too this is the first time ever that three HWV siblings have achieved a ShCM.
Billie strides out (and wags!) – photo courtesy of Nick Carter.
Belatarr Best of Breed at Bournemouth.
Dodging endless ominous looking thunderstorms. all of which seemed to break just beyond the showground, Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (Billie) scored another memorable win today under breed specialist Mike Lewin at the Bournemouth Championship Show.
Billie in the Bitch Challenge.
Billie in action in the Gundog Group ring. Photo courtesy of Katherine N. Gunstad.
Having won 1st in Limit Billie then beat the assembled Champions to take an excellent Best Bitch and was then awarded her 3rd Champ Show Best of Breed of 2014, further consolidating her place as the Top Scoring HWV bitch this year.
Billie and Irene share a moment in the Group Ring. Photo courtesy of Katherine N. Gunstad.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 