Posts tagged ‘Showing’
Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie – Best Dog at Manchester Championship.
In another super Championship outing for the Big Belatarr Babies, Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie (Gryphon) took 1st Post Graduate Dog, with his brother Charlie Parker 2nd, before going on to be awarded Best Dog under judge Editha Newton.
Her critique for him was:
“I liked his balance of angles both fore & aft which helped him to stand foursquare with correct topline. Lovely neck & shoulder with good depth of chest. Lovely straight hock.”
Following wins at LKA and Boston this makes three Champ Shows in a row where Belatarr babies have taken Best Dog or Best Bitch, with a different sibling winning each time, which is particularly pleasing.
Not wishing to be left behind, a little later on Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (Billie) stepped out into what was only her second Champ Show Open Bitch class and was awarded 2nd from a classy entry of 10 Open Bitches. Many congratulations to all, once again!
Django Best Dog at Boston Championship.
Had a Great day yesterday – at 3:45AM Django and Tim headed off to the Boston Champonship Show (the first Champ Show that we’ve managed to get to since last summer) where Django won 1st Post Graduate Dog and then went Best Dog under breed specialist Keeley Newman-Jones – a great start to 2014!
Her critique for him was:
“25 months, one I liked as a youngster & he his maturing well. An upstanding dog who has a lovely eyecatching presence, lovely coat & colour, liked his head, all the correct proportions. Balanced all over especially on the move. Good depth of chest, correct front & rear angulation. Lovely temperament, he still has some maturing to do & I am sure will improve still. BD & very close to BOB”
Django’s Boston win s.
At the show we also met up with young Belatarr Hercules, 5 month old litter brother to Lyra and full brother to Django, Gryphon, Billie & Charlie.
Belatarr Hercules at 5 months.
…and then headed across country to Telford to visit two more baby sisters, Belatarr Andromeda & Belatarr Cassiopeia . 17hrs and 600 miles miles later we arrived back home – exhausted but with heads full of our lovely new generation of Belatarr babies!
Belatarr Cassopeia at 5 months.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson Best Bitch at LKA
Ending what has been a terrific year in suitably terrific style Billie, Belatarr Mahalia Jackson, took 1st in Post Graduate Bitch at the LKA Championship, and then went on to be awarded Best Bitch and Reserve Best of Breed under judge Mick Howes.
His super critique for her read:
“A real showgirl with class & style. She did not put a foot wrong. With overall soundness & balance, this bitch has an eye catching outline. Shown in good coat & presented in lovely condition. She has a very pretty head with good earset & correct eye, strong neck & lay back of shoulder, plenty of fore chest with straight front good pastern. Plenty of depth with spring to rib, excellent tailset. She has good muscle tone which showed in her movement which was steady with drive & extension keeping her topline & using her tail. Well deserving of Best Bitch”
Billie on the move.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson steps out.
Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) has had a superb run at Champ Shows all year, most recently taking 1st Post Graduate Bitch at Midland Counties under breed expert Sheila Grey, but she has been a little overshadowed going head-to-head against her brothers Django & Gryphon at recent Open Shows.
Billie certainly turned the tables today at the Exonian Canine Association show, though. She started by taking 1st in another big HWV Open class, with Django 2nd, and then went Best of Breed with Django Reserve BOB under judge Penny Gowland. Some hours later the 17-strong Gundog Group took to the ring and Billie did us all proud by taking an excellent Gundog Group 2 – congratulations to Billie & Irene on another really super result for the Mk 1 Belatarr babies!
Billie at Midland Counties.
Gryphon wins BEST IN SHOW!
Another sensational weekend for the Belatarr babies! On Saturday Belatarr Charlie Parker picked up another Best of Breed at the Huntingtonshire Canine Society Open Show; the following day, at the Bridgewater & District Canine Society Open Show, Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie (Gryphon) won Best of Breed and then went Gundog Group 1 under judge Mike Masters before going BEST IN SHOW under judge John Carter.
The judges critique for Gryphon was:
“Dog that impressed immensely. Oozes breed type & balance, appealing head & strong front. Lovely to go over with everything in the right place, in the correct proportions. Completed the picture with a good jacket. Moved so sound to win BOB, G1 & I was delighted to see him awarded BIS. ” Michael Masters
Gryphon’s Bridegwater wins.
This win means, incredibly, that Belatarr brothers have won the ALL of last three Devon & Somerset show Gundog Groups in a row over the last three successive weekends, with Django’s Group 1 win at Plymouth last weekend sandwiched by Gryphon’s two Group 1 wins at Minehead & then Bridgewater – an unprecedented run!
Best in Show.
Not only that but in the course of just three shows Gryphon has now collected more than enough points for his Show Certificate of Merit, just like his father, Mingus, before him. In so doing he becomes one of only a small handful of HWV’s, and only the 5th ever male (and the 2nd youngest after dad Mingus) to qualify for this prestigious award.
Many congratulations to Irene – we are incredibly proud, and currently incredibly excited!
Gryphon in the group winners line-up for BIS.
Django’s big win.
Following on from his brother Gryphon’s big result last weekend Django stepped up a gear today at the Plymouth & District Kennel Association Show where he won a large class in HWV Open and topped an all-Belatarr top 3 – with Brother Gryphon (Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie) 2nd and sister Belatarr Mahalia Jackson 3rd – before taking Best of Breed. This was Django’s 13th Best of Breed out of his last 15 shows, which is a pretty good score rate by any reckoning!
In a tough 17 strong line-up featuring many top dogs he then he went on to beat them all and be awarded a wonderful Gundog Group 1 (Best Gundog in Show) under judge Jane Lilley, prompting her to remark that “he does something to my heart” which was a lovely comment to hear. Her equally super critique was:
“Such a very high quality entry which, I was delighted to see, resulted in three siblings taking the first three spots. 1st Belatarr Django Reinhardt well balanced handsome and masculine, so good for make, shape, size and type. Here was quality combined with the best of construction and movement with excellent topline and tailset. A happy showman beautifully presented in hard condition and well textured coat. So very sound and effortless on the move, he looked as if he could go on all day with no trouble at all. Most impressive & should be even more so when fully mature. BOB G1“
Django’s Plymouth awards.
We took the gang out to the beach for a celebratory romp this morning and took the opportunity to capture a few new Django head-shots at the same time – very wet & very sandy – just the way he likes it!.
Wonderful win for Gryphon!
The gorgeous Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie (Gryphon) scored a stunning win yesterday at the Minehead & District Open show. He started by collecting 1st Graduate HWV, and then beat his sister Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (who was 1st in Open HWV) to take Best of Breed.
Then, after a few more hours of waiting, he won the Gundog Group too, a rare and very special achievement for any HWV, and only the third such win for a Belatarr boy, following similar Group 1 wins for dad Mingus and brother Charlie Parker, but Gryphon wasn’t finished there and shortly afterwards also took Reserve Best in Show! A fabulous achievement for Gryphon & Irene and one that instantly rewards them with 12 of the necessary 25 points towards a Show Certificate of Merit.
The judge’s super critique was:
“2 years dog. Typical, well balanced head. Correct skull, muzzle, nose, eye & ear. Strong jaws. Good head carriage, neck & forehand construction. Well boned limbs & feet. Excellent body & ribs. Powerful loin & couplings. Muscular, well made hindquarters. Correct skin, coat & furnishings. Sound free mover. Very typical all through combining quality with breed essence”
J Gill Davis
Needless to say we’re immensely proud of both Gryphon and Irene!
The Minehead rosette haul.
Windsor Win
Yesterday’s Windsor Championship show brought another very memorable outing and another great win for Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (Billie), who, at the grand old age of 19 months, is becoming quite the star. She firstly won her big Post Graduate Bitch class before beating a star-studded array of top bitches to take another excellent Reserve Best Bitch award, under judge Christine McDonald.
The judges critique read:
“Lovely bitch, super shape, in harsh body coat. Super head, just right in neck, shoulders, bone and feet, well sprung ribs carried well back. Good topline, excellent hindquarters and very sound on the move. RBB”
Billie taking RBB in the bitch line-up.
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson, fresh from the ring.
Meanwhile in an extremely competitive 10-strong Post Graduate Dog class Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie and Belatarr Charlie Parker scored a solid 3rd & 4th places, respectively. We’ve been trying to take an up-to-date ringside shot of Dizzy Gillespie (Gryphon) for the last few shows, invariably being defeated by the weather or timing, but this time we made sure to get a shot in the bag to show him as he now is, at 19 months of age and maturing very nicely:
Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie.
Take 2.
Belatarr Babies in the ring.
The Belatarr babies had another excellent show weekend, and all in blazing sunshine too…
First up on Saturday was Django who was awarded Best of Breed at the 3-day benched Royal Cornwall Show – another award previously bagged by his father 3 years earlier, and Django’s 6th consecutive Open Show BOB.
Following his win, and whilst seated on his bench, Django played host to a pretty much non-stop array of well-wishers (including brother Otis – Belatarr John Coltrane!) and fans, old and new, all of whom he was very happy to have provide their stroking/tickling and patting services…. although the continual attention, stifling heat and 4-hour wait combined to ensure that he was utterly exhausted by the time the Gundog group finally rolled around and he spent much of the time lying flat out on the grass in the Group ring whilst other Gundog BOB’s gamely trotted up and down.
One lovely show day was followed immediately by another and whilst Django snoozed his Sunday afternoon away siblings Billie, Gryphon & Charlie went into action at the Three Counties Championship.
Now 19 months of age the Belatarr youngsters are firmly up amongst the big boys and girls in Post Graduate. Charlie Parker & Gryphon went head to head, as usual, in a competitive Post Grad dog class and Gryphon (Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie) bagged 2nd place, with brother Charlie a solid 3rd. The judge was very keen to see Gryphon again to consider him for Reserve Best Dog, and waited for as long as she could, but to due *logistical complications* he was, unfortunately 5 mins away in the car park at by that time, and so sadly it was not to be…
The judges critique read:
“A soundly moving dog with many attractive attributes, excellent harsh coat, balanced front and rear angulations, deep and long ribs giving the correct body length, topline firm and held on the move.” Eileen Hughes
Sister Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) proved to be our biggest star of the day, though, and took an excellent 1st in a tough and large Post Graduate Bitch class.
Her critique read:
“It was difficult to separate the first two quality bitches. I preferred the firsts length of body and her coat; correct head and body proportions, good tight feet, very good topline and tail-set, she moved well.” Eileen Hughes
In the bitch line-up Billie then went head-to head with a previous Crufts Best of Breed winner (who had been called back after being placed 2nd in Open Bitch) and Billie emerged victorious to be awarded a terrific Reserve Best Bitch. An excellent day’s work, team!
Billies Three Counties wins.
Belatarr Bath Brace.
Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) and brother Gryphon (Belatarr Dizzy Gilespie) started a new chapter in the history of Belatarr this weekend when they hit the Brace class at a beautiful, sunshine-drenched Bath Championship Show.
Billie was first awarded an excellent 2nd place (out of 8) in her first ever Post Graduate Bitch Class under top judge Pam Blay. The judges glowing critique read:
“What a cracking class to judge. 2. Belatarr Mahalia Jackson, heavier coated pretty bitch with a good head and expression, lovely body proportions, strong neck carried well on the move, well made front assembly with strong bone and feet, good ribcage and loin and well muscled hind quarters, held her topline on the move with correctly carried tail, won her place in this strong class on her balance and showmanship.”
Billie then transferred hotfoot (or hotpawed?) across to the Brace Stakes Class where she and brother Gryphon were one of a giant entry of 19 pairs under judge Elina Haapaniemi. This was their first ever brace class and, at just 19 months of age, they were also much the youngest, as well as much the least experienced of the nineteen entries… so both their handler, Irene, and Tim, watching the results back at Belatarr HQ were absolutely thrilled when they were awarded 3rd place!
Huge congratulations to Irene, Billie & Gryphon and many thanks, also, to Simon Harris for capturing the event in photos:
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 