Manchester results

[dawn]

Manchester 2002

Judge June Kennard

DCC Shoe Buckle

RCC Ch Oakbark Major's Law at Stonefox

BCC Spinneyhill Seranata Over Millwold BOB

RCC Poachyn Camomile

Best Puppy Baldrey Verona

Margaret also went Group4  

 

[NEILPEM]

do any of the show dogs race

 

[Karen]

Quite a few Course but if you are showing I think we look for a smoother outline so they dont have so much muscle showing. and carry just a BIT more weight.

 

[Vanna]

Some people do show and race their dogs.  I know Liz Third does both with hers.  Liz has just retired and hasn't managed to get internet access set up at home yet, otherwise I'm sure she would have replied herself!

 

[Terry Smith]

Quite a few Course but if you are showing I think we look for a smoother outline so they dont have so much muscle showing. and carry just a BIT more weight.

Don't you think it's perverse that a sight hound in hard condition gets less in the ring than a overweight one? The standard stress's the whippets athletisicism yet an athletic specimen is frowned upon. A dog in hard condition has nothing to hide from a judge. structure, musclature etc are all there at his/her finger tips. Personally I feel there are "show" bred dogs that would open the eyes of the racing scene. However non of them will get the chance with the condition (lack of) they're in.

 

[Karen]

Most of the show dogs are in really hard condition but just have that outer covering, you hardly ever see a fat whippet in the ring.  I did take mine racing/trialing in the early days but ended up with  two bitches unable to show for months as they were both injured.  Pauline Olivers 'Spyanfly Say no More,  would have been a very useful track dog, I know he used to go regulary.  So the show dogs are no different really, they chase run free and have a good time.  A coursing lady took one of my show bred dogs and made her one of the top winning bitches last year, she is well covered and has muscles of steel under her soft layer.  so each to his own, the Americans do it all, dont know where they get the time!! ???

 

[Terry Smith]

Well they feel pretty pudgy to me!! Looking through the first 50 or so pages in the first "Whippet Champions" book you can see the difference in the dogs of the fifties, early sixties & now. Most of these dogs (the "Ladiesfields" are good examples) are in hard condition without looking poor or emaciated. With respect I think you miss my point. If someone want's to present a "well covered" dog fine but why should that dog be considered in "show condition" when a hard one isn't? One of the members of this site was told he had "buggered" a good show prospect up by over exercising it. This "advice" came from a person who is one of the countrys top exhibitors. I'm sorry your bitch's gave you a bad introduction to racing. This sounds like very bad luck. There are some quite tiny whippets race from March to October week in week out without suffering any major injuries. In fact more dogs seem to get injured free running than on the track. I agree with you about the "Spyanfly" dogs nice limber looking dogs & they aren't the only ones of their type. In fact this was the point I was trying to make. If dogs in racing condition could fulfill their owners ambitions in the show ring (which they can't) they could also get the chance to show their prowess on the race track. We got 2 first places last month with dogs in resting condition & even then many around the ring looked stunned because they were lean compared to most of the stuff being exhibited. This was of course only a limit show. In the real show world we would have got nothing.

 

[Karen]

So what if we ignore the condition and concentrate on the conformation, could this be a factor and perhaps we just think its the weight thing, same as colour.

 I have a black brindle white trim dog and when he's second I like to think its because the judge does.nt like his colour.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Terry

         Do I Know that person well .

I had a go at showing with a home bred bitch out of Rowangarth Dawn Wind (Hillsdown Fergal x Rowangarth Midnight Rose) to one of our own bitches (race bred) we did this mating to get the shape and size WE liked.

At an Open show I was aproched by a person I did not know who asked to purchase the bitch in question as he thought she looked the part,

it turned out he was a big name in showing I explained the bitch was not for sale as she had been bred to race and that she would be racing later that day when we had finished at the show, I was told that the bitch was to nice to be raced and that it would be a waste of a good bitch and that i'd spoil her looks by to much walking/running.(rubbish)

I explained to the man that she had been racing since 12 months old (at this point she was approx 18 months) and walked 4-5 miles daily with free running a statment that he questioned long and hard.

At another show I was told after winning her class by the judge that she could do with having a bit of weight took off ???

we showed at 5 shows winning at 4 of them, i'll not go into why we stopped showing but we continue to race were the winner is deciced on ability not personal preferace.