JUDGING THE ENGLISH TOY SPANIEL CLUB OF AMERICA REGIONAL SPECIALTY SHOW
by Dr. Geno Sisneros
J udging a rare breed is always a treat, but when I was invited to judge one of the English Toy Spaniel Club of America’s re- gional specialty shows held Septem- ber 7, 2018 in Des Moines, Iowa, I knew it was a rare opportunity to see more than a handful of this endearing breed at one time and would be a once in a lifetime chance to learn the breed. As a fairly new judge, I was extremely honored and excited. I wanted to the best job I could, so I took every op- portunity to study the breed, from at- tending the national specialty, going to seminars, discussing the breedwith breeders and handlers, and observing the breed at shows in England, trying to learn the priorities in the breed and get a picture of that ideal specimen in my head. The regional specialty drew an entry of 35 dogs between the two varieties, and I must say I was nervous. I ex- pected the quality to be high, as there have been some ETS doing extremely well in the ring this year, and I was not let down. I think the hardest part of judging a breed that is not your own is learning to prioritize. Of course, you want a dog that has it all...the beautiful head, the cobby body, soundness but a lot of times you have to figure out what
mature bitch. The best of variety competition was very competitive with very slight differences among the specials. GCh. Ch. Clussexx Padding- ton of Flivverway was best of variety and, ultimately, best of breed, and Ch. Sanchi’s Tribute to Adair was select dog. The lovely Clussexx Cream of the Crop was best of opposite sex to best of breed. Best bred-by-exhibitor was Southdown Ready Set Reign. It was a thrill to be able to judge so many beautiful English Toy Span- iels on this day. Having the quality in front of me forced me to really look at the finer points of the breed to try to make the best choices I could on the day. Many thanks to the English Toy Spaniel Club of America and all of the wonderful exhibitors for a day I will never forget.
is important to you and what is im- portant from a breeder’s standpoint. Sometimes, that is not an easy task, and no better way then to have a lot of them at one time! I was lucky in that I had good quality and overall very nice temperaments in the ring, and when it came down to winners I could get down to finer details. In Blenheim and Prince Charles, winners dog was a stunning Prince Charles from the bred-by-exhibitor class, Southdown Ready Set Reign. He was also best of winners to complete his champion- ship. I think he will have great spe- cials career.Winners bitch and best of opposite sex was Clussexx Cream of the Crop, a beautifully proportioned, showy girl with a beautiful head. The specials were all very nice quality, but GCh. Ch. Xela’s E.T. Phone Home, a beautifully put together older male, was best of variety, and select dog was GCh. Ch. LTO Zeus of Coelura. In King Charles and Ruby, there were many very pretty heads, though most were younger and lacked some in body, which comes with age. Win- ners dog was Sanchi Just Joshua, a very well put together dog from the 9-12 class with a gorgeous head and great attitude. Winners bitch was American-bred Dragons Gate Tea For Three, a very balanced,
66 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2018
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