Many thanks the committee of The Yorkshire Afghan Hound Association for inviting me to judge at this friendly, well-run show and to the exhibitors who entered their much-loved dogs under me. All the dogs were all beautifully presented.

Yearling Dog

1st Lancashire and O’Donnell’s Drishaun Baby’s in Black JW

This is a beautiful dog. His head is well balanced with excellent foreface with chiselling and a strong powerful underjaw. His eyes are dark and beautifully shaped with the desired upward tilt from inner corner to outer corner giving him the most exotic oriental expression. His neck is strong and well-muscled, and he has smooth well laid shoulders and good return of upper arm. His forelegs are straight and well boned, and he has big strong feet. His body proportions are ideal with a deep well sprung ribcage and broad powerful loin. His hipbones are prominent, and he has a well-developed saddle and a good croup. He used his long, strong hindquarters and flexible pasterns to power himself around the ring with a beautifully balanced light, springy, driving action which enabled him to cover a lot of ground with the minimum effort. He was certainly moving with a style of high order, and it was a joy to watch him move. I was delighted to award him best dog and BIS.

Post Grad Dog

1st Dage’s Shimalma Drambuie Isjulees

Self-masked gold dog who has good overall balance. He has an attractive head with good eye shape. His layback of shoulder is good, and he has a fair return of upper arm. His ribcage is just deep enough and is quite long, but I felt he needed more spring of rib. His loin is fairly strong, and the angle of croup is good. He has good length to his quarters and short hocks. On the go around he was overstepping slightly.

Limit Dog

1st Mitchell and Smithson’s Zandahar Xplosiv Storm

Masculine brindle boy with a strong well-balanced head. He has good ears set and strong jaws, but I felt his eyes were a fraction full. His neck is strong and there is a smooth line into well laid shoulders he also has a well filled front and good return of upper arm, with a deep well carried back ribcage. He has prominent hipbones with good width and a short broad loin and sweeping quarters. He moved with a powerful gait, but I preferred the effortless and the style of movement of my best dog, I was happy to award him reserve Best Dog.

Limit Bitch

1st Mitchell, Smithson and Thornton’s Absolute Afghan’s India at Karnak (Imp Nor)

A very feminine bitch. She has a well-balanced head and there was evidence of some work in her foreface. Her eye shape was good, and she has well set ears. Her shoulders were smooth, and she has good return of upper arm. Her ribcage is well shaped and deep, and her back was short and fairly broad with prominent hipbones. She has well-turned stifles and short hocks. On the move she presented a balanced picture keeping her topline. I was pleased to award her Best Bitch, BOS and RBIS

Mary Sanders Parker (Classicus)