Thank you to the committee and members of the Bullmastiff Club of South Australia for the invitation to judge my breed at your specialty show.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day.  Thank you to the exhibitors for their entry and congratulations to them on their sportsmanship and the presentation of the exhibits.  Thank you to my lovely steward who made the ring run very smoothly.  

I found some very nice dogs in my entry.  Size & substance with good depth of rib was evident throughout the entry.  There were very few long backs.  Temperaments were excellent.  I didn’t see any really light eyes but the really dark eyes were in the minority.  Mouths were overall mixed, with a number more undershot that I was expecting to see.  There were a few wry mouths, and width between the canines also needs to be watched.  Only a few of the dogs had the required pronounced stop that the standard calls for.  I found some of the dogs a little cumbersome on the move and a number did cross coming and going.

My awards and subsequent comments are based on my observations on one day.  Obviously interpretation of the standard is sometimes subjective, but each and every exhibit was given detailed consideration and evaluated according to my interpretation of the standard.  Congratulations to the winners, I look forward to seeing many of these dogs in the ring over the next few years.

Cheryl Wright

4mth old baby, finer boned than the others in the classes, good body proportions height to length, sufficient spring of rib, good shape to skull, muzzle lacks a little in depth & breadth. Low set tail. The best put together today of the 3.

Best head/muzzle of the class, excellent bone, short back, good dark eye, excellent pigmentation, steep croup, not the hindquarters of the winner, which was reflected in his poor movement.

Large baby puppy, excellent boning, good body length, good broad chest, good shape to skull, moderate stop. Very down in pasterns which spoilt his movement. Low set tail.

9mth old fawn male, sufficient boning to him, excellent pigmentation, good shape to skull, lacking a little in width of muzzle. Sufficient angulation front and rear, upper arm a little short, higher in rear on the stack today, had a good topline on the move. Tailset a little low. Good side gait, a little close coming & going.

Longer and plainer in muzzle and lacking a full dark mask, good shape to skull, lacking in depth & width of muzzle, mouth just overshot. Good height to length proportions, sufficient boning. Movement a little erratic, crossing coming & going. Tailset low.

A young junior & has a lot of maturing ahead of him, lovely head with dark eye, good mouth, pronounced stop, good body proportions, excellent short back, good side gait, a little close in front. Excellent cat feet, tailset a little low.

Very good balanced body with substance on this boy, excellent side gait. Good skull, muzzle lacks width and has a moderate stop. Good spring of rib, balanced angulation, good topline & underline.

Heavily built red dog. Good topline, broad front, excellent boning, balanced angulation front & rear, a little long in body. Good width to skull and muzzle, moderate stop. Tailset a little low. Not the movement of the class winner.

5yr old fawn dog, lovely headpiece both skull and muzzle, great mouth, pronounced stop, nostrils a little pinched. Broad chest, balanced angulation front and rear, excellent spring of rib. Moved well with good reach and drive.

20 mth old red dog, good shape to skull, moderate stop, good body proportions, would like more spring of rib, low set tail. Didn’t move with the drive of the class winner.

Heavy built fawn dog, good width of skull and muzzle, moderate stop, good body proportions, broad front, excellent boning, balanced angulation front & rear. Tailset a little low. Movement not as good as those ahead of him.

Large red dog, excellent body proportions, lovely clean skull of correct shape with broad deep muzzle, excellent spring of rib, good broad chest, good topline & underline, balanced angulation front & rear. Tailset a little low. Moved with good reach & drive.

Medium size 2 ½ year old dog with sufficient boning, lovely head piece, good body proportions, good spring of rib, good topline & underline. Tail carriage not as I would expect from an open dog, which cost him the res cc. Tail set a little low.

Lovely coloured brindle, good substance, spring of rib, a little longer in body, not quite the headpiece of the 2 ahead of him with a moderate stop, good shape to skull, muzzle lacks a little in depth & breadth.

Lovely winner, good size & substance, good topline & underline, balanced angulation front & rear, excellent tailset. Lovely head, cube muzzle. Moved well with good side gait & coming & going.

Fawn bitch, good boning, good body proportions, shorter backed than the winner. Tailset low. Moved well enough for a baby.

Similar in type to the class winner, not as willing to move today, good size & substance, good spring of rib. Not quite the head of the 1st place getter. Tailset a little low.

Promising youngster, good head & body proportions. Good topline & underline, good spring of rib. Balanced angulation front & rear. Sufficient reach & drive. Displayed the typical bum high puppy in the cc lineup.

Heavily built puppy, stacks up well but very loose in body on the move. Good broad chest, excellent spring of rib, longer in body at this stage. Balance angulation front & rear.

9 mths old fawn puppy. Still going through the gangly stages, Excellent pigmentation, sufficient spring of rib, sufficient boning with reasonable body proportions. Mouth not as good as 1st. Adequate reach and drive with side gait, not so good coming & going. Croup a little steep with a lower set tail.

5 bitches all of very good type, final placings decided on hindquarters & hind movement.

She was the winner when she came in the ring, good body proportions, good spring of rib, good topline, good shape to skull & muzzle, longer flews. Moved well. Tailset a little low

Similar to 1st, not as good in head, good skull, moderate stop, slightly longer flews. Good body proportions with good spring of rib. Moved well.

The youngest in the class, best head of the placing, a little long in body, held her topline on the move, needs more width throughout, which should come with maturity. Good side gait, a little close behind.

Good body proportions height to length, lovely side gait, a little close coming & going. Pleasing head. A little narrow in front, good depth of rib.

A better head than the winner, though with a larger ear. She is longer in body and not the movement of the winner today. Good size & substance, good length of neck with good spring of rib, good broad chest with good boning.

Good head type, good spring of rib that has a little too much covering them. Good body proportions, hind movement let her down.

Lovely profile on this girl with a good head, larger ear. Good depth of body to length of leg, good spring of rib. Broad chest, good boning. Her movement let her down, as she doesn’t have the reach and drive that her angulation should give her, and she is very close behind.

Another lovely girl, good size and substance with a good spring of rib. Good body proportions. A litter short in upper arm and her topline rises a little. Good shape to skull, moderate stop, lacks a little in muzzle depth. Moved with adequate reach & drive.

Heavily built girl, longer in body and shorter in leg, good spring of rib, well boned. Good shape to skull but muzzle lacks a little in depth.

The CC to the intermediate bitch for her overall qualities, good body proportions & movement.  The Res CC to the second in intermediate bitch, over the open bitch, because of her better mouth & movement .