Smooth Collie of the Year 2019

It was a great honour to be asked to officiate at this very prestigious event. I should like to thank the Officers and Committee of the club for the invitation and my co-judges, Sophie Wray-Ramsden, Christina Bailey and Caz Waterhouse for their wonderful company which helped to add to the overall enjoyment of the day.

The venue setting and grounds were lovely and thank you for allowing us to extend the rings somewhat to allow this majestic breed to move properly. It is a shame there were not more supporters coming to enjoy the garden party atmosphere. The hard work of the committee was obvious, the hospitality was outstanding and I could not have been made to feel more welcome.

It is a pity that there were some absentees but this did not detract from the quality and the success of the winners. I was delighted that Smooth Collie Of The Year was the stunning Petra. I believe this was her final competitive appearance and I feel honoured to have been there to take part in her final event. She will be prominent in the history of the breed and for me personally will be one of the all-time greats who I will always remember with great admiration. Having mentioned Petra I should also say that I also greatly admired so many of the other contenders and it was a real pleasure to go over each and every one of them.

Having been involved with Smooth Collies for 44 years it is good to see that the future of the breed appears to be in good hands and the quality overall is high, showing that the hard work of dedicated breeders has been rewarded and continued. It was also a delight to discover that Caz Waterhouse choose Koczkodan Midnight Sun as Puppy of the Year and Petra (Ch Clingstones Hot Shot At Foxearth) Best Veteran.

My sincere thanks to all concerned.

Mike Vincent