Great Dane Club of Wales Open show: Sat 18th April 2026  Judge Mr Howard Ogden

Always such an honour to be given the opportunity of judging a Club show, here in Partnership with the W&P Breed Assoc of Wales Ch show. Pat & Chris Patch & their small team are stalwarts of the dog game, maintaining tradition & putting the breed & it's supporters to the forefront with generous incentives. How lucky the breed is to have them.

12 of the 38 exhibits were absent leaving 26 hands on. I do happen to view dog judging as an ongoing learning curve, hence benefitting today from all the colours being specifically provided for and seeing the breed at all stages of its development. I had prepared for the breed's Category 2 status but there were no notable issues & hind action indeed was a truly positive asset throughout. 

My stewards had the hardest workload in keeping up with all the classes & paperwork, following our allbut 13.00 start, & a couple of hours or so later with the show equipment being dismantled around us! Grateful thanks are indeed due to Geoff Jackson-Haines & Jill Jones.

I have omitted those classes with either nil entered or nil present.

MPD(3,0)1Hayter Stevarah Manhatten Magic;7m sleek coated mantle with solid black blanket; great shape & secure balance notwithstanding his youth; head of correct length & proportions so as to appear of equal breadth throughout; scored in eye & ear; neck equalled head length with slight arch; big flat bone; so well angulated fore & aft providing forehand & muscular quarters so as to give ground covering movement, on cat-like feet, when challenging throughout the day. BPD & BPIS 2Cubitt Zefather's  Wreck It Ralph for Zebeldane;7m gloriously coloured brindle; quality headpiece of correct proportions enhanced by fairly deepset dark eye; ex neck & conformation when stood; just losing his topline, through a little uncertainty, on the move but turned out his first time Dane handler had just taken hold of his lead to ensure he didn't miss his class; so let's be clear he is of undoubted quality, consistent with his breeding, & is surely one to watch out for as the outdoor show season progresses.3Bliss Stagbatch Bobby Dazzler

PD(2,0)1White Kinnegans Last Kingdom at Taradanes(IKC);11m fawn; fabulously headed of correct length, breadth & proportions; clean neck of an equal length; well developed body for age; firm backline with gd depth & gd rib; well angulated; correct in tuck-up & in croup; moved in accordance with this conformation on cat feet; plenty promising. 2Mc Gowan Kinnegans Rebel Ridge at Penmarlam(IKC);11m fawn litter brother; absolute quality with the same lovely headpiece, body shape & depth of brisket; siblings invariably have differing stages of development & he was the less forward of this duo today that is no fault whatsoever; will be interesting to compare them through the maturing process. 

JD(2,1)1Wright&Cranfield Zefather's Two Faces With Irieusdane JW;17m fawn bred in the proverbial purple that I now see was sired by the Ch show BOB; he defines the phrase "dash & daring" & is surely elegant yet also so muscular; correct length of head & corresponding neck; correct in muzzle; has chiselling & clean cheeks; wide bridge of nose with characteristic slight ridge; dark eyes & highset ears; scored both in backline & underline; cat feet; such well angulated quarters; should continue to mature on to advantage with his eye catching style; so lithe on the move with balanced reach & drive with head held high; benefitted from his sire's absence in the challenges who was evidently away being shortlisted in the Group! BD,RBIS,BOS. 

ND(2,1)1K Lost Kingdom at T

GD(2,0)1SpackmanNovavida Norseman Warrior;22m classy brindle of ex proportions both in head & in body so as to be nearly square; head of correct length & breadth plus chiselling; decided brow; scored in forechest; well angulated; striking colour with black stripes; sound & stylish off a firm hock.  ResBD 2Nunn,Patch & Nunn Roshanun Conquistador;16m harlequin; well marked; as gd in eye & ear as in skull & muzzle; strong flat bone; ex feet; deep & shapely; not quite the angulation but giving 6m away & at that trickier teenage phase; plenty of adulthood promise 

PGD(1,0)1Hitcham Belarosedane Satchmo Bowe at Chamith;rising 4yrs black; heavier head type & build; correct in flat bone & cat feet; really sound & muscled rear; sleek coat of gd colour; could just have driven out a little more but maintained a typical outline with high head carriage 

LD(2,1)1Hitcham Dainoak Tempus Vincit at Chamith;just turned 5yrs, harlequin, sire of previous PGD with such similar points whether absolutely in his favour or arguably a little less so; beautifully marked, sleek, coat; ex body shape & proportions with depth & with belly well drawn up; somewhat heavy through head & skull; correct in croup & with an absolutely sound, muscled, rear so that I anticipated that bit more drive but maybe the indoor conditions were not to his benefit. 

SpO Harlequin D(2,0)1Henshall Calchas Bryan The Brave; rising 4yrs & so much to like & I see that my notes stated "quality "; full of breed type & enviable colour with its "torn" patches; gd length of head with clean cheeks  so as to appear of equal breadth throughout; decided brow; ex neck; correct bodylength so as to rather square him off; deep with a gd spring of rib; what a muscled backend that was so well used with a ground covering gait. 2D Tempus Vincit at C

SpO Fawn D(1,0)1Cranfield Ch Zefather's Ralph LaurenJWShCEx;5yrs class act in top form and forgive me but am not about to repeat the breed standard that happens to fit him like the proverbial glove; fabulous headpiece set off by chiselling with corresponding neckline; his body structure & proportions are all you could hope for let alone his big flat bone & classic feet; what an amazing rear that stood apart being so well angulated & used; great to note his virtues in his progeny; missed the challenge for the Group 

SpO Black D(2,0)1Simpson Ch Renescent Bewitched JW;19m only yet of utmost class & style; lovely headpiece; blunt muzzle with breed specific ridge over bridge of nose; gd in skull, eye & ear; combined elegance with muscularity; correct depth & tuck-up;exemplary hind action that demonstrated both soundness & drive; will continue to mature on to yet greater advantage2B Satchmo Bowe at C

SpO Brindle D(2,1)1N Norseman W

Special VB(1,0)1White Jutlanders Are You Ready JW(Imp DNK);8.5yrs fawn bred in the international purple; impressive in head with such a fabulous expression from her deep set, medium, dark eye & decided brow; long foreface down to a blunt muzzle with desired wide, open, nostrils; gd neckline; a real forechest; great shape depth & angles; beautifully bodied w/o excess; textbook movement that had that lithe spring to it as she drove off her sound hocks & carried herself so well. BVIS

MPB(4,0)1Harrison Zefather's Pretty Woman To Jasnettdanes;rising 8m fawn sired by the top winning Ch S Jealous Guy & she certainly epitomises that phrase "class will out";clean, feminine, head of desirable length with chiselling; scored in neck & angulation; such a firm backline with some depth already; this pleasing outline was beautifully maintained on the move.

2Wright&Cranfield Zefather's Homeward Bound With Irieusdane;brindle litter sister; just that tad longer & not quite as forward nor quite as deep but frankly of no consequence at this tender age; such style; same super headpiece with matching clean neckline & such a sound structure; exciting times ahead as this duo fight it out 

3Bliss Stagbatch Storm Amy

PB(5,1)1Chappell Selmalda My Wild Flame;11m fawn; classy & with an air of quality about her; long head of cleanest refinement, scoring in skull eye & ear, plus chiselling; equally clean neckline of matching length; loved her bodylines, & angulation plus flat bone down to cat feet; truly lithe & free on the move where she will benefit from the maturing process as it broadens her out. BPB

2Hayter Stevarah Liberty Station;7m mantle litter sister to the BPIS; equally well grown & bodied; glorious dark eye with decided brow; so sound in her structure so as to be pretty foot perfect; understandably rather less of a mind as yet to stay fully focused; her breeders have every reason to be rather proud of themselves & wish the siblings well

3Evans&Lloyd-Jones Kinnegans Sweet Home at Blodaugoch(IKC)

JB(2,1)1Cranfield&Wright Zefather's Gossip Girl With Irieusdane;17m fawn litter sister to the BD & ultimate RBIS;so stylish; fabulous head in all it's breed specific details & proportions; correspondingly long clean neck, with arch, to add to her elegance; she had a forechest; sound structure; correct in bone & feet; used herself so well being free & ground covering; being still in her teens she will benefit from added maturity both in mind & body. RBB

NB(2,1)1K Sweet Home at B;11m fawn 3rd in PB; I thought this to be a truly quality youngster with a definite,assured, future; long feminine headpiece; ex body shape & structure; sound & secure; just seemed a bit tired, after a long wait, so as not to be making the most of all her virtues that is no fault whatsoever & entirely on the day; wish her well moving forward 

GB(1,0)1Z Gossip Girl With I

PGB(2,1)1Bliss Stagbatch Hi De Hi;3.5yrs well marked harlequin & evidently a proven brood; well constructed with ex proportions throughout; relatively heavy headed & quite rightly more matronly in her build; lacked a little in rear angulation; she still stated her claim by maintaining her gd shape & structure at all times on the move

LB(2,1)1Henshall Calchas Addition (AI);4.5yrs harlequin half-sister to the OD Harlequin with ex markings; scored in skull, eye & muzzle; scored in both head length & in neck length that was clean with some arch; well angulated fore & aft; deep brisket to elbow; carrying max condition that just told a little when coming on 

Sp0 Harlequin B(1,0)1C Addition 

SpO Brindle B(1,0)1Z Freaky Friday;rising 8m who stood Res in PB & is litter sister of the first two in MPB; such a real prospect being so choc full of breed type and of enviable colouring but who saw today more as party time so as to be hard to assess; it will be an entirely different story for certain once her mind kicks in 

SpO Blue B(2,0)1Ferguson Bel/Ir/Swe Ch Renescent Too Hot To Handle for Chateaudain;2.5yrs who combined grace with muscular strength of form; ideal in head that was suitably refined & clean cheeked with chiselling; dark eye; wide bridge of nose with characteristic slight ridge; her body proportions were spot on & she scored heavily in both conformation & angulation as she flowed around the ring & ate up the ground, with head held high, showing off her virtues & she repeated in the challenge to annex BB & BIS. Congrats were evidently due for taking the Bitch CC earlier.

2Hayter Taysca Stele Mici with Stevarah;3.5yrs of ex proportions & angulation with a gd neck & with gd depth; just a heavier type both in head & body so, to be fair, she couldn't match her rival's elegance

                  Howard Ogden (Judge)

                          25.4.2026