THE ESSENCE OF THE SAMOYED BREED
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Carol Hjort and her husband, Andy, have owned Samoyeds for 45 years and established Jubillie Samoyeds in 1978. Avid Samoyed fanciers, Andy and Carol have bred and shown a number of Samoyeds to their Championships, personally handling some to Breed, Group, and All-Breed Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show wins or placements, including two Samoyeds that they imported from Great Britain, and via frozen semen, from Australia. Although Carol’s focus in the sport has primarily been exhibiting in conformation, she has had the honor of judging Samoyed Sweepstakes at eight Regional Specialties around the country, as well as judging the Puppy Futurity at the 2012 SCA National Specialty, the Elements of the Standard at the 2016 SCA National Specialty, and the Carolina Working Group Association Sweepstakes in 2021. She served for a total of ten years intermittently on the SCA Board of Governors and has also served over the years as a Chairperson for various SCA National Specialty Committees. Carol has spent a cumulative total of 16 years on the SCA Judges Education Committee, working under five different Chairs, serving the past two years as Committee Chairperson. Over the years, she has written a number of articles on the Samoyed for various national all-breed publications and she’s covered the Westminster KC Dog Show for 15 years for Hoflin Publishing. It is Carol’s hope that you enjoy this article and are able to take with you an appreciation and better understanding of the essence of this beautiful and very ancient breed... the Samoyed!
Torso: A to B 5% longer than E to C
E to D 45% of height D to C 55% of height
side, then it is not a balanced animal. This affects endurance when working on an open tundra. The Samoyed should also single-track on the down and back. Moving at a slow walk or trot, it will not single-track, but as speed increases, the legs gradually angle inward until the pads are finally falling on a line directly under the longitudinal cen- ter of the body. This results in an efficient gait that can be maintained for hours. If you move a single-tracking dog through snow, it will leave one line of pawprints in the snow, instead of two. So, to summarize, our SCA Judges Education Committee concluded that the Essence of the Samoyed Breed is three- fold: The essence of our breed consists of Type, Temperament, and Structure… all elements originally shaped by the environ- ment and by evolution. Any two of these elements without the third would not con- stitute a good representation of the breed. A good representative of the breed must have all three elements. Like its ances- tors, the Samoyed today is a versatile and diverse breed… if you strive to find the Essence of the Breed in your judging, or breeding program, you will be on the right path towards preserving the integrity of the Samoyed Breed for future generations to enjoy!
breed. Pasterns should be strong, sturdy, and flexible, with some “spring” for proper let-down of feet. The withers form the highest part of the back. Run your hand down the back from the withers to the loin to make sure it is level and not roached or dipped. The loin is the distance between the last rib and the pelvis, and should be strong, slightly arched, and neither long nor short-cou- pled. The croup must be full and slightly sloping to the tail root. Upper thighs should be well-developed. Palpate the upper portion of the thigh behind the stifles to check the muscle mass. Stifles should be well-bent... approximate- ly 45 degrees to the ground. Hocks should be well-developed and set at approximately 30 percent of the hip height. Straight sti- fles are objectionable; double jointed hocks or cowhocks are a fault. Cowhocks should only be determined after a dog has had the opportunity to move. The Samoyed should trot, not pace, and should move with a quick, well-timed side gait! The gait should be free, BAL- ANCED and VIGOROUS, with good reach in the front and equally good driv- ing power in the rear. The back, or topline, should remain strong, firm, and level, without a lot of up-and-down motion. If there is more reach than drive, or more drive than reach when viewed from the
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2021 | 241
Powered by FlippingBook