Show Placings
Ladies Kennel Association
12th Dec 2008
Judge: Stuart McPherson (Brumberhill)
Thank you to those exhibitors, who, in the present financial climate, gave me the highest entry in the Terrier Group, by a considerable margin, nearly half as many again as the next breed. Friday, M6, NEC, extortionate car park charges are not a good combination!!
Thank you to my very efficient steward, who kept things running smoothly, so we could finish in good time, after the very late start due to the problems on the M6.
Now, to the dogs themselves! I know that I was very lucky, in that when I started in the Breed, in 1980, I was taught about type, construction and movement by Ted Hutchinson, a master of the sport, who had campaigned the then Breed Record Holder, plus a string of Champions across many other breeds. This knowledge, plus, I would like to think, a natural eye for quality, has served me well over the following years. Therefore, it saddens me to see the type and constructional faults that are creeping into the breed. These faults are now so prevalent, that newer breeders, exhibitors and some judges, probably think, and accept they must be correct, so widespread are they.
The Standard asks for an "otter" like head, moderately broad in skull. Too many have excessively broad skulls, giving an exaggerated, almost caricature look, rather than the refined beauty of an otter. Ear set is also a cause for concern. The standard calls for small, V- shaped, dropping forward close to the cheek. Too many ears are perched high, above the line of the skull, dropping forward to the temple, rather than the cheek, giving a foreign, almost Lakeland / Fox Terrier expression. While, I am sure, this may appeal in some quarters, it is totally incorrect on a Border Terrier.
Now, to shoulders, and especially upper arms, a major problem today, particularly in the younger classes. Upright shoulders and very short upper arms, mean the front assembly of the dog appears "tacked on". The shoulder should be clean and well laid, with a long upper arm, meaning that the dog can stand with their front legs under them, perpendicular to the floor, rather than like a “milking stool. This, affects movement, giving an action that can only be described as "peddling a bike" and causing no reach on the move .They are, after all, a working breed, who are supposed to be capable of "following a horse".
On the plus side, most were in good coat, and moved soundly behind, something which is much easier to achieve. Two exhibits were so thin, I felt their entry fee would have been better spent on a bag of quality food.
My top winners are examples of Breeders who have stuck to their ideals, of breeding sound, honest, typical Border Terriers, bred to last, not following fashion by breeding, what, to my mind, are shorter coupled, flashier "terrier" types to appeal to the more modern way of thinking. They wouldn't have looked out of place from when I first started in the Breed, matching beautifully for type and construction.
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork
Placing Critique
Light grizzle. Top sized bitch, who could do to fine off a little. Typical head and expression. Well constructed all through. Sound mover in good coat. Scored in front movement over 3rd.
National Terrier
4th Apr 2009
Judge: Mr. Frank Nicholls (Halcus)
Many thanks to everyone for an excellent entry, both in numbers and quality. While there were many well made exhibits it became a frustrating experience at times trying to find those with a decent coat, many having presumably been stripped out following Crufts in preparation for the season ahead, after all they can’t be in coat all of the time! Front movement again was a problem, not so much due to under reaching or circus pony, high stepping, but pinning and knitting. Heads were a mixed bag, one or two with excessive stops and rounded skulls but none excessively broad. There were some “snipey” muzzles present.
Yearling - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Champioship Show
19th Apr 2009
Judge: Mr Simon Jackson (Clipstone)
I was honoured to be invited by the Club to judge this show, which has always held a special place in my heart. My thanks to everyone involved at the Club for a super day, and exhibitors for a high quality entry.
Overall standards were high with a number of classes where exhibits genuinely worthy of placing went without reward, which was a nice position for me in, and an encouraging one for the breed to be in if this is replicated at other events.
I am pleased to say that I found only two incorrect bites. However, I am frustrated at the inability of some exhibitors to appreciate the correct speed of movement of their dogs, which if correct would improve the appearance of the dogs on the move, many dogs were moved too slowly, thereby preventing the dog from driving out.
Incorrect movement cannot be hidden by moving the dog slowly, likewise, correct movement can easily be displayed if the dog is just allowed to move freely, even if this means the exhibitor running with their dog. Do what the dog needs to get the best out of it.
It was a pleasure to judge in such a venue which is light, airy, clean and "exhibitor friendly". Please excuse the slight delay in providing this critique, with the newly resurrected Joint Show following 2 weeks after this, and my involvement in the management of that show, time has been tight.
I was heartened to find youngsters being youngsters, playful, awkward and proper babies, far too often these days we see perfectly turned out and immaculately school puppies which appear almost "models", let the youngster be so, this is a sport that we, and the dogs, are meant to enjoy. Puppies jumping over the dark lines in the carpet is a cute, if a little frustrating for the handler!
I was very impressed with my main winners. My Best in Show I have been aware of for some time and watched her develop with interest. I was excited on close examination of her to find her a superb example of the breed in every aspect, and was delighted to award her her first CC and Best in Show. I am sure she will have an illustrious career.
The Dog on the other hand was a total stranger to me and a highly pleasant surprise. On winning his class he took my eye and stole the Dog CC. It gave me great pleasure to also award him his first CC. My best to him for his future.
Yearling - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork
Joint BTBC Championship Show
2nd May 2009
Judge: Mr A Tomlinson (Lyndhay)
A few pointers that need addressing. Coat, the standard requires harsh and dense with a close undercoat, not a single one, as many exhibits carried today. Feet and nails, nails were unduly long, hair around the feet needed lots of attention. Also movement, it is not getting any better may be worse, rear movement was worse than front and appeared as if they were on stilts. On the positive side mouths seemed better, I found many with excellent strong teeth set correctly with a good bite
Yearling - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork
Placing Critique
Very decent sort, one of the better type of head, good ear set, dark eye, strong teeth, correct bite, good for size, neat shoulders and front, good feet, well proportioned body with good rear angulation, decent jacket moved well
Bath Canine Society
22nd May 2009
Judge: Mr W R Irving
The entry was 142 dogs making 149 entries with 20 absentees and I thank those who entered for doing so and for the sporting way in which my decisions were accepted. Thanks too to my Stewards whose quiet efficiency meant that the judging was completed in four hours.
I gather that there was comment in some quarters about how much I moved the dogs and I make no apology for that. I moved each dog individually twice and in each class around the ring sometimes on two occasions and sometime three. In these days when so many Borders are stacked to look as the exhibitor wants them to look, my view is that the only way to see the real outline of the dogs is to move them around a few times and see their natural lines, not the outline set up by the handler. Additionally I know as an exhibitor, that in these large classes the dogs get very bored standing around waiting and they welcome the opportunity to move around the ring. For those of us who still like to 'free-stand' our dogs, that does make a difference and it is only when you see them either 'free standing' or moving in profile, that you can get a true picture of outline. But that's probably rather an old fashioned view these days
The dogs were clean and well presented but with a number which were shown with absolutely no topcoat. Far too many have too little coat of the type demanded by the breed standard which asks for it to be Harsh and dense with close undercoat. Size was not bad generally speaking - with fewer excessively over sized dogs than I have sometimes seen before.
I was very pleased indeed by the final line up for the dog CC which I thought was particularly consistent for type and quality and the top bitches too were, in my opinion, excellent. Front movement generally still gives great cause for concern and shoulders are not great but there were also quite a few where hind movement was poor too. There were enough good movers to make the top winners strong in that area. I was also able to find enough exhibits with good heads but I have to say that there were rather too many with big heads and rather large, round looking eyes and too much stop.
Overall I very much enjoyed judging the breed on this occasion and I was encouraged by the number of good exhibits, particularly in the puppy classes. That makes me optimistic for the breed's future.
Best Breeder : Girlings' a very typical group with good heads and well proportioned all through.
Graduate - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
Southern Counties Canine Association
6th Jun 2009
Judge: Mrs Hilary Gilpin (Otterbobs)
Thank you to all the exhibitors for your huge entry, it?s a good job we went outside for Limit Dog as we would not all fit into the inside wet weather ring. I really enjoyed judging the dogs more than the bitches not often is the case but today it was.
Coats were either non existence, blown or half and half, just a handful were in double coat and they looked the part. One bad mouth, one had a front tooth missing, all dogs were entire and no bitches in season
Yearling - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
Placing Critique
Very feminine with a good ottery head excellent double coat, deep chest , stood and shown expertly.
Three Counties Championship Dog Show
16th Jun 2009
Judge: Mrs. Marie Sharp (Rhozzum)
Thanks are due to exhibitors for a good turn out of quality Borders, Mr & Mrs Hall for their expert and unobtrusive stewarding, and to the weatherman who forecasted a dry day and delivered. Most Border folk know that I favour a Border that is on the leg to enable it to cover the terrain found in Border Hunt country, yet narrow enough to follow the quarry to ground. Those in the cards today fulfilled most of the criteria set down in the Standard, so my individual critiques could become repetitive. True otter heads were not abundant, and those with a proper skull sometimes lacked muzzle strength. Coarse and/or upright shoulders featured too frequently, along with short and/or rounded ribcages. Not too many straight stifles were seen, but one or two were over-angulated in their hind quarters, an exaggeration which has crept into other breeds, let?s hope it will not do so in Borders. The Standard asks for a deep and narrow body, but many were deep in brisket only, with a cut-up underline. A worrying find which I have not encountered before to this extent was the number of kinky tails - not obvious to the eye but feeling lumpy to the hand. A warning to future judges of Borders - take plenty of wet-wipes. No Border appeared dirty, but the evidence appeared on my hands.
Post Graduate - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show
2nd Aug 2009
Judge: Mr T Tuck (B) & Mrs J Tuck (D)
Dogs, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Committee for inviting me to judge the dog classification at their 25th anniversary show, also my very able stewards Christine Horner, and Chris Wallace who did a great job with the organisation of my ring.
Bitches,
I thoroughly enjoyed this appointment, thanks to my experienced stewards and an entry that contained some really outstanding examples of the breed. I really liked my winners, and handled some extremely promising youngsters. Having said that, the early classes were much more variable, with fewer exhibits that combined quality and breed type. Later classes were more consistent, and it was nice to find a few more classy otter-like heads and neat front construction.
Yearling - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
Bournemouth Championship Show
10th Aug 2009
Judge: Mrs Margaret Sneddon (Kersfell)
Thank you to my very efficient stewards. I think we have a real problem with the front construction and movement in the breed; there were far too many exhibits with short, steep upper arms, often resulting in a build up of bulky muscle on the outer line of the shoulder and the movement in front on many was very poor. The Border is ?essentially a working terrier and this type of construction will seriously compromise its ability to work.
Limit - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
Placing Critique
another biggish bitch, quite difficult to span; good head and topline but rather short of coat. Hind movement was good but failed in front movement. Showed well.
East Anglia BTC Open Show
29th Nov 2009
Judge: Mr Euan Castel (Flutorum)
I would like to thank the Officers and Committee of the Club for their invitation to judge their Open Show. Special thanks to Bev Jackson for her efficient stewarding. Despite a cold and rainy day outside the atmosphere in the hall was excellent, thank you to the exhibitors for a lovely entry of 100 from 84 dogs, with 20 absentees. Overall the quality was good, with some close decisions in several classes. I was very pleased with both the final dog and bitch line up.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Dugaden Dilemma At Artwork JW
