Show Placings
Boston & DCS Championship Show
11th Jan 2009
Judge: Mrs Kate Walton (Enterlaw)
A great honour to judge the breed at this show where Borders were the only breed in the terrier group to have CCs on offer & for the first time. Thank you to all exhibitors who braved the exceptionally cold weather at Newark. Remarkably there were only 6 absentees in the dog classes & 19 in the bitch classes out of a total entry of 114 (2 late entries increased the published catalogue entry).
In general I was looking for skulls like that of an otter, the late Walter Gardner told me 30 years ago to place the ears of a Border back to really appreciate the shape of an otter skull & this holds true today. I was also looking for a Border who was easily spanned & most importantly one with good movement & of a size to enable this working terrier to go to ground. I have to say that front movement in many cases was worse than rear movement, with pinning-in & platting much in evidence, while a few were cow-hocked at the rear. All dogs were entire, temperaments overall were excellent, dentition in a few cases incorrect & essentially for the breed, thick pads were noticeably lacking in some exhibits. As always coats were in varying stages of growth, several toplines were not typical with low set tails, otherwise I was delighted with the first placements in each class, all of which were representative of the Standard.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Placing Critique
smaller than 1 but in excellent coat & condition, good head & expression, emphasised by dark muzzle, dark eyes & ears, moved soundly on well padded feet.
Midland BTC Open Show
15th Feb 2009
Judge: Mr Jimmy Gilpin (Otterbobs)
I would like to take this opportunity to say many thanks to the Midland Border Terrier Club for giving me the privilege to judge their Open show and for giving me such a wonderful entry.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Special Challenge - Dog or Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Crufts
5th Mar 2009
Judge: Professor S P Dean (Tyrian)
A demanding day with 247 entered, my sincere thanks to all who entered and showed patience when decisions needed time. Also my gratitude goes to our ring stewards who were simply outstandingly efficient. I was very proud of the ticket line-ups and thought the BOB looked superb in the group. What was encouraging was there were many dogs down the line that would not have been out of place there and ?splitting hairs? became a routine technique in several classes to find class winners. Reflecting on the day leaves some lasting impressions. There is no doubt the breed has made great advances in head conformation. Good otter heads with strength in muzzle and strong teeth were very much in evidence. Ears by and large are good but with a trend towards largeness and heaviness which we must reverse. It is very difficult to change the ear shape so embedding any coarseness now must be of concern. Movement too has improved over the years largely driven by progress on stifle angulation but let’s not go too far here as some excess is creeping in. Shoulders still need attention with many severely lacking lay back and of more concern some foreleg assemblies are placed too far forward so fore-chests are vanishing. This produces flashiness but it is wrong. Coats and pelts were generally good and the majority were capable of being spanned. Flat feet were in evidence perhaps driven by a tough winter and lack of exercise but remember this is a sporting breed and needs fitness to be fully appreciated. As a result many nice dogs lost out because of a lack of muscle or flat feet. We have a healthy breed and this was supported by those in the veteran classes and with an 8 year old winning BOB perhaps this is proof enough.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Good Citizen - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
East Of England Championship Show
10th Jul 2009
Judge: Mr T H Johnston
Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Yorks, Lancs & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Championship Show
26th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs E Cuthbertson (Ashbrae)
My thanks to the Committee for my appointment. To my ring stewards K Green & A. Harris, and to the exhibitors for the nice entry of 200 exhibits. I was sorry Gordon and Cynthia Knight could not be present due to family illness.
I did find a lot of variation between type, and size making judging very interesting. Some heads lacked strength of muzzle and heavy shoulders were very the much in evidence. I was concerned that a number were overweight and heavy, not as fit as they should be.
Saying that I was very pleased with my placings, class and top award winners.
Special Beginners - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Hemlockstone Jinni ShCM
Placing Critique
Similar to 1, but overweight. Nice head and expression. Good coated, moved okay.
