Show Placings
East Of England Championship Show
10th Jul 2009
Judge: Mr T H Johnston
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Northern Border Championship Show
19th Jul 2009
Judge: Mr Gerald Baker (Jaslou)
It was an honour to have been asked to judge the Northern Border Terrier Club Championship Show, I wish to thank the officers and committee for their great hospitality and catering, Special thanks to my stewards Doreen and Claire, Overall the dogs were in better coat and condition than the bitches, with some short of coat or none at all, Although level bites are acceptable in the breed there were more today than expected, I was very pleased with my class placing. And final line up.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Promising puppy with good head, narrow front,nice length of body with thick pelt and coat, moved well.
Leeds Championship Show
24th Jul 2009
Judge: Miss J Singh (Vandamere)
I would like to express my appreciation to the exhibitors for their support. On the whole, rear movement was satisfactory. However I observed front movement on some exhibits was unsatisfactory. I found one mouth with a misplaced tooth and another with a just passable level bite. Presentation of most dogs was of a high standard but some exhibits shown today would benefit greatly from regular daily exercise.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Six month old blue and tan, pleasing head with a good bite and nicely placed ears. He has good bone, a thick pelt and level top line with a carrot tail. His rear movement was very positive and showed drive and although he had that puppy playfulness, his front movement appeared true. Best Puppy Dog.
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.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Not as mature as one, he also had a typical head, narrow front, level topline and tailset, with a carrot tail, just preferred the overall balance of one.
Maiden - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Paignton & District Fanciers Association
3rd Aug 2009
Judge: Mrs Nancy Hogg (Raeburnfoot)
I would like to thank the exhibitors for a lovely entry. Some quality exhibits to go over in both dogs and bitches and I was pleased with my winners. Temperament was excellent throughout. Such a shame we couldn?t be outdoors.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Confident, outgoing blue and tan pup. Good size, masculine head, in good coat with thick pelt. Well set on carrotty tail. Movement needs to settle but just a baby.
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.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Novice - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
7 months blue and tan placed third in the Minor Puppy class, moved better in this class. Good coat and pelt, big teeth, nice head and expression, looks deep in body in relation to length of leg but may still have some growing to do.
Welsh Kennel Club
22nd Aug 2009
Judge: Mr Paul Wilkinson
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
B/T very nice youngster lovely head shape and eye good coat well made quarters and tail set. Just needs to settle in front.
Novice - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Scottish Kennel Club
30th Aug 2009
Judge: Mr. Bill Browne-Cole
Many thanks to the Officers and the committee for kindly inviting me to Judge at this show. I thought the breed generally especially in the early classes was of a very high standard. Head shapes were very good, I only had one bad bite although some teeth could have been larger. Eyes generally were very good. I would have preferred to see some smaller ears. Body shapes were very good although a tad long. Movement was generally good going but I was a little disappointed with the front movement; ie small strides & too much knee action.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Promising youngster, pleasing head shape, correct bite, very good front. Moved with drive & reach, good coat.
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Novice - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
City of Birmingham Canine Association
5th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs Kathy Wilkinson (Otterkin)
An excellent entry awaited me at the City of Birmingham show, not only in numbers, but also in the depth of quality. In many classes, I found myself wishing for more than 5 places to award and sadly, dogs left the ring which I really liked and would have been happy to place on another day. In more than a couple of classes, it was very hard to decide on the 1st 5 in order and many went down the line because of coat texture and thickness, although on another day, in better coat, they would have fared better. As I have not been to many shows this year, it was good to view some dogs for the first time, including my Best of Breed, who I was pleased to ?find?, only to later discover she has already been found on a number of occasions, although not at this level!
I apologise for the lateness of this critique. Besides flying out to an appointment to judge in Italy only a couple of days after the show, we have had some personal and medical issues to deal with regarding the welfare of my elderly mother in law. As I write this, we have still not finalised arrangements for her, but hope to do so soon, so I hope you will understand that sometimes, dog shows do not come first.
On the way to the showground, my car made some terrifying noises when I touched the brake pedal and so, that will explain to anyone wondering, why I had to stop judging for a second or two to find my car keys for the AA man, who kindly fixed it at the hotel car park for us and saved us a long trip home on the back of a low loader.
An eventful weekend, made wonderful by the number of top class Border Terriers present at the show.
Many thanks must go to the very experienced and helpful ring stewards, Mr and Mrs Wright, who had the dogs present and ready for inspection at the start of every class and so enabled me to finish in plenty time for the Terrier Group. Good ring management was important with an entry of 185 dogs, making 193 entries (plus one or two whose entries had not been received and less a couple of NFC). This was the highest number in the Terrier Group today and I would like to thank all the exhibitors for allowing me the pleasure of going over their dogs. The absentee rate of dogs entered was 23.5%.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Blue and tan dog who, when entering the ring, I thought was going to be far and away the easiest winner, as he has a lovely otter head, an excellent thick coat and pelt, with coat so thick you cannot see the skin. Perhaps for his age he is a little heavy in bone although he may fine down as he matures. Lovely level topline. Neat feet, but evidence of scissoring needs to be disguised. At this young age, he was moving erratically both front and back, which I forgave in this class, although it cost him the 1st placing, but I could not do any more for him when he came into a later class against more mature puppies. I am not sure if his movement will improve sufficiently, but hope it will, as he has so much else going for him.
Richmond Championship Show
12th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs Janet Lee (Tythrop)
Sincere apologies to my exhibitors, the committee failed to inform me the proposed order of group judging had changed & the Terrier group was brought forward, the tannoy call was the 1st thing I knew about it. My back spasm during junior dog meant I was reduced to shuffling, sorry.
Most dogs were new to me & temperaments in the ring were good, my winners could do the job they were intended for being free from coarseness & lumber, spannable & narrow, with corresponding good construction & movement.
Several heads were short in skull & blocky, more resembling the balance of an Asian Short Clawed Otter, than an English one, the latter have longer than broad flat skulls, clean cheeks & relatively short muzzles parallel in profile to their skull, Borders should have large teeth with good scissor bite to be effective. Today, square, deep skulls, often with round eyes & very short narrow muzzles with small teeth were in evidence. These too strong square heads tended to have heavy fronts & frames to match.
Many fronts were placed too far forward with pro-sternum behind point of shoulder, which lacked length & layback, the too short & steep upper arms having no support, badly affecting movement, the dogs moved away with their fronts crossing, when only two legs should be visible. As an alternative a few were close behind & swung in front, so again "four legs". Profile movement lacked ?travel?, being up & down short choppy strides rather than smooth & forward going with drive off the hocks.
Although bone wasn't generally too fine nor too heavy some didn't have enough through pasterns into feet, & they lacked the depth of pad to ensure soundness if worked regularly.
My major concern, however, was coats & especially pelts. When I came into the breed Borders were shown in deep double coat, always.Dogs then looked heavier than they were due to these double coats & lots of pelt which the standard says MUST be thick - not because they had big frames with drum tight skins.. Coat density & pelt are directly related, no coat, thus thin skin, but they should still be loose & pliant. Tight, paper thin skins without depth of under or topcoat is not what the standard calls for, nor any use to a working terrier. A great advantage to the dog is a continuous double coat that can be worked or shown all year round.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
8m strongly built bl/t, very mature for age, with commensurate strong head & dark eye. Bite could be better. Harder to span than winner, moved with drive behind but rather erratically in front.
Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Darlington Championship Show
18th Sep 2009
Judge: Mr Frank Kane (Hirontower)
A very good entry in both quantity & quality. I was very pleased with the challenge line ups in both sexes.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
8 months bl/t, excellent coat & pelt, good outline. Just preferred the balance of leg length of 1. Good skull, foreface & eyes. Ears a little heavy. Went well & held a good topline
Puppy - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
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.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Driffield Championship Dog Show
3rd Oct 2009
Judge: Mr Graham Pickering (Picer)
Thank you to Driffield Agricultural Society for inviting me to judge Border Terriers at their Championship Show. I had a good entry of 169 from 162 dogs and had a large number of quality exhibits to go over. It was a shame that the weather, being extremely windy, meant that because of health and safety reasons I had to judge indoors. This meant that at first the ring was not as spacious as I would have liked and the noise from the wind in the marquee at times disturbed some of the younger exhibits. In addition, the length of the grass and the unevenness of the surface were problematic for some of the exhibitors.
I was extremely pleased with my final line ups and there were many classes where deserving dogs went unplaced due to the quality of the entry. Overall coats, were very good and temperament was excellent. However, I did find two examples of the odd tooth out of place and a number of dogs which could have been tidier particularly around feet and tail.
In my winners I was looking for a correct size Border with a harsh double coat, well muscled, correct bone and looking like it could do a good days work. I found those qualities in my winners.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
An 8mth B/T dog of nice size and make up, drew my eye as he came into the ring. He has an excellent typical otter head with a keen expression and has a correct scissor bite. Straight front, good shoulders and well bodied up for his age, with good muscle tone. Nice puppy in profile, with a good top line and carrot tail straight off the back. Shown in full coat that did not detract. Moved well.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
South Wales Kennel Association
9th Oct 2009
Judge: Mr Brian Baxter (Beenaben)
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Pleasing in head, good bite, good shoulders, straight front, could span this one, needs a little more length in back for me, good set on, moved well both ways, B.P.
Class Critique
A very poor class, most were too big for age, unable to span most of them.
Graduate - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Midland Counties Championship Show
22nd Oct 2009
Judge: Professor A S Milton (Baillieswells)
The first sentence of the Standard reads, General Appearance: Essentially a working terrier. Bearing this in mind, I was most impressed with the quality of the coats. The great majority had really tough outer coats, and nice loose pelts. Though some of the blue & tans were showing white hairs (ticking), which is the hallmark of the blue & tan, there were some black all over which is incorrect. Pads were on the whole good with well shaped feet. Ears should be neither too thin nor too thick, and should hang correctly. Not always the case today. There were several atypical heads, with a few over long noses, and several being overlarge. Only one suspect mouth. Some with narrow muzzles had rather crowded incisors. In the past I have been very critical of movement, for if a Border cannot move properly it is not put together properly. Today there was both good and bad movement. There were problems with front movement, where many exhibits were moving too close. Strange to say there were very few wide in the front. Previously, from the ringside, I had thought there were too many Borders with overlong tails. There were some today, but a lot of this was due to the tail not being groomed properly. Tails should not be scissored, but over long hairs at the end should be judiciously removed. In every class there were always two and generally three exhibits which shone out. In some case it was difficult to pick out the remaining places. ( I was slightly perturbed when picking up my documents from the secretary’s office, that though I had a “Judging Book”, I was not in fact a judge but an “Adjudicator”, or so my badge said. Have we taken leave of our senses?
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
Placing Critique
Beginning to get the correct ticking for a blue and tan. Slightly heavier build than 1, otherwise a good all round puppy. Needs to improve his discipline when on the move.
The Scottish Border Terrier Club Championship Show
14th Nov 2009
Judge: Mrs I Jackson (Haughbrae)
I would like to thank all exhibitors, spectators and my stewards for a most enjoyable day. A big thank you to Pat for the excellent lunch. What a delight to see and feel so many correct double coats. Size was also very good apart from a few being overweight and some lost out on places due to lack of coat.
Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
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.
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
10 months blue and tan with masculine head, strong jaw, super harsh coat, good for size and overall balance, movement needs to settle.
Boston & District CS
10th Jan 2010
Judge: Mrs M Reeves (Baywillow)
I was the replacement judge for Carolyn Muirhead who sadly died in November. Firstly I want congratulate all the exhibitors who made it to the show in spite of the atrocious weather conditions. I was very afraid there would be few dogs there for me to judge. What a tough lot border folk are. I had plenty of quality dogs to fill the top placings but as a general comment I felt a number lacked sufficient rear angulation.
Junior - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
blue/tan. Neat size, very pleasing head qualities, straight front and well bent stifles.
Crufts
12th Mar 2010
Judge: Mrs L.A. Crawley
Special Junior - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
East Anglia BTC Members Limited Show
21st Mar 2010
Judge: Miss Tracey Peacock (Ragatam)
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
National Terrier
3rd Apr 2010
Judge: Mrs Valerie Furness (Quatford)
A big thank you to the National Terrier Club for inviting me to judge this prestigious show and thank you to my stewards especially Fred who as always put everybody and everything in order and kept the judging on the move and flowing.
I was looking for a true Border and was pleased with all my placings to-day, all of good quality. What I did notice was a lot of quantity but not a lot of quality. Front and hind movement looks to be getting worse, some exhibits were so lacking in bone that the front legs would make good knitting needles and some were actually doing knit one, pearl one when moving back towards me. I could see front pads on some as they were moving away. Hind movement was either too close or too wide, over-angulation needs to be watched. Top lines on the whole were good but there were some strange under-lines. A lot of exhibits were so short in muzzle that this made for very tight dentition, small feet were few and far between and tails in some were far too long, where have all the “carrots” gone. I only found three incorrect mouths and two abnormal tails. Some exhibits would benefit from more handling/ring-craft experience as their poor performance affected placings.
I think the Breed Standard would make good reading for some exhibitors.
On a positive note, temperaments overall where very good.
Junior - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood
East Anglia BTC Championship Show
18th Apr 2010
Judge: Mrs Trak Fryer (Irton)
I would like to thank the exhibitors for a lovely quality entry, the Club and committee for the appointment and my stewards Simon and Bev Jackson for their efficient help throughout the day. I was generally pleased with the overall quality, heads were good, pelts generally good and movement OK with many very typical exhibits on show. I was disappointed to find a number of poor mouths in the dog entry and to find a few exhibits presented down to the minute but totally lacking muscle, something that I find unacceptable in a dog with the Borders outlook on life.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
classy little dog of a very nice type, his bite is OK . Attractive head, nice ears, good for bone, good blue coat with a thick pelt. Rather wayward on the move but sound and covers his ground.
Class Critique
Another good class of young dogs.
National Dog Show
7th May 2010
Judge: Mr P Bakewell
Junior - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Scottish Kennel Club
23rd May 2010
Judge: Mrs M A Bailey
A privilege to judge the SKC. With lovely weather. Good stewards which made the show run very smooth. I was sorry to see a few exhibits with straight shoulders which affects the front movement and a few with incorrect mouths. However, on the positive side there was a lot of quality and correct size in the breed, which where fit for function. Unfortunately the grass in the ring was very long, which made it difficult to access the movement.
Yearling - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
Very unsettled. Good masculine head strong muzzle. Well laid shoulders. In good coat. Unable to access movement.
Border Union
20th Jun 2010
Judge: Miss Tracey James (Blackmine)
Graduate - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Windsor Championship Dog Show
2nd Jul 2010
Judge: Mrs Jayne Gillam (Orenberg)
Many thanks to the exhibitors for such a super entry of dogs for me to judge, I thought the standard overall was very good and I found it very encouraging to find some really nice youngsters coming up through the ranks. I had to make very tough decisions in some classes and many good dogs went card less but I thoroughly enjoyed my day and was pleased with my winners.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
Placing Critique
Coat past its best but liked him for size, easily spanned, lovely head and expression, nice tail.
East of England Championship Dog Show
10th Jul 2010
Judge:
Thanks to exhibitors for the entry, which thankfully, was undercover on such a very hot day.
I was surprised at the size of the Minor Puppy dogs, which were up to size at such a tender age. I was disappointed at the lack of foot and claw care on some exhibits ? feet not properly trimmed and claws much too long for a working breed or any breed shown at a Championship show. Shaved bellies are becoming more evident - why? It's obvious and unattractive. There were too many single coated exhibits, and not enough clean ones. I was pleased with my winners.
Graduate - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Xapex Santiago At Otterwood JW
