Show Placings
Terrier Club of Devon & Cornwall Open Show
22nd Oct 2023
Judge: Siân McKay (Redesholt)
My thanks to the committee for the opportunity to judge a lovely quality entry of Border Terriers. This is a friendly and welcoming show and I was ably assisted by a super Steward who kept the ring running smoothly and efficiently.
The acoustics of the building today did have a detrimental effect on some of the exhibits; but of course, it is impossible to find a perfect space for every dog to show themselves at their best.
As mentioned I was honoured to have a super selection of Borders to go over today; especially the Puppy class where many were exhibiting for the first time.
I found all male dogs intact, and no kinked tails and one wry mouth. Coats were in all stages of growth today, and a few lacked a good visible covering of undercoat which naturally affected placings. Temperaments were all excellent and the ‘glint ‘ in the eye that I would like to see- inquisitive and game that looked ready for a day‘s work, which in turn reflected in their positive movement- was pleasingly there with all my main line up; as was the ‘stamp’ of the breed the otter- like head with correct proportions in the head to allow the powerful jaws to do their job, whilst standing on- most importantly, small thickly padded cat-like feet.
Puppy /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Midland Counties Championship Show
26th Oct 2023
Judge: Mr J Gilpin (Otterbobs)
I would like to thank the officers & committee for giving me the opportunity to judge the Border Terrier classes, & also a big thank you to Penny Winger & Gavin Argill my two ring stewards who kept things in order & also made sure we finished on time, and a special mention to my Best of Breed winner for attending the terrier group, and being rewarded with being short listed in the final seven.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Torquay & DCS Open Show
4th Nov 2023
Judge: Becky Johnson (Downstream)
Puppy /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Minehead & District Canine Society Open Show
5th Nov 2023
Judge: Bethany Cawley (Marlablue)
Puppy /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
West Midlands Terrier Society Open Show
25th Nov 2023
Judge: Knut Sigurd Wilberg
Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
Bitch of excellent type. Well developed in body but could have had a stronger foreface. Moved well
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Sedgley & Gornal Canine Association Premier Open Show
26th Nov 2023
Judge: Amélie Smith (Alncroft)
Puppy /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Exonian CA Open Show
2nd Dec 2023
Judge: Mr Colin Richardson
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Open - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Bristol & District Dog Club Open Show
3rd Dec 2023
Judge: Mr Stephen Goodwin (Lanola)
Puppy /
Reserve
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Special Yearling /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Ladies Kennel Association
8th Dec 2023
Judge: Mr Ken Bartlett (Dwilencia)
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
8 mths, a smart young bitch who moves and shows well, well shaped head, well laid shoulders, nicely bodied for age, in good coat
Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
Winner of MPB
Totnes & District Canine Society Open Show
17th Dec 2023
Judge: Sue Thomson (Ashgate)
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG1, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Open - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Coventry Ladies’ Kennel Society Open Show
1st Jan 2024
Judge: David Bell (Balintyne)
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Taunton & DCA Open Show
6th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr N Merrick (Magicgem)
Best Puppy
Name at show: RBPIS, TPG1, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Yearling /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Worcester & Malvern CS Open Show
7th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr Gary Hinsley (Tigerbull)
Puppy /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Wiveliscombe DCS Open Show
14th Jan 2024
Judge: Marion Hodgson (Ddalrus)
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG3, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Manchester Championship Show
20th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr Richard Allen (Penparc)
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Puppy - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Newton Abbot & South Devon CS Open Show
27th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr Laurie Hunt (Setthornes)
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Cardiff CS Open Show
28th Jan 2024
Judge: Gillian Marley (Marylea)
Best Puppy - Bitch
Name at show: TPG1, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show
4th Feb 2024
Judge: Lesley Armstrong-Rodgers (Atron/Scottsway)
It was a great honour to be invited to judge The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show and therefore my thanks go to the Committee for the opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at this friendly well run show. It was advantageous in having such a good sized ring in which to watch the dogs move. Borders need room to get into their stride and show their effortless movement and profile when viewed in side gait.
A special thank you also to Richard and Sharon, my two stewards for keeping things running smoothly. It is always a great help for any judge to be blessed with competent stewards. Finally a big thank you to all the Exhibitors for bringing their dogs under me for my opinion and for accepting my decisions with good grace. As always coats were at differing stages, often reflected in the placings, but coats do come and go, construction does not !. Overall I found temperaments excellent, as well it should be, which bodes well for the breed.
Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
Another nicely made bitch of 10 months which I liked for size. Possesses a nice head and a varminty expression, dark eye, maybe could have a slightly stronger foreface to be critical. Ample neck into well laid shoulder placement. Good outline and underline. Moved out well from racy hindquarters and at one with her handler.
Junior - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Graduate - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Ilfracombe & DCS Open Show
10th Feb 2024
Judge: Matt Garnham (Carmeltcho)
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG3, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Special Yearling /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Portsmouth & Southsea KA Open Show
11th Feb 2024
Judge: Mr John Dare (Bowstaff)
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG1, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Camborne and Redruth CS Open Show
17th Feb 2024
Judge: Eve Somers
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG2, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Gloucester & DCS Open Show
18th Feb 2024
Judge: Jenny Miller (Feorlig)
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Puppy
Name at show: RBPIS, TPG1, Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Torquay & DCS Open Show
24th Feb 2024
Judge: Mrs S Anderson (Kerrykeel)
Post Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Bridgend & DKA Open Show
3rd Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Laura Jordan-Smith (Jordith)
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
The Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
3rd Mar 2024
Judge: Miss Nicola Foster (Thozow)
It was a great honour to be invited to Judge a Border Terrier Club Open show so I would like to thank the Southern Club for this opportunity. It was a day I had been looking forward too, so I would also like to thank the exhibitors for their entries, allowing me to access their dogs and for accepting my decisions. I was most grateful to my stewards Sian McKay & Marina Fleming who kept the ring running efficiently, and also live streamed the challenges and BIS.
Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
Flat broad skull with V shaped ears, slight stop with a moderate curve. Straight forelegs, strong pasterns; clean and muscular neck into well laid shoulder, spannable, strong in loin, correct tail set hocks well let down. Moved ok
Crufts
10th Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Lesley Gosling (Akinside)
A tremendous entry of 275 Borders ( 25 absentees on the day)to enjoy handling, judging and placing. I must extend my appreciation to my two valiant stewards for their patience and skill in keeping classes moving. Thank you all.
I do believe our breed is changing, but in subtle ways. The lack of opportunities for true terrier work below ground for some Borders has been replaced by agility and other energetic pursuits, but lack of hard muscle tone has produced a ‘softer’ body on some exhibits. Some feet are slacker, pads are more spread and thinner and some fronts are wide. Movement is not always positive and a ‘driving’ action is lacking. Size is fluctuating too. We have a ‘working’ breed - let’s ensure that features defining the breed are not lost, i.e. ‘spannability’; a hard, harsh top coat and soft protective undercoat (not enough of those today); a dark, expressive eye, a broad skull and strong quarters – ‘the engine is at the back!’. Heads generally were good, but some bitch heads veered towards coarseness.
One thing not lost is the Border’s kind temperament – curious, interested and ready for anything.
Best Puppy - Bitch
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
A beautifully balanced bitch with the neatest of feet. Lovely coat and very typical headpiece with bold but feminine expression. Very confident on the move.
Exeter & County Canine Society Open Show
16th Mar 2024
Judge: Gentle Lowe (Rockslade)
Firstly I would like to thank the show and its organisers for the warm welcome and my stewards for their smooth running of the ring during my appointment. I would also like to thank the competitors for giving me the chance to go over their dogs. I had a quality entry of dogs and there were some tough decisions in the classes.
I would just like to point out some exhibits had dirty teeth, some longer untrimmed nails which whilst I didn’t penalise would give a nicer shape and finish to the feet and overall presentation. Overall dogs were presented in good condition.
Post Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Placing Critique
Well made bitch with a feminine head, dark eye and nice expression. Good angulation front and rear. Straight and narrow front with good bone and feet. Easily spanned with a level topline flowing to a good tail-set with carrot shaped tail. Tight jacket with a good pliable pelt. Well-handled and presented.
Limit /
Reserve
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell
Bridgewater & DCS Open Show
24th Mar 2024
Judge: Libby Tanton-Joy (Itsaso)
Thank you to the committee for inviting me to judge several breeds at their well-run open show. Also thank you to my stewards for organising the rings so smoothly. My thanks also go to those who entered under me on the day.
Best Puppy
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
Placing Critique
11 month old puppy who stood alone but was a worthy winner. Shown in new jacket just coming through she held a balanced outline. Head was in proportion with neat ears, dark eye and correct bite. Well placed shoulders flowed into a correct lay back of rib she was easily spanned. She held a level topline both standing and on the move with a well set on tail. She moved with drive from well angulated hind quarters however, is still a little loose in front but she has time on her side.
Junior /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
Placing Critique
Repeat entry from class 142.
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
30th Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Lynda Ward (Roundtown)
It was an honour to be invited to judge this, our parent club’s show. My thanks to the committee who ran such a lovely event with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. My judge’s gift is much appreciated and will be a treasured momento of the day.
My superstar stewards, Janice Johnson and Liz Barrett, worked hard and unobtrusively whilst keeping the classes moving smoothly over a long day – well done ladies.
Many thanks of course to the exhibitors who made the journey on a major bank holiday weekend giving a large and quality entry of 190 dogs making 229 entries plus 10 NFC.
I had some lovely sound and typical Borders to go over and, had I had them, I would have had no qualms in awarding 4 dog tickets and 5 bitch tickets.
Unfortunately there are always downsides in a big entry and today size was an issue with some overly large exhibits who were not spannable and very heavily built.
There were a number of youngsters which were obviously unused to having their mouths examined and more practice in a calm atmosphere would help to make them comfortable and avoid stress for them and their handlers.
Ears need watching as some were quite large and spoiled the head.
Sadly, as in the past I must complain about long tails. Tails are an integral aspect of the overall picture of a typical Border outline and long is simply wrong. Our breed standard is spartan compared to many others but for tails the description is clear and begins with, “Moderately short; fairly thick at base, then tapering.” Hopefully the issue will be addressed before the untypical becomes the norm.
On a positive note …
Feet were overall small and thickly padded although some would benefit from trimming and shorter nails.
There was a good number of lovely otter-like heads of correct proportions with well placed dark eyes and a keen expression.
As is usual these days coat presentation was generally good and today there were plenty of dense coats of correct texture and thick skins.
Do I think the quality shown in this entry bodes well for the breed? Yes.
Puppy - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
National Terrier Club
6th Apr 2024
Judge: Miss Elspeth Jackson (Clipstone)
Thanks to the National Terrier Club for their invitation to judge at this prestigious show and to the exhibitors who did me the honour of judging their dogs. I was lucky to have two efficient stewards who kept things running smoothly, thank you Laura and Dave.
The entry showed a good depth of quality. In many classes the places were hotly contested with decisions needing to be made on the narrowest of margins. I was very pleased to find that there were some good coats on thick pelts and the nice thick short tails which set off a good border so well.
Puppy - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Championship Show
20th Apr 2024
Judge: Mrs Elizabeth Barrett (Howthwaite)
Thank you to the committee of the East Anglia Border Terrier Club for the honour of inviting me to judge your Championship show and for your great hospitality on the day. It was hit-and-miss as to whether or not I would be judging inside or out, and I’m pleased that the committee took the decision to hold it outdoors. It is far nicer for the dogs to be outside, even with the biting wind, and we are not to forget that they are designed to be outside in that type of weather, which reiterates the importance of a good coat. I hope everyone at ringside managed to keep the chill away, myself having Cumbrian bloodlines, found it rather pleasant. Thank you to my stewards Tracey, Dave and Mike who worked tirelessly to keep the ring moving. My biggest thanks are to the exhibitors who gave me an excellent entry and took all my decisions in a sporting manner. I know it is always said there are too many good dogs for the number of cards and that was especially true of the limit and open classes. I was spoiled for choice in a number of classes and had to split hairs on a number of occasions. Dog’s are never static and can have good days and bad days just the same as us, and condition and coats can change dramatically. Some dogs were out of top coat or had no harshness to their coat on the day which cost them on this occasion. Repeating myself from my last judging appointment, I made mention that true movement isn’t necessarily conducive to good movement if no ground is covered at the same time, ideally of course we want both but I would rather see a dog with a good outline in profile than one very accurate that’s going nowhere. Good construction should be a given, I know not much mention is made to that in our breed standard, but to constitute soundness to follow a horse, the construction must be balanced and correct with no exaggeration. Thankfully, there were not many exaggerations on the day. One or two were big ribbed and not quite spannable, and surprisingly they were not necessarily the ones that looked up to size. Overall, I was very pleased with the quality of the dogs presented.
Graduate - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
Placing Critique
Grizzle and tan who I found out later is the litter sister to 1. Lovely otter head with very little stop and keen dark eye. Just right for bone. Good neck and shoulders and nicely angulated front and back. Well ribbed back and easily spanned, with an excellent topline and tailset. Racy hindquarters with well let down hocks, which she used well on the move. Shown in an excellent harsh topcoat of a richer colour than her sister, with a good undercoat and pelt. Moved well in profile and beautifully handled.
West of England Ladies Kennel Society
26th Apr 2024
Judge: Mandy Holmes (Bimandi)
Graduate - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Raedwulf Moonshine At Tarkaswell JW
