Show Placings
Scottish Kennel Club
20th May 2011
Judge: Mr. David Hunt (Ottaswell)
Thanks go to the committee of the Scottish Kennel Club for inviting me to judge for the first time north of the border, Special thanks to my stewards on the day Messrs Goudie & Jackson for organising the ring so efficiently and ensuring everything ran smoothly during my judging. Good stewards are a welcome bonus for any judge. Despite the disappointing weather, thanks also to the exhibitors who attended and for giving me the second highest breed entry of the whole show.
With a large ring and mown grass, I was able to see the dogs move accurately. In general I thought the bitches were stronger than the dogs, but was pleased with all my class winners, and thought my CC winners a credit to the breed. Size was generally good with only a couple being difficult to span. As always coats were at various stages but I was surprised to find 2 very undershot bites in mid range classes.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Novice - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
Just 6 months this dog is developing nicely and has lots to like. Has a nice dark eye and little stop. Good strong neck and forechest leads to a straight frontwith tight feet. Long enough in body he has the thickest of tails. His rear angulation has good bend of stifle. Coat OK but his front movement needs to tighten. Enjoying his day out.
Bath Championship Show
27th May 2011
Judge: Mr B Rodgers
Best Puppy
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
This dog is a very good mover, in good coat for his age. Good head with good expression. Nice feet. Good bone. Nice carroty tail. Moved with handler as one. I liked his attitude. BPD & BP
Southern Counties
4th Jun 2011
Judge: Mr J Gilpin (Otterbobs)
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
6 months old not as stronger in head as 1st, made on racy lines, level top line with tail set on high & thick carrot tail.
Border Union
18th Jun 2011
Judge: Mr Tony Tomlinson
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
decent sort, head needs to mature, short of coat. Moved OK.
Windsor Championship Dog Show
30th Jun 2011
Judge: Mr Bill Browne-Cole
Since I last judged the breed I do feel movement is a concern. A lot of back ends need to strengthen and capabilities to follow a horse were not always there today. I was however extremely pleased with my main winners who were from the ‘top drawer’ and so very typical of the breed.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
Placing Critique
Good skull, dark eye and expression. Well portioned and angulated. Thick pelt and coat
Novice - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
East of England
10th Jul 2011
Judge: Mrs Kate Irving
The entry of 141 was a pleasing one for these days and I thank exhibitors for their entries. By and large I was pleased by the coats of many exhibits and though some were rather short of coat, coat texture was generally speaking quite pleasing. Presentation however left a good deal to be desired in many instances Hindquarters were good in the main. But once again my view was that fronts in the breed require much more attention than they are being given by either breeders or judges. It seems to me that we have in the breed various front faults, mostly I think coming from poor shoulders. There are flicking fronts, loaded fronts, high stepping fronts, horseshoe fronts, bowed fronts and so on and not enough of the dogs have fronts which fit the standard. In the main I was satisfied that there were many more typical heads and expressions than on some previous occasions when I have judged
DCC and Best of Breed went to ORANGEBOX FIRECRACKER (MR M & MRS T ANSCOMBE) a dog with a very pleasing head and expression, good skull and correct eye and ears to complete the picture. He has a good neck and typical outline and is well proportioned with a good tailset. He is OK for size and was shown today in plenty of coat. Moved out really well and scored for showmanship. He has a good deal of quality and type about him.
BCC went was won by BANDICOOT JAZZ (MR G E & MRS V L K DOCWRA) a bitch with an excellent head and a lovely typical expression. She is up to size and was shown in pretty full coat today. She moved very well in front and behind. She shows very well indeed and presented an excellent picture all round. She too has a great deal of breed type and quality and has good body lines and scope.
Best Puppy went to the dog OLDERHILL AFORTUNADO (MRS S WILSON) a very typey dog which excels in head and has a really good eye and expression. He is very good in topline and tailset. I thought that he was good in shoulder and presented a good typical picture all round.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
has a pleasing head and a good skull. He is correct in neck and was shown in good coat and condition. He has a good typical outline and his tail is OK. He moved well behind.
Northern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
17th Jul 2011
Judge: Mr. W. R. Irving
My thanks go to the Officers and Committee of the Northern Border Terrier Club for inviting me to judge this show and for their kind hospitality during the event. I notice that the last time I judged this show was as long ago as twenty five years ago in 1986! The entry of 226 from 207 exhibits was satisfactory but of course there were several absentees which brought the actual number of dogs present down to just over 140. That enabled us to finish judging in good time. Thanks to my very efficient Steward Mrs Rushby.
My general comments on the breed continue in similar terms to my previous remarks on the subject. But in the main I thought that heads and expressions were, by and large, pretty good. Coats were of course variable in the stage at which they presented but again, by and large they were of quite good texture. I had no bad mouths and only a couple of kinky tails. And tails were, overall, not too bad for shape and length Size is of course variable but again the majority were spannable but some dogs (and bitches) were far too big and too heavy in bone. My biggest problem was with fronts and exhibit after exhibit appeared with fronts which were far from correct. We have a multitude of different front problems and somehow we must tackle this issue and breeders and judges have to pay more attention to this problem. I believe that we are beginning to find the breed accepting bad fronts as the norm. Horseshoe fronts, wide fronts, swinging front legs, flicking front feet and dogs which single track in an excessive way in front ? all of these things need to be penalised to a greater or lesser extent.
Best in Show and the Dog CC went to Orangebox Firecracker (Mr M & Mrs T Anscombe). He has a very typical head, skull and expression with a good muzzle and not over exaggerated. Good neck and shoulder and correct topline and tailset. Correct compact feet. He is balanced and well proportioned being neither too short nor too long and he moved soundly both in front and behind. In the final challenge for the CC he scored for showmanship and went on to be Best of Breed. The Bitch CC and Res Best in Show went to Ch Southash Blue Betty Boo Gameway JW (Mrs P Clark), another with a most typical head and expression. She has a very good coat of the right texture and pelt of the right thickness and she moved very well behind. Enough bone, she presents a good outline going around the ring and exudes quality. Best Puppy was Olderhill Afortunado (Mrs S Wilson). He has a good head and skull, again without being in any way overdone, good neck and topline, good front and moved better there than behind, correct pelt, good tailset and tail and well balanced throughout.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
not quite the strength of muzzle of the winner but very good in skull, good eye, good neck and excellent topline, good hindquarters and could be a shade more positive in front. Scored in overall quality over the others here.
Leeds Championship Show
24th Jul 2011
Judge: Mrs Beverley Barber
Thank you for your lovely entry at this fine venue. Thanks also to my efficient and helpful stewards without which we wouldn’t have a show! My main aim when judging is to find a dog that fits as near the breed standard as is possible ,but must have overall good dog conformation. It must be balanced standing and also, most definitely, when it is on the move. This is a hard task because the perfect dog in any breed has yet to be found. When judging on this occasion I did manage to find dogs that had good front angulation, allowing the necessary reach to cover the ground, coupled with adequate rear angulation to give drive to the assembly and so presented a good picture on the move with no change to the dog’s appearance. I had very few short stepping, short backed dogs with such poor construction that the rear becomes noticeably higher than the shoulder when they are on the move. Heads, as always, were very varied, some mouths were out of line, there were some missing premolars which if this perpetuates will alter the head shape. Feet were mostly thick and neat, coats varied and undercoats were in the main a little sparse, but in view of the winter we have just had they have probably spent a long time shedding them. All the dogs I judged today I could span, although chest shape was not always correct. Thank you to all exhibitors for allowing me the privilege of judging your dogs, which I enjoyed immensely.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Novice - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
This youngster stepped up his game in this class. Liked his otter like head and strong muzzle. Good length to his body, ribbed back sufficiently. Quite flexible and moved well. He has a lot of maturing to do.
Paignton
1st Aug 2011
Judge: Mr Tom Johnston
Minor Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
Placing Critique
Nicely balanced head with dark eye and neat well placed ears, moderate reach of neck, straight forelegs, good depth of body and topline, neat feet, moved well.
Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show
7th Aug 2011
Judge: Mr D Maggs & Mr G. Pickering
Referee’s Report
I was asked to decide BIS between Bitch CC winner Guvercin’s Achnagairn Code Name Glebeheath JW ShCM, and Dog CC winner Bate’s Sweeping Foxtrot for Kgills (IMP SWE).
Two very typical quality borders with so much to like about them. Both had true otter-like heads, with decent strength of muzzle and good teeth. Both were eye-catching in overall outline, were well ribbed back, and had reasonably thick pelts with the correct double coat, although the bitch was carrying a slightly harsher topcoat today. Conversely, the dog scored in strength of loin. Whilst both had very good front and rear angulation which showed in their free movement, I thought the bitch edged it in terms of her superb overall bodylines and balance.
Terence Tuck – Referee
Dogs
I would like to thank the Midland Border Terrier Club for inviting me to be the replacement judge on this occasion; it gave me the opportunity to go over some very fine dogs. All the exhibits were without exception fit and healthy, and I felt there was certainly a depth of quality running right through all the classes.
Mr David Maggs, Dog Judge.
Bitches
I was very honoured to be asked to judge the Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show, I have been looking forward to it for quite some time and I have to say the day didn’t disappoint. As usual the weather was good, the breeze keeping the temperature appropriate for the dogs and luckily the heavy rain stayed away until after judging had finished. I would like to thank the Committee for their hospitality, and also my two excellent stewards, Chris Wallace and Ray Henry for helping me to complete the task of judging the 112 bitches giving me an excellent entry of 128. The quality of the bitches was excellent, I was able to span all the exhibits and mouths were generally good. Rear movement seems to be improving and I was very impressed with the standard and presentation of the bitches on the day. This high standard of exhibits meant that some very nice bitches went away cardless on this occasion, particularly in the Junior, Post Graduate and Limit classes. I was very pleased with my line up. I believe it reflected what I aspire for the breed a good honest border in hard condition that meets the breed standard which is capable of doing what it was originally bred for? whether it works or not.
Mr Graham Pickering, Bitch Judge.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Bournemouth Championship Show
14th Aug 2011
Judge: Mrs Zena Thorn-Andrews
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Novice - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
Nice puppy, just a bit weak in foreface, enough length of neck, moderate bone, reasonable feet and easy span, a touch overdone in rear angulation perhaps, excellent coat and if he grows into his rear he should do well.
Richmond Championship Show
10th Sep 2011
Judge: Mrs Beverley Jackson
I was incredibly honoured to be invited to award my first CC’s at Richmond. After much anticipation and excitement the long-awaited day arrived. I was thrilled with the size of my entry and wish to thank all exhibitors for giving me the honour of judging your dogs. I totally appreciate how difficult times are now and am humbled that you chose to exhibit. I was delighted with both of my line ups. I have always hated it when judges say oh I wish I had had more top awards, but I can honestly say that I truly now understand where they were coming from. I had some incredibly difficult classes with a lot of quality. This scenario continued when it came to choosing who the CC’s and Reserve’s should go to. There are, however, two distinct “types” of Borders developing, and often classes contained a mixture of both types. The chisled heads with high placed ears are not typical and we need to try to breed away from this as we are in danger of losing the otter head. I found no bad mouths ? just a few where teeth “placement” was peculiar, and some dirty teeth. Presentation on the whole has improved, although please leave the scissoring to other terriers. Our ring was a “bit of a ploughed field” but most exhibitors managed to find a level part and not fall over!
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Darlington Championship Show
16th Sep 2011
Judge: Mrs Nancy Hogg
My thanks go to the exhibitors who showed their dogs under me. I was very pleased with my entry, both numerically and depth of quality of the exhibits. The ring was large, even and the grass cut very short. I had two very able stewards and the predicted rain stayed away. What more could I ask for ?.
On the whole the presentation was good although some dogs lacked condition. Temperaments were good. Coats were variable. I found one kinked tail, one wrong mouth but more than a few small teeth.
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
Not the head of 1. Nice dark eye. Correct size. Liked his topline and tailset. Good harsh jacket.
Yorks, Lancs & Cheshire BTC Championship Show
24th Sep 2011
Judge: Mrs Marie Sharp
My thanks to the Committee for their hospitality, and to the stewards, Anita Harrison and Kevin Green who kept everything running smoothly. I always read the Standard before judging and decide where my priorities will lie. This time, I decided that for an essentially working terrier, narrow, lithe bodies are a must, not forgetting those features which distinguish a Border Terrier. Indeed most Borders are narrow when compared with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, for instance, but far too many in this entry were too broad in the chest to be able to follow a fox to ground. When the chest is wider than my hand, it is far too wide. Going to ground is but one part of a working terrier’s life - he has to cover rough ground so needs sufficient length of leg, and a flexible loin to enable him to gallop, getting his hind quarters under his body. Following a horse is no walk in the park, it requires stamina - lung capacity which comes from sufficient length of ribcage. One word in the Standard always causes me trouble – “but” in the sentence “Head like that of an otter, but moderately broad in skull..” I found lots of otter shaped heads, a few with too much stop, few with too short a muzzle, so on the whole heads pleased me.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
South Wales KA
9th Oct 2011
Judge: Mr David Winsley
Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Midland Counties
30th Oct 2011
Judge: Mr Alan Small (Timoray)
Thanks for a lovely entry. I thougherly enjoyed my day. Special thanks for the invite and to my two lady stewards who kept things moving along nicely. I was particularly impressed with the young stock which augurs well for the breed. Coats were at all stages, from coming in to on the turn.
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
nice all round with pleasing head & expression, good mouth, not the coat of 1 but lots to like about him, went well.
Boston Championship Show
8th Jan 2012
Judge: Mrs Wendy Mooney (Chesterton)
I appreciate that at this time of year with both dark mornings and early sunsets travelling and showing your Borders might not seem like the most enjoyable way to spend your weekend. So a sincere thank you to all those exhibitors who attended my first Championship Show appointment. We were the only terrier breed to have CC’s on offer and I had a lovely entry of 122 dogs. The venue and ring allocated were both excellent. No draughts or noisy blow-heaters. It was actually very civilised. Thank you to my steward who was efficient and supportive throughout. It made my task so much easier.
I was surprised to find that many exhibits, whilst prima facie, moved soundly, lacked the drive that is so important if they are to do a real day’s work. I was also a little disappointed that many Borders had tight pelts, which sometimes were thick but lacked that looseness that could get them, quite literally, out of a tight hole!
I was delighted with my overall winners and, I thank all those who graciously accepted my decisions.
Junior - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
Another nice grizzle and tan youngster of almost 14 months. In excellent double coat with a good scissor bite and large teeth. He was short of whisker but had good strong jaw and a pleasant otter head. Narrow front and good topline. Moved and showed well. Just preferred the type of 1.
Delighted to hear that he completed his JW today by winning the next class
Yearling - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Manchester Championship Dog Show
19th Jan 2012
Judge: Mrs F A Somerfield
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
28th Jan 2012
Judge: Mr E Castel (Flutorum)
I would like to thank the Officers and Committee for their kind invitation and the hospitality I received at their Open Show. This was a new venue for the Club and offers excellent facilities with a large spacious ring. Special thanks to my two stewards Anita Harrison and Brian Dickinson. Although not the largest of entries I was pleased with both my dog and bitch line up, I found the bitches to be of greater quality than the dogs, and was pleased that most exhibits were shown in good, well muscled condition. A final thank you to all the exhibitors for the opportunity to go over their dogs today.
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
14 month red grizzle has a masculine otter like head, well placed ear and eye, good reach of neck into pleasing topline and well set on tail, good length of back and scored in movement. Presented in coat of good texture and a loose pelt.
Birmingham National
13th May 2012
Judge: Mrs Pat Baxter
Junior - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Southern Counties Championship Show
2nd Jun 2012
Judge: Mr Geoff Corish
A lovely entry. I thoroughly enjoyed judging the breed again & was able to find some lovely Borders. It was a great pleasure to watch my BOB go G4 as well.
Yearling - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
this boy is a showing dog & really makes the most of himself. A little lighter in condition than 1 & needs to strengthen, he is sound though. Well handled.
Blackpool Championship Show
22nd Jun 2012
Judge: Mr Dan Ericsson (Sweden)
Movement was difficult to assess under these circumstances, but most dogs seemed to cope remarkably well despite knee high mud & a water logged ring – living proof of the hardiness of the breed!
Despite the appalling weather I enjoyed my day with the Borders very much & was impressed with the overall quality of the dogs & the keen sportsmanship of the exhibitors.
Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
Placing Critique
appealed a lot with his excellent outline, type & size & in hard muscular condition, in very good coat, very good for size & handles well on the table. Muzzle could have been stronger & I would have preferred him less wide in front. Well presented
Leeds Championship Show
29th Jul 2012
Judge: Mrs M Sneddon (Kersfell)
Many thanks to my stewards who were well organized and efficient. We were allocated a large ring, conveniently placed for the wet weather tent, although fortunately we did not need to make use of this facility as the weather was good with only a few spots of rain – a nice change during this rather poor summer.
Post Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
smart, grizzle dog with a good head and expression. Good coat but pelt could be thicker; moved very well.
Bournemouth Championship Show
13th Aug 2012
Judge: Mr W Browne-Cole
Limit - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme
Placing Critique
pleasing head & eye, good front & rear, excellent shoulders, covered the ground well
Welsh Kennel Club
18th Aug 2012
Judge: Mr Jack Watson
Limit - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
Placing Critique
typical head & expression, nice reach of neck, well laid shoulders, good topline, tailset & bend of stifle, moved OK
Scottish Kennel Club
25th Aug 2012
Judge: Mr Frank Kane (Hirontower)
An interesting entry. I found some very good class winners. I was disturbed by the frequency of poor hindquarters, often a result of poor croups & tailsets & lack of angulation & second thigh resulting in lack of drive.
Post Graduate - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
City of Birmingham
1st Sep 2012
Judge: Mrs Marion Reeves (Baywillow)
Thank you for the lovely entry.
The breed standard describes the body as ‘deep, narrow and fairly long’. Just how long may well be debatable as no proportions are suggested. However the standard surely infers that a Border should be longer than square. The standard also describes the border as ‘essentially a working terrier’. A working terrier needs sufficient length and flexibility to enable it to turn underground. It is difficult to imagine a square terrier achieving this easily. I think the above is not generally appreciated by all rounders.
Limit - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Ragatam Newmarket At Badgerholme JW
