Thornheswin Heart Of Fire

Firstly, I would like to thank the committee for inviting me to judge Border Terriers. I was very pleased with the entry and would like to thank the exhibitors for bringing their dogs, as well as my stewards, who kept everything running smoothly. Overall, the dogs were presented in good condition. Coats were generally very good, with some approaching the end of their best. Movement was varied, and puppies in the early classes were understandably distracted by activity in the neighbouring ring. All dogs were entire, with no kinks; however, two exhibits were found to have misaligned teeth.

I was honoured to be invited to judge our Club’s Championship Show, 30 years after I last judged here (at a different venue) in 1996. This is my 16th time awarding CCs in the UK. Thank you to the Committee for this invitation. Thank you also to my two excellent ring stewards Janice Johnson and Marina Fleming and to the Collecting Ring Stewards Judy Carr and Judith Fawcett, all four of whose efforts throughout the day kept everything running smoothly so we finished in good time. Many thanks to the exhibitors for bringing their dogs to show to me and for the friendly atmosphere I encountered throughout the day. Win or lose, you always take the best dog home, as they say. I found the quality excellent throughout, with many classes where I was really spoilt for choice. All males were entire and most of the entry had good scissor bites, with only one or two in Veteran being not so “precise”, shall we say. Some of the dogs were a little difficult to span and so paid the price, but on a whole, most were spannable and had good rib shapes. The standard does not ask for a flat rib – I do love to see a good rib shape when viewed from above, with enough capacity for heart and lungs to do their jobs. It is important to the breed’s job of work that they are spannable and have ribs carried well back. Movement is also important as it plays a major part in making them fit for function. An otter-like head takes them apart from a generic terrier and makes them the breed we love to own. When the line ups came into the ring, particularly my bitch line up, I was very pleased to see them all and happy that we have such good examples of the breed.