Show Placings
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.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
20th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs Elly Weijenborg-Weggemans (Netherlands)
I felt very honoured when I received the invitation to judge at the Open Show and was glad that I could accept this. What an opportunity to see and go over so many Borders in one day. Of course I have seen many Borders during the 40 years that I have lived with them but to see so many together is not possible on the continent. When I received the entry details I really was surprised and felt even more honoured then.
The Venue was good but unfortunately it was one of the warmest days and in the hall the temperature rose quite quickly. Nevertheless almost all Borders presented there showed until the very end of the day.
The judging went smoothly not in the least because of my exceptionally efficient steward, Peter Roderick, who took care of calling in the next class on time and made sure that there were no mistakes because of the re-entries which I am not used to. Many thanks also to my ring stewards!
I was surprised by the high quality presented to me. In some classes it meant that I could not always place otherwise nice exhibits. All Borders behaved themselves wonderfully when being handled, even inexperienced ones. Just one exception to that was a dog that didn't like to be handled on the table, which is not Border like.
It occurred to me that it is becoming to be a habit to string the dogs when moving. It worsens their movement in a lot of cases and for me they should be moved with a loosened lead. For some exhibits it made the difference in being placed or not. I found on the whole just a few problems. Just one wrong bite and one tail that was not correct. Feet need attention. Just a few had lovely strong padded catlike feet. As well as front movement which is a real problem in the Border Terrier all over the world. Waving, almost crossing, loose, just a few had a parallel and straight front movement. On the other hand, side movement was in almost all exhibits free and with a long stride. A lot of coats were in between. But I could feel the correct texture being double and harsh.
I had a lovely day and want to thank the organisation for their efforts to make me and my sister ? who accompanied me ? feel welcome and of course all the exhibitors for entering and taking my decisions so sportingly. The atmosphere around the ring felt warm, friendly and relaxed.
Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Border Union
20th Jun 2010
Judge: Miss Tracey James (Blackmine)
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Class Critique
A difficult class
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
18th Sep 2011
Judge: Mrs Karen Dean (Tyrian)
I would first like to thank the club for inviting me to judge their open show and thank the exhibitors for a lovely entry. I was very pleased with my major winners and several placings were close decisions. There were a number of exhibits that would benefit from shedding a pound or two and in some classes this could have altered the line-up somewhat. Our breed standard is all about moderation and I hope the exaggerated hind angulation noticed on a couple of occasions today does not become the norm, it makes the back end look weak and foreign in our breed. There were several promising youngsters that I will watch with interest as they mature further in their show careers
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
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.
Veteran - Dog or Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Class Critique
Lovely class of oldies, all coping wonderfully well & showing with enthusiasm.
Windsor Championship Show
1st Jul 2012
Judge: Mr K Holmes
Veteran - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Richmond Championship Show
5th Sep 2012
Judge: Miss Diane Swales (Grabbist)
My thanks to Richmond Dog Show Society for the opportunity to judge at this prestigious show, where I awarded CCs for the first time many years ago. Thank you to my two excellent stewards who kept the ring running so smoothly. In general, mouths were good and there was only one kinked tail. I was disappointed to find how many Borders have been bred with thin, tight pelts & there were too many upright shoulders resulting in stilted movement. I was really pleased to find that more dogs were shown free standing & on a loose lead.
Veteran - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Placing Critique
pleasing head, in good jacket, movement lacked drive
Yorks, Lancs & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Championship Show
29th Sep 2012
Judge: Mrs Janet Lee (Tythrop)
My thanks to the officers & committee for their invitation & hospitality , I thoroughly enjoyed my day with them , the border folk & their dogs .Thanks too to my stewards for the day who kept the ring running smoothly . It is 28 years since I attended my 1st YLCBTC Ch show , watching Ch Dandyhow Crofter gain his title & Ch Thistycroft Candlelight take top honours . I remember clearly the heavy fall Ted Hutchinson had due to lack of mats , thankfully no-one slipped today , though some dogs did.
For me the most important sentence is ˜essentially a working terrier” I fully appreciate a gorgeous otter head & all breed details , but the common factor of all terriers pedigree & crossbreed who go to ground is that they are narrow fronted & eminently spannable , having a flat rib, this is a flattish egg shape , never slab-sided , well sprung nor barrel chested , all equally faulty in a Border . If the frame is too big by being either too deep &/or sprung they will get stuck & die underground as not all places are diggable . I was taught they should resemble a lightweight hunter , legs slightly longer than depth of body & ˜fairly long in body”, i.e. longer wither to end of loin than wither to elbow with no trace of brisket below elbow . These essentials plus positive straight scopy movement were uppermost today . I have no colour prejudice nor pedigree preference at all.
Temperaments were excellent in the ring with only a couple of “outbursts” from outside, a must for a working terrier is an equable nature . All males were entire . A few misplaced teeth & tail faults which would not affect work but do pass on to progeny . Untypical round eyes often too close together are prone to damage & ulceration working , & give a surprised foreign look rather than kind in repose & keen when alert correct expression . Quite a few ran down to the shoulders being either short in foreleg &/or steep in croup . Was pleased my winners have enough scope & soundness to get there & handled well enough in rib & front to be able to get in & more importantly , back out again.
Veteran - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Southern Border Terrier Club Limit Show
3rd Mar 2013
Judge: Mrs Linda Coleman (Hartswelin)
I would like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to judge the breed. I also thank the exhibitors for entering their quality dogs under me. The atmosphere and sportsmanship from exhibitors and spectators made my day a very enjoyable one. All bites were correct and I found one monorchid. Front movement in general still has a way to go and there were far too many flat open feet with thin pads especially in the males. That said I felt I had a quality entry.
Best Veteran - Bitch
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Veteran - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Placing Critique
8 yrs. In super double harsh coat. Moved well both ways, balanced body but lacks strength in muzzle.
Blackpool & District Championship Show
21st Jun 2013
Judge: Mrs Hilary Gilpin (Otterbobs)
What a lovely day, no rain in sight!!
Thank you to all the exhibitors and especially my steward Alisan, she was excellent at her job. I enjoyed judging many dogs that I had not be over or seen before. Many dogs had little or no coat at all, Border Terriers must have a harsh double coat when showing not just stripped out and in their under coat, also there was hardly any muscle tone, no level backs, no slim straight narrow fronts and the movement should of been better. In a few of the older classes I could not span a few dogs and they were heavy when I lifted them up off the table, I found all the mouths clean with full dentations and I *placed those that were nearest the standard in each class*. Very pleased with both dog and bitch winners and their reserves and best puppy.
Veteran - Dog or Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Windsor Championship Show
27th Jun 2014
Judge: Mr S Jackson (Clipstone)
Very sorry for the late publication of this report. Unfortunately the original was on a device that was stolen. It was an honour again to judge Windsor which is one of my personal favourite shows, and also my local!
Veteran - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Richmond Championship Dog Show
6th Sep 2014
Judge: Mr W Gray (Pontbeck)
Thanks go to my stewards for making the day run smoothly and to the exhibitors for their enthusiasm for the breed and the sporting way they took my decisions.
Since the hunting bill I 've been concerned how the breed would keep to the line in the breed standard " Essentially a working terrier " as the opportunities for work have been reduced and the spin off as to why we require a double coat and the dog to be narrow all through may be lost to some exhibitors who haven't the opportunity to work or know someone who does or has worked their dogs. There was evidence today that we may have lost sight of the fact that this is a working breed. I'm not suggesting that all Borders should work but that all Borders should be capable to work and those who are closest to the breed standard should be able to do the job required of them.
There were a few exhibits with single coats today, look very smart but would soon pay the price on a cold wet winters day if they had to be out in the elements for any length of time. Some exhibits were carrying a little too much weight and quite a number would benefit from a good walk, some with little muscle.
Veteran - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Class Critique
What a lovely class of veterans. Great credit to the owners for keeping the dogs in such good shape
Richmond
12th Sep 2015
Judge: Mrs Eileen Needham (Titanium)
I should like to thank Richmond committee for my invitation to judge Border Terriers. It is quite a while since I judged the breed and so came to it today with a very open mind. I thoroughly enjoyed my day, with the opportunity of going over some very lovely dogs. I had plenty of choice in choosing my winners, and I would thank the exhibitors for bringing their dogs and receiving my decisions sportingly. My Stewards were excellent, keeping everything moving like clockwork.
Veteran - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Argentail Bucks Fizz
Placing Critique
another ten year-old, blue bitch in good jacket, moving quite well.
