Show Placings
Southern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
8th Jun 2013
Judge: Mr W R Irving
It was an honour to be invited to judge the Southern Border Terrier Club’s Championship Show for the second time, the last time having been exactly twenty years ago in 1993. The entry on this occasion was 215 from 203 dogs of which 14 were entered NFC. My thanks go to the Show Manager, Officers and Committee of the Club for their hospitality and organisation and to the exhibitors for their entries and for the sporting way in which they accepted my decisions. Special thanks to Wendy and Andrew Mooney and Bev Marsh for stewarding so efficiently and for organising the collecting ring which allowed us to finish in good time.
As usual there were more bitches than dogs entered. It was encouraging to see some good quality entries through the various classes and not just at the senior end, I thought that by and large heads and expressions were good with not many narrow long skulls there. My feeling was that while there were still plenty of dogs with poor fronts of one kind or another present, there were more good fronted exhibits around from which to find winners than the last time I judged. Coats were mixed and at times I had to forgive some lack of coat. As always there was a good deal of variation in size as always, but in the end I felt I was able to find winners of good enough size with enough scope and lines. I felt that tails were mixed and at times, in looking for overall quality, I had to reward dogs with tails that I felt were less than perfect in shape, length or carriage. By and large the dogs behaved pretty well and were presented clean. I was keen to see the dogs moving around the ring and not ‘stacked’. That is surely the most revealing in conformation terms.
DCC and BOB was Jenkins’ Badgerbeck Uncle Fester. RDCC was Stockleys’ Ch Foxfactor Pied Piper. BCC and RBIS was May and Whisker’s Thistlestone Jenny Wren. RBCC was Higham’s Comberdown Thistle. BP was Hall and Ellis’ Brackenfell Bok To Bach and BPB was Clark’s Gameway Fortune Cookie. BV was Stockleys’ Foxfactor Hornblower
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
good length and pleasing in neck and topline, good tail. Could be better in coat but pleasing in hindquarters and moved out pretty well but she too needs to tighten up slightly in front.
Class Critique
A strong class.
Poole Canine Society Open Show
23rd Jun 2013
Judge: Howard Ogden (Beauview)
Post Graduate /
Third Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Windsor Championship Dog Show
29th Jun 2013
Judge: Mrs Karen Dean (Tyrian)
I would first like to thank the society for inviting me to judge at this level for the first time, and my stewards for keeping me on track. Special thanks to the Border Terrier Club of Victoria, Australia and their secretary Denise Worthington for presenting a special sash to the Best of Breed winner providing a welcome highlight at the end of judging.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Paignton Championship Show
3rd Aug 2013
Judge: Mrs B Jackson (Clipstone)
I thoroughly enjoyed judging at Paignton Championship Show. The new venue (well, new to me) was very pleasant and the show was efficiently run by the helpful and friendly committee. I had an excellent entry which contained lots of quality dogs to choose from. Some classes were, however, a real mix of types, again the Fox Terrier type with high ear carriage are appearing, as are those with almost "hound like" ears, far too large and which ruin the head. Ultimately I judged to my interpretation of the Standard. I like a dog to be a real stallion dog and a bitch, his feminine counterpart. I do not like bitchy dogs and masculine bitches. I was incredibly pleased with my winners, neither of which I have judged before and who to my mind are excellent examples of the breed, both home bred too, not bought in.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
A different type to1, slightly longer in the back. Excellent topline which she held on the move. Nice head and expression. Lovely rear angulation and moved well. Lost out to 1 on coat quality today
The Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show
4th Aug 2013
Judge: Sharp & Bailey
*Dog Critique*
My thanks to the Committee for inviting me to judge the Championship Show for the second time, the first being 10 years ago, and thanks to my Stewards for their efficiency. The entry of 103 with only 9 absentees was pleasing.
Some judges concentrate on heads, others on shape of eyes, or on small dark ears, some on presentation, others on neat accurate movement. As for me – I judge on a whether a dog is “fit for function†as a working terrier plus whether it looks like a Border Terrier and no other type of terrier.
A good proportion of the entry had major faults of construction which would render them, not useless, but inefficient at the job Border Terriers are designed to perform. For instance, short rib cages do not allow for lung room for the stamina a terrier needs to run all day, and these short rib cages (often sprung) were very much in evidence in the entry. Some were accompanied by long loins which might give the impression to the ringside that the dog had good length.
Secondly, upright shoulders, often with steep upper arms are a major design fault. A well laid shoulder with well angulated upper arm which brings the elbow under the body is not just a pleasure to look at – these act as shock absorbers when the dog is running so that his joints are not jarred, leading to wear and tear, thus shortening his effective life as a working terrier.
Finally, wide fronts, often associated with the previous construction – a Border should be able to creep into any space occupied by a fox, and these, despite their chunky appearance have very little body under that fur.
Coats were mixed as to be expected – and there were some really good pelts, only a couple with paper thin pelts. Undercoat was often missing on the back, but present on the sides. A handful of bad mouths, perhaps some all rounders might accept these but I could not. Few really outstanding otter heads which stay in one’s memory for years, but most were adequate.
My critique will not contain descriptions of the dogs, but will give an indication of why they were placed as they were. If your dog was not as high in the placings as you had hoped, take a good objective look at him, and you might find out why.
*Bitch Critique*
A big thank you to the MBTC committee for asking me to judge the Ch. Show it was a great honour. Thank you also to my stewards Ray & Sharon for making the classes run so smoothly. A nice entry of 144 bitches. I enjoyed the day; it was lovely to judge the bitches. The depth of quality in most of the classes was very pleasing. However, the fronts are still a problem within the breed & need to be addressed in future litters. Some quality bitches went cardless, unfortunately there is only 5 cards & many went without being placed. I was so delighted that my fellow judge Marie, agreed that my BCC & BRCC, should win the top honours, Best in Show and RBIS.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
another quality pup, feminine head, good front and rear assembly allowing good movement, excellent coat, not as showy has 1 , still one to watch.
Richmond Championship Dog Show
7th Sep 2013
Judge: Mrs K M Irving (Dandyhow)
In my view the breed still has problems with movement, particularly front movement. Hind action in bitches was also poor on this occasion. There was some variation in coats and some were shown without much jacket but others were somewhat blown in coat. However there were several with excellent coats and pelts – such an important feature of the breed. Dentition and temperaments were very good.
Because I don’t enjoy judging, and quite frankly never have, I decided before this appointment that is would be my last judging assignment. I hope that more younger Border Terrier enthusiasts will come forward as judges to ensure the successful future of the breed.
Puppy - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
15th Sep 2013
Judge: Mrs Kathy Newsome (Kighill)
I was very honoured to have been invited to judge the SBTC Open show and I would like to thank my Show Manager Wendy Mooney and the Officers of the Committee for their kind hospitality. I would also like to thank my stewards for the day Dave Hunt, Denise Townsend and Andrew Mooney for helping me to keep on track with a lovely entry of 137 dogs making a total of 157 and of course a special thanks to all the exhibitors.
I was pleased with the quality of some of my entries but we must not forget that the Breed Standard states that a Border Terrier is “essentially a working terrier†ie. “Going to ground â€. Unfortunately there were some that would not have been able to do the job that they were intended for, due to weight and depth leaving some unable to be spanned. Some heads were quite disappointing as they lacked the substance that would give them the “Head of an Otterâ€. On the plus side I found the fronts quite pleasing. Overall I was very pleased with my class winners and with my overall winners of the show on the day.
Puppy - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Novice - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Abisu Domino
The Terrier Club of Devon & Cornwall
20th Oct 2013
Judge: Mr R Wright (Totherend)
My thanks to the organisers and exhibitors for a very welcoming and well supported show with 43 Borders constituting over a quarter of the total show entry. There was plenty of loose pelts, harsh coats, neat feet and quality dogs although a few would struggle to be called spanable, one had a kinked tail and another a bad mouth. However, the day was topped off nicely with a reserve best puppy in show trying hard to maintain some decorum alongside her highly excited handler. A good day.
Puppy /
Reserve
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Southern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
14th Jun 2014
Judge: Mrs Wendy Mooney (Chesterton)
Congratulations to the committee of the Southern Border Terrier Club for running an excellent show at a new venue under extreme circumstances. Due to a nasty virus the appointed judge, Mrs Betty Judge, was taken ill the day before and was not well enough to carry out her duties. I know that she was absolutely devastated and had been looking forward to the appointment for a long time.
Faced with such an emergency, show manager, Mr David Hunt managed the situation with complete calm and professionalism. I was both honoured and shocked to be invited to step in to judge and here, I must say a huge thank you to the committee for asking me but in particular to the exhibitors who had entered under and were expecting another judge and took the situation so sportingly.
I am grateful to everyone who accepted my decisions and placings so graciously and to my great team of stewards: Andrew Mooney, Elspeth Jackson and Bev Marsh, who kept everything running smoothly and between them managed to multi-task and juggle photographs, collecting ring, announcing, paperwork awards etc etc.
And so to the dogs themselves – there were some superb entries and it was an absolute pleasure to go over and place them. Some of the classes were so strong that even good dogs didn’t get placed.
Coats and presentation were generally excellent - something, which was not so apparent the last time I judged. This I put down principally to the time of year (for both shows).
Movement today seemed in many of the dogs to be lacking the drive that I would have wished for. In part, I think the surface may have been to blame (but not in all instances) and had we been outside on the grass this might have been different. I do slightly regret that I did not decide to judge the dogs outside.
Mouths were good in all but one (suspect) case, as were the temperaments. Size I think will need to be kept in check, there seemed to be a fair number who seemed to be heavy enough, others who were too deep to be easily spanned.
I was so thrilled with my “stars” of the show. It was a pleasure to judge all of your dogs; they were a lovely, quality entry.
Yearling - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
Good sized grizzle and tan with a nice outline and in good coat. Nice reach of neck and pleasant head. Lost out on movement to the winner.
Salisbury and South Wilts Canine Society Open Show
31st Aug 2014
Judge: Miss Karen Rimmer {Kylini)
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Christchurch and New Forest Canine Society Open Show
16th May 2015
Judge: Mrs Jill Stevens (Cobstoneway)
Thank you to the committee for my judging invitation and hospitality, and my two efficient stewards, and to the exhibitors for an entry of such lovely quality. Thank you also to the Southern Border Terrier Club for their kind donation of prize money.
I found no bad mouths, no kinked tails, and all males were entire. Sadly, there were no puppies entered.
Post Graduate /
Third Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Bournemouth CS
10th Aug 2015
Judge: Mrs Lynda Ward
I would like to thank the officers and committee for inviting me to judge, the stewards for unobtrusively keeping things running smoothly and the exhibitors for bringing their good dogs and accepting my decisions with grace. I was gratified to have only 3 absentees despite the awful weather forecast. The necessary inside ring, albeit slightly sloping and uneven, was a decent size giving each exhibit the opportunity to get into stride. Coats varied but there were many good textured topcoats over dense undercoats and on the whole pelts were thick. My worst issue was that some exhibits, despite being narrow and not fat, were very heavy and also a difficult span. Pads were generally thick but feet could be better trimmed as some that looked large and flat actually weren’t on examination. I look for shortish carrot-like tails and although some were thick at the base and tapering correctly they were overly long. I only found 2 with misplaced teeth and it was delighted to find most today had large well set white teeth in good scissor bite. In the past I’ve commented on lack of condition and poor muscle tone in hindquarters so was happy that all today’s entry was presented fit and in hard condition. Overall type was good, I was pleased with both line ups and the veteran classes were a particular treat
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
Also a handy sized bitch with sweet head and expression. She has a narrow well angled front and good rear end. Good tail shape. Coat was dense but just going over.
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
20th Sep 2015
Judge: Miss Felicity Freer (Felfree)
Many thanks to the committee & for all the exhibitors for making my appointment so enjoyable.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
17th Sep 2017
Judge: Mr Gordon Dyer (Ruffenuf)
Firstly may I thank the SBTC Committee for inviting me to judge this Open Show. I felt very honoured. I thoroughly enjoyed my day. The ring ran smoothly with the help of my stewards and the whole venue had a pleasing and pleasant atmosphere. It was nice to see some old and many new faces. May I also thank the exhibitors for handling their dogs confidently and accepting my decisions. I was very impressed with the quality of the dogs and I only found one bad mouth and two sprung ribs. I had a few challenging decisions to make and uncoated dogs had to be penalised. Mostly the dogs were all in fit condition and able to do a day’s work. I was very impressed with my final line up and to have such sound dogs
representing the breed.
Limit - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
The Southern Border Terrier Club Limit Show
15th Apr 2018
Judge: Ms Tina Jones (Otterholme)
My sincere thanks to the committee for the kind invitation to judge at my first club show, I enjoyed the day immensely. Thank you to my efficient stewards Tina Morgan, Rachel Larner and Wendy Mooney, show manager for keeping things running so smoothly.
My thanks must go to the exhibitors for bringing along their dogs today, and the sporting acceptance of my decisions.
I did note some untypical heads, which for me lacked for me the characterising feature of the breed, I found such heads to be somewhat exaggerated with too much stop, not the ‘moderately’ broad skull I was looking for.
On the whole, I found mouths were good, a couple of level bites, and one or two with misaligned teeth, but it was pleasing to find big strong teeth in most exhibits.
I was very pleased with my class winners; some decisions were very close especially in the bitch classes. In both sexes there were some promising youngsters coming through which can only auger well for the breed.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Southern Border Terrier Club Limited Show
3rd Mar 2019
Judge: Mrs Karen Stockley (Foxfactor)
I would like to thank the SBTC committee for inviting me to judge their show and for the lovely gift,a day I thoroughly enjoyed with some lovely exhibits to have the pleasure of going over.
A big thank you to my stewards Jill Stevens and Tina Morgan who very efficiently kept the classes running smoothly throughout the day.
Thanks also to all the exhibitors who entered and those present on the day.
I found a great percentage of the exhibits in good muscle tone and condition, coats as always at different stages but many in good harsh double jackets, disappointingly quite a few thin pelts and a lack of real carroty tails, just a couple with incorrect dentition and one kinked tail. All dogs were entire and all dogs and bitches displaying good temperaments in the ring.
I was pleased with both my final line ups. There were some lovely puppies forward which I love judging and some close decisions there.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Abisu Domino
The Southern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
18th Sep 2021
Judge: Miss Sally Leslie (Risdene)
Congratulations to the committee on finding a splendid new venue. It is so nice to be able to evaluate exhibits in natural surrounding and this was ideal. I understand some did not care completely for the ground but while some exhibits did not excel on the terrain those that did displayed good conformation and moved accordingly.
Generally: there were some mouth faults present today which affected some results in the context of the classes they were in and the degree of the fault. Fronts came in many shapes and sizes not all straight and narrow unfortunately and I was surprised at the number of large and rather thin, spreading feet. Finally I just want to get off my chest that for me the term racy hindquarters does not carry with it a high tuck up.
The unexpected heat, especially in the earlier classes, was a little overwhelming and I thought both exhibits and exhibitors coped admirably. I loved my line ups and very much appreciated my entry, thank you.
Thanks also to my stewards who in these strange times were really kept at it all day.
Veteran - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Abisu Domino
Placing Critique
somewhat of a charmer, carrying a little more timber than desirable but good to go over constructionwise and she was certainly exhibiting the sort of coat and pelt that would defeat the worst of the weather and any adversarial conditions. Very shapely.
