Show Placings
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
25th Mar 2017
Judge: Mrs. Margaret Curtis (Matamba)
Thank you to The Border Terrier Club officers, committee and members who elected to give me the privilege of judging their club championship show, and many thanks to the exhibitors who travelled from near and far and accepted my placings sportingly. Thanks to my two stewards Janice Johnson and Judith Fawcett who did a grand job and also thanks to the hard working Joyce Martin for all the wonderful photographs.
Today the overall picture and my main concern was that we seem to be losing the "Head like that of an otter moderately broad in the skull, with short strong muzzle". What I was seeing was a narrow skull which does not give that typical Border Terrier expression. Movement was more of a problem in the dog classes, in the bitch classes came the quality and the soundness.
When it comes to the showring, presentation is, in my opinion, important. I like to see a dog smart but not over groomed or in full coat but tidy, today attention to ears, tails and feet could have been beneficial to some exhibits.
Puppy - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Tweedmouth Canine Society Open Show
14th Apr 2017
Judge: Mr Phil Rooney (Biscovey)
Best Puppy
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Placing Critique
Excellent young dog. Superb head and expression, correct bite. Strong neck leading into tight shoulders, nice bone and tight feet. Correct height to length ratio, nice rib and quarters. Excellent movement. Dissapointed he did not stay for the BOB challenge, would have been a strong contender
Cheviot and Berwick Open Show
29th Jul 2017
Judge: Sheila G Stoddart
As I was a substitute judge at the last minute, thank you to the exhibitors for their welcome. I enjoyed going over a super entry of Border Terriers and was impressed especially by the standard and fitness of the veterans. As a terrier person myself I felt I had to hang my head in shame a bit as without exception the cleanliness of the teeth in this breed was terrific…said to self..must try harder!! (I do but co-operation can be scarce on the ground!) This is a very friendly show…only their second Open Show and I would certainly like to return as an Exhibitor next time!
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Placing Critique
A fourteen month old bitch in good hard condition, lovely head and dark eye. Good pelt and spanned correctly. She moved out well for her handler and gave the impression she could follow the hounds without any problem.
Scottish Kennel Club
27th Aug 2017
Judge: Mr Euan Castel (Flutorum)
My thanks to the committee for their kind invitation to judge at this my local Championship Show. Special thanks to my excellent steward Ben Joiner for keeping everything in order. Thank you to all exhibitors for providing me with a lovely entry to go over. I found a depth of quality in each class with some close decisions to make. Very pleased that my Best of Breed, Best Puppy and Best Veteran went on to do well in their respective groups – well done.
Junior - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Selkirk & DCS Open Show
10th Sep 2017
Judge: Mrs N Anderson
Many thanks to the club for the invite to judge at their 90th Anniversary show, it was a lovely well run show. Also thanks to my capable steward, Judy Carr who kept things running smoothly throughout. Thanks to all the exhibitors who entered on the day and accepted my decisions in a sporting way. All males were entire, no bad mouths or kinked tails. There was quite a variety in type on the day. The biggest issue was movement with many dogs swinging in front or pinning and lacking the drive from behind to follow a horse. I like my dogs in hard, fit condition and found many lacking in this area with little muscle tone. However I found some quality dogs and was delighted to see my BOB go TG1.
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Placing Critique
16month old G&T bitch who was smartly presented in a super harsh double jacket. Although she doesn't have the strongest of heads she has pleasing feminine expression who really shows her socks off. Narrow throughout with a straight front standing on lovely tight feet. She had a good length of rib and was easily spanned. A good mover holding her topline. Good tailset. Well handled and shown to her advantage.
The Northern Border Terrier Club Open Show
1st Oct 2017
Judge: Mr Colin Girling (Benattivo)
I had the most enjoyable experience from the first to last minute of my judging day, the Northern hospitality from all was exceptional and I thank the Committee for giving me such a great opportunity. The quality and depth in some classes was a real treat for me to discover on judging ‘up north’ for the first time. Thanks to my stewards who helped keep everything managed practically perfect throughout the day. I enjoyed the lunch and my gift is displayed in pride of place on the mantle. Thank you all for trusting me to take on such a wonderful show.
A couple of untidy mouths, some unclean teeth but bites generally good. Found a dog and a bitch with kinks and there were a few thin pelts. Overall however I found good quality in the majority, good heads and expressions are essential but I especially like to see a dog moving forwards with drive, not pulling but setting off to get somewhere. I believe a working terrier needs good tight feet and thick pads to be able to meet the standard, most feet were good although I observed some long claws which do not help.
Junior - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Class Critique
The girls matched the dogs in another great class of youngsters which gave me a real challenge to ‘split hairs’ to place the top 3.
Cheviot & Bewick CS Open Show
17th Mar 2018
Judge: Kerrie Picolo
Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Border Union Agricultural Society
17th Jun 2018
Judge: Mrs Anne Gregory (Remony)
My thanks to the officers and committee of the Border Union Agricultural Society for inviting me to judge today. Thank you also to the exhibitors for giving me, by far, the biggest Terrier entry of the day. A big thank you to my two stewards, Nev and Liz Holmes-Leak, who kept things running smoothly and efficiently thus ensuring that we finished in time for my BOB to make the Group.
Coats were at varying stages, with some in their underclothes, and in some cases this was the deciding factor. Some exhibits were too fine in bone, particularly in the earlier classes. Some heads had ears set too high, some had deep stops with muzzles that were too short which gives a foreign expression. There were more than a few exhibits which would have benefited from having their feet tidied and nails cut. Soundness of movement in some dogs gave cause for concern. If a Border is to be fit for the function it was intended, it needs to be sound on the move. I found varying degrees of unsoundness in front movement from toeing in, crossing in front to paddling and out at the elbows. Hind movement in some exhibits was also less than desirable with hocks too close together when going away, cow hocks, lack of drive from hindquarters and, in some cases, lack of muscle tone. All of which would not allow a Border to be ‘capable of following a horse’ over rugged terrain. On a positive note, I did have some quality dogs to go over and was well pleased with my winners. I was also pleased to see my BOB shortlisted in the group.
Graduate - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Hawick & DCSOpen Show
1st Jul 2018
Judge:
Open /
Second Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
The Northern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
15th Jul 2018
Judge: Professor S P Dean (Tyrian)
Thoroughly enjoyed my day with the NBTC. My thanks to the Committee for the appointment and the exhibitors for their entry of Borders. I was well looked after all day and I would like to express my gratitude to my Stewards who did an excellent job by keeping focused on their task throughout the day. I was extremely pleased with the overall quality of the dogs across both sexes. For those who left without prize cards do not be too disappointed, I saw only one undershot jaw and no dog was out of place in the show ring. My top winners were all outstanding dogs and there were several others who deserve that label who were placed but did not reach the final accounting. Overall heads are very good but let’s be careful not to breed for too much strength in skull. Ensure we balance what we have with equal strength in muzzle and under-jaw and please lots more beautiful large white teeth. Most dogs had the correct outline, with many good top-lines and neat tails. Coats and pelts were generally very good and do not be afraid to show a Border in that rich, thick ,harsh, double coat they are well known for. Generally conformation was correct, with shoulders and stifles showing acceptable angulation. The straight stifle is quite rare, but equally let’s not over do the angulation of the hind limb as that produces weakness. Short hocks go best with correct stifles. Dogs with a length of leg, drive from hindquarters, tight feet and good ribbing did well today provided they had the typical Border Terrier characteristics we all look for. A few dogs are getting a little long in body for a variety of reasons. Some have their shoulder set forwards on the chest, some lack the well ribbed-back conformation and so appear to have long couplings and some have shorter legs than they ideally need. Much of this was marginal today but they are all points to remember as the breed moves forward. I was pleased with the CC line ups and excited by the quality in some of the youngsters coming through. It would have been nice to reward some of these emerging future champions with higher honours but the quality at the top was too much for relatively immature dogs.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Reserve
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Cheviot and Berwick Canine Society Open Show
21st Jul 2018
Judge: Mr Craig Richardson
Post Graduate /
Third Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
The Scottish Kennel Club
25th Aug 2018
Judge: Mr. Ian Higham (Comberdown)
What a privilege it was to judge my breed again at the Scottish Kennel Club. I am very grateful for the invite.
I would really like to thank all of those who exhibited their dogs under me and for putting trust in my opinion and my integrity. I would also like to thank my very capable stewards Kate Scott and Lindsay O’Neill, who were very confident, efficient and jovial on the day.
My general findings were that the breed is showing a good in-depth quality. Movement is still a bit erratic here and there as one would expect, but I saw plenty of good borders on the day. However, I did notice that thickness of skin was not as evident as in the past and I honestly only found a few really good thick pelts. I found one dog had a very slight deformity near the very end of its tail. I had one or two level bites and one that obviously had recently had a tooth come out and its owner, very honestly, informed me of what had happened. None of these dogs were penalised in any way re mouths. Some exhibits were tallish but spannable, however, there were some that were two heavy in chest and had a rounder shape rib rather than the correct ‘v’ or heart shape.
As usual I was looking for borders that fulfilled the type points as laid out in our standard, combined with correct physical construction to be able to cover the ground well as they would have had to when our standard was written all those years ago.
Open - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
Class Critique
Plenty of quality in this class.
Selkirk & DCS Open Show
30th Sep 2018
Judge:
Open /
Third Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
The Scottish Border Terrier Club Championship Show
10th Nov 2018
Judge: Mrs Charlotte Archibald (Tweedburn)
My sincere thanks to the Scottish Border Terrier Club for inviting me to judge their Championship show, one of my favourites. Also my thanks to the exhibitors for allowing me the privilege to judge their dogs.
My main concern is size and weight, it really does matter, there were a number of exhibits that were too heavy/big, and at the other end of the spectrum, not enough muscle/bone/condition, which is essential for a working dog. However, I was very happy with the main winners, and both line ups.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
The Scottish Border Terrier Club Limited Show
27th Jan 2019
Judge: Mr P Lothian (Lairhope)
I would like to thank the Scottish Border Terrier Cub for inviting me to judge their 2019 Limited Show and to Exhibitors for allowing me to go over their dogs. I really enjoyed my day. Thank you also to the Committee for the excellent hospitality. Many thanks...
Open - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Kentixen Mystery
