Show Placings
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
22nd Mar 2014
Judge: Mr. David Matthews (Tojamatt)
I wish to thank the YORKS LANCS AND CHESHIRE BORDER TERRIER CLUB for the opportunity to judge at this level many thanks to the stewards Carolyn Richardson, Cally Harris and Julie Price for the help in the smooth running of the show I would also like to thank the exhibitors for allowing me the pleasure of going over their dogs.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Novice - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
3rd in minor puppy good expression correct earset narrow front easily spanned harsh double jacket moved well
Special Beginners - Dog or Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
2nd in puppy bitch
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
29th Mar 2014
Judge: Mrs Jane Parker (Conundrum)
I would like to thank the BTC club, for giving me a second chance to judge this, the most prestigious of the breed clubs championship shows. I was judge elect in 2010, but caught the awful Noro virus the night before I was due to judge and spent the next two days flat out.
The new venue that the committee has found, has to be lauded. It is large, airy, light, the flooring is excellent. The car park looked huge. From a judges point of view I could see all the dogs clearly at any time. Congratulations on a super venue.
My two stewards, Chris Davis and Liz Barratt were so very organised and kept me informed and on time throughout the day, with good humour lots of smiles and attention to detail. With such a lovely entry numbers wise, it was a long day. Thank you both.
Living in Canada now, it was a real pleasure to judge dogs that I had mostly not seen. Obviously some of the older ones were mere youngsters before I left and it was nice to see how they had progressed through the years. I found no missing testicles, mouths on the whole were good, with only a few missing teeth or one or two misaligned. Heads were in general better overall than when I left, with more who carried a moderately broad backskull and also a lot more with very good underjaw, something one had to look hard to find a few years ago. Coats were on the whole, good, there were a very few however, who had greasy and dirty coats, this I feel is completely unnecessary. A few arrived without their coats, this is just unfortunate as dogs do not know about our ambitions in regard to shows, and if the coat needs to come out then so be it! Feet in some instances were weak, with some flat footed and others harefooted, this breed needs to have really good tight feet, small with thick pads and be well knuckled, poor feet make the whole outline of the dog look wrong. The worst fault I found, as usual were fronts, all the usual suspects were there, wide fronts, narrow fronts, flicking wrists etc. I do begin to wonder if we will ever get this completely right, but if we are breeders looking to the future, we must be hard on this most prevalent fault, and do not use these dogs and bitches in our breeding programmes. Bitches had the most quality through the entry, again, this is usual, however the dogs that were good, were very very good, and the best, were exceptional. Size does need to be watched, this is a somewhat cyclical thing, but there were some big dogs and bitches in the ring. The first and most important words in our standard...â€Essentially a working terrierâ€...if it cannot be spanned, it is too big. In general I feel the breed in the country of origin is in pretty good shape, the top percentage of the dogs I judged were quite lovely and had breed type to spare. In my critique you will no doubt notice expressions I use again and again. I find certain things are ubiquitous (but none the less hugely important to breed type) and have my pet ways of describing them, I hope you forgive my industrial repetition in some regards.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Special Beginners - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
National Terrier Club
5th Apr 2014
Judge: Mr David Hunt (Ottaswell)
My thanks to the committee of the National Terrier Club for their invitation to judge at this group championship show. Thanks also to my stewards Brian Doyle and John Callow for their help and assistance in keeping me organised and the ring running smoothly. My appreciation also to the exhibitors for such a large entry in these tough financial times.
The ring was large with lots of space for dogs to move freely without being forced to stop/start. In general the dogs were in good condition. I found 1 dog that was not entire. Although teeth were mostly OK, apart from a few misaligned, they varied greatly in size. Coats varied as always but I judge on the day and lack of coat is taken into account when placing exhibits. I was concerned at the number of exhibits down on their pasterns, not giving the small feet as required. Many younger exhibits would really benefit from regular ringcraft experience.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Novice - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Goosenargh & Longridge Agricultural Open Show
5th Jul 2014
Judge: Penny Sands (Krakensis)
Junior /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
The Northern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
13th Jul 2014
Judge: Mrs. A. Gregory (Manx)
Junior - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Driffield Agricultural Society Championship Dog Show
20th Sep 2014
Judge: Mrs A C Fryer (Irton)
Thanks to the exhibitors for giving me a lovely entry and to my stewards for keeping the ring running efficiently throughout. We had a good day with a very very slight drizzle; the exhibitors and exhibits seemed untroubled but it did cause the ringside to flee temporarily! There were some very good dogs present and I enjoyed all my winners but there are always some buts, and looking through my notes there was a preponderonce of “OK” over “good”. The standard asks for a dog that has the soundness to follow a horse; this, of course, must be understood in the context of a terrier working with the Hunt on rough moorland ground, but even so only the minority of exhibits could meet this requirement. Inadequate angulation leads to poor ground covering ability and untidy front movement – evident in a lot of exhibits. Whilst most exhibitors take the trouble to present their dogs as well as possible, a number were unfit and lacking muscle tone and would one of the Breed Clubs please put on a grooming seminar which shows exhibitors how to prepare feet and nails?? It is clearly needed. I forgive coats since these are outwith your control and sadly some excellent dogs had to pay the price for coming without a jacket.
Junior - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Championship Show
27th Sep 2014
Judge: Mr Frank Nicholls (Halcus)
My grateful thanks to the committee and officers for their brilliant hospitality and to stewards Doreen Rushby and Graham Richardson for their hard work and attempts at keeping me out of trouble. An excellent entry with real quality present in both dogs and bitches. Unfortunately, at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, front movement was a real problem in quite a few exhibits, not I might add in the top winners, but unfortunately occasional compromises had to be made in this respect in some classes when filling some of the lower placings.
Post Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Nice outline and narrow with good construction front and back. Good head. Good red grizzle coat, moved well.
Liverpool Terrier Club Open Show
5th Oct 2014
Judge: Jane Moreton-Shaw (Fehmarn)
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Lovely grizzle boy with a fabulous head. Good bite and ear placement. Carroty tail with correct set on. Just spannable. Would like a little more length of rib. Good angulation and bend of stifle. Moved well. Not overdone in any way, and liked him very much. Lovely coat RBOB
The Border Terrier Club Open Show
18th Oct 2014
Judge: Mr. Paul Cheeseman (Bromscar)
First of all I would like to thank the committee and membership of the border terrier club for inviting me to judge this show. I would also like to thank all those who entered their dogs under me, and for the sporting manner in which my decisions were accepted. I only found a couple of teeth out of position and one level mouth. There were no kinked tails, although there were a lot of long tails. I thought that on the whole movement was somewhat better than I have judged in recent years. There were some tremendous coats but not many thick pelts. The one shock I had was the poor physical condition of some exhibits, although all exhibits were clean, some had no muscular condition at all, and I found two that were severely under conditioned. There were very few exhibits who were in good hard condition, the ones that were, mainly took the top places. A working terrier has to be in good physical condition with plenty of hard muscle in the right places. Some exhibits today would be hard presses to get to ground, never mind stay there and work for a few hours. Please be reminded that this wonderful breed is a WORKING terrier, and therefore, should be shown in a condition that reflects this.
Post Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Good sized grizzle & tan, easily spannable. Good head with nice eye & teeth. Coat & pelt, rib & loin, all good. Small tight feet. Good front and rear, moved well
Wigan and District Canine Society Open Show
2nd Nov 2014
Judge: Mr. Bob Wright (Totherend)
My thanks to the organisers, steward and exhibitors for a welcoming and well supported show. There were some quality exhibits and although there was a variety of types they were generally within the breed standard. A few exhibits were the right side of spanable but only just, dentition was generally good and there were no signs of poor temperaments.
Graduate /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
litter brother to 1 with many of the same attributes but not quite the same ring presence.
The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show
16th Nov 2014
Judge: Miss Tracy Peacock (Ragatam)
I would like to thank the committee for the judging appointment and the two stewards, Jem Thomas and Margaret Davies. I enjoyed my day very much. Thanks to the exhibitors for an excellent entry. I was pleased with my principle winners. Some dogs were penalised today for lack of coat, I know coats will grow back. Movement in some exhibits left a lot to be desired.
Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Liked this dog’s size and type. Lovely head and expression. Good coat and pelt. Would prefer a little more length in back. Good topline and tail ok. Moved well.
Southport and Birkdale Open Show
30th Nov 2014
Judge: Mrs Elizabeth Barrett (Howthwaite)
Limit /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Smart, compact grizzle and tan dog in fit condition. Masculine head with short strong muzzle and lovely flat skull. Good for bone and standing on excellent legs and feet. Shown in a short pinwire topcoat with thick undercoat and pelt. Nice anglulations front and back. Moved and shown well.
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
31st Jan 2015
Judge: Miss Claire Tutin (Riseburn)
I would like to thank the officers and committee for their invitation to judge their open show, and their warm welcome and hospitality. I would also like to thank my two efficient stewards on the day, Ian Hopper and John Thomas.
The entry was very pleasing but there were quite a few absentees on the day, especially the dog classes. However I enjoyed my day and was pleased with all my class winners, making a very satisfactory final line up, including some promising puppies, with some difficult decisions to be made. I found one bad mouth and one kinked tail.
Reserve Best Dog
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Post Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
liked him for size, beautiful outline, masculine head with keen expression, strong jaw and good dentition, good length of back, good topline and tail set, thick harsh jacket, moved very well with good length of stride – RBD.
Crufts
7th Mar 2015
Judge: Miss Elspeth Jackson (Clipstone)
First of all I would like to thank the Kennel Club for the honour and pleasure of judging this prestigious show. I must then thank my efficient and capable stewards who kept me on track and looked after me through the day. Most of all I would like thank the exhibitors who rose from their beds at early hours and drove many miles to give me an entry of Border Terriers to be proud of and one which is was a delight to judge. It was not only strong numerically strong but also in depth of quality. It is a cliché to say that there were not enough cards to go around but in this entry it was certainly true. Determining all the final line up in each class was difficult and also in many deciding who should make the short list was also a challenge. Good dogs went without a card, ones who in a different entry I would have been happy to see as winners. In the challenges decisions remained tough and more than those that took the top honours were worthy of doing so and I would have been very pleased to have had more awards to give out.
In the days following this year’s show Crufts, dog shows and those who participate in them came in for some criticism. The picture painted by the media at this time was certainly not my experience. Before, during and after the show I found show people to be nothing but good natured, genuine and supportive. I enjoyed every minute of my day and hope that those that supported me with an entry or as spectators at the ringside did so too
Post Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Another with good type, well balanced with good body proportions. Nice in shoulder and good in top line with good tail set. Well muscled with strong quarters.
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
21st Mar 2015
Judge: Karen S Stockley (Foxfactor)
I would like to thank the Officers and Committee for the judging appointment and for their hospitality on the day, the lovely gifts, also my stewards Alison and Callie and not least the competitors for a lovely entry and for allowing me the opportunity to go over their dogs. I was pleased with my final line ups, some close decisions particularly in the two hotly contested Junior classes where all the placed dogs and bitches could change places on another day. I felt my top winners all met the breed standard in that they would be capable of getting to ground and have the strength and stamina to do a good days work if called upon. There were a few with acceptable level bites, all tails were good, one or two could have been a little cleaner, some that would have benefitted from better coat tidying and presentation and surprisingly one with undescended testicles. However I felt that I was presented with some good representatives of the breed to have the pleasure to go over.
Limit - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
28th Mar 2015
Judge: Mr. Carl-Gunnar Stafberg (Bombax) Sweden
I will thank the club and the show committee for inviting me to judge this prestigious show, I feel very honoured to be invited. I really enjoyed my day and was very pleased with huge entries. My winner was really top quality border terriers, excelling in type and heads. The overall quality was very good, but I hoped to see more quality in the younger classes. Size was ok, coats in different stages because of the time of year. It was about 40 years since I judged my first CCshow in England and I still enjoy it so much. My stewards did a fantastic job on the day, keeping both me and the dogs in order. They make it running very smooth and efficient, thank you!!!
Limit - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
The Northern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
18th Jul 2015
Judge: Mrs Hilary Gilpin (Otterbobs)
Thank you to the officers, committee and members for voting for me to judge their Championship show 2015.
My stewards were just perfect, even the couple of birds flying around enjoyed the day.
As you know it's all too easy to judge from the ringside but when you are in the ring judging dogs of varying sizes, heads, coats etc, I felt I did the best I could with the exhibits shown.
All dogs were entire, mouths were correct and teeth were of good size and clean apart from one level bite which is acceptable.
Movement needs to be improved front and rear, muscle tone was lacking in quite a few, presentation on some was dreadful, two dogs needed feeding up, but the main winners were of good standing.
Mid Limit - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Crufts
13th Mar 2016
Judge: Mr W R Irving
It was a great honour to judge the breed at Crufts again - after having done so once before. That was some thirty nine years ago in 1977 when the show was still held at Olympia! The entry this year at 266 from 239 exhibits though down a good deal on last year, was still enough to be going on with and we finished by 3.30 p.m. thanks to my excellent stewards Mr and Mrs Chaston. The exhibitors all seemed very sporting in line with the breed’s sportsmanlike traditions.
I thought that the depth of quality was better in bitches than it was in dogs with several classes where I would have liked to have had more prizes. I thought that heads were in the main pretty good and that fronts, though there were still plenty which weren’t great, were rather better than the last few times I had judged. Crufts is always known as a bad time for coats and this year was no exception with very many lacking in coat and others with rather soft coats. Quite a number of dogs and bitches were rather long in body mainly caused by having ribs that were not as the breed standard demands “carried well back” and thus having loins that were long rather than the required “strong”.
And finally Border Terriers are supposed to have a tail which is, according to the standard, “set high and carried gaily” Quite a few slink around the ring looking miserable and present no sign of the “activity” required by the standard and with tails that are carried low rather than “gaily”. I like to see a Border Terrier that shows a bit of animation and has what I’d call ‘lines’.
My thanks to the exhibitors for entering and for the efficient way that they showed their dogs.
Limit - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Class Critique
A good class but difficult to judge with two good dogs at the top but of slightly different types. A very close decision between the two.
Liverpool Terrier Club Open Show
16th Oct 2016
Judge: Lee Reynolds
Junior /
Second Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Liverpool Terrier Club Open Show
26th Feb 2017
Judge: S Connell
Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Chorbeck Snowfire
Placing Critique
Nice size, with a balanced outline, typical head and expression, clean front, good top line and quarters, spans easily and has a good pelt. Moved true both ways.
