Show Placings
Midland Counties Championship Show
26th Oct 2023
Judge: Mr J Gilpin (Otterbobs)
I would like to thank the officers & committee for giving me the opportunity to judge the Border Terrier classes, & also a big thank you to Penny Winger & Gavin Argill my two ring stewards who kept things in order & also made sure we finished on time, and a special mention to my Best of Breed winner for attending the terrier group, and being rewarded with being short listed in the final seven.
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Strong muzzle with a broad skull, slightly wider in front, but still easily spanned, ribs carried well back, & covered with a thick harsh coat.
Selby Canine Society Open Show
28th Oct 2023
Judge: Jill Young (Chadbrook)
Puppy /
Reserve
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
West Midlands Terrier Society Open Show
25th Nov 2023
Judge: Knut Sigurd Wilberg
Best Dog
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Promising puppy with a very nice head. He is well constructed with a superb outline. Moved very well. BD
Bridlington & District Canine Society Open Show
26th Nov 2023
Judge: Mrs Laura Jordan-Smith (Jordith)
My thanks to the committee for the invitation to judge at this show.
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG2, Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
this 7.5 month old smart grizzle and tan dog stood alone but a worthy winner. Beautifully presented in great double coat with a loose and pliable pelt. Lovely otter head housing large strong teeth with correct bite, dark eye and good ear placement. Nice straight front with plenty of bone, good rear angulation and a great narrow scannable rib carried well back to a strong loin. He moved with ease both ways. BPIB and please to see him take TPG2.
Burton on Trent KA Open show
3rd Dec 2023
Judge: Siân McKay (Redesholt)
My thanks go to the committee and volunteers of BOTKA for putting on this well organised show, under rather challenging circumstances, with sunny smiles and cheery dispositions. But, above all, my thanks go to the stewards, Margaret and Julie, and the brave exhibitors- the hardy few- who endured the awful road conditions to make it to Newark today.
In the ring, unfortunately both the colder than expected temperature, and the fan blowing warm air right next to the ring did affect most of the dogs to a varying degree- mostly in movement unfortunately. There were no kinked tails, all were of sound temperaments with keen gaze. Every dog had a strong scissor bite and clean strong teeth, and were spannable, with some good pelts and jackets on show today.
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG2, Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
This grizzle and tan dog of 7 months ticked all the boxes this morning. Super Ottery head; correct proportions in head with enough fill under eye; strong teeth and an inquisitive alert gaze. Straight front with good bone on small thick padded feet. Good reach of neck flowed into well laid back shoulders, with level topline and lovely underline. Narrow through- easily spanned with excellent ribbing, loin and hindquarters displaying a good turn of stifle and thick carroty tail. Shown in a harsh coat with good pelt. Moved efficiently around the ring, with a balanced gait. Best Puppy in Breed, and pleased to note he went on to TPG2.
Ladies Kennel Association
8th Dec 2023
Judge: Mr Ken Bartlett (Dwilencia)
Minor Puppy - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Boston DCS Open Show
17th Dec 2023
Judge: Mr Kevin Yeates (Bluebabel)
I’d like to thank Boston & District C.S. for inviting me to judge the breeds allocated.
Unfortunately there were no Kerry Blues entered.
Best Puppy
Name at show: TG4, Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
8 month old grizzle & tan dog with strong muzzle, neat ears & good angulation front & rear. Good coat & pelt & easily spanned. Moved well forward & back on neat feet. Happy to award him BPIB,he also gained TPG4.
Coventry Ladies’ Kennel Society Open Show
1st Jan 2024
Judge: David Bell (Balintyne)
Puppy /
Reserve
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Manchester Championship Show
20th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr Richard Allen (Penparc)
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
27th Jan 2024
Judge: Mr R Wright (Borderexpress)
Thank you to the committee of the YLC Border Terrier Club for this appointment, a very hard working team that pulled a lovely show together at a great venue and also my two very capable stewards Bridget Singh and Margaret Davies. To the exhibitors that also supported me on my wonderful entry for the day and generated a great atmosphere around the ring.
The lunch time interval also kept me busy with 6 lovely puppies taking part in the puppy walk, a great idea successfully carried out by the club and an opportunity to get the youngsters out and into a show environment – some promising youngsters to go over made the interval very pleasing.
I was really pleased with my final line ups on the day although I felt that the bitch classes were stronger than the dog classes, jackets with Crufts up and coming in a few weeks were varying so again thank you for putting exhibits forward that we all knew could do with some more jacket to just complete the picture.
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Another smart dog pup just 9 months old and set down in super condition/jacket, good head with a keen expression and a nice dark eye. Spans easily and he’s a handy size coming to hand easily. Just preferred the length of loin in the winner which reflected in an overall picture but again a close decision.
Wellingborough & District Canine Society Open Show
28th Jan 2024
Judge: Mrs Sue Spafford (Dassett)
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG4, Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
9 month old grizzle & tan dog. Super otter head with strong muzzle and keen expression, leading to good reach of neck with level topline. Good hind quarters with nice small feet. In thick double coat, moved well & balanced around the ring. In challenge scored over kennel mate for showmanship & balance. BD, BP, RBoB.
The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show
4th Feb 2024
Judge: Lesley Armstrong-Rodgers (Atron/Scottsway)
It was a great honour to be invited to judge The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show and therefore my thanks go to the Committee for the opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at this friendly well run show. It was advantageous in having such a good sized ring in which to watch the dogs move. Borders need room to get into their stride and show their effortless movement and profile when viewed in side gait.
A special thank you also to Richard and Sharon, my two stewards for keeping things running smoothly. It is always a great help for any judge to be blessed with competent stewards. Finally a big thank you to all the Exhibitors for bringing their dogs under me for my opinion and for accepting my decisions with good grace. As always coats were at differing stages, often reflected in the placings, but coats do come and go, construction does not !. Overall I found temperaments excellent, as well it should be, which bodes well for the breed.
Best Puppy
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Best Puppy - Dog
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
A super Grizzle and Tan puppy of almost 10 months. Looked really eye catching on first appraisal and going over him does not disappoint. Owns a typical otter shaped head, short strong muzzle and ample length of neck fitting into well placed shoulder. Spanned easily with ribs carried well back, a lovely level topline and correctly set on tail. Moved well around the ring with good forward reach and racy well musclelled hindquarters which gave him real strength in hind movement. Today shown in a harsh jacket. My BEST PUPPY DOG and subsequently BEST PUPPY IN SHOW
Newark & DCS Open Show
17th Feb 2024
Judge: Mick Oxley (Digelsa)
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
The Sporting Terrier Association of Yorkshire Open Show
18th Feb 2024
Judge: Mrs Sue Spafford (Dassett)
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Best Puppy
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
I liked this dog very much last time I judged him and nothing much has changed. He takes your eye as soon as he enters the ring. Moved well and balanced and was in good coat. BP, RBIB
The Border Terrier Club Open Show
24th Feb 2024
Judge: Libby Tanton-Joy (Itsaso)
Thank you to the committee for inviting me to judge their open show held at Jedburgh, the home of the border terrier. It was a great privilege, and I had some amazing dogs present who are a credit to their owners, thank you for bringing them.
Thank you to my stewards for organising the rings so smoothly and keeping me on track so we finished at a reasonable time. The hospitality was second to none and I would like to thank the whole committee for this.
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
10-month-old mature grizzle and tan puppy presented in top order, coat of correct texture with depth of undercoat and pelt in evidence. Typical head with well set ears, dark eye, strong jaw housing large teeth. Nice shoulder, front and rib making him very easy to span. Sound steady movement around the ring.
Wath, West Melton & District Canine Society Open Show
2nd Mar 2024
Judge: Anne Speake
Best Puppy
Name at show: TPG3, Mysulan Byards Legend
Puppy /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Crufts
10th Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Lesley Gosling (Akinside)
A tremendous entry of 275 Borders ( 25 absentees on the day)to enjoy handling, judging and placing. I must extend my appreciation to my two valiant stewards for their patience and skill in keeping classes moving. Thank you all.
I do believe our breed is changing, but in subtle ways. The lack of opportunities for true terrier work below ground for some Borders has been replaced by agility and other energetic pursuits, but lack of hard muscle tone has produced a ‘softer’ body on some exhibits. Some feet are slacker, pads are more spread and thinner and some fronts are wide. Movement is not always positive and a ‘driving’ action is lacking. Size is fluctuating too. We have a ‘working’ breed - let’s ensure that features defining the breed are not lost, i.e. ‘spannability’; a hard, harsh top coat and soft protective undercoat (not enough of those today); a dark, expressive eye, a broad skull and strong quarters – ‘the engine is at the back!’. Heads generally were good, but some bitch heads veered towards coarseness.
One thing not lost is the Border’s kind temperament – curious, interested and ready for anything.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Narrow grizzle of lovely size. Broad skull, keen expression. Very good coat texture and excellent feet.
Northern Counties Sporting Terrier Golden Jubilee Open Show
17th Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Margaret Davies (Glenorchy)
Many Thanks to the Society for inviting me to judge at their Golden Jubilee Open Show. Thank you to my two stewards who kept things running smoothly and also my grateful thanks to all the exhibitors who came under me and gave me a lovely entry.
Most of the exhibits were presented in a good clean condition, but a few could have done with a little finer tuning on their presentation. Just one level bite.
I find the true otter head is disappearing and movement left a lot to be desired, fronts were knitting and rears were moving close behind. Apart from that, I had an enjoyable day, thank you all.
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
another nice pup who was presented well. He has a good head, nice eye, neat ears, correct dentition, good lay of shoulders, level topline which he carried well on the move. Just preferred overall conformation of winner.
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
30th Mar 2024
Judge: Mrs Lynda Ward (Roundtown)
It was an honour to be invited to judge this, our parent club’s show. My thanks to the committee who ran such a lovely event with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. My judge’s gift is much appreciated and will be a treasured momento of the day.
My superstar stewards, Janice Johnson and Liz Barrett, worked hard and unobtrusively whilst keeping the classes moving smoothly over a long day – well done ladies.
Many thanks of course to the exhibitors who made the journey on a major bank holiday weekend giving a large and quality entry of 190 dogs making 229 entries plus 10 NFC.
I had some lovely sound and typical Borders to go over and, had I had them, I would have had no qualms in awarding 4 dog tickets and 5 bitch tickets.
Unfortunately there are always downsides in a big entry and today size was an issue with some overly large exhibits who were not spannable and very heavily built.
There were a number of youngsters which were obviously unused to having their mouths examined and more practice in a calm atmosphere would help to make them comfortable and avoid stress for them and their handlers.
Ears need watching as some were quite large and spoiled the head.
Sadly, as in the past I must complain about long tails. Tails are an integral aspect of the overall picture of a typical Border outline and long is simply wrong. Our breed standard is spartan compared to many others but for tails the description is clear and begins with, “Moderately short; fairly thick at base, then tapering.” Hopefully the issue will be addressed before the untypical becomes the norm.
On a positive note …
Feet were overall small and thickly padded although some would benefit from trimming and shorter nails.
There was a good number of lovely otter-like heads of correct proportions with well placed dark eyes and a keen expression.
As is usual these days coat presentation was generally good and today there were plenty of dense coats of correct texture and thick skins.
Do I think the quality shown in this entry bodes well for the breed? Yes.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
National Terrier Club
6th Apr 2024
Judge: Miss Elspeth Jackson (Clipstone)
Thanks to the National Terrier Club for their invitation to judge at this prestigious show and to the exhibitors who did me the honour of judging their dogs. I was lucky to have two efficient stewards who kept things running smoothly, thank you Laura and Dave.
The entry showed a good depth of quality. In many classes the places were hotly contested with decisions needing to be made on the narrowest of margins. I was very pleased to find that there were some good coats on thick pelts and the nice thick short tails which set off a good border so well.
Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Very smart youngster who really catches the eye. Good body built on racy lines. Pleasing in neck and shoulder with straight front. Masculine otter head with broad skull, strong in muzzle with a nice dark eye. He moved out soundly to take the class. BPD
Class Critique
A class headed by two very nice puppies
Norfolk & Norwich CS Open Show
9th Apr 2024
Judge: Judith Rule (Overbore)
Puppy /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Championship Show
20th Apr 2024
Judge: Mrs Elizabeth Barrett (Howthwaite)
Thank you to the committee of the East Anglia Border Terrier Club for the honour of inviting me to judge your Championship show and for your great hospitality on the day. It was hit-and-miss as to whether or not I would be judging inside or out, and I’m pleased that the committee took the decision to hold it outdoors. It is far nicer for the dogs to be outside, even with the biting wind, and we are not to forget that they are designed to be outside in that type of weather, which reiterates the importance of a good coat. I hope everyone at ringside managed to keep the chill away, myself having Cumbrian bloodlines, found it rather pleasant. Thank you to my stewards Tracey, Dave and Mike who worked tirelessly to keep the ring moving. My biggest thanks are to the exhibitors who gave me an excellent entry and took all my decisions in a sporting manner. I know it is always said there are too many good dogs for the number of cards and that was especially true of the limit and open classes. I was spoiled for choice in a number of classes and had to split hairs on a number of occasions. Dog’s are never static and can have good days and bad days just the same as us, and condition and coats can change dramatically. Some dogs were out of top coat or had no harshness to their coat on the day which cost them on this occasion. Repeating myself from my last judging appointment, I made mention that true movement isn’t necessarily conducive to good movement if no ground is covered at the same time, ideally of course we want both but I would rather see a dog with a good outline in profile than one very accurate that’s going nowhere. Good construction should be a given, I know not much mention is made to that in our breed standard, but to constitute soundness to follow a horse, the construction must be balanced and correct with no exaggeration. Thankfully, there were not many exaggerations on the day. One or two were big ribbed and not quite spannable, and surprisingly they were not necessarily the ones that looked up to size. Overall, I was very pleased with the quality of the dogs presented.
Junior - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Placing Critique
Grizzle and tan, twelve months old. Lovely handy size and narrow throughout. Good otter head. Keen expression, good bite and dark eye. Moderately angulated front construction, but has excellent straight front legs and small well padded feet. Nice short tail. True on the move.
West of England Ladies Kennel Society
26th Apr 2024
Judge: Mandy Holmes (Bimandi)
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
Yorkshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Border Terrier Club Open Show
4th May 2024
Judge: Mr Ken Fraser (Ycart)
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
National Dog Show
12th May 2024
Judge: Mr Patrick Glover (USA)
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
The Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show
12th May 2024
Judge: Mrs Laura Illingworth (Thorneyhurst)
Junior - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Mysulan Byards Legend
