Comberdown Witch's Promise

Having attended & a long association with this breed club I was very honoured when I received the invitation to judge this show. It is pleasing that the club has such a wealth of supporters who do such sterling work and put on shows that make you want to return to. Walking into this venue today brought back many memories of the past and I am sure the pioneers of the club would be thrilled to see how it has prospered from humble beginnings. The Border Terrier continues to hold its own compared to many of today’s terrier breeds both as a companion and show dog. Breed standards were compiled by looking at the dogs of the time and their working capabilities fitting this purpose, this should still be adhered to now despite hunting no longer being allowed. This being said dogs should be presented for the show ring to the best of an owner’s capabilities, in hard muscular condition and coat presented clean and fit for the purpose of working in rough terrain. I today found mouths to be good in the majority and I like to see large dentition along with a correct scissor bite. Several had eyes that needed attention in the way of cleaning before coming into the show ring. We still are seeing the incorrect flipping front action due to short upper arms and if not addressed this will become the norm. After my last appointment, I was pleased to only see a small minority where scissoring had been used on the coats which should not be the case. I did find today several coats that I would class as broken rather than the desirable tight harsh top weatherproof coat with undercoat for warmth. On a positive note, the bitches were easy to span and only a minority of males could not be. Pelts were pretty good being both thick & loose.

I would like to thank SCBTC and committee for the privilege of judging this years Championship show and thank my very capable steward Euan Castell for keeping the ring flowing and the exhibitors for their lovely entry. There were some really nice dogs for me to go over. But I must say that looking at them in general heads are starting to stray away from that of the border terrier, the other thing that I think needs addressing is the general cleanliness of their exhibits. I found three suspect mouths and two kinked tails . thank you one and all for an enjoyable day,

My thanks to the Border Terrier Club for this appointment it was indeed an honour and privilege to judge this prestigious show in Border Country. To my stewards Judy and Pam for their efficiency and all the exhibitors who entered, thank you for giving me this opportunity to go over your dogs and accepting my judgement on the day. I had the most enjoyable day going over some excellent examples of our breed. My feelings are we have a good future in some of our younger exhibits but, watch out for size and movement. For all exhibitors, we must remember the border terrier is a working breed and should be able to follow hounds, sound movement is essential. I love a good coat and thick pelt and today I had both in abundance, all mouths were correct and all, but a couple were spannable.

Thank you to the National Terrier for the invite to judge, and to the exhibitors for an amazing entry, I really enjoyed the day, and the chance to go over some lovely dogs.