Show Placings
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.
Post Graduate - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
The East Anglia Border Terrier Club Championship Show
12th Apr 2025
Judge: Miss Jean Singh (Vandamere)
It was a pleasure to judge at this show. The sun was shining on this first outdoor show of the year. Many thanks to my stewards Rob and Julie.
I found two youngsters with just level mouths, one exhibit had a misaligned lower tooth and two exhibits with light eyes. Front movement is still a problem, what I did find alarming were a number of exhibits with large, thick set heavy ears. Some exhibits were lacking in body condition and muscle tone.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Open Show
15th Nov 2025
Judge: Mr Ken Fraser (Ycart)
I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to judge their show, thanks also to my ring stewards for helping everything run smoothly and as efficiently as possible.
The breed standard calls for numerous elements which make up the border terrier and with that its ability to cover ground efficiently and economically with no exaggerations,it also states “essentially a working terrier” .I feel we are losing many fundamentals of the breed especially in front movement wide fronts, short upper arms,sprung ribcages,undesirable toplines, lack of drive from the rear quarters and poor feet all of which restrict the border to work efficiently. Weak and short muzzles, lack of fill under the eye are creeping in and are undesirable in a working terrier.
Limit - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Placing Critique
Blue and Tan,keen expression, good head shape with correct dentition, good length of neck, well laid shoulders, narrow throughout,good tight jacket, loose pelt,tight padded feet, moved well from all angles.
Ladies Kennel Association
14th Dec 2025
Judge: Mr Colin Girling (Benattivo)
Thank you to my stewards who helped me with their friendly efficiency that made it easy for me to concentrate on the Border Terrier judging. A bit of pressure to get out of the ring but I hope this did not spoil anything for my top winners or the other exhibitors who seemed to appreciate my choices out of a wonderful group of dogs. A couple of close bites and the odd bump in tails, some under/over weight exhibits which was a shame as some may well have moved further up the line. As expected a great deal of variation in coats but the vast majority were presented as well as they could be in their growth cycle. Thanks to everyone who entered and showed such good sportsmanship in accepting my decisions and supporting others. I was delighted with my class winner lines ups for both dogs and bitches, some hotly contested classes and tough choices for me throughout the day.
Limit - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Championship Show
18th Apr 2026
Judge: Mr Stewart McPherson (Brumberhill)
Unexpectedly judging, this year, being brought forward a year, due to the incapacity of the scheduled Judge. Best wishes to Dave for a speedy recovery. My thanks to the Club for the invitation and to my stewards, Andy and Rob, for keeping everything running smoothly and to the exhibitors for a super entry, which I enjoyed judging. It was a super large ring, giving dogs every chance to really move out and the weather, although a bit nippy at times, held out.
Now to the dogs, themselves. On the whole, heads were good, most having the “moderately broad skull” asked for in the Standard, very few being overly broad, with deep stops, more reminiscent of the Asiatic otter, rather than the native River otter.
Necks, into shoulder, were, on the whole ok, the main problem, as ever, being short upper arms, giving a front construction, set too far forward, on the body, rather than under it, more Fox Terrier than Border Terrier, meaning that the elbow was the widest part of the dog, not ideal on a dog bred to go to ground.
Bone varied, while we don’t want heavy bone, a few were too light, those with straight fronts and quality bone, down to small feet, with thick pads were a joy to find.
I’ve got hands like shovels, so the majority were spannable, but even I struggled with one or two! A few were, to my mind, short in rib, lacking the carry back, giving an untypical cut up underline.
Topline and tailsets were in the main good, just a few “not quite” sloping in croup. Tails, in the main, were good, not too many long ones. A few could have been thicker at the base, but none curled over the back.
The majority had good racy hindquarters, very few showing the stilted rear action that seems to be creeping in to the breed, totally incorrect in a breed that should be capable of “following a horse” as there’s no length of stride, driving from the hocks.
The main point of concern, I found, is an alarming number, whose back legs are simply not on the same track as the front ones, when moving, I assume, due to a slight imbalance between the front and rear construction, the angles not matching, to give efficient movement.
Coats and pelts were pretty good, even those short of coat, had, in the main, evidence of harshness. Given it’s pretty much the start of the show season, none were unduly penalised, my view being coats are transient, construction is a constant.
BCC
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Best In Show
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Limit - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Placing Critique
Blue and Tan. Could feel myself smiling, as I went over her! Everything flowed through my hands, seamlessly, from her excellent head and expression, totally feminine, to her beautifully carried tail! In between, excellent neck, shoulder, straight front, with good bone, down to good feet. Easily spanned rib, carried well back. Narrow all through. Excellent underline, topline and tailset. Racy hindquarters, used well. Super sound, free, easy mover, keeping her outline on the move. Excellent coat, of good colour, and a super pelt. Very classy. Loved her!
Class Critique
Excellent class. Five top class bitches placed.
The Midland Border Terrier Club Partnership Championship Show
8th May 2026
Judge: Tracy Butler (Ycart)
BCC
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Best Opposite Sex
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
Limit - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
National Dog Show
8th May 2026
Judge: Diane Bullen (Fevstone)
Limit - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Stowthorney Cloudspotter
