Show Placings
Boston & DCS Championship Show
11th Jan 2009
Judge: Mrs Kate Walton (Enterlaw)
A great honour to judge the breed at this show where Borders were the only breed in the terrier group to have CCs on offer & for the first time. Thank you to all exhibitors who braved the exceptionally cold weather at Newark. Remarkably there were only 6 absentees in the dog classes & 19 in the bitch classes out of a total entry of 114 (2 late entries increased the published catalogue entry).
In general I was looking for skulls like that of an otter, the late Walter Gardner told me 30 years ago to place the ears of a Border back to really appreciate the shape of an otter skull & this holds true today. I was also looking for a Border who was easily spanned & most importantly one with good movement & of a size to enable this working terrier to go to ground. I have to say that front movement in many cases was worse than rear movement, with pinning-in & platting much in evidence, while a few were cow-hocked at the rear. All dogs were entire, temperaments overall were excellent, dentition in a few cases incorrect & essentially for the breed, thick pads were noticeably lacking in some exhibits. As always coats were in varying stages of growth, several toplines were not typical with low set tails, otherwise I was delighted with the first placements in each class, all of which were representative of the Standard.
Puppy - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Manchester Championship Show
15th Jan 2009
Judge: Mr David Winsley
Puppy - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
Nice head and expression, a bigger dog all over but balanced. Good neck, shoulders and level topline. Moved well with good width behind. In full coat.
Southern Border Terrier Limited Show
1st Mar 2009
Judge: Mrs Marylynne Winder (Appleside)
It was a great privilege to be invited to judge the Southern Border Terrier Club Limited Show, My thanks to the Officers and Committee. Thank you to the exhibitors for giving me such an excellent entry of 184 from 171 dogs. Sincere thanks also to my Stewards for the efficient way they conducted their duties.
Best Dog
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Best In Show
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
lovely grizzle and tan of correct size, so well balanced, typical in head and expression, lovely dark eye, good length of neck, correct rib and hindquarters, well presented in excellent coat and condition, moved out soundly holding his topline. I really liked him. BEST IN SHOW
Crufts
5th Mar 2009
Judge: Professor S P Dean (Tyrian)
A demanding day with 247 entered, my sincere thanks to all who entered and showed patience when decisions needed time. Also my gratitude goes to our ring stewards who were simply outstandingly efficient. I was very proud of the ticket line-ups and thought the BOB looked superb in the group. What was encouraging was there were many dogs down the line that would not have been out of place there and ?splitting hairs? became a routine technique in several classes to find class winners. Reflecting on the day leaves some lasting impressions. There is no doubt the breed has made great advances in head conformation. Good otter heads with strength in muzzle and strong teeth were very much in evidence. Ears by and large are good but with a trend towards largeness and heaviness which we must reverse. It is very difficult to change the ear shape so embedding any coarseness now must be of concern. Movement too has improved over the years largely driven by progress on stifle angulation but let’s not go too far here as some excess is creeping in. Shoulders still need attention with many severely lacking lay back and of more concern some foreleg assemblies are placed too far forward so fore-chests are vanishing. This produces flashiness but it is wrong. Coats and pelts were generally good and the majority were capable of being spanned. Flat feet were in evidence perhaps driven by a tough winter and lack of exercise but remember this is a sporting breed and needs fitness to be fully appreciated. As a result many nice dogs lost out because of a lack of muscle or flat feet. We have a healthy breed and this was supported by those in the veteran classes and with an 8 year old winning BOB perhaps this is proof enough.
Special Puppy - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
Mature 12 m.o. of correct size with good otter head and neat, correctly set ears. Narrow with straight front, moderate length of neck and excellent topline. Moved out with reach and drive. Length of leg without being over stated. Coat in good form contributing to typical thick pelt. Liked his outline which he kept on the move. Considered for higher honours but maturity was a deciding factor but his day is surely close.
Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
As before, stood out in this class.
Border Terrier Club Championship Show
28th Mar 2009
Judge: Marjorie Staveley (Dykeside)
It was indeed an honour to be invited to judge this show. My thanks to the offficers and committee for their warm welcome and to my ring stewards Glenise Hyslop and Marylynne Winder for all their hard work and efficiency. Special thanks must go the exhibitors for an excellent entry of 301 from 237 dogs (6 NFC) that I very much enjoyed judging. I thought the depth of quality varied although I was pleased with my final line-up of both dogs and bitches. Heads in general were good although I noticed there were a few exhibits rather heavy in ear. Coats and pelts varied considerably. A number of quality exhibits were devoid of coat and were penalised accordingly. I found a few exhibits, in my opinion, too heavy and unspannable; feet and nails would also benefit from more attention. Temperaments were good.
RDCC
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
Easy winner here, a nice sized youngster, typical in head and expression, good reach of neck, pleasing bodylines, nicely balanced, presented in good coat and condition, moved out steadily. RDCC
Yearling - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
National Terrier
4th Apr 2009
Judge: Mr. Frank Nicholls (Halcus)
Many thanks to everyone for an excellent entry, both in numbers and quality. While there were many well made exhibits it became a frustrating experience at times trying to find those with a decent coat, many having presumably been stripped out following Crufts in preparation for the season ahead, after all they can’t be in coat all of the time! Front movement again was a problem, not so much due to under reaching or circus pony, high stepping, but pinning and knitting. Heads were a mixed bag, one or two with excessive stops and rounded skulls but none excessively broad. There were some “snipey” muzzles present.
Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
Won this class quite easily. Attractive red grizzle, shown in good full coat, narrow enough, moved true, if a little close, I would prefer a little more length of back.
West of England Ladies' Kennel Society
25th Apr 2009
Judge: Mrs Siv Jernhake (Sweden)
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
Lovely young dog with a very good head. Good angulations and top line. Lovely coat in super condition to win this strong class.
Birmingham National Dog Show
7th May 2009
Judge: Mrs Betty Judge (Plushcourt)
I judged the breed just two years ago & I was alarmed at the change for the worse in the type & quality. The number of dogs entered was 115 with few absentees, four more being added to the original entry due to a catalogue error, an entry of which I was pleased with, especially in these financially hard times & terrier day being on a Thursday.
I was really surprised to find exhibitors showing dogs with incorrect dentition & I found several of these. I was puzzled as to why upright shoulders & straight hind legs, some with hocks barely defined had become so prevalent. Generally movement was poor, but with construction so poor & with so many dogs with straight hind legs what else would you expect?
Several single coats & thin skins. Heads, where have all the beautiful otter heads gone. I found round skulls, some with a distinct brow over the eyes, large round shaped ears & they were not close to the cheek. Several dogs & bitches I was unable to span due to round ribs, with no carryback of rib. There were two dogs with kinks in their tails.
More seriously, bad temperaments on a couple of dogs was also depressing, I have never had a Border Terrier snap at me before until this show. In some of the classes, when the dogs came into the ring, overall quality was so poor I nearly lost the will to live.
However, I was very pleased with my CC & RCC winners & both my BD & BB puppy winners, & several other class winners, so there are still some breeders out there with the correct interpretation of the Standard. Perhaps it would be a good idea for the less experienced breeders & exhibitors to take note of these experienced breeders? & exhibitors? good dogs & learn from them.
I was delighted to see my BOB go G4 in a very strong group & then to see my BP winner go PG3 in an equally strong puppy group.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
stronger dog all though & heavier. Just too much substance. Typical in head, in correct double coat, moved OK
Bath Canine Society
22nd May 2009
Judge: Mr W R Irving
The entry was 142 dogs making 149 entries with 20 absentees and I thank those who entered for doing so and for the sporting way in which my decisions were accepted. Thanks too to my Stewards whose quiet efficiency meant that the judging was completed in four hours.
I gather that there was comment in some quarters about how much I moved the dogs and I make no apology for that. I moved each dog individually twice and in each class around the ring sometimes on two occasions and sometime three. In these days when so many Borders are stacked to look as the exhibitor wants them to look, my view is that the only way to see the real outline of the dogs is to move them around a few times and see their natural lines, not the outline set up by the handler. Additionally I know as an exhibitor, that in these large classes the dogs get very bored standing around waiting and they welcome the opportunity to move around the ring. For those of us who still like to 'free-stand' our dogs, that does make a difference and it is only when you see them either 'free standing' or moving in profile, that you can get a true picture of outline. But that's probably rather an old fashioned view these days
The dogs were clean and well presented but with a number which were shown with absolutely no topcoat. Far too many have too little coat of the type demanded by the breed standard which asks for it to be Harsh and dense with close undercoat. Size was not bad generally speaking - with fewer excessively over sized dogs than I have sometimes seen before.
I was very pleased indeed by the final line up for the dog CC which I thought was particularly consistent for type and quality and the top bitches too were, in my opinion, excellent. Front movement generally still gives great cause for concern and shoulders are not great but there were also quite a few where hind movement was poor too. There were enough good movers to make the top winners strong in that area. I was also able to find enough exhibits with good heads but I have to say that there were rather too many with big heads and rather large, round looking eyes and too much stop.
Overall I very much enjoyed judging the breed on this occasion and I was encouraged by the number of good exhibits, particularly in the puppy classes. That makes me optimistic for the breed's future.
Best Breeder : Girlings' a very typical group with good heads and well proportioned all through.
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
very pleasing in head and expression, good neck and topline, good tailset, excellent hindquarters. Better in front than 2nd. Enough bone and spannable. Coat still OK for quantity. Moved up and down very soundly and showed extremely well.
Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Southern Border Terrier Championship Show
13th Jun 2009
Judge: Mr William Gillot (Weegee)
It was a great honour to judge this show and I appreciated the large entry and the sporting way my decisions were received by the exhibitors. My overall impression is that the dogs have more quality in depth at the moment and that mouths no longer seem to be a problem in the show dogs. Size and movement are a constant worry, especially front movement where quite a lot were actually crossing in front, something not helped by exhibitors stringing up their dogs. Other judges have remarked that some of the dogs are getting too coarse in the head with too short a muzzle, but on the other hand a lot of the bitches seem too snipey and weak in the jaw, not what we want in a working terrier.
Junior - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Placing Critique
another good one but lost out on movement.
Post Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Windsor Championship Dog Show
4th Jul 2009
Judge: Miss Elspeth Jackson (Clipstone)
Many reports start with a thank you and I would like extend one to all the exhibitors who provided me with an entry which really reminded me why I love this breed. I thoroughly enjoyed my day and would have been very happy to have had a handful of top honours to hand out. In a number of classes, especially in bitches, the quality went right down the line and even beyond the cards.
Junior - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
East Of England Championship Show
10th Jul 2009
Judge: Mr T H Johnston
Post Graduate - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Paignton & District Fanciers Association
3rd Aug 2009
Judge: Mrs Nancy Hogg (Raeburnfoot)
I would like to thank the exhibitors for a lovely entry. Some quality exhibits to go over in both dogs and bitches and I was pleased with my winners. Temperament was excellent throughout. Such a shame we couldn?t be outdoors.
Junior - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Bournemouth Championship Show
10th Aug 2009
Judge: Mrs Margaret Sneddon (Kersfell)
Thank you to my very efficient stewards. I think we have a real problem with the front construction and movement in the breed; there were far too many exhibits with short, steep upper arms, often resulting in a build up of bulky muscle on the outer line of the shoulder and the movement in front on many was very poor. The Border is ?essentially a working terrier and this type of construction will seriously compromise its ability to work.
Junior - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Barterhound Twister
Class Critique
Strong Class
Welsh Kennel Club
22nd Aug 2009
Judge: Mr Paul Wilkinson
Junior - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
Red grizzle top drawer super head great coat super legs and feet moved well super profile held his shape well
City of Birmingham Canine Association
5th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs Kathy Wilkinson (Otterkin)
An excellent entry awaited me at the City of Birmingham show, not only in numbers, but also in the depth of quality. In many classes, I found myself wishing for more than 5 places to award and sadly, dogs left the ring which I really liked and would have been happy to place on another day. In more than a couple of classes, it was very hard to decide on the 1st 5 in order and many went down the line because of coat texture and thickness, although on another day, in better coat, they would have fared better. As I have not been to many shows this year, it was good to view some dogs for the first time, including my Best of Breed, who I was pleased to ?find?, only to later discover she has already been found on a number of occasions, although not at this level!
I apologise for the lateness of this critique. Besides flying out to an appointment to judge in Italy only a couple of days after the show, we have had some personal and medical issues to deal with regarding the welfare of my elderly mother in law. As I write this, we have still not finalised arrangements for her, but hope to do so soon, so I hope you will understand that sometimes, dog shows do not come first.
On the way to the showground, my car made some terrifying noises when I touched the brake pedal and so, that will explain to anyone wondering, why I had to stop judging for a second or two to find my car keys for the AA man, who kindly fixed it at the hotel car park for us and saved us a long trip home on the back of a low loader.
An eventful weekend, made wonderful by the number of top class Border Terriers present at the show.
Many thanks must go to the very experienced and helpful ring stewards, Mr and Mrs Wright, who had the dogs present and ready for inspection at the start of every class and so enabled me to finish in plenty time for the Terrier Group. Good ring management was important with an entry of 185 dogs, making 193 entries (plus one or two whose entries had not been received and less a couple of NFC). This was the highest number in the Terrier Group today and I would like to thank all the exhibitors for allowing me the pleasure of going over their dogs. The absentee rate of dogs entered was 23.5%.
Post Graduate - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
20th Sep 2009
Judge: Mrs Elly Weijenborg-Weggemans (Netherlands)
I felt very honoured when I received the invitation to judge at the Open Show and was glad that I could accept this. What an opportunity to see and go over so many Borders in one day. Of course I have seen many Borders during the 40 years that I have lived with them but to see so many together is not possible on the continent. When I received the entry details I really was surprised and felt even more honoured then.
The Venue was good but unfortunately it was one of the warmest days and in the hall the temperature rose quite quickly. Nevertheless almost all Borders presented there showed until the very end of the day.
The judging went smoothly not in the least because of my exceptionally efficient steward, Peter Roderick, who took care of calling in the next class on time and made sure that there were no mistakes because of the re-entries which I am not used to. Many thanks also to my ring stewards!
I was surprised by the high quality presented to me. In some classes it meant that I could not always place otherwise nice exhibits. All Borders behaved themselves wonderfully when being handled, even inexperienced ones. Just one exception to that was a dog that didn't like to be handled on the table, which is not Border like.
It occurred to me that it is becoming to be a habit to string the dogs when moving. It worsens their movement in a lot of cases and for me they should be moved with a loosened lead. For some exhibits it made the difference in being placed or not. I found on the whole just a few problems. Just one wrong bite and one tail that was not correct. Feet need attention. Just a few had lovely strong padded catlike feet. As well as front movement which is a real problem in the Border Terrier all over the world. Waving, almost crossing, loose, just a few had a parallel and straight front movement. On the other hand, side movement was in almost all exhibits free and with a long stride. A lot of coats were in between. But I could feel the correct texture being double and harsh.
I had a lovely day and want to thank the organisation for their efforts to make me and my sister ? who accompanied me ? feel welcome and of course all the exhibitors for entering and taking my decisions so sportingly. The atmosphere around the ring felt warm, friendly and relaxed.
Limit - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Driffield Championship Dog Show
3rd Oct 2009
Judge: Mr Graham Pickering (Picer)
Thank you to Driffield Agricultural Society for inviting me to judge Border Terriers at their Championship Show. I had a good entry of 169 from 162 dogs and had a large number of quality exhibits to go over. It was a shame that the weather, being extremely windy, meant that because of health and safety reasons I had to judge indoors. This meant that at first the ring was not as spacious as I would have liked and the noise from the wind in the marquee at times disturbed some of the younger exhibits. In addition, the length of the grass and the unevenness of the surface were problematic for some of the exhibitors.
I was extremely pleased with my final line ups and there were many classes where deserving dogs went unplaced due to the quality of the entry. Overall coats, were very good and temperament was excellent. However, I did find two examples of the odd tooth out of place and a number of dogs which could have been tidier particularly around feet and tail.
In my winners I was looking for a correct size Border with a harsh double coat, well muscled, correct bone and looking like it could do a good days work. I found those qualities in my winners.
Yearling - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
South Wales Kennel Association
9th Oct 2009
Judge: Mr Brian Baxter (Beenaben)
Post Graduate - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
Won this class with ease, good strong jaw, clean bite, easily spanned, kept a level top line on the move, in good harsh coat.
Midland Counties Championship Show
22nd Oct 2009
Judge: Professor A S Milton (Baillieswells)
The first sentence of the Standard reads, General Appearance: Essentially a working terrier. Bearing this in mind, I was most impressed with the quality of the coats. The great majority had really tough outer coats, and nice loose pelts. Though some of the blue & tans were showing white hairs (ticking), which is the hallmark of the blue & tan, there were some black all over which is incorrect. Pads were on the whole good with well shaped feet. Ears should be neither too thin nor too thick, and should hang correctly. Not always the case today. There were several atypical heads, with a few over long noses, and several being overlarge. Only one suspect mouth. Some with narrow muzzles had rather crowded incisors. In the past I have been very critical of movement, for if a Border cannot move properly it is not put together properly. Today there was both good and bad movement. There were problems with front movement, where many exhibits were moving too close. Strange to say there were very few wide in the front. Previously, from the ringside, I had thought there were too many Borders with overlong tails. There were some today, but a lot of this was due to the tail not being groomed properly. Tails should not be scissored, but over long hairs at the end should be judiciously removed. In every class there were always two and generally three exhibits which shone out. In some case it was difficult to pick out the remaining places. ( I was slightly perturbed when picking up my documents from the secretary’s office, that though I had a “Judging Book”, I was not in fact a judge but an “Adjudicator”, or so my badge said. Have we taken leave of our senses?
Post Graduate - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
Another good strong dog, with good movement. Excellent topline and good tail set. I liked his head.
Manchester Canine Society
21st Jan 2010
Judge: Mr W Shorthose (Cundytyke)
It was, again, a pleasure to judge the breed. I thought that there was a lack of depth in quality in some classes though those which were placed were more representative of the Breed Standard. A few entries lacked true breed type and one almost questioned what other breed was involved in their lineage. The most recurring fault was in front movement which was a testament to some loaded shoulders.
Post Graduate - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Southern Border Terrier Club Members Limited Show
7th Mar 2010
Judge: Mr Neil Straw (Shaolin)
To receive an invitation to judge a Breed Club show is a privilege, therefore I thank the Officers and Committee of the Southern Border Terrier Club for the honour to judge their Member's Limited Show. Thank you to my stewards who kept things running smoothly, but most of all I would like to thank the exhibitor's for a wonderful entry and allowing me to judge your dogs, it was an appointment I had been looking forward to and I thoroughly enjoyed my day. The entry was 165 dogs (18 NFC) making 195 entries, 32 absent with 115 dogs on the ground. It was a quality entry with some tough decisions; I was very pleased with my line up in both sexes.
Some general observations - dentition throughout was very good, with correct size teeth, presentation was of a high standard, however, one area that gave me some concern was front movement, some exhibits that I liked disappointed in this area which reflected in some of my decisions.
Limit - Dog /
First Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
gri/t, close up for RBD, good breed type, lovely otter head, neat ears, keen expression, strong muzzle and bite, good front assembly, easily spanned, good neck and shoulders, firm loin, racy quarters, good pelt and super jacket, movement sound and true
Crufts
12th Mar 2010
Judge: Mrs L.A. Crawley
Mid Limit - Dog /
Third Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
good headed Border in lovely coat and condition, ideal size much else the same as the previous two.
Scottish Kennel Club
23rd May 2010
Judge: Mrs M A Bailey
A privilege to judge the SKC. With lovely weather. Good stewards which made the show run very smooth. I was sorry to see a few exhibits with straight shoulders which affects the front movement and a few with incorrect mouths. However, on the positive side there was a lot of quality and correct size in the breed, which where fit for function. Unfortunately the grass in the ring was very long, which made it difficult to access the movement.
Limit - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Bath Campionship Show
28th May 2010
Judge: Mrs Melanie Lewis
Thank you to the exhibitors for an extremely nice entry and for the sporting manner in which my decisions were accepted. A warm sunny day with a welcome breeze made conditions ideal. A bonus was the neatly mown grass in the ring which was ideal to assess movement. I was fortunate to have two extremely efficient Stewards who ensured the smooth running of the ring, enabling me to finish my task in good time, despite a delay in the start of judging.
On the whole I was pleased with the exhibits presented to me which were clean, although many lacked the correct double jacket that the standard asks for. Front movement is still a concern as indeed was the variation in the size of some of the exhibits. Heads generally were good although some exhibits were rather heavy in ear. Temperament’s were excellent, just one or two not too keen on being handled on the table. Two exhibits had teeth missing and I found a couple with incorrect dentition.
Feet can tell you a lot about a dog and its lifestyle. The standard asks for feet to be small with firm pads. Flat feet not helped by long nails are most undesirable and indeed would be a drawback if the dog was carrying out the task for which he was originally bred. Scissor marks unfortunately were very much in evidence on some exhibits which spoilt their overall appearance.
RDCC
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Limit - Dog /
Second Place
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Placing Critique
RDCC. Another good Border who is correct for size, has a good head with the keenest expression, good mouth, nice shoulder placement, good topline and tailset, shown in a correct double jacket, he spans well and has a good thick pelt. His positive free movement secured his placing today.
Southern Counties
5th Jun 2010
Judge: Tinna Grubbe (Denmark)
Limit - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Leeds Championship Show
24th Jul 2010
Judge: Mrs F A Somerfield
A good entry with lots of quality Borders in both sexes. It was the last time I shall judge the breed at this level & I enjoyed every minute. It was particularly pleasing to see how much movement had improved since the last time I judged.
Limit - Dog /
Reserve
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
Midland Counties CS
29th Oct 2010
Judge: Phil D Sharp
A magnificent entry, the highest in the terrier group. Some exhibits did not have a good otter head & appeared too coarse. Movement was also an issue, as it should be the hindquarters that provide the propulsion, with the topline remaining reasonably level as the dog moves. Tails were somewhat better than when I last judged at this level. I was pleased with my final line-up for both dogs & bitches.
Limit - Dog /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Barterhound Twister JW
