Second Place in Open - Bitch, Judge: Mr Stewart McPherson (Brumberhill)
Firstly, my thanks must go to the committee for the invitation to judge at their show and to those exhibitors who entered, for my opinion, always an honour, to judge their dogs, giving me the highest entry in the Terrier Group. My thanks, also, to my stewards, who kept things running smoothly, with good humour.
An interesting entry, most were sound and typical. The thing that struck me most was front profile movement. An alarming number, due to an incorrect shoulder and upper arm placement, lacked full reach on the move, the leg lifting, hackney like, but not straightening out to reach full extension on the move. It may appear to be accurate coming and going, but it doesn’t actually cover much of the ground, so is therefore uneconomical movement, meaning the dog would have to work twice as hard to keep up, as the Standard asks for “capable of” and the “soundness to follow a horse”. Just because it’s possible to win with this type of movement doesn’t make it correct!
I was very pleased with my top winners, shown free standing, giving the, in my opinion, correct outlines, with no need to “assemble“ them in to a shape! All were sound, free movers. Typical “old school” Border Terriers! Pleased to hear that their qualities were recognised in their respective Groups!
Superb class, with quality right down the line.
Grizzle & Tan. Typical, feminine head & expression. Super neck, shoulder, front& feet. Narrow, all through, with super rib, carried well back. Excellent topline & tailset. Coat & pelt good, but not quite in the super bloom of 1st. Comes in to her own on the go round, with a super ground covering action, keeping her outline, but just not quite so accurate as 1st coming towards me. Res CC.