First Place in Open - Bitch, Judge: Mr. Mark Ord (Marnadee)
Thank you to my very able stewards who kept the proceedings running smoothly & all exhibitors who entered under me today. I consider it a great privilege to handle this delightful breed. A very enjoyable day for me awarding C.C.s in this breed for the first time. I had my first Border T in 1975 and have followed the breed with interest ever since. As a judge this is just my opinion on the breed from those entered under me today. We all have a slightly different interpretation of the breed standard and I think that is what makes exhibiting & breeding a great interest, however I do think it is vital to remember what the breed was developed originally to do and make sure we do not loose vital breed points.
Today I found the depth of quality was in the bitches, I was pleased to say the majority of bitches were of correct size and easy to span, I unfortunately can not say the same for the males. I was disappointed with front movement, I found tails of correct length & shape lacking in many and some odd expressions. On a positive note I was more than happy with many of my classes, some classes you were spoilt for choice and that is great to see, in-fact some classes were exceptionally good quality, it was a case of splitting hairs & on dogs performance. The majority had good double coats of good texture & nice loose pelts. Temperaments were also very good, the Border should be biddable and never snappy with people or other dogs & this was good to see.
Fabulous class & a delight to handle many top quality bitches. I could have given top awards to the first 5 in this class today.
CC, in such a good quality bitch entry I then find exactly what I wanted in a Ch bitch, loved her shape of head, correct expression, well set ear & good dentition, moderate length of neck to excellent shoulder & upper arm, for me the best of body shape,, easy to span her rib, loose thick pelt she has a good strong loin, racy quarters & correct tail, neat feet with thick pads, just coming into her coat but what she has is correct ; handled to perfection & moves with ease