First Place in Open - Bitch, Judge: Mrs J Fawcett (Carrock)
My thanks to the Leeds City & District Canine Association for their kind invitation to judge their Championship show, enabling me to award my first set of Challenge Certificates. Thank you also to my two stewards, Mags & Bob, who kept the ring running smoothly throughout the day which meant we managed to finish by 3pm before the rain came. My biggest thanks go to all the exhibitors for giving me the opportunity to go over their dogs and for the sporting manner in which my decisions were accepted – I had a fantastic entry for a show taking place on a Friday and in the holiday season – I was absolutely delighted.
Just a comment about the ring – the rather large metal tent fixings that took up quite a lot of the ring were a bit of a hazard. However, I believe we managed to work around them well and I was able to see the movement of all the exhibits.
As you would expect, coats were at various stages but on the whole most were acceptable. All dogs were entire, there were no kinked tails and just one or two untidy mouths. When I last judged in November 2019 my main concern was size and this still remains an issue – I was unable to span quite a number of both dogs & bitches on the day and this was reflected in my decisions. Poor front angulation also seems to be an issue – a number of upright shoulders and a lot of very wayward front legs. I thought it also relevant to mention the number of long, thin muzzles, particularly in the younger classes, that seem to be creeping into the breed – Border Terriers should have short, strong muzzles.
That all said, I had some quality dogs to judge – I thoroughly enjoyed my day.
This was a very difficult class to judge!
A lovely B/T, well balanced, workmanlike bitch with well-proportioned head, big teeth and good bite. She has a lovely reach of neck, excellent shoulders and good return of upper arm. Just right for bone, straight front and neat, well-padded feet. She is easy to span with ribs well back. Shown in good harsh top coat and thick pelt. Moving soundly and accurately around the ring with good reach and drive from her well-muscled hindquarters. Pleased to award her BCC.