Second Place in Open - Dog, Judge: Mrs Jill Stevens (Cobstoneway)
I would like to thank the officers and committee of the club for inviting me to judge this 40th Anniversary show, and for the hospitality on the day. Thank you also to the hardworking stewards, it was a long and very busy day. Most of all, thank you to the exhibitors for giving me such a fabulous entry. I appreciated each and every exhibit, and had the privilege of going over so many quality dogs that difficult decisions had to be made and many lovely dogs went cardless. Foremost, I see the Border Terrier as ‘essentially a working terrier’ and was therefore looking for construction that would render this possible. A few exhibits were too big, too wide or too deep in brisket which might prevent them from going to ground, or even cause them to get stuck. A few had very thin skin – skin must be thick. Most bites were good, just a few with teeth out of line or missing. Coats come and go, so were understandably at different stages. However, on a working terrier a good hard coat does complete the picture. Good movement and a strong, even, economical gait comes from soundness of construction and the muscle tone of a well exercised dog. Therefore I looked for good layback of shoulder and the correct length and angle of upper arm to give a good reach in front, a strong loin, good bend of stifle and well angulated, well muscled hindquarters to give matching drive from the rear.
What a fabulous class of top quality dogs, so many going without because there just weren’t enough cards to go round.
Lovely sized dog who also came to hand so well and was turned out in a good quality coat of correct blue and tan colour. He had good angulation all round and was lovely in shoulder and rib, and strong in loin. His head was nicely proportioned with a strong muzzle and big teeth, and I loved his alert, keen expression, he was clearly enjoying his day out. He moved really well when he co-operated with his handler, striding out well ,holding a level topline and carrying his tail nicely. RDCC