Show Placings
Bath Canine Society Championship Show
24th May 2013
Judge: Mr Martin P Phillips
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
6 mth old, lovely quality pup, loved her expression & type, so well made for a pup of this age, in lovely coat & showed well, moved with drive, will be a contender for the big wins when she is finished.
Southern Counties Canine Association
1st Jun 2013
Judge: Mr Hans T Lehtinen (Finland)
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Excellent proportions. Nicely put together. Nice rears and angulations. Keen expression.
Three Counties Championship Show
6th Jun 2013
Judge: Mrs Jena Tuck (Nettleby)
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
A lovely puppy, with a feminine head. OK in front, good bone, topline and tail set, with a good coat and pelt. Very typical.
Southern Border Terrier Club Championship Show
8th Jun 2013
Judge: Mr W R Irving
It was an honour to be invited to judge the Southern Border Terrier Club’s Championship Show for the second time, the last time having been exactly twenty years ago in 1993. The entry on this occasion was 215 from 203 dogs of which 14 were entered NFC. My thanks go to the Show Manager, Officers and Committee of the Club for their hospitality and organisation and to the exhibitors for their entries and for the sporting way in which they accepted my decisions. Special thanks to Wendy and Andrew Mooney and Bev Marsh for stewarding so efficiently and for organising the collecting ring which allowed us to finish in good time.
As usual there were more bitches than dogs entered. It was encouraging to see some good quality entries through the various classes and not just at the senior end, I thought that by and large heads and expressions were good with not many narrow long skulls there. My feeling was that while there were still plenty of dogs with poor fronts of one kind or another present, there were more good fronted exhibits around from which to find winners than the last time I judged. Coats were mixed and at times I had to forgive some lack of coat. As always there was a good deal of variation in size as always, but in the end I felt I was able to find winners of good enough size with enough scope and lines. I felt that tails were mixed and at times, in looking for overall quality, I had to reward dogs with tails that I felt were less than perfect in shape, length or carriage. By and large the dogs behaved pretty well and were presented clean. I was keen to see the dogs moving around the ring and not ‘stacked’. That is surely the most revealing in conformation terms.
DCC and BOB was Jenkins’ Badgerbeck Uncle Fester. RDCC was Stockleys’ Ch Foxfactor Pied Piper. BCC and RBIS was May and Whisker’s Thistlestone Jenny Wren. RBCC was Higham’s Comberdown Thistle. BP was Hall and Ellis’ Brackenfell Bok To Bach and BPB was Clark’s Gameway Fortune Cookie. BV was Stockleys’ Foxfactor Hornblower
Best Puppy - Bitch
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
still very much a baby. Pleasing in head and good expression, good eye, correct neck and topline. Very pleasing in coat and good thick skin. Good hindquarters standing, good tail, bone developing well. Has much type and scores for head and expression
Class Critique
A strong class.
Windsor Championship Dog Show
29th Jun 2013
Judge: Mrs Karen Dean (Tyrian)
I would first like to thank the society for inviting me to judge at this level for the first time, and my stewards for keeping me on track. Special thanks to the Border Terrier Club of Victoria, Australia and their secretary Denise Worthington for presenting a special sash to the Best of Breed winner providing a welcome highlight at the end of judging.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
7 months. Upstanding, eye-catching bitch with pleasing head. Harsh coat, level topline held well on the move. Movement needs to mature.
East of England Agricultural Society
6th Jul 2013
Judge: Mr A Horner (Stineval)
I have to thank the society for the invitation to judge and to the exhibitors who accepted my decisions sportingly. Thank you also to my steward, on his own, for keeping things moving.
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
(G/Tan) Similar to above but I felt little immature to 1 and lighter in bone. Typical head with good jaw and big teeth, good front, small carrot shaped tail, excellent coat and pelt and moved well.
Welsh Kennel Club
17th Aug 2013
Judge: Mrs L A Crawley
Minor Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Pretty puppy with good outline, attractive head and expression, good topline, a bit long in the leg at present and loose in front movement, correct racy body, excellent quarters which she used well moving, good overall type.
City of Birmingham
31st Aug 2013
Judge: Mrs E Cuthbertson (Ashbrae)
I would like to thank the Officers and Committee for their invitation to judge, my two stewards and the exhibitors for their entries. It was an honour to judge this numerically strong entry 169 with 29 absent, the breed being represented from around the UK made it a very enjoyable day.
Front movement is still a problem in the breed, with heavy upright shoulders in many. Size varied as did coats. There are some long necks creeping into the breed, which look very stylish, the standard does state “Neck of moderate length†and a few long tails again incorrect. Saying that it was a very nice entry to judge and in some classes
I would have liked to have been able to award more placings, and could have awarded more CC’s.
Puppy - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Class Critique
A good class of puppy bitches, would have liked more place cards.
Richmond Championship Dog Show
7th Sep 2013
Judge: Mrs K M Irving (Dandyhow)
In my view the breed still has problems with movement, particularly front movement. Hind action in bitches was also poor on this occasion. There was some variation in coats and some were shown without much jacket but others were somewhat blown in coat. However there were several with excellent coats and pelts – such an important feature of the breed. Dentition and temperaments were very good.
Because I don’t enjoy judging, and quite frankly never have, I decided before this appointment that is would be my last judging assignment. I hope that more younger Border Terrier enthusiasts will come forward as judges to ensure the successful future of the breed.
Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
a good sized puppy with correct body shape and proportions. Good topline. Pleasing head and moved out well behind.
Southern Border Terrier Club Open Show
15th Sep 2013
Judge: Mrs Kathy Newsome (Kighill)
I was very honoured to have been invited to judge the SBTC Open show and I would like to thank my Show Manager Wendy Mooney and the Officers of the Committee for their kind hospitality. I would also like to thank my stewards for the day Dave Hunt, Denise Townsend and Andrew Mooney for helping me to keep on track with a lovely entry of 137 dogs making a total of 157 and of course a special thanks to all the exhibitors.
I was pleased with the quality of some of my entries but we must not forget that the Breed Standard states that a Border Terrier is “essentially a working terrier†ie. “Going to ground â€. Unfortunately there were some that would not have been able to do the job that they were intended for, due to weight and depth leaving some unable to be spanned. Some heads were quite disappointing as they lacked the substance that would give them the “Head of an Otterâ€. On the plus side I found the fronts quite pleasing. Overall I was very pleased with my class winners and with my overall winners of the show on the day.
Best Puppy - Bitch
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Best Puppy
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Puppy - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Another attractive young pup with a feminine head and lovely keen expression, nice eyes and nice sized ears correct bite lovely narrow body lines with good bone, good thick pelt and harse coat. Moved well around the ring BPinS.
Driffield A S
21st Sep 2013
Judge: Mrs Charlotte Archibald
My sincere thanks to the Officers and Committee, for inviting me to judge the Border Terriers at this show. We were truly blessed with some lovely autumn sunshine, and a well laid out ring.
Thank you, to all the exhibitors for allowing me the privilege to “go over†your dogs, however, I had concerns about the size and movement of some of the exhibits. I have a fair span and struggled to get anywhere near some dogs, which reflected in the placings.
Consequently, some heavy shoulders, and wide fronts.
Puppy - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
sweet headed lighter grizzle, similar remarks to 1, just preferred the movement of 1.
Kensington Canine Society Open Show
26th Oct 2013
Judge: Dagmar Bromment Lothary (Germany)
Junior /
Third Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show
17th Nov 2013
Judge: Mr Mark Lowry (Ravenside)
A big thank you to the Club for giving me the chance to judge this show, also to the exhibitors for giving me such a nice entry. Special thanks also to my stewards for making everything run so smoothly, and to the ladies in the kitchen for a great meal.
I had some quality dogs to go over and I am confident plenty will go on to achieve greater things. Coats were at various stages which is to be expected and although they don’t change the construction of the animal it can detract from the overall picture when awarding top prizes. Of course they are a working terrier but they are also on show so I have to have both things in mind when judging.
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
grizzle and tan in full coat today. Rangier built than the winner. Lovely head, with a level topline, narrow throughout. A little more upright in the shoulder than the winner.
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Open Show
24th Nov 2013
Judge: Gemma Alpe (Pipruda)
I want to thank the committee of East Anglian Border Terrier Club for inviting me to judge there November open show was a great privilege as growing up showing as a youngester at many of there breed club shows. My thanks also to my very experienced stewards of the day Bev Jackson and Simon Jackson who without them I'm sure my ring would not have ran so smoothly,and to all that entered under me. I was generally very pleased with the overall quality of the dogs entered under me a few who shone from the first time I caught sight of them. But no major faults found on the day which pleased me.
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Nice grizzle bitch again with a super topline,very showy little girl and in the harshest of coats.
Special Breeders /
First Place
Name at show:
Class Critique
1st Gameway (Mrs P Clark)
I thought this team was a super example of the true correctness of breeding,all 3 dogs in the team were of great size,with super movement. A credit to there breeder.
City of Cambridge & County Canine Society
26th Jan 2014
Judge: Miss E.W. Newton (Nevedith)
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
The Midland Border Terrier Club Open Show
16th Feb 2014
Judge: Mrs Ann Maltby (Pherjan)
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Another nice bitch with a good head dark eye and keen expression,scissor bite in a strong jaw, level topline with a well set on tail. Moved well.
The Southern Border Terrier Club Limited Show
2nd Mar 2014
Judge: Miss Anita Harrison (Iacheslei)
My thanks to the officers and committee for the invitation to judge this show, and their hospitality on the day. I thoroughly enjoyed the appointment. All dogs bar one were entire, and all mouths good apart from one level bite and a few forgivable signs of age in the veteran classes. I found some exhibits to be well up to size and difficult to span, but was very pleased with my final line up and main winners. Thank you to the exhibitors for entering and accepting my decisions so sportingly, and to my stewards on the day.
Junior - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Maiden - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
15 months grizzle and tan - attractive well put together bitch who was well presented in good coat. Lost to the winner on front movement
Crufts
7th Mar 2014
Judge: Mrs Melanie Lewis
Thank you to the exhibitors for giving me a record entry for the breed of 303 exhibits making 340 entries and indeed the largest entry for a single Judge at this prestigious show, also for the sporting way in which my decisions were accepted. Thank you also to my two Stewards, Roger and Heather Chaston, who worked tirelessly throughout the day, for their assistance in ensuring that I was able to get through this huge entry in plenty of time for my Best of Breed to compete in the Group.
It was an interesting entry with some difficult decisions having to be made such was the high standard of exhibits present. I felt that movement had improved since the last time I judged. Heads and expressions were good, although a few were a shade heavy in ear. Mouths overall were much improved with a marked reduction in the number of dogs presented with overcrowded jaws of small teeth, only the odd few having either a chipped, or in the case of an older exhibit, a missing tooth. The majority of teeth were clean with just a small number needing more attention in this area. All dogs were entire.
I was pleased that so many were presented with the correct double jacket that the standard asks for, unfortunately some exhibits that really appealed for type and size had very little evidence of, or no, jacket and on another day could have done better. Attention to feet was very evident, many of whom I believe may have benefited from plenty of roadwork, resulting in tight thick pads and short claws. Inevitably with any entry of this magnitude I had to let a number of worthy exhibits leave the ring without a prize card, which I really did not enjoy doing.
Special Junior - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
nice for type and size, has a feminine head and expression with lovely dark points. Nice length of neck, well placed shoulders and good topline which she held on the move, stood on very neat tight feet. Good tail and tailset
Herts & Essex Border Canine Society
16th Mar 2014
Judge: Mandy Holmes (Bimandi)
Best Of Breed
Name at show: TG1, Gameway Fortune Cookie
Best In Show
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
The Border Terrier Club Championship Show
29th Mar 2014
Judge: Mrs Jane Parker (Conundrum)
I would like to thank the BTC club, for giving me a second chance to judge this, the most prestigious of the breed clubs championship shows. I was judge elect in 2010, but caught the awful Noro virus the night before I was due to judge and spent the next two days flat out.
The new venue that the committee has found, has to be lauded. It is large, airy, light, the flooring is excellent. The car park looked huge. From a judges point of view I could see all the dogs clearly at any time. Congratulations on a super venue.
My two stewards, Chris Davis and Liz Barratt were so very organised and kept me informed and on time throughout the day, with good humour lots of smiles and attention to detail. With such a lovely entry numbers wise, it was a long day. Thank you both.
Living in Canada now, it was a real pleasure to judge dogs that I had mostly not seen. Obviously some of the older ones were mere youngsters before I left and it was nice to see how they had progressed through the years. I found no missing testicles, mouths on the whole were good, with only a few missing teeth or one or two misaligned. Heads were in general better overall than when I left, with more who carried a moderately broad backskull and also a lot more with very good underjaw, something one had to look hard to find a few years ago. Coats were on the whole, good, there were a very few however, who had greasy and dirty coats, this I feel is completely unnecessary. A few arrived without their coats, this is just unfortunate as dogs do not know about our ambitions in regard to shows, and if the coat needs to come out then so be it! Feet in some instances were weak, with some flat footed and others harefooted, this breed needs to have really good tight feet, small with thick pads and be well knuckled, poor feet make the whole outline of the dog look wrong. The worst fault I found, as usual were fronts, all the usual suspects were there, wide fronts, narrow fronts, flicking wrists etc. I do begin to wonder if we will ever get this completely right, but if we are breeders looking to the future, we must be hard on this most prevalent fault, and do not use these dogs and bitches in our breeding programmes. Bitches had the most quality through the entry, again, this is usual, however the dogs that were good, were very very good, and the best, were exceptional. Size does need to be watched, this is a somewhat cyclical thing, but there were some big dogs and bitches in the ring. The first and most important words in our standard...â€Essentially a working terrierâ€...if it cannot be spanned, it is too big. In general I feel the breed in the country of origin is in pretty good shape, the top percentage of the dogs I judged were quite lovely and had breed type to spare. In my critique you will no doubt notice expressions I use again and again. I find certain things are ubiquitous (but none the less hugely important to breed type) and have my pet ways of describing them, I hope you forgive my industrial repetition in some regards.
Junior - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Beautiful type of bitch, has all the essential qualities needed for our breed. Head, body shape, angulations, jacket is super, topline tail and set are all correct. She just does not come toward you as well as she really should given her shoulder assembly. Lovely bitch.
East Anglia Border Terrier Club Championship Show
13th Apr 2014
Judge: Professor A S Milton (Baillieswells)
It was a great pleasure to judge my own club’s championship show. The venue is excellent, and I was able to experience this from the judge’s side of the table. The show was run very smoothly, and I was particular grateful to Beverley Jackson who, as chief steward, saw that everything was in the right place at the right time. I was pleased with my class winners, though some of the lower placing were a little problematic. As one would expect at this time of the year, with a few exceptions, coats were excellent. I seem to go on about movement every time I judge. I was pleased to note that wide fronts were fewer than before, however we seem to be going in the opposite direction,, with front paws nearly touching on the move. In my opinion the top-line should either be level or slightly sloping downwards to the hind legs. There were several exhibits in which the slope was the other way, with the top of the hind legs above the front legs. This is a wrong. There were several tails that were far too long. There was only one really bad mouth, the dog in question should not in my opinion be shown, and a couple with an incisor out of alignment. And that raises a question. The first line of the standard states ‘Essentially a working terrier’. Does a minor tooth misalignment affect the ability of the dog to work? Any judge can see a fault in the mouth and penalize it, and yet miss other faults which can indeed affect the working ability. Similarly how important are missing teeth? Many a Border has one or more of the first premolars missing or not properly erupted. The standard makes no mention of teeth other than in the context of a scissor bite. At least we are not obsessed with counting teeth as are the Germans.
Junior - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Class Critique
This was a strong class
Dunstable & District Canine Society
21st Apr 2014
Judge: Mr Mike Blay
Best Of Breed
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Junior /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
The Joint Border Terrier Clubs Championship Show
4th May 2014
Judge: Mrs E Weijenborg-Weggemans
What a big honour it is to judge the Border Terrier in the native country. I didn’t know what to expect because I haven’t been to Crufts or other shows to have a clean look at what I was presented on that May, 4th, 2014.
I myself live with Border Terriers most of my life now and I have seen the breed changing through the years. What the old breeders feared for years and years ago seems to happen: changing a working terrier into a show terrier. Meaning that the trimming is too short therefore missing the tweedy look, clipping belly, tail and buttocks, overangulation especially in hindquarters. Saying this I was really pleasantly surprised finding so many genuine Border Terriers during this show. Of course I know that coats can’t be in the best condition all year long so some specimens were rather short in trim but as long as I could feel the required harshness and see the correct double coat it was fine for me and only played a role in placing when there were more Borders with the same qualities. I didn’t see any faulty mouths, found only big strong teeth. Movement is – as in the rest of the world – still a problem in the breed. Especially front movement is an issue. When placing, movement was one of the criteria to place one Border higher than the other, but the right type, body proportions, spannability, thick pliable pelt and harsh double coat came first.
In some classes the quality was so high that some of the Borders left the ring unplaced while they were of excellent quality.
I really want to thank all the exhibitors for their sporting attitude in taking my decisions, for entering their dogs under me and give me a hard day’s work with 222 entered dogs and of course the committee for trusting me this honourable job and their hospitality during this weekend for me and my sister, who accompanied me. My congratulations to the breeders and owners for presenting such nice Border Terriers and keeping the breed on such high standard.
Junior - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Grizzle, nice size, true to type, in nothing exaggerated, lovely feminine strong otter head, thick double harsh coat in nice show condition, nice short carroty tail and nice tail set, neat strong feet but she could be a tad stronger in pasterns, nice top- and underline, thick pliable pelt, easy to span, moves well presenting herself well.
East of England Championship Show
6th Jul 2014
Judge: Miss Jean Singh
I would like to thank my stewards who kept the event running smoothly. My decisions were made on the exhibit on the day
I found heavy ears are creeping in, detracting from the otter head and keen expression. An excessive amount of exhibits were not in hard, toned condition. ‘Couch potato’ dogs come to mind. Front movement is also a cause for concern. I found two level mouths, one just level and a puppy , had a tooth out of line. My decision on some unplaced exhibits were a culmination of a long foreface and untypical expression, unspannable even though I gave some leeway and poor front movement.
Graduate - Bitch /
Very Highly Commended
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
The Midland Border Terrier Club Championship Show
3rd Aug 2014
Judge: Bainbridge & Dandy
*Dogs*
Many thanks to the Midland Committee for this appointment and to all those especially the stewards who made for an enjoyable day. The entry in general reflected the type the exhibitors by now know I like. However there were a number up to size and exhibiting poor front angulation and short deep ribs and paid the price. I was looking for dogs with a typical otter head straight narrow front well laid shoulders ribbed back spannable and racey rear quarters with thick pelt in harsh double coat all of which we should be looking for in the ideal Border Terrier that is essentially a working terrier.
I was very pleased with my winners overall and had good depth of quality in the limit and open classes that generally displayed the above attributes.
The dog CC and ultimately BIS Ch Olderhill Afortunado is the ideal border terrier that shows with confidence and has class. He has a good border head of otter type strong jaw with keen expression on strong neck set into well laid shoulders ,narrow ribs carried back ,ideal length strong loin and the desired rear quarters ,shown in double coat and top condition moved with drive to cover the ground. Pleased my co-judge agreed this boys qualities worthy of BIS.
The RCC Tythrop Timepiece this excellent blue and tan displayed similar qualities to the above and with his good turn of stifle and short hocks and tight feet moved so well and with top presentation took this award over the quality 2nd in Open and Limit winner and with time maturity should complete the picture.
The Bitch CC winner and BOS,RBIS Ploughdown Placida is a top quality exhibit but for me just not the strength in loin of the dog but a close decision .
*Judge: John Bainbridge*
*Bitches*
A great honour to judge bitches at this breed club show, my grateful thanks to the Midland Border Terrier Club for their warm and friendly hospitality and to my two competent and hardworking stewards. I had a most enjoyable day and was delighted that my final line-up comprised of excellent and true to type examples of the breed, with some really promising youngsters amongst them. It is always foremost in my mind when judging this breed that it is essential that the dog’s conformation and movement should demonstrate its capability to work and follow a horse. I found this a challenge today, rather too many exhibits failing to demonstrate free ground covering movement or any length of stride to ‘follow a horse’: with weak pasterns resulting in uneconomic paddling action and poor reach; and sickle hocks impairing effective drive. I was also struck by the number of short ribs and untypical ‘cut up’ underlines. On a positive note temperaments were uniformly sound which is of great importance, although I felt numerous exhibits were neither ‘active’ nor ‘game’ in their demeanour. I was delighted to co-judge BIS with John Bainbridge and pleased that we agreed on all of our joint decisions today.
*Judge: Sarah Dandy*
Post Graduate - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Placing Critique
Smart grizzle bitch of balanced proportions with much to like, presented in good coat and condition. A classic otter head with strength of muzzle and nice expression, strong moderate neck into excellent forehand with layback of shoulder, length in upper arm and well defined wither. Sound topline, croup and tailset with a length of body and ribs carried back into firm loin, she scores in size and balance with well-matched angulated quarters standing on good legs & neat feet. Impressed me the most in this class when moving, extending well in profile and tracking very true.
Bakewell Show
6th Aug 2014
Judge: Mrs N Evans (Pendevour)
Open /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Milton Keynes & District Canine Society
23rd Aug 2014
Judge: Mr Tony Allcock MBE
Reserve Best Of Breed
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
Post Graduate /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie
City of Birmingham Championship Dog Show
30th Aug 2014
Judge: Dr Ron Wheatley
My thanks to the committee for their invitation to judge here, to my two very effective and helpful stewards Jane Keeves and Alan Tomlinson, and to the exhibitors for the large and interesting entry of many different types. Many of the classes had quality in depth, with many close decisions. Both line ups were pleasing with plenty of choice and close decisions for both cards. I found no kinky tails and one level mouth, most exhibits were of a good size, a few were too heavy and one undernourished, and many needed their nails trimming. Most moved well in the super sized ring that we were given.
Graduate - Bitch /
Second Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie JW
Placing Critique
very similar to 1, but preferred head and movement of 1
Richmond Championship Dog Show
6th Sep 2014
Judge: Mr W Gray (Pontbeck)
Thanks go to my stewards for making the day run smoothly and to the exhibitors for their enthusiasm for the breed and the sporting way they took my decisions.
Since the hunting bill I 've been concerned how the breed would keep to the line in the breed standard " Essentially a working terrier " as the opportunities for work have been reduced and the spin off as to why we require a double coat and the dog to be narrow all through may be lost to some exhibitors who haven't the opportunity to work or know someone who does or has worked their dogs. There was evidence today that we may have lost sight of the fact that this is a working breed. I'm not suggesting that all Borders should work but that all Borders should be capable to work and those who are closest to the breed standard should be able to do the job required of them.
There were a few exhibits with single coats today, look very smart but would soon pay the price on a cold wet winters day if they had to be out in the elements for any length of time. Some exhibits were carrying a little too much weight and quite a number would benefit from a good walk, some with little muscle.
Yearling - Bitch /
Third Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie JW
Joint Border Terrier Clubs' Championship Show
1st May 2016
Judge: Mrs Trak Fryer (Irton)
My thanks to the exhibitors for their entry, always an honour to be allowed to go over their dogs, I did thoroughly enjoy my day. My thanks also to my stewards who helped to keep things on the move throughout.
It was in many ways an interesting entry, the standard asks for a dog that is essentially a working terrier and I wonder how many breeders keep this in mind when planning their litters? This implies a dog of correct size, capable of going all day and with strength but not coarseness. Whilst there were many good dogs present that could answer these requirements, there were many that could not.
The quality was very much in the upper classes of both sexes with a few notable exceptions. The major problem is movement, particularly in front, and the puppies were disappointing in this respect. Many otherwise excellent dogs simply could not cover their ground with any ease; it was an excellent ring with good mats so no excuses there.
In general coats and pelts were good, some could have been tidied to effect, feet and nails were poorly presented and fitness varied, which I always find very disappointing in a breed that does so love to run! I was surprised to find a number of mouths that at best could be described as “iffy”, whilst these would not necessarily effect the dogs ability to work it is a worrying trend. I did, however, have some lovely dogs to go over and I was very pleased with my winners, not enough cards to go round in many classes.
Mid Limit - Bitch /
First Place
Name at show: Gameway Fortune Cookie JW
Placing Critique
Very nicely made, neat little bitch, v good head, good expression, good neck & shoulder, nice tight feet, good angulations with a nice set on tail. Shown in very good coat & condition, moving very well but a tendency to rock a bit, won this class with ease.
