First Place in Open - Dog, Judge: Mr Graham Pickering (Picer)
Thank you to Driffield Agricultural Society for inviting me to judge Border Terriers at their Championship Show. I had a good entry of 169 from 162 dogs and had a large number of quality exhibits to go over. It was a shame that the weather, being extremely windy, meant that because of health and safety reasons I had to judge indoors. This meant that at first the ring was not as spacious as I would have liked and the noise from the wind in the marquee at times disturbed some of the younger exhibits. In addition, the length of the grass and the unevenness of the surface were problematic for some of the exhibitors.
I was extremely pleased with my final line ups and there were many classes where deserving dogs went unplaced due to the quality of the entry. Overall coats, were very good and temperament was excellent. However, I did find two examples of the odd tooth out of place and a number of dogs which could have been tidier particularly around feet and tail.
In my winners I was looking for a correct size Border with a harsh double coat, well muscled, correct bone and looking like it could do a good days work. I found those qualities in my winners.
A strong class to judge with many quality Borders. The winner took my eye as he walked around the ring as he was put down in superb condition and looked like he owned the ring. Lovely otter head with a keen expression, strong under jaw, good bite with big white teeth. Good reach of neck into correct shoulder placement without a hint of coarseness. Narrow throughout, with plenty of strength in the loin, looked as if he could get anywhere. Well muscled up hindquarters with a good bend of stifle. Small tight feet on thick pads. Excellent double jacket with thick loose pelt. Nice length of tail which gave balance to the overall picture. Moved out well, covering the ground with ease. Was very pleased to award him CC and BOB which, I believe, gives him his well deserving title.