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| Border | City Of Birmingham 2009 Judge's Critique |
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Archive 08 City Of Birmingham 09 Judge
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BORDER CITY OF BIRMINGHAM 09 Judge: Mrs Kathy Wilkinson BORDER JUDGE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM 09 Border Terriers An excellent entry awaited me at the City of Birmingham show, not only in numbers, but also in the depth of quality. In many classes, I found myself wishing for more than five places to award & sadly, dogs left the ring who I really liked & would have been happy to place on another day. In more than a couple of classes, it was very hard to decide on the first five in order & many went down the line because of coat texture & thickness, although on another day, in better coat, they would have fared better. As I have not been to many shows this year, it was good to view some dogs for the first time, including my BOB, who I was pleased to ‘find’, only to later discover she has already been found on a number of occasions, although not at this level! On the way to the showground, my car made some terrifying noises when I touched the brake pedal & so, that will explain to anyone wondering, why I had to stop judging for a second or two to find my car keys for the AA man. An eventful weekend, made wonderful by the number of top class Border Terriers present at the show. Good ring management was important with an entry of 185 dogs, making 193 entries (plus one or two whose entries had not been received & less a couple of NFC). This was the highest number in the terrier group & I would like to thank all the exhibitors for allowing me the pleasure of going over their dogs. The absentee rate of dogs entered was 23.5 per cent. VD (3) 1 Norris’ Brookbank Break The Spell, dark grizzle dog, 8 years, lovely head, nice neck, good length of body, good tail set well on, thick at the base & tapering. Would prefer a narrower front, but he has the correct amount of bone; 2 Wrenn & Langdon’s Dandyhow Sir Toby, old favourite of mine, excellent otter head which cannot be bettered & which I have loved since he was an early veteran. Tail a little too short & at 12½ years he could be forgiven for showing his age in his movement. Still has a lovely narrow front & easily spanned; 3 Morton Shaw’s Ch Fehmarn Magic Lantern. MPD (8,2) 1 Singh’s Comberdown Jailbreak to Vandamere, beautiful head on this young dog, well placed ears dropping forward close to the cheek, strong muzzle with good scissor bite, just right for bone, narrow body, good rib, easily spanned, good tailset & bend of stifle, catlike feet, good thick jacket, moved well which is where he scored over 2. 2 Hollingsbee’s Xapex Santiago at Otterwood, bl/t who, when entering the ring, I thought was going to be far & away the easiest winner, as he has a lovely otter head, excellent thick coat & pelt, coat so thick you cannot see the skin. Perhaps for his age he is a little heavy in bone although he may fine down as he matures. Lovely level topline. Neat feet but evidence of scissoring needs to be disguised. At this young age, he was moving erratically which I forgave in this class, although it cost him the first placing, but I could not do any more for him when he came into a later class against more mature puppies. I am not sure if his movement will improve sufficiently, but hope it will, as he has so much else going for him; 3 Peacock’s Ragatam Kenzie. PD (10,1) 1 South’s Borderella Day Tripper, very nice puppy, grizzle/t, little on the large side but very good otter head, strong jaw, moved very well, good straight front, good set on of tail, good bend of stifle; 2 Lowry’s Ravenside Ballymoss, preferred 1’s head as this one falls away a little under the eye, but good length of neck, good topline, tail well set on, moving well, good ribcage, very easily spanned, nice narrow front, good tight feet, both attributes so important in this working breed & should do well in the future; 3 Newsome’s Kighill Mister Clooney. JD (10,1) 1 Bailey’s Grindelvald In Full Cry, grizzle/t, loved his make & shape, very easy to span, although he is a rangy dog, excellent bend of stifle, good otter head, flat skull, nice flow through from foreface to skull, real varminty expression, excellent straight front with good clean shoulders, good harsh jacket & thick, loose pelt, one to watch in the future; 2 Wright’s Totherend Flash‘arry, bl/t, really thick coat & pelt, good straight front, nice carrot shaped tail, well set on, moved very well. Fails in head a little, as he falls away a little under the eyes, although has a nice small dark eye; 3 Dean’s Digmoor Captain Rook by Tyrian. GD (7,4) 1 Gilpin’s Otterbobs Riggindale, nice rangy dog, good movement driving powerfully from the rear, well off for bone, lovely straight front & beautiful otter head, nice length of neck, tail well set on. Perhaps a touch over-angulated in the stifle, but this did not adversely affect his movement. Has an excellent thick pelt; 2 Sharp’s Radnorvalley Goshawk of Rhozzum, smaller type dog, shorter in body & in this case would prefer more bend of stifle. Loved his flat skull, but he falls away a little under the eye. Good dark eye with varminty expression, well off for bone, good small tight feet; 3 Norris’ Brookbank Could It Be Magic. PGD (12,2) 1 Richardson’s Ragatam Hawk at Staynorwood, lovely otter head, nice dark eye & small, well placed ears dropping forward close to the cheek, good neck & shoulders, just right for bone, lovely rib, easily spanned, good narrow front accommodating three fingers only, as should be the case, excellent harsh jacket with thick loose pelt, good set on of tail & bend of stifle. Tall rangy dog, but everything is in the right place, moved really well; 2 Morton-Shaw’s Fehmarn Reap The Harvest, shorter coupled dog, lovely otter head with flat skull. Not such a strong jaw as 2 but ample enough. Matching his body length, his neck is not so long as 1, but nice outline & easily spanned. Good set on of tail which was short & carroty; 3 Roderick’s Barterhound Twister. LD (16,3) 1 Johnson & Williams’ Quarryway Dill, light grizzle dog, very compact, beautiful otter head with varminty expression, lovely neck & topline, good rib, excellent straight front, tight feet, just right for bone, lovely pelt & excellent double coat, carrot shaped tail, well set on. To be hypercritical would prefer more bend of stifle; 2 Baxter’s Beenaben Bengeo, nearly the winner here, a very close decision. Just pipped by 1 as this one very sparse in coat, would like to see him in better coat on another day, as he has much to praise. Excellent otter head, well placed ears, good dark eye, strong muzzle, nice neck & shoulders, good topline, tailset & bend of stifle, moving very well on a loose lead; 3 Clark’s Gameway Charles Dickens. OD (13,3) 1 Thomas’ Ch Byrons Greengrass, caught my eye as he came in the ring & was not disappointed when going over him, really harsh coat on thick, pliable, loose pelt, lovely refined otter head, nice dark eye & well placed ears, dropping forward close to the cheek, strong enough in muzzle, excellent narrow front with ribs carried well back, easily spanned, good shoulders, small, tight, catlike paws, good carrot shaped tail, well set on, moved well with confidence & no exaggerations, in the peak of condition in both body & coat. CC, glad to have had the privilege of going over him; 2 Dean’s Ch Stineval Acerola with Tyrian, very close decision. More rangy than 1 but boy can he move. Broad otter head which is very striking, although perhaps not as refined as 1, he screams Border at you, good bone, straight, narrow front. From ringside, he may appear to be on the large side, but he is easily spanned, despite being a larger, more rangy dog than 1 & I have no doubt he could get anywhere required underground. Good level topline with tail well set on, the notes into my tape end with ‘a really good dog, close run thing, wish they were both mine’. RCC, gave the CC winner a close run; 3 Hollingsbee’s Ch Otterwood Amex. VB (4,1) 1 Morton-Shaw’s Quatford Kiss’n Tell at Fehmarn, in excellent condition at 12 years, beautiful harsh, tight jacket, straight, narrow front, nice tight feet, very attractive otter head, good ears, well placed, dropping forward close to the cheek, good dark eye with super varminty expression, good tail, well set on, not a rangy bitch, but neither is she short coupled, my notes say ‘just right’ for body length, nice shaped rib, easily spanned, which is excellent at 12 years, a credit to her owner; 2 Harris’ Penlumeg Paloma, bl/t, longer cast than 1. Falls away a little under the eye, but has a good rib & was easily spanned, moving well; 3 May & Whisker’s Magic Milly at Thistlestone. MPB (13,2) Lovely class, some very hard decisions. On another day, I could easily place the fifth in a first position & all the others as well. A really good class. What a blessing for the future of the breed. 1 Guvercin’s Achnagairn Code Name Glebeheath, dark red grizzle bitch, could not take my eyes off her & found myself comparing all the other bitches in the class to her when deciding whether I liked them sufficiently to place them. Beautiful otter head, lovely make & shape, good small dark eye, with varminty expression, flat skull, ears well placed. A little bit erratic on movement which was forgiven as she is just a baby at 6 months & a week old. Lovely topline, excellent shaped tail, well set on, thick loose pelt, small tight feet, excellent neck & shoulders. Nice puppy, will watch her progress with interest. Hard luck to come up against the puppy bitch winner; 2 Dean’s Conundrum Don’t Tell Tula, little finer in head & throughout the body, easily spanned, lovely dark eyes. Needs to grow into her ears which I am sure she will do, as they are well placed & drop forward close to the cheek. Excellent narrow front, thick, loose pelt, lovely shaped rib, carried well back & easily spanned, good bend of stifle, small tight feet, carrot shaped tail, well set on, lovely puppy; 3 Fraser’s Achnagairn Wild Card. PB (17,4) 1 Clark’s Southash Blue Betty Boo Gameway, another class where I found I was comparing all the others to this one, as she stood away even in this good class. Beautiful bl/t with correct ticking throughout the coat, fabulous otter head, darkest of eyes, lovely straight, narrow front, moved so well for one so young, has the star quality, while being an honest, workmanlike bitch, has all the necessary essentials for a working terrier, good narrow front, lovely shaped rib, carried well back & was easily spanned, good topline, excellent length of body, just at the right stage of development for a 10 months bitch & if I could have found a way of sneaking her out of the door & onwards to Durham, I would have done. Not overdone in any way, has all the essentials & very eyecatching, lovely neck into well laid shoulders, had to concentrate hard during the remainder of the show, to get her out of my mind. In the line-up, found myself drawn to her with my eye & my heart, the type to give you goose bumps. Had a stiff talk to myself when I realised I was drawn to her in the bitch line-up ‘You’re not giving it to a puppy, are you?’, something I have never done in all my years of judging the breed. Then I realised that if I allowed myself to be swayed by anything other than choosing which was the best one, I would not be doing myself or the breed a service. CC, BOB, BP, G4 & PG2 in hot competition; 2 Watson & Kenna’s Mascani Daisy at Cynetkoy, finer bitch, beautiful head, lovely varminty expression, nice ears well placed. A touch wide in front but was easily spanned & moved true enough. Nice jacket, good short carrot tail, tight, neat feet; 3 Newsome’s Kighill Diamond. JB (26,5) Very hard class to judge as I liked about 10 to 12 of those shown sufficiently to have awarded them a high placement. 1 Taylor’s Lutrabeck Layla, lovely varminty expression from good dark eye, lovely ears, dropping forward close to the cheek, good coat & pelt, good shaped ribs carried well back, so easily spanned, lovely tailset, nice bend of stifle, moved extremely well on a loose lead & showed well throughout. In this hard class, she did well to stand away & should have a bright future; 2 Girling’s Benattivo Rosina, light red grizzle, nice earset & good skull. Preferred the expression & smaller, darker eyes of 1. Lovely front, good rib, another easily spanned which is so important in this breed. Good topline & tail, well set on, good bend of stifle, good small feet with tight pads; 3 Fray’s Grindelvald Miss Teak at Eltonfurze. GB (14,5) 1 Worker’s Playtime, res in a very strong JB class. Lovely body, super head & expression, nice ears, well placed, good front, moved well, tail bang on top, good bend of stifle; 2 Martin’s Stineval Celeste at Merumhor, dark grizzle, strong head, although it is perhaps a little masculine for a bitch. Moved very well, excellent jacket & thick pelt. One who might look heavy from ringside but she spans easily; 3 Rexland’s Golden Plover by Karison. PGB (9,2) 1 Small’s Badgerbeck Tree Pipit at Tilmoray, lovely bl/t with excellent ticking throughout her coat, lovely otter head, moved soundly, nice straight front. Perhaps a little on the light side for bone. Lovely head with nice dark eye accentuated by the pale colour of her head & small ears, dropping forward close to the cheek, nice set on of tail, which was carrot shaped, good bend of stifle, active & alert, nice length of body, good rib shape, easily spanned; 2 Fray’s Benattivo Plum at Eltonfurze, lovely ground covering movement, good topline & carrot shaped tail, well set on. A little thick set on the neck & shoulders. Nice skull, but could perhaps do with a better fill under the eye. Active, lithe bitch of good length; 3 Armstrong’s Carrickfarm Maddy. LB (24,8) 1 Hunt’s Ottaswell Carmen, this bitch is just put together right, typical unexaggerated Border Terrier, lovely refined otter head, good dark eye, good straight front, good length of neck without being overdone, good rib, easily spanned, moved with ease. Perhaps would prefer a slightly more level topline but her tail was well set on. Good small feet, excellent coat & pelt completes the picture; 2 Nicholls’ Caulkheads Princess Barton, bl/t, good topline, really harsh tight coat, so tight you could not see the skin, very feminine otter head, good tailset. A hard decision between these two; 3 Gregory’s Remony Barley Twist. OB (9,4) 1 Guvercin’s Glebeheath Figurine, very hard decision between 1 & 2. I went over Bright Idea first & thought she was the one to beat but this bitch just had the edge on a lighter body frame, rib shape & easy span, longer, more elegant neck than 2, lovely level topline, similarly endowed as the 2 with a beautiful otter head & good dark eye, well off for bone, small, tight feet, essential in a working terrier, moved well. RCC; 2 Pickering’s Ch Picer Bright Idea, deeper in rib, although still spannable & what a fabulous otter head (the best of the day), good dark eye & slightly stronger muzzle than 1. Lovely front assembly & thickest of coats & pelts. Ended my day with a hard decision which could easily change on another day; 3 Axelsson & Clark’s Sw Ch Rockamore Limelight. KATHY WILKINSON |
