Driffield Championship Dog Show

DRIFFIELD,

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY,

CHAMPIONSHIP DOG SHOW.

STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY SHOW GROUND, STAFFORD.

FRIDAY 28TH AUGUST 2026.

CAIRN TERRIERS,

JUDGE: MRS LYNDA, F, HUGHES (GYNCAIRN CAIRN TERRIERS)

My thanks to Driffield Society for inviting me to judge my breed and to the exhibitors for their entries. This year the society had moved from Wetherby Racecourse to this venue Stafford Showground which may have affected the entry plus the time and cost of travel? 30 Cairns were presented to me of which there was only 8 Males and other than Open Dog the rest stood alone in their class. This number of male dogs being shown to me gives cause for concern to the genre pool. I know that it is not easy these days to keep a dog out of a litter in a small kennel that we now have but surely if we look at our pedigrees and line breed as we have done in past years, we would not have to import and then have to go down the route of DNA testing? Anyone that has been judged by me before knows that length of neck, clean shoulders and for-chests are my passion, well this time I was happy with my main winners who excelled in all of these. Today my concern was table presentation and heavily coated ears! At times it was difficult to go over the dogs on the table due to table training in fact on more than a couple of occasions I had to ask the handler to relax their dog especially when I wanted to feel for neck and shoulders. It was also rare to consider the dog standing “well forward on forepaws” Now presentation, I know that we have had a very dry summer this year and possibly this has impacted on Cairn coats and I took this into consideration but perhaps a “bath” would have helped with some cairns coat’s! Ears: The standard states Ears” small, pointed, well carried and erect, not too closely set nor heavily coated” well where do I start? Because coats have been a problem surely keeping ears neat does not take too much of your time to do? Because the ears were “woolly” this to me impacted on the rest of the width between the ears and the head furnishings, on some I could not see where one started and one ended? I know that Cairns don’t stand on their heads but a lovely appealing shaped head is to me a true contribution to our breed. Movement was acceptable! The exhibitor’s seemed to accept my request for continua’s movement around a good size ring this allowed the dogs to move freely rather than be “strung up” I had hoped that this habit would have gone out of fashion. Thank you for hopefully accepting my pre-amble?

BEST OF BREED & DCC Marie HOGARTY, Ch Cadagio That's What I Like (4th CC)

RDCC Chris ROBERTS, Ch Cannwood Moonlight Shadow

BCC Alan & Linda & Amy FIRTH, Glenrood Silent Whisperer At Cairngold (1st CC)

RBCC Ann WAUGH, Tribannon Angel's Kiss (2nd RCC)

Best Puppy Jo SMITH, Cloverbrook Moet N'chandon

Best Veteran Jo SMITH, Cannwood Misty Dawn At Gethlee

Best Special Beginner Jane METCALF-SAULT, Cannwood Can't Get Enough

SBD : NO ENTRIES.

VD ( 1 ENTRY) Abs: 1

MPD : 1 ENTRY.

1ST, MUNDAY, Fury Bumble Rumble. 6months old, up to size, masculine head already for such a young dog, good shoulders, moved and responded well for his handler.

PD : 1 ENTRY.

1st, SMITH, Cloverbrook Pol Roger of Gethlee, Well up to size, strong jaw and good dentition, good reach of neck good hindquarters moved with drive, well muscled, true movement in front when he settled, He does not give his handler an easy time but then he is still a youngster. I can see him having a bright future.

JD: 1 ENTRY.

1ST, HOGARTY, Ch Cadagio That’s What I Like. A very appt name, Although he stood alone in this class, Wow, so confident, he owned the ring. Strong masculine head with a very good stop, excellent full dentition, neat clean shaped ears showing off a good dome. Good fore-chest, good depth of rib, good length of neck running into clean shoulders with a level topline, excels in hind quarters which gives him superb drive. On the move he covers the ground effortless, in one with his handler, she lets him show to his advantage, for sixteen and a half months old a true professional, a real pleasure to have the opportunity to go over him, thank you. Pleased to award him DCC & BOB and delighted that he was given Group two in the Terrier Group and represent the Cairn Terrier. 

PGD: 1 ENTRY.

1ST WAITES, Svendalens Moon Stone. Good head with strong jaw, correct eye colour and shape giving a gentle expression. I liked his size, carrying a little extra weight today which affected his movement, good showman.

LD: 2 ENTRY (1 W)

1ST SINCLAIR & TOTHILL, Tycadno Starburst at Hreysihus, Very striking cream masculine dog, easy to go over on the table, good head, a little short in upper arm but good spring of ribs, his coat is of the correct texture but perhaps a little more left on the legs to complete the picture. Covers the ground well but does get excited with his tail at times.

OD: 4 ENTRIES (1 A)

All worthy champions in this class.

1ST ROBERTS, Ch Cannwood Moonlight Shadow, True showman, strong head with a good stop, nice to see infill under the eyes, correct bite and teeth of good size, clean shoulders and level topline which he kept strong on the move, presented in good coat and condition, moved freely for his handler which was lovely to see the repour that they have. RCC.

2ND PARKIN, Mosspur into the Shadows, Strong masculine red dog, sadly not easy to go over on the table especially in OD as you would expect, very strong willed for his handler. He has a good fore-chest and spring of rib, just enough neck, his length of back is correct for his balance and tail set is consistent. His second handler struggled at times to get the best out of him on the move, hence me asking the class to move around the ring more than perhaps they would have been used to.

3rd LUCAS & TOBUTT, Ch Carradine Sir Percival. I know that we don’t normally write a critique for this placing but I felt that this young dog deserved one. His size and shape is just what I like. As the standard states “Approx 28-31cms at the withers, but in proportion to weight” all male with good strong head, well trained on the table, tale set a little low but, on the move, he held it well, just lacked enough drive. 

SBB: 1 ENTRY.

1ST METCALF-SAULT, Cannwood Can’t Get Enough, Lovely cream bitch with a very pleasing expression, correct bite with clean teeth! Neat ears and no extra coating, nice and easy to go over on the table, I feel that she would benefit with a little more weight which is unusual compared to some that perhaps struggle with a little extra weight, coat is on the turn but her new one is on its way. Lovely and showy today it’s a bit boring at times when you have no company in the class with you?           

VB: 2 ENTRIES.

1ST SMITH, Cannwood Misty Dawn at Gethlee. Lovely cream lady of 9years, very appealing head and expression, still very much a show girl, a little heavy in shoulders, her weight is spot on sound movement coming and going shown in super condition a credit to her owner. No problem keeping up with the other bitches in the challenge.

2nd METCALF-SAULT, Cannwood Call me Aggie, another lovely cream lady from the same sire as above he certainly stamped his mark. Pretty head with alert expression, coat not at it’s best today , good outline, a veteran in good condition certainly makes her handler work.

MPB: 3 ENTRIES (1 A)

1ST SMITH, (L) My Girl Hopes Naf, Just turned 7 months and already comfortable on the table to show herself off to her advantage. Pretty head with a good stop, neat ears, plenty of neck for her age, lovely bone, presented in a full coat, she has got plenty of time to mature and tighten her front movement, loved the big ring.

2nd MUNDAY, Furythor Truly Scrumptious, another pretty baby with a truly melting expression, enough neck for her age, her movement was not as positive today as 1st but this could change, showed really well for a 6month old, just preferred balance of the 1st placing.

PB: 5 ENTRIES (2 A)

1ST SMITH, Cloverbrook Moet N’ chandon. A very promising puppy, not as mature as her litter brother in PD but a slow burner. A very feminine head with correct eye shape and colour, one of the best today. Enough fore chest, not heavy in any way, good length of neck flowing into clean shoulders, not so happy on the table but when she settled gosh she was very animated on the move, true forward and back. She likes to do her own thing when using the ring but lovely to observe when her handler gives her full rane, today was her day. Pleased to award her BPIB 

2nd PURVIS, Mosspur Maddie, I noticed that this bitch puppy was from a repeat mating to the 2nd in OD. She would benefit from table training to show off her neck and shoulders plus standing well forward on forepaws which is there, enough muscle tone. Moved well another that likes plenty of room to stretch out after a couple of turns around the ring. 

3rd, GARDNER, Lentrica Look To The Future With Aberforth. 

JB: 1 ENTRY,

1ST GARDNER, Lentrica New Beginnings For Aberforth. Wheaten Brindle, stood alone in this class which was a shame, she could have done with competition to complete her animation, shown in a short new coat today hiding nothing. Good dentition and correct bite, when her face furnishings come it will complete her head presentation. Nothing to hide on her length of neck, up to size for a puppy. I feel that she is too narrow in body and this lacked enough spring of rib which is needed for lung capacity. Moved freely and handled well.

LB. 5 ENTRIES.

Some lovely bitches in this class which was a pleasure to go over, thank you.

1ST FIRTH’S, Glenrood Silent Whisperer At Cairngold, First thing that comes to mind when observing this bitch is “ Feminine” Her expression is enhanced by her eyes, correct colour and super in-fill. Head to die for with a lovely mouth and good size teeth, neat clean ears with correct amount of coating on. She excels in neck which then just flows into her shoulders, a good topline which she never lost, I loved the size and balance of this bitch, she moved with drive and fluency around the ring it was a pleasure to watch. I was told afterwards that I gave her father his first ticket in 2019 he has certainly stamped his type. I will follow her with interest, BCC

2ND BALLINGER, Cloverbrook Forget Me Not, This 4yr old bitch is in super condition and is still worthy of top honours. A lovely shape and a dream to go over on the table. Good head with a strong stop, correct neck and shoulders, well muscled hind quarters and really uses them to move effortless. Today I just preferred the balance of my 1st, she is a credit to her breeder to get her back into shape after producing my BPD and BPB.

3RD WAUGH, Tribannon Nancy Lou.

OB: 7 ENTRIES (1 A) 

What a lovely class, I am amazed that some of these bitches have not been made up as yet?

1ST WAUGH, Tribannon Angel’s Kiss, entered the ring so full of herself, a lovely head and gentle expression but full of character which is what a cairn should be. Once the handler had shown me her teeth the bitch was very comfortable with me going over her. She has clean neck and shoulders and a good topline, moves true forward and back, well up on the leg but is balanced, moved very freely around the ring and I think that she could have kept going for much longer than I asked of my exhibitors in this class, Again it turns out that she is another daughter of my ticket winner of 2019 the same as my BCC today. RCC  

2ND HOGARTY, Ch & Ir Ch Cadagio Mad about you. Another striking bitch from this kennel, shown in first class coat. Feminine head and super face furnishings giving a perfect shaped head for me. Good fore chest, not quite as clean on the shoulders, good spring of ribs correct weight compared to quite a few today which was an advantage to her on the move. Good bone without being heavy, I can see why she is a champion at such a young age she enjoys being the centre of attention and why not. I would have liked two first placings in this class.

3RD SMITH, Cloverbrook Shining Star Over Gethlee, lots to like with this bitch beautifully presented, a strong class, please don’t be disappointed with this placing.

Judge: Mrs Lynda, F. Hughes.