Darlington & District Canine Society

Darlington and District Canine Society Open Show 11th January 2026 – Elizabeth Ayrton (Aoibh)

Bearded Collie

Class 144 – Junior (3,1)

1. Burgon’s Talraz Drumbeat for Lyngem. A typical unexaggerated Beardie at the right stage of development for his age. Good masculine head with correct proportions and strong underjaw. Dark eye producing lovely expression. Excellent layback of shoulder and return of upper arm balanced with rear angulation which produced ground covering movement with reach and drive which won him the class. Just needs to drop into himself and lengthen as he matures which I’m sure will happen.

2. Holden’s Kiltondale Kenny Rogers. At first glance I thought this would be my winner as he produces a lovely profile on the stand and had a significant age advantage over the first dog. He has masculine head, good topline and excellent length, if I was splitting hairs I would like a fraction more of that length to come from the rib. On examination he has good shoulder layback and is balanced fore and rear and therefore should move well. However, although his movement was balanced it lacked the reach and drive I was looking for, I think this was due to a combination of factors, his handler needs to let him drop his head and move forward and she herself needs to not necessarily increase her speed much but take longer strides, he is a big boy and so would also benefit from a longer mat or being outside to really show well.

Class 145 – Postgraduate (1,0)

1. Holden’s Kiltondale Kenny Rogers.

Class 146 – Open (3,3)