It was a great privilege to judge this specialty with a flattering entry of 100 plus. Having read the American breed standard, I was a little concerned as to how I would cope with judging smaller and lighter Cairns than I am used to seeing as the English and FCI standards are slightly different where height and weight are concerned. But I need not have worried, as once I got into the swing of things I felt quite at home and found that, for the most part, they fell into place quite easily.
The dogs, I thought, were better than the bitches in quality and thus easier to judge. There was variance in size, of course, from rather small and stuffy, to large and very rangy, but in a big entry you would nearly always get the full range. Some were -- for me -- a little too short on the leg. I like a free and easy mover and for that you need a little bit of ground clearance. Eyes and expressions on the whole were good, but I felt there was plenty of room for improvement in width of under jaw. I am not at all a "teeth fanatic" but I like to see a good sound bite, large teeth and certainly not a pinched, narrow under jaw with only room for three or four teeth instead of six between the canines. A couple did not close their mouths properly and that is not good news.
Coats and presentation in the majority were good and temperaments without exception were absolutely first class.
The specials class was marvelous. The males dominated in both numbers and quality. I split them into three lots; then made a first selection followed by a second cut. I was very taken with my WINNER'S DOG/BOW, Greatscot's Hard To Be Humble, who came very close to taking the breed. RESERVE WINNER'S DOG, Greatscot's Kilt By Association, turned out to be his litter brother and the little 6-9 month dog class winner was also similarly bred. But in the end, my BEST OF BREED was Ch. Dogwood Pentium Processor, owned by Pam Davis and handled by Peter Green. Shown in beautiful coat and absolute peak condition, he was at one with his handler both standing and going around. With a masculine quality head and outlook, he was sound and animated. I just felt he had the edge on head and overall finish.
But I also loved Hard To Be Humble who's coat was absolute perfection, nicely balanced, tail well set and carried, attractive head, dark bright eyes. He had come all the way from Canada with a Swedish pedigree. I recently judged Cairn bitches at the World Show in Germany where my Best in Breed also came from Sweden with her nearest rivals from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland. Sorry, I digressed.
My WINNERS BITCH/BOS was Terriwood Black Pepper, just 15 months old, with RESERVE WINNERS BITCH going to Skerryvore Will O The Wisp, 17 months old. The latter was another Canadian visitor. They were two nice youngsters, evenly matched, I thought, and the decision could have gone either way. "Pepper" tried that bit harder just when it mattered. Both were good for size, type and coat texture and moved well.
I had a darling veteran bitch of 11 years. Ch. Ragtime's Ain't She Sweet. She was absolutely on the ball, bright and full of expression, and showed her socks off. She was one of my AWARDS OF MERIT along with Ch. Joywood's Moving On, Ch. Upstarts Sir Winston, and Ch. Terriwood First Mate.
The theme of the CTCSC was Hawaiian and everyone entered into the spirit of things -- even the dogs hugely enjoyed dressing up in grass skirts. The Great Western has quite a reputation worldwide and I must confess that i felt both a little apprehensive and nervous beforehand. But there was such a wave of friendliness coming across right from the beginning that I instantly felt part of the "CTCSC family." I greatly appreciated the sporting and courteous attitude of the exhibitors. Dog showing is -- or should be -- a sport and a hobby to be enjoyed, not a fight for life or death! We live in a fast, competitive world and sometimes it seems we do forget the relaxation and enjoyment aspects of our dog sport. The evaluation of breeding stock is, of course, serious business and you enter to get the particular judge's opinion on the day. The judge only has a few minutes to form an opinion based on first impressions. the brief table examination, and the overall performance. So it can be something of a gamble all around if things don't come together just at the right moment.
I'm sorry I "bottled out" of giving my views of the breed at the actual dinner in the evening, but it had been a long day and by this time everyone was in real Hawaiian party mood -- I might have broken that magical spell had i gone all serious on you! For my part, I enjoyed the Cairns enormously. I can't thank you enough -- Karen and Jack Smith, the CTCSC, and my charming, patient and tolerant steward, Dick Rupert -- for giving me a truly memorable day's judging.
-- Liz Cartledge
corrections to: R. \ Kevin Durkin \
