My life in Westies started when my parents bought me a 9 month old puppy for my 13th birthday. His name was Skye and it was my mother’s attempt to break me out of my teenage phase of not speaking to anyone, particularly my parents!
Skye and I were inseparable, we even went shopping on the local bus together. He had been entered at a show by his breeders, Mr & Mrs Parr (Arnholme), which they took him to and I went to watch. From that moment I was hooked, dragging my poor parents all around the country to shows every weekend, even shows in the evenings during the week too. Skye was a dream to show, he loved it as much as I did.
Getting a knack of the trimming was not so easy. I read that it took two years to learn to trim a Westie, which I would challenge and say you never stop learning. Skye, through hard work and perseverance became my first champion, Ch Arnholme Ad-Lib.
He was followed by Trio, Ch Arnholme A-Cinch, who was owned in partnership with his breeder Doris Parr. Then came the home bred Ch Tiellos Toby Judge and a bitch owned in partnership with Janet Eastwood (nee Bowden) Ch Brierlow Blazing Sensation, who won BOB at Crufts in 1988. By this time I was a student and would travel at weekends and holidays to kennels to trim and help show their WHWT’s. These included the Arnholme, Kilbrannon, Newtonglen and Barwest kennels.
My first judging appointment to award challenge certificates in WHWT was in 1990. This was the same year I got married to my wife Andrea. Our first opportunity to go away after our wedding was to judge at the Westie Alliansen Black and White show in Sweden. So I took my wife to a dog show for our honeymoon! To make matters worse my mum came with us because she wanted to go to a dog show in Sweden! Not having learnt from this, I have missed numerous anniversaries and my children’s birthdays due to attending dog shows.
The highlights of my showing life has to be winning Best in Show in 2009 at the Ladies Kennel Club show, followed by the Macconachie trophy in 2010 for top winning WHWT with Ch Lamsmore Fitzwritin.
In judging it has to be awarding challenge certificates at Crufts in 2019 and yes, my mum came to watch me judge!
Angus Gordon
