Main Judge:

MRS. FREDA MARSHALL

Freda Marshall came into the world of show dogs in 1950. It all began with a present of a Golden Retriever Puppy Bitch from her parents and this became the foundation of the Gainspa affix which has been held by many Show Champions and C.C. winners. Gainspa bred Goldens won the Group at Crufts (1965) and Reserve in the Group at Crufts (1974). Freda first judged in 1960 awarding CCs since 1975. She has judged the Gundog Group since 1992 awarding Challenge Certificates to twenty-five breeds, twenty-two in the Gundog Group, two in the Pastoral Group and one in the Utility Group. In 2005 she was approved to judge Best in Show (All breeds) at Championship Show level, judged the Gundog Group at Crufts in 2006 and has judged extensively in eighteen countries throughout the world including U.S.A. and South Africa. Although trained as a teacher Freda spent her free time showing, judging and became involved in the Administration side of dog shows. Over the past 40 years she has been involved in various positions from President to Committee member with several local area Clubs but she began assisting in the administration of Darlington Dog Show Society more than 30 years ago. Freda took early retirement from teaching to pursue her hobby of showing and judging dogs. For the past 19 years she has been Secretary of the Darlington Dog Show Society one of the largest and most popular of the UK Championship Shows. She was elected as a Kennel Club member in 1983, is a Regional Shows Representative on the Kennel Club Liaison Council and an Accredited Trainer in the Kennel Club Judges Training scheme.

MR. DOMINIC BROWNE

Dominic has been involved in the Dog Scene for nearly 40 years specialising in the Toy and Utility breeds. He is a Championship Show judge of many breeds within these groups including, Bichon Frise, English Toy Terriers, Chinese Crested, and Boston Terriers to name a few. He is an established judge out in the UK and is also qualified to judge under the Irish Green Star and European FCI systems for these groups. He is in steady demand as a judge at many of the UK domestic shows covering all groups up to Best in Show level. In 2011 he will be judging one of his favourite breeds, English Toy Terriers at Crufts, the world's biggest dog show. He began his working life as a solicitor however changed careers after a few years to become the buyer at Floris, perfumers to Her Majesty the Queen, based in London. Just a few years ago he retired early from the ownership of a flourishing restaurant on the South Coast of England in order to concentrate on his breeding and judging programme and has a reputation for producing quality show dogs in several breeds.

SANDRA JOHNSTON

From a child Sandra kept animals .The family had dogs – terriers originally then a golden retriever. The first dog she owned was a Tibetan Terrier who was looking for a home. She has now owned and bred basset hounds for many years and has been the top breeder in Scotland together with husband Tom.On leaving school she worked in insurance then stockbroking before moving into market research and then into journalism. She currentlyworks for a Canine Newspaper, writing features, covering show news and local events. She covers the annual Crufts Dog Show going behind the scenes to catch up with all the news from the show. She has also worked with various television companies in the development of TV programmes on dogs and dog shows. Her dogs have been used by the BBC for television programmes and have also been used in advertising campaigns. She is a committee member of her National breed club, and also the Secretary of a successful General Canine Society organising four shows each year. Her judging career has taken her as far afield as Australia and her dogs have been exported across the world.

TOM JOHNSTON

Tom grew up with a pet dog and it was when he married that he got the first of his Basset Hounds with his wife Sandra. As a husband and wife team they have become well known breeders with many winning dogs andc hampions. Tom trained as a technical instructor and after working in the UK for a few years moved to Abu Dhabi where he worked at the Sheik Zayed College for the Combined forces just outside Abu Dhabi. He then transferred to Dubai to the Institute of Applied Technology and Sandra was a frequent visitor. A few years ago Tom and Sandra judged the Dubai Dog Show stepping in when the judges were snowbound on route to the show. Shortly after that show Tom began to steward each show and then organise and run the show ring together with Sandra who now also does the commentary. Although currently working in the UK they still retain their contacts in the Emirates and look forward each year to the show.