150th anniversary celebrations of the DDTC and 10th anniversary of the Dandie Derby, 6–9th June 2025
The Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club celebrated its 150th anniversary with Dandies and owners in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, combining the annual Dandie Derby with various events at key sites of historical significance to the breed.
The weekend was organised by vice chair of the club, Mandy Clarkson (Amanda Weaving) and committee member Karen Atkinson. About 60 Dandies attended with their owners.
Friday, 6th June
Owners and Dandies walked the Old Pepper Trail at Bowhill House, home of the Duke of Buccleuch and ancestral home of the Dandies. This was followed by a display of some of the Duke of Buccleuch’s Dandie paintings presented by Calum Flanders, and a talk about them was given by Mike Macbeth, president of the Canadian Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club. Tea, coffee and cakes were provided in the gallery space by Mandy Clarkson and Calum Flanders.
The evening saw the launch of Dandie Dinmont Gin – ‘a proud celebration of tradition, taste and Terrier’, from Selkirk Distillers at Tibbies in the market square. The gin is available online (www.selkirkdistillers.com, overseas delivery is unavailable) or in store from Selkirk Distillers, in Selkirk market square. Afterwards, the dining options included tapas or platters at Tibbies, or a meal at The Fleece on the other side of the market square.
Saturday, 7th June
At 11am, there was a walk from the Old Ginger statue in the Haining’s dairy yard to the site of the first ever Dandie Dinmont Terrier Show in 1875, the Volunteer Hall, (now the Baptist church) in Selkirk. A group photo was taken inside, and Mike Macbeth gave a short speech. From there, the dogs were piped along to The Fleece, where the club itself was founded in 1875. Rain started during the walk to The Fleece and continued for quite a time! The chair of the DDTC, Paul Eardley, unveiled a plaque inside The Fleece. There was also a Dandie stall on the farmers market in the market square manned by Cheryl Agnew. Both post boxes in Selkirk sported yarn toppers with a Dandie theme, created by Ann Deegan (DDTC committee member).
At 2pm, before the start of the Derby, an information board for the Dandie Dinmont Heritage Trail was unveiled by Michelle Ballantyne, director of the Haining Charitable Trust. The board is located at the entrance to the dairy/kennel yard.
The races kicked off at 2.30pm and were great fun, with most of the dogs running keenly, despite a downpour of biblical proportions during the middle of proceedings. Miraculously, the sun came out and dried everyone off before the end of the Derby. Margaret Russell’s husband called the races with great gusto. The overall winner was 2-year-old Dylan from North Wales running in his first Dandie Derby. He and his owner Victoria Little took home a wonderful silver cup to keep until next year. The cup was donated by the DDTC from its collection of cups and had been polished up (with ribbons attached) by Helen Cooper (DDTC committee member).
In the evening, a dinner was hosted by the DDTC in the brand-new annexe overlooking the loch at the Haining in Selkirk. 62 people plus dogs attended. Special guests included Lesta Craig from Idaho who was visiting for the day with her two children as part of her 80th birthday celebrations. Unfortunately, before there had been time to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ the group had to leave for a taxi to catch their train back to Edinburgh.
This was the first event to be hosted in the new space at the Haining and the bar was staffed by Haining volunteers. The meal started with a Prosecco toast made by Paul Eardley on behalf of the club and there was a surprise visit by John Nichol, aka ‘Sir Walter Scott’. The tables were decorated with individual Dandie-silhouette name place settings, with a larger matching Dandie silhouette holding the table name. There were table favours of the poem ‘The Dandie Dinmont’ by Alexander McCall Smith tied with a tartan ribbon and a crocheted page marker in club colours. With Dandie memorabilia and art displayed from the ‘Gladsmuir bequest’, a silent auction of a life-sized Dandie Dinmont terrier and a platter both carved by Calum Flanders, plus a speech from Karen Atkinson, a great time was had by all, including the dogs!
Sunday, 8th June
After the DDTC AGM, there was a fun dog show and the ‘Dandietathlon’ agility course on the meadow at Abbotsford House. The Best in Show was 10-year-old Abbie Skitt from Gateshead with her Dandie Wilbur. The weather held up and was very pleasant after the rain the day before. The show was judged by Mike Macbeth. After lunch at Ochiltrees Café, owners relaxed in the grounds or took a walk around the beautiful estate, and some Dandies dipped their paws in the Tweed. Abbotsford was home to Sir Walter Scott and is another iconic property with Dandie connections.
Monday, 9th June
The final event of the celebratory weekend was organised by Kenny Allan. The 6th and penultimate board on the Dandie Dinmont Heritage Trail was unveiled at the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel by Paul Eardley.
The Dryburgh is a favourite hotel amongst Dandie owners and is located on the banks of the Tweed and is right next to the resting place of Sir Walter Scott, who named the breed in his 1815 novel ‘Guy Mannering’. Owners and Dandies were allowed access to the abbey where a group photo was taken by Sir Walter Scott’s grave.
Afterwards some people set off for home whilst others attended a lunch in one of the upstairs dining rooms at the hotel, and this brought the DDTC’s 150th anniversary celebrations to a close.
End-of-year lunch
The DDTC’s anniversary year draws to a close with a three-course lunch at The Royal Kennel Club in Clarges Street, Mayfair, London on 17th November 2025. This is the actual anniversary of the date on which the DDTC was founded. At the time of writing, there are still a few remaining places available. Contact admin@ddtc.co.uk for further information.
Karen Atkinson