The Club’s conception was a straightforward affair whereas its birth was both difficult and protracted. In the early and mid 1970s there was a growing band of Border enthusiasts in Central Scotland, many of whom turned out regularly at the local shows where the breed was scheduled (and often when not scheduled to compete in Any Variety classes) and it was the friendships formed at this time which gave rise to the idea of a breed club for Border Terriers in Scotland. The prime movers in promoting this idea were John Fulton and Jennie Ritchie, both well known for their Woodneuk Border Terriers. The first meeting was held in March 1976 at Larkhall and the main business of the meeting was to agree to go forward with the formation of a breed club and Mr Fulton was elected as interim President with Mr Walter Gardner as Vice-President and Mrs Janet Russell as Secretary/Treasurer. It was noted that, Tea was provided by the ladies and donations from those partaking of tea amounted to £3.38.5p. The donor of the half pence has never been revealed.
The Club’s application for registration was submitted to the Kennel Club shortly afterwards and was advertised in the June issue of the Kennel Gazette. The next meeting took place in November 1976 when a committee of 12 was elected and proposed rules were discussed. Feelings ran high on some aspects of the rules but agreement was reached. In addition this meeting was advised that following the entry in the Gazette the KC, informed of the registration process for the Club to continue although they also advised that there had been objections.
An early requirement was establishing 25 Founder Members and of those still known to have an involvement with the Club are our President, Jim Stewart and our Vice-Presidents, Ena Stewart and Christine Lindsay. During the period prior to registration the Club ran a series of matches with other clubs and raised modest funds to allow shows to be financed when registration was finally achieved. This happened in January 1980 but in its early days the Club seemed to lose some impetus beyond merely being named. At the AGM in December 1981 the Chairman, Mr Gardner, reported that he had nothing to report as the club had held no events. At the same meeting Mr Gardner was elected President and Dr Arthur Sneeden was elected as Chairman with Mrs Lindsay as Secretary/Treasurer and the club really started to get into gear. A match with the Cairn Terrier Club was held within months and two shows held within the year; a Limited Show held in October 1982, judged by Mrs Elaine Cuthbertson and an Open Show held as a part of the West of Scotland Combined Terrier Club’s show judged by Mr Gardner. The first Newsletter was produced in May 1982 (typed on foolscap – remember that?) and these have been produced for members since. Championship Show status followed very quickly with the first show held at Selkirk in October 1985, the judge being Mrs Jean Jackson.