Bernese Mountain Dog CC Awards

Welcome to the section where we detail and give some summary analysis to all the CCs that have been won by Bernese in the UK and also give dates and judges of forthcoming appointments when available.

For anyone who may not know, CCs, or to give them their full name Challenge Certificates, are awarded by the Kennel Club to Bernese at Championship shows, either at most general ‘All Breeds’ shows** or one of the  annual BMD Breed Club Championship shows. The judge or, occasionally at club shows, 2 judges, will award a single CC to the best dog and a second one to the best bitch in breed at the show, one of these two will then be selected as BOB – Best of  Breed. The BOB does not count for any further status but this is the dog that will go through to represent the breed in the Working Group at a General Championship show.

In the UK an individual dog requires 3 Challenge Certificates (from three different judges) to become a Champion. Every dog in the lists accessible from this page who has three or more CCs will be a UK Champion and their name will sometimes be recorded in red on traditional pedigrees. Since 2023 it is also possible to be awarded the title of Champion if you have only  2 CCs and at least 5 Reserve CCs, (awarded after the initial date of – we think – 1st July 23).

For some people working to ‘make up’ Champions is a main reason for showing their dogs and they retire their dogs after achieving this status, others go on to garner more CCs, some many more, and breeds have a Breed Record holder. A list of ALL  Bernese CC winners can be accessed from the links below.

Champions Parade at our Club Championship Show in 2025 

The chance to win one of these Challenge Certificates is the main reason why Championship shows garner much bigger entries than Open shows. On the day they actually take the form of a small card certificate, signed by the judge and are often referred to as ‘tickets’ by the show fraternity – hence you will probably hear talk of the ‘dog ticket’ or ‘bitch ticket’ probably more often than the term ‘CC’. At General, (All Breed), or Group, (Working & Pastoral in our case), Championship shows one of the CC winners, either the dog or the bitch, will be chosen as the Best of Breed,(BOB), and go forward to represent the breed in the group against all the other Best of Breeds in the Working Group.

(Just to be technically correct, any CC is not completely valid until it is confirmed by the Kennel Club and the owner is sent a full certificate from the KC. This also applies to the award of the title of Champion, it is not truly valid until the KC have confirmed it and sometimes this confirmation can take months to arrive. Hence, you will sometimes see the phrase “subject to KC confirmation” in notices and advertisements).

In order to be approved to award CCs to a breed judges have to go through a defined process involving such things as experience at lower level, attendance on specified courses, active assessment and breed club approval although the exact nature of this approval and the judges training process is known as the JEP, Judges Education Process, which has now almost fully replaced the JDP (Judges Development Programme) as we come to the end of the period when the two systems were run  alongside each other giving people well into the older system a chance to complete their qualification. Details of this process and how to engage with it, can be gained from the BMD Breed Education CoOrdinator, or BEC, Emily English

(**Please note a few General “All Breed” Championship Shows do not schedule CCs for our breed so always check if you are specifically travelling to see our breed – or any other breed for that matter. You also need to check which day our breed is scheduled for, as not every group of dogs is present on every day, each just having one day when their group is featured. For show visitors in the UK where shows are licensed by the Kennel Club, Bernese are found in the Working group, the 2nd largest group in terms of numbers of breeds.

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History of BMD CCs

As you can see from the tables below or elsewhere in this section of  our website, CCs were first granted to Bernese in 1977 when there were just 6 sets awarded. Over the following years the number rose to 32 in the mid nineties and since then has fluctuated between that and 27 influenced by numbers of breed registrations in the preceding years and is currently settled back at 32. The way the KC allocates CCs and appoints judges is coming to the conclusion of a change in processes and it is not completely clear yet how things will settle down. So we can only say ‘watch this space’ for future allocations to become clear. 2022 had some COVID delayed CCs added to the normal quota plus a bonus set awarded to the BMDC of GB to recognise our Golden Jubilee year.  At the last update,  in July 2025, there had been 1,227 sets of BMD CCs awarded to Bernese since those first ones 48 years earlier. Those who have been around the breed for a few years will recall a few memories of dogs and people when looking through these lists and hopefully these memories will add an extra layer of interest.

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All time Top CC Winning Dogs and Bitches

This list shows the Top 26 Top CC Winning Bernese Mountain Dogs today (July 2025)

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Looking at the list of the top CC winning dogs and bitches combined  you can see that the highest number of CCs won by any Bernese is 54 by Carole Hartley-Mair’s Champion Meadowpark High Class (Milo) between late 2015 and mid 2019 just pipping former record holder Michelle Gurney’s bitch Champion Monalou Nelly Pledge whose total is even more remarkable for a bitch who took time out to have three litters. In addition to his CCs the impressive Milo collected an unprecedented, by any Bernese, run of  group and Best In Show placings and wins. Moving down the list of the most CC winners there are then 5 more males before the next bitch, which at 36 CCs less, further highlights the achievements of Nelly Pledge who won her CCs between 2002 and 2009.

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Moving down the all time CC winners list in third place is Julie Vaughan’s Champion Carlacot Fido on 34 CCs who was the long time breed record holder winning his CCs between 1986 and 1993. Another well known dog of his day and former breed record holder is next, the late Pam Aze’s Champion Forgeman Footpad who won 30 CCs between 1981 and 1990. 26 CCs were won by Nicola Jeffries’ Ch Viking’s Dark Billy Majigs (1990-95) followed by Julie Baldwin’s Ch Fortonpark Its Otto (2004-2006) and another Meadowpark, namely Meadowpark Vertigo (2014-2017), both on 19 CCs in joint sixth place. Only then in eighth place do we come to the second bitch in the top ten Mick and Julie Bramble and Shirley King’s Ch Shirdees Star of Wonder on 18 CCs (between 2004 – 2008). The top ten is completed by a dog and a bitch in joint ninth place with 17 CCs, namely Teresa and Stephen Nightingale’s Ch Manisla Ebony Dusk (2008 – 2014) and Ch Meadowpark Whispers Breeze (2012 -2014).

As you can see from this list, and the years of their CCs, these lists are active lists that will change as some of these dogs are still active but the dogs at the very top of the list will take some beating and will probably sit as Top Winning Bernese of all time for a very, very long time so we can only repeat our congratulations to them.

What is the point of showing and CCs?

The fact is that, rightly or wrongly and whatever some people think of the health problems of some breeds, showing is still the single biggest activity that underpins most breeds and the dog world generally right across the world. It generates the most money and interest within and outside breeds and by far the largest canine events are all Show based. Although active competitions such as Obedience, Agility and Heelwork to Music for example may have more merit in some eyes by working the dogs and utilising their inherent abilities, the big dogs shows must bring into the dog world more visitors, sponsorship and money than all other activities combined.

Traditionally the point of showing was providing an essential service of being able to evaluate breeding choices, dog show fanciers actually coming together with their dogs, to check out each other’s stock and look for breeding options in the only way they could. However, nowadays many breeders operate totally detached from the show world and may have never been to a show so have no ‘real life’ knowledge of the breed outside their own circles, probably choosing to learn as much or as little as they want about the breed entirely from web sites and social media. Even in these days of electronic communications of many types, for serious minded breeders, as well as serious potential owners learning about the breed, there is still a genuine value in seeing dogs for real and being able to assess them directly not to mention the information that can be gleaned around the ring from casual chat.

Not Just a Beauty Contest

Some would say that CCs only relate to ‘standing appearance’ which many people have no interest in and of course many happy owners of happy and healthy Bernese Mountain Dogs  have never been to a show and the vast majority of dogs never go to shows either.  From time to time some sections of the media have been very critical of the show world and showing is often seen as only relating to ‘beauty or appearance’ to the exclusion of everything else. It is seen solely as promoting the breeding of exaggerated features in certain high profile, well documented breeds.

However, showing should also reflect soundness, temperament and where possible should overlap with certain visible aspects of specific breed health. The Kennel Club have been been strongly promoting this aspect for well over a decade now using campaigns with various tag lines, such as ‘Fit For Function, fit for life’, and judges are strongly reminded that they have to consider health aspects of every breed wherever this is directly relevant to the show ring. A regular show dog will enjoy the days at a show and be well socialised with people and other dogs as a result and the majority of dogs get very excited when they know they are getting ready to travel to a show, this excitement sometimes being palpable from the pre show bath and groom the day before. Almost all regular show dogs are also well balanced, confident pets whose lives are enhanced by their show experiences irrelevant of whether they win or lose.

CCs are a focal point of serious showing and winning them is the basic desire of most exhibitors, even if they go to the shows with no realistic expectation of winning one, there is always that hope! Although entries have generally dropped in recent times, shows awarding CCs, known as Championship Shows, garner by far the largest entries and the All Breed Championships Shows which include Crufts, are the biggest events in the show calendar attracting thousands of dogs. At these shows, and at single breed Championship Shows, “the Club Champ shows”, no matter how many dogs are present only a single Challenge Certificate, (CC), is offered to the best dog and the best bitch in each breed. So, whilst some people still like to have ‘lots of red’ (champions) on a pedigree for appearance sake this is also because show wins, including CCs, do say something positive about the temperament, soundness and breed type of a dog, not just his or her appearance.

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More to Shows than winning CCs

Having explained the meaning of CCs, with only 1 CC for each gender the vast majority of exhibitors do not go home with a CC so to maintain its sustainability and keep shows viable the show experience has to be about much more than just winning CCs and for many the social side is a main attraction. Discussions about issues in the breed, news about dogs and people are just the starting point and just being a part of the show is important for most people.  Most exhibitors make good friends at dog shows and shows are full of people who will be quite realistic about having no expectation of winning a CC but still want to be a part of it, indeed this massive majority of exhibitors are the essential body of the show world and, even in this social media driven world, the core part of the breed community.

In summary, whilst shows and CCs are important for all the reasons above there also is a much less easy to define attraction of shows. Many people’s dogs never win CCs and they really don’t expect to, and yet they keep returning every week, they are a part of the community around their breed. You will hear complaints about the expense, the venue, the cost of the food, the judging, the travel, the size of the ring, the state of the ring, the parking, the weather, all the other exhibitors, the winners and many more things but please realise everyone will be back the next time and the time after that and the time after that ……… Like any other social gathering of people you will hear some grumbling but you will also hear happy normal chatter and laughter, and it will not all be dog or show related, it is a social occasion alongside a dog show. The effort and expense everyone has in common just through being there with their dogs is a collective and binding experience before you start any conversation.

So, if you want to give showing a go don’t make it all about winning the CC because you definitely won’t last but give the occasion a chance, engage with other people in your breed and get involved in the conversations around the ring and you will not only learn much more about the breed but could also become drawn into a hobby that will take over your life.

Several lists featuring dogs, bitches, kennels and judges can be accessed from the links below but firstly, here is a simple year by year breakdown of the numbers of all the BMD Challenge Certificates issued to date from the first CCs in 1977.

Please be aware that not all lists within this section will always be updated to exactly the same point so ALWAYS check each individual list for the show it is valid to, which should be stated somewhere at the top of the list.

A few extracted Figures

From the links below you can access lots of different tables showing the biggest wining dogs and bitches, the highest achieving kennels over the years, a complete list of all CC winners, a complete list of all judges who have awarded BMD CCs and which dogs each of them awarded their CCs to as well as an historical list of judges and CC winners at our club Championship Show and Crufts. Finally there is a complete chronological list of all the years of BMD Championship shows since the first in 1977.

The show by show calendar list of CC winners should be updated regularly but the summary lists will only be recalculated from time to time, maybe only annually, with the latest show included in the figures being stated within the section.

To see the full lists of ALL BMD CC winners click here

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All Time Top CC winning BMD Kennels

The list of Kennel bred CC winning dogs also has Meadowpark at the top of the list with a distinct gap to the followers namely Monalou and Fortonpark, the list shows numbers of CCs and the number of CC winning dogs bred by each kennel.  As you can see some have their success based on just a few big winners but others have bred more CC winning dogs. Some people have retired dogs when they reach 3 or 4 CCs and become a Champion so the list recognises the number of CCs won AND the number of CC winning dogs by giving a point for each CC won and a further point for each different dog winning those CCs. Where this leads to a tie on total points the number of CCs is given precedence. The kennels shown in blue are non UK kennels whose may belong to and be shown by UK kennels, often those well placed in this list  but their CCs are awarded to the breeding kennel as this list is about the top winning breeding kennels.

All Time Top 20 BMD Kennels by CCs won by home bred dogs

To see the list of every kennel that has bred even one CC winning dog and see an explanation of the points, click on the link below and see an explanation of the points

When it comes to the lists of judges you can either view a list of all judges to date and how many shows they have judged or you can view a list of every appointment for each judge and see who their winners were.

Links to Updated Lists

Click on the links below to view the corresponding lists.

Please note it is a serious undertaking to update this list and post updates so whilst that the Master Calendar List of All BMD CCs will always be updated first and will therefore always be the most up to date, the various analyses and extractions from it will not always be as up to date as this but the last show taken into account should be indicated at the top of each list so always check which shows any lists cover.

Whilst every effort is taken to ensure accuracy it is entirely possible for isolated errors to be present in any large undertaking such as this. Please raise any possible errors you become aware of so we can evaluate if necessary and make sure our web site is as correct as it possibly can be.

Complete Calendar order list of ALL BMD CCs Shows and Judges  1977 to present day

ALL BMD CC winners Dogs and Bitches Combined List

Current section of above list – 2025 onwards

Most recent complete section of above list – CCs for 5 years 2020 to 2024

CCs Winners Bred by Kennel

Complete Record of All Judges awarding of CCs