The Assessor Winter 2026 PDF - Flipbook - Page 26
JOURNAL
ADAM MURRAY
Judging duties for Adam Murray at a
West of England Cocker Spaniel Show.
Adam and one of his dogs
on their way to winning a
junior bitch class at Crufts.
TAKING THE LEAD
As he approaches half-a-century of dog ownership, Adam Murray reveals how
canine companionship and competition provide a welcome ‘paws’ from his busy role as
Head of Policy, Standards & Accreditation with Solus – an Aviva company.
fter 35 years in senior
management roles with
Aviva UK and now its
subsidiary Solus, Adam
Murray has proven
to be a good judge of character of
colleagues in the various teams and
divisions that he has successfully
overseen. But for more than four
decades, he has become a
well-respected judge of creatures of
the canine variety too.
A
Since 1983, Adam has been judging
dog competitions at national and
international level and predominantly
Cocker Spaniels – a pastime that has
taken him all over the world and which
began with the purchase of a family
pet.
“It started in 1978 when I saw an
advert for Cocker puppies,” he
recalled. “I have always loved the
breed as they are affectionate, loyal
and a gundog which appealed to me
so after going to see the puppies, it
was hard to ignore the temptation to
buy one.
“As we were going on holiday for two
weeks, we asked the breeder at the
kennel to hold the one we wanted for
us until we got back. Unfortunately
they forgot our arrangement and sold
it, so we ended up buying a show
quality puppy instead and it really went
from there.”
moderate success at local open shows
in Scotland. However after attending
his 昀椀rst championship show in 1979,
Adam recognised that his dog wasn’t
quite up to the standard of the others.
“I realised they needed a better
specimen to compete at that level,”
said Adam. “Since then, we’ve had
20 Cockers and won many awards at
championship shows including gaining
champion status with dogs we’ve
owned or exhibited for other owners in
addition to winning various classes at
Crufts.”
Adam made the natural progression
from owner to judge and instantly
showed he had an eye for the role.
“The dog I awarded top prize at my
昀椀rst show went on to become the
biggest winner in his breed, a status
he held for some years,” he added.
Over the years, Adam has risen up the
judging ranks and is now quali昀椀ed to
adjudicate all breeds at open show
level and award challenge certi昀椀cates
in Cocker Spaniels. He estimates
that he has judged more than 10,000
dogs – Adam has awarded challenge
certi昀椀cates six times in the UK and
seven times in overseas competitions
as far a昀椀eld as Sweden and Australia.
To qualify for the title of show
champion in the UK, a dog has to win
three challenge certi昀椀cates under three
separate judges.
made to owners based on the quality
of exhibits they had shown in the
ring,” explained Adam. “Nowadays
the Royal Kennel Club sets the criteria
for judges who must complete speci昀椀c
requirements to move up the grades.
“All judges within the UK assess dogs
against a speci昀椀c breed standard
that has been produced by the Royal
Kennel Club in conjunction with the
Breed Council for the respective breed
involved. I am the current chairperson
of the UK Cocker Spaniel Breed
Council which manages the education
programme for judges within the breed
at all levels but also have responsibility
to in昀氀uence the breed standard via a
Judges Sub-Committee.”
The Murrays currently have four
Cockers, aged from two to nine, as
well as an eight-year-old German Short
Haired Pointer – all are show dogs with
ring titles to their name.
“As anyone who exhibits dogs will tell
you, the hobby gets under your skin,”
said Adam, who usually judges at
least one UK competition and another
overseas every year. “I simply love
dogs but I enjoy putting something
back into the breed to ensure health as
well as standards are maintained.
“Being a committed dog lover, I spend
time exercising, trimming and training
our dogs to ensure they are in tip-top
condition which enables me to detach
from my day job as it can be full-on at
times with many moving parts.”
Adam showed his 昀椀rst dog, Deek
aka Normanview Raging Storm, with
"The criteria for judging is more robust
today than when I 昀椀rst started as back
then invitations from clubs were usually
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THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | WINTER 2026 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
JOURNAL
