It is interesting to note that Mrs. Liz Cartledge who judged at The B’dos. Kennel Club first All Breeds Championship Show on March 21, is noted for her contributions to the world of Junior Handling.
Her late husband was the Hon. Secretary of the Junior Handling Association in the UK for many years and after his death, she has continued helping the Junior Handling Association and has made a major contribution to the development of this sport.
Junior Handling differs from regular dog show handling in that it is always the handler being judged and not the dog the handler has.
Normally junior handlers can compete once they are between the ages of 6 – 16 and these classes are normally split into two age groups for judging purposes.
The judge would look for proficiency in areas such as Presentation. This is the appearance of the dog and the handler, whether the dog is presented in clean condition and correctly groomed and whether the handler is wearing appropriate clothing for the show ring. Normally, with a black dog, the handler would not wear dark clothing as then the dog’s top line might be lost to the judge’s view when the dog is being gaited and or stacked.
Another important area would be the rapport the handler has with the dog. The dog should move in harmony with the handler and the handler should be able to talk with the dog and motivate it so it looks happy in the show ring.
Technique is also judged and this would be whether the handler is doing a correct triangle, and/or other patterns and the handler should always remember never to be positioned in such a way that the dog is blocked from the judge’s view. A key to this would be the junior handler following the judge’s instructions carefully.
Balance is also a factor which would be looked at and it is the appearance of the dog and the handler, moving straight together and stacking well when the handler is standing over the dog.
In the show catalogue I only saw one junior handler entered, and I don’t think the junior turned up and if so, there were no junior handlers at the show.
Junior Handling is still very popular all over the world and a lot of the top juniors are so good at handling dogs they could put the average adults to shame.
And Juniors all over the world have all kinds of activities that they also do, so to me it is not a good argument to say that children have other things to do. Children make choices, like adults.
In my opinion, if The Barbados Kennel Club chose to seriously promote Junior Handling, the entries would be there at the show as I am sure quite a few of the people who have pedigree dogs would lend their dog to a junior. And, if they are experienced handlers themselves, teach the child how to set up the particular dog.
Some years ago, I used to lend a Bouvier to some Junior handlers. Of course, it helps a junior handler if the dog you lend is show trained as it will naturally stack itself and be accustomed to having a judge going over it. 🙂
The future of any sport has to be in the interest and dedication of the youth entering it and international judges like Liz Cartledge recognise this and are known for their dedication and help towards the juniors in the world of dog shows.
