In the late 1920's a group of dog show exhibitors led by Mr Leonard Brumby, Sr., decided to develop a special competition for children. The purpose of the competition would be to introduce a new generation of fanciers to the sport and to give children the opportunity to measure their skills against those of their peers. The children would be judged by how well they presented their dogs with respect to the nuances of the breed being shown. The first Children's Handling class was held at the Westbury Kennel Association show in 1932, and quickly became a popular feature at other AKC events.
The name of the competition changed in 1951 from Children's Handling to Junior Showmanship.
To get started in Junior Showmanship you need to get a Junior Showmanship number http://akc.org/kids_juniors/jrnoform.cfm you will need this number every time you enter an AKC event as a Junior Handler. Remember to keep this number on hand and make sure at each dog show you attend that your Junior number is correct in the catolog, if it is not you will have to fill out a correction form at the Superintendent's table. It is very important that the Junior number is always correct so your placements can be recorded correctly.
AKC Jr. News is the offical publication of the Junior Showmanship Organization. The newsletter contains articales by, for and about Junior handlers.
How many wins do you need to move up from the Novice class to the Open class for Junior Showmanship and if you are the only one in your Novice class and go Best Junior does that count as a Novice win?
Answer to this months question will be at the bottom the the Junior page next month. Check in to see if you got it right and to find out what the new question is. Good luck!
January's Answer:
When in the Junior ring both handlers should be able to fit in the space between the dogs at the same time when the dogs are stacked out. This is very helpful when the dog in front of you has a tail that has to be held out behind the dog. It also gives you extra room to restack your dog if it moves or if a dog around you moves.
January's ?
When you are in the show ring, how much room do you leave between you and the Handler in front of you when you are stacking out your dog? This also goes for you adult handlers too!!! Crowding is NOT GOOD
