Junior Handling

Our daughters Emily and Madeline are both now in their early twenties and lead their own busy lives!!

They have both always loved animals and being brought up in such a 'doggy environment' it was no surprise they became more involved with our dogs. Besides coming with us to the shows, they worked part-time in their spare hours at the local boarding kennels for several years where they gained a lot of experience in all sorts of breeds and Great Danes in particular, which were resident at the kennels.

They learned their craft in handling dogs therefore with a variety of different breeds. This provided invaluable experience in learning not just how to recognise the different breeds but also having an understanding of individual breed traits and characteristics.

Junior handling seemed a natural progression and although the girls started with showing Borders in the early nineties, they were soon also showing Danes as well as other breeds. The Danes in particular were an interesting challenge as in junior handling, often the rings were not big enough, which made neat, compassionate handling to show the breed to best advantage, quite a challenge.

Although both Em and Maddy competed in The KC junior handling competitions with a lot of success for several years, it was the experience of handling the dogs, and bonding with them that they always enjoyed the most, far more than being well placed in the competition. They both did well in The JHA (Junior Handling Association) competitions where the handler was assessed as well as The KCJO (Kennel Club Junior Organisation) competitions where the dog being handled was assessed; in this competition, Madeline qualified with our Border Terrier dog - Key (Ch Biddestone Picaro) by winning her class at The Welsh KC Ch Show in August 1996 and qualifying for the KCJO Terrier Stakes Finals - In the finals held at Crufts in 1997, they finished a creditable 2nd just missing the opportunity to represent the terrier group on the final day. Both girls regularly qualified for the JHA semi-finals at Richmond.

The girls had their 'favourites'!! Em often handled 'Speck', a Border bitch bred by Anara, also a lovely Great Dane bitch called Grace. Em also handled Boxers and different breeds.
Maddy handled in Borders, Chloe (bred and owned by Betty Judge), Dulcie and Key; in Danes, she handled Kiri, right from a youngster handling her to a creditable sixth (in a huge class) in her first show at The Richmond semi-finals in 1994. The judge, Brenda White made the following comments in her critique:
"I would like to make special mention of Madeline Hand who was handling a Great Dane puppy. Disaster struck and all seemed lost to her, when her puppy decided it was now fed up and it was time to play - it had rolled onto it's back with all four feet in the air, just when I was walking back to decide who I was going to pick for further consideration. However , by the time I had walked around the ring once and got back to her, she had the puppy back on it's feet, perfectly poised and looking great - well done Madeline for keeping your cool and retrieving what looked like a hopeless situation for you."
Maddy started with a lovely Dane called Hattie and also later handled Pako, a fully mature Great Dane dog as well as others. Both girls handled the Danes in breed classes as well as in junior handling.

There were a few other 'adventures' including the night before the UK Handlers competition when I spent one of the worst nights of my life with a fully mature Great Dane bitch lying on my bed .. on top of my extremely compressed body .. Believe me, a fully grown Dane lying on your bed is a completely different prospect to a little Border Terrier!! - To make matters worse, the room we were staying at was in a little old pub directly above the bar .. It turned out to be one of those pubs where after closing time, the curtains are pulled and the 'locals' are locked in for the night .. some of the 'cast' downstairs looked like extras for the 'Thriller' video by Michael Jackson where a variety of ghouls come creeping out of the drains late at night - Suffice to say, it was an unforgettable experience!!

In 2002, Emily handled Boo (Ch Lutrabeck Limerick) at WELKS and gained comment in judge Elaine Cuthbertson's critique for her handling. Em also judged the junior handling at the Southern BTC Show later in 2003, so the involvement is still there when busy itineries permit!.

Maddy and James now have a daughter (our first granddaughter!) Freya, who at the tender age of 18 months is showing every sign of carrying on the Lutrabeck tradition!!