Kettering and District CS

7th October 2006

Judge: Gail Storie

6 - 11 years ( 5, 1 abs )

A good class.

1. Jayne Perks - I have judged her before and her handling is always of a conistently high level. She smiles while handling, verbally encourages her dog in a calm, pleasant way and uses the ring well. She has good shadowing skills and performs accurate patterns. Had there have been an award for Best Overall Junior Handler she would have won it with ease.

2. Samantha Reeves

3. Chloe Johnson

12 - 16 years ( 5, 2 abs )

Sometimes when judging one has to make placings on criteria, that in an ideal class one wouldn't otherwise do so. This was one such occasion for me. While I do like to see handlers perform patterns, I also like to vary my instructions and see them perform what I call normal ring patterns, these being the triangle and straight up and down. I would therefore hope that those tutoring/mentoring these youngsters concentrate on getting them to perform the basics of handling as proficently as possible, bearing in mind the differences required for different breeds. After all professonal handlers earn their living by preparing their dogs for the show ring and by performing these normal ring patterns. Once the basics have been learnt by all means teach compeition handling.There is more to handling than just performing patterns. During my initial assessment of a class I try to gauge the expertise of the handlers present and give instructions accordingly.All three of the young ladies in this class seemed to be confused by the positioningof the mat and as such did not make full use of the ring. All 3 also broke the Golden Rule at least once, and my eventual class winner probably more so than the other 2.

1. My winner was Hannah Fawcett who handled a Border Collie in a very unfussy manner and presented in good profile. She was also the only one of the 3 to perform one of the moves/patterns satisfactorily and that was the straight up and down.

2. went to Emmeline Wallington. I felt that she over handled somewhat, but she also used 2 hands to hold the lead ( going across her body) on the straight up and down. I find this unacceptable, especially in this age group.

3. went to Elaine Huckle whose use of bait was both distracting and inconsiderate.

Webmaster: thanks Gail for submitting this critique

BACK TO JH CRITIQUES

[Home] [About me] [My dogs] [Junior Handling] [Adult Handling] [Private tuition] [My Book] [News] [Training Day] [Results] [Case Histories] [JH critiques] [FAQ's] [Contacts] [JH links]