LockeStar Cavaliers
Junior Showmanship
We are huge supporters of Junior Handlers.
They ARE the future of the sport!
Coco and Malynn
Our involvement with Junior Showmanship all started with Coco and her Junior Handler, Malynn Johns. Coco and Malynn shared an incredible bond, and that showed in the ring. Together they went far, winning several "Best Juniors", then qualifying for and competing at Westminster, where they won their preliminary group and experienced the top honors of competing in the finals. This was historically the first time a Cavalier-Junior Handler team made it this far. By the end of Malynn's Juniors career, her and Coco were the #1 Cavalier team and #6 Toy team.
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Since then, Coco's Junior Showmanship legacy has carried on with several of her children and grandchildren showing alongside kids, including Penny, Arrow and Sirius. These dogs have all shown in either the Pee Wees ring with Allie Lockleer or with the Junior Handlers, Emma Adams and Brianna Sweetman. Our sweet girl Flame has also shown in the Juniors ring with a young boy who's first time in the ring happened to be that day!
Emma and Sirius
We are so honored that Emma handled Sirius in several shows for us, both in the Juniors and breed rings. Together, Sirius and Emma won their very first All-Breed "Best Junior", which is not an easy task!
Emma is an exciting up and coming professional handler and groomer extraordinaire, specializing in Cavaliers. She has also been busy gaining experience showing other breeds such as Shihtzus, French Bulldogs, Beagles, and English Setters to name a few. We are very pleased to have had her assist us in finishing Sirius' Grand Champion title, and in putting the first 3 points on our up and coming (naughty) puppy, Truman!
Brianna, Sirius and Arrow
Sirius and his mother Arrow, have been excellent Juniors dogs for novice handler, Brianna. They are attentive, confident, and eager to please, all of which are desirable qualities in a Juniors dog, especially with a handler who is still learning.
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In the beginning, Brianna was not quite sure if dog shows were her "thing", but she showed Arrow and Sirius each one time in Juniors just to get a taste of the sport. After a two year break, she returned to the ring with an open mind, ready to compete again, and this time took a HUGE step of confidence to enter the Cavaliers of Puget Sound Specialty Show not just in Juniors, but also in the breed ring with Sirius, to compete in Best of Breed. She knew that her and Sirius would be right alongside all the experienced adults, including professional handlers. To her amazement, they won a prestigious Award of Merit under the esteemed breeder-judge, Cindy Huggins. We could not be more proud of Brianna and Sirius, and truly hope that this boost of confidence will help encourage her to continue on!
Allie in Pee Wees
Currently we have Allie gaining experience in the Pee Wees ring, which is for hopeful future Junior Handlers between the ages of 5 and 9. However, Allie's first time in Pee Wees happened to be at age 3! To date she has participated in several Pee Wee events, handling 5 different Cavaliers and one Staffordshire Bull Terrier!
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The goal of Pee Wees is to get these young kids used to the ring procedure, to get over initial nerves, and to create a positive experience in which every exhibitor earns a participation ribbon. So far Allie seems to really enjoy the sport, and we hope that she will want to continue on to compete in Junior Showmanship when she turns 9. Allie is now age 6 and currently enjoys gymnastics class, swimming, art projects, video games, and of course showing in Pee Wees.
Flame With a Young Boy
The Juniors ring in Canada is a bit different compared to AKC. Children routinely do not show dogs that they own, instead they "borrow" dogs from other exhibitors to show.
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One day while I was showing Flame up in Canada, I was asked by a sweet young boy if he could show Flame in Juniors. I could not resist and of course said that would be fine. I knew Flame had a perfect temperament to go off with a total stranger, and a child at that, since she lives with my daughter at home so is used to kids, and adores them.
Watching Flame and this boy in the ring made my heart sing, she was just oozing with pride and confidence and looked perfect with him. I was very impressed with the skills this boy had too, especially with it being his very first time showing. Clearly, both Flame and this child had a blast, and that is what the sport is all about!
