Hollie Kavanagh was crowned the Junior Handler of the Year 2008 at the end of 80 nail-biting minutes during the UK final, which took place at Discover Dogs held at Earls Court in London.
14 year-old Hollie handled her own Dobermann and then an unfamiliar Golden Retriever, and will now have the exciting task of representing the United Kingdom at the International Junior Handling Final which will be held at Crufts 2009 in March.
The prestigious final, which is supported by Agria Pet Insurance – providers of healthcare insurance on behalf of the Kennel Club brought together 14 of the UK’s best, young dog handlers aged from 6 to 16.
The finalists had to demonstrate their dog handling ability and rapport with their canine counterparts, and were put through their paces with not only their own dog, but also an unfamiliar dog which were all Golden Retrievers this year.
The final was judged by successful ex-Junior Handler, Jaxson Manser, who has previously competed in the Junior Handler of the Year finals and has since gone on to become a professional handler.
Said Jaxson, “It was a privilege to judge what is the most important and anticipated competition in the show calendar for the UK’s junior handlers, and the standard was some of the best I’ve seen. I thought new supporters Agria Pet Insurance did an excellent job organising the event at Discover Dogs.”
The International Junior Handling final will take place at Crufts in March 2009, bringing together youngsters from over 20 countries to compete for the ultimate title.
