Scottish training day a big success by Averil Cawthera-Purdy

THE FIRST Scottish junior handling training day was held in Carlyllie Hall, north of Dundee on June 1, organised by Michelle McAngus, a former top junior handler.
Royal Canin kindly sponsored the event and provided generous gifts and prizes. The handlers raised £52 through a raffle, the proceeds of which will go to Hungarian Vizsla Rescue and Rehoming where Vizslas are rescued and new permanent homes found.
Juniors from all over Scotland attended the event, many having travelled hundreds of miles to have the chance to train and be given expert advice with a former top junior handler.
Michelle said: “I wanted to give the juniors of Scotland the chance to improve their skills so that they would feel confident and capable in the ring.”

Proud
Lisa Moir, another former top junior handler, was unable to attend on Sunday due to a virus so Catherine Mason of Brechin kindly took up the post of educating the younger and less experienced group, while Michelle improved the skills of those with more experience.
The training day covered issues such as alignment and patterns, what not to wear, how to prepare for a show, ring etiquette, knowing your dog and much more.
The location provided a large green area, which was taken advantage of in the morning, and the day concluded with a competition inside the hall so the juniors could put into practice what they had learnt.
The renowned Aiken Johnston judged the two classes; six-11 years and 12-16 years, putting the juniors through challenging and questioning tasks.
It was observed by all that the improvement in every junior was exceptional and Michelle was proud to view her students oozing newly found confidence and smiling from cheek to cheek.
The winner of the six-11 years class was Caitlin Leiper, handling an Afghan Hound, and 12-16 class winner and overall winner was Yvonne Pollock handling a Cocker Spaniel.
At the end of the day certificates of attendance were presented and Michelle and Catherine both chose who they thought had most improved. Michelle chose Michaela Donaldson and Catherine decided Laura Welsh deserved the award from her group.
A brief questionnaire was completed at the end of the day by all those present and Michelle said: “We received very positive feedback. It was a great success and I think the children thought so too as we had a full house saying they would attend the next one!”
Hopefully Michelle and Lisa will organise another such training day within the central belt of Scotland.

Judge’s critique
Six-11 years 1 Caitlin Leiper, Afghan, caring approach to handling, excellent concentration, assuring dog and handler were always a unit, listened to instructions given, nothing exaggerated, excellent handling skills with a large dog in the ring.

12-16 years 1 Yvonne Pollock, Cocker, a worthy overall winner of this competition, handled to perfection, always the correct pace for the dog, perfect control on the corners, no exaggerated handling to distract the judge, an excellent performance of her handling skills.