Rushmoor Juniors has been running for five years now and must be one of the most successful in the UK at the moment – at this year’s JHA semi-finals at Richmond the class accounted for two qualifiers for the final in January, one second place, two thirds and a fourth. And Barney can take some of the credit for this, along with ‘Filly’, as she is also known by her juniors. It’s probably time we described Barney. He’s a pedigree dog, although no one knows what breed, and he is Rushmoor’s mascot who is used to explain the finer points of junior handling. He is so well trained and behaved that he allows the juniors to concentrate on getting their handling right when things are going a bit wrong. He is in fact imaginary but his influence is nonetheless considerable.

Extremely modest

Rushmoor Juniors has a regular group of six to ten juniors – ‘a manageable number’ as Felicity says. They train regularly on a Monday evening for an hour, and are aged from six to 15 years. At present it’s an all female class which is reflected in the general number of girls taking part in handling over boys. The group also attracts show handlers who attend for ‘tweaking’ as Felicity puts it, especially in the run up to major events such as Richmond and Crufts and some handlers are prepared to travel up to an hour and a half to the training class, held at Farnborough Community Centre. Felicity is extremely modest about the group’s reputation though and doesn’t seek to publicise it, relying on recommendation as the best form of publicity. But I would say it’s a good enough endorsement when a highly successful ex-junior like Helena Hutchings says she can easily tell one of Felicity’s juniors by their handling style.

Apart from this and the standard Rushmoor ‘certainly’ which is a polite ‘thank you’ to the judge, Felicity still hasn’t pinpointed what is so distinguishable about a Rushmoor junior, however such a statement must make her job as trainer extremely rewarding. Rushmoor isn’t just about endless triangles and straight up and downs. Socialising with friends is just as important as the training itself and the Rushmoor Juniors all get on well and meet up at shows. Felicity enjoys a good working relationship with the parents too and it’s a rule that if juniors are successful at a show, then they bring in cakes for the class. Apparently there hasn’t been a week without cakes for a while.

Felicity has noticed a change in junior handling since she began her own handling career. She started with an Old English Sheepdog – quite a large breed for a young girl of eight – before downsizing to a Manchester Terrier and she used to spend every afternoon after school in the local park training him. Today, that would definitely be seen to be ‘uncool’ and with the lure of other interests and peer pressure, junior handling numbers have wained over recent years. However, the Rushmoor regulars certainly enjoy their weekly classes.

A typical training night involves handlers beginning with the basics. Even the most experienced handlers need to practice showing their dog’s teeth slowly and without being too rough, and after a hard day at school straight lines don’t always come easily! This is where Barney can be helpful, he ensures handlers are concentrating on keeping their alignments straight and carrying themselves correctly. It is also a rule that handlers must talk to Barney. One of Felicity’s pet hates is handlers who don’t talk to their dogs when they are in the ring. How can you expect your dog to know what you want it to do without giving it instructions?

Attending a Rushmoor training class, you would find the hall alive with juniors deep in conversation with their four-legged charges! So as not to single out individuals, if one of Felicity’s ‘pupils’ gets something wrong, everyone practices it until they all perfect it, making it fair for all. One night, one junior forget her left from her right so the class went over their triangles and reverse triangles until they all had it sussed. It isn’t all hard work, time is always made for a little banter and when juniors have perfected the basics of handling there is always time for some slightly peculiar ring patterns. Zs, 8s and houses are just as good for building a rapport between dog and handler, even if they’ll never be used in the junior handling ring! Felicity doesn’t feel that these type of patterns should be asked for by the judge but used only as a training exercise to teach the juniors good lead control and encouraging them to talk to their dogs. There’s even sometimes a ‘challenge the trainer’ slot where the juniors get to put Felicity through her paces.

A bit of theory

Georgina Ferguson is also on hand to help with training and give Felicity a respite when she needs it. Georgina wanted to take her UK Dog Handlers student teacher award and Felicity offered to show her the ropes. After gaining this award in the summer, Georgina still kindly comes every couple of weeks to assist training the juniors. The practical side of training is combined with a bit of theory, such as the function of different breeds and what group they belong to, and also the points of the dog. This last feature is something which can be overlooked in junior handling and a skill which is necessary for those who want to go on to judge.

Swapping dogs is also a popular feature of training. Although this is now frowned upon in the ring as the dogs who attend training regularly are known to Felicity and the other handlers, they know their temperaments and this gives handlers an opportunity to expand their techniques to take into account a different size of dog. Felicity is the first to admit that it is hard to think of different ways to liven up training classes, but she does try to introduce some variety to maintain the classes’ interest.

Overemphasising a point always means handlers remember it for the future and a popular feature at Rushmoor is the ‘posture night’. Such things can involve walking extremely straight and holding their arms out too far. Poised like ballerinas with their arms forward and then opened to obtain the correct arm position adds some humour to this exercise which makes it more memorable and entertaining. Once you have got your point across and the juniors have mastered it, you can then tame down the over-exaggeration. This aids their ability to stand and move correctly without getting in the way of the dog and distracting the judge’s eye. After all, junior handling is all about showing your dog off to its best ability, and not yourself.

Mini-matches

To give handlers an opportunity to demonstrate the skills they have learnt, mini-matches are held. These are informal competitions and Felicity provides rosettes and, with an all-girl membership, handlers usually receive a goodie bag from Claire’s Accessories. Rushmoor doesn’t use a training guide as such but if there is anything Felicity needs clarification on, she refers to Jacqui Hurley’s guide to show handling, which she describes as ‘the junior handling bible’.

Felicity doesn’t profess to know everything there is to know about handling and her rule is to never ask handlers to do anything she herself would be unsure of. “I have been judging handling for the last six years and think I have only ever had to split a handling class on a handful of occasions using more than a triangle and straight up and down,” she said.

This is a rule Felicity also uses when she is judging handling, which she most recently did at this year’s JHA semi-finals, assessing the six-11 years terrier group. Her general observations are that the standard of handling has improved significantly in this age group. Whereas previously a lot of handlers in this age bracket would break the golden rule of walking between the dog and the judge, the number of handlers doing this has reduced dramatically. But she says: “I would still like to see the handlers have more of a rapport with their charge, talking and encouragement can make a real difference.”

A sad fact of handling also seems to be that some juniors are pushed into the ring by their parents and would really rather be elsewhere. Some parents even place more emphasis on their children winning rather than taking part and enjoying a day out in the company of friends who share the same interest. As Felicity says, wanting to be at a training class or show is half the battle.

For Felicity, the most satisfying part of being a trainer of handling is when handlers come into class after a successful weekend to tell everyone how they did at a show. “It is satisfying to know you have been part of that and helped them on their way.” With two JHA finalists training with Rushmoor – Page Allen and Victoria Clarke – brushing up on their skills before the big event in January, training is ongoing. But it is for rewards like that, that Felicity runs the sessions. And Barney is of course contented that he has been a part of Rushmoor’s success too!

The abover article appeared in Dog World, Britain's best selling weekly canine newspaper. With its unrivalled coverage of news and views from all aspects of the pedigree dog scene at home and overseas.