Winning Isn’t Everything

By Amy Fernandez

New York’s brutal weather didn’t prevent 88 Juniors from competing at Westminster 2015. They arrived from all parts of the country. Like most of them, 14-year-old Erin LaPlante didn’t fly solo. Erin and her Doberman bitch, Shamrock, were accompanied by a contingent of friends and family members from back home in Racine.

The overwhelming frenzy at the Piers immediately obliterated any lingering thoughts about the miserable weather. Like everyone else, Erin and Shamrock had their eye on the prize.  And that Junior Showmanship win features quite a nice prize… multiple trophies and scholarships for eight finalists. And this year, the title went to Lydia Frey handling a Bedlington, GCh,. Lamz Let Them Eat Cake CA. His littermate, GCh. Lamz Strike A Pose RN CAA CGC, had already gone Breed earlier that day.

Erin and Shamrock showed like troopers, cool and poised as Bob Slay put them through their paces in Tuesday’s preliminary round.  Like the majority of those talented, intent, hopeful juniors, they didn’t win. Disappointing, of course, but in the big picture it doesn’t really matter.

Erin’s mom, Christy, confirms that this team is just getting started. We can expect to see much more of them. Moreover, among those hometown fans cheering them on was Erin’s little sister, Maren, watching and loving every minute of her Westminster experience. Who knows? Next year we might see two LaPlante sisters vying for that coveted title of Westminster Best Junior.

And all things considered, their trip was a success. They sampled some of the NYC fun, including the Broadway hit Kinky Boots.  The family had always thought about coming to Westminster –someday. Thanks to Erin, they finally took the big plunge. And that is the truly great part of this sport. Motivations and circumstances bring us together and launch us on a trajectory of experiences, friendships, and achievements far beyond anything we imagine for ourselves.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Feb 20 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.