Everson, WA Resident Wins Best Junior Handler At The 148th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Octavia Stensen with her Norwegian Buhund “Pineapple” won the title of Best Junior Handler under judge Diego Garcia of Lillington, NC at the 148th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show presented by Purina Pro Plan, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Tuesday, May 14.

Stensen, handling her 3.5-year-old female, officially known as GCHB CH Cultiva Cruisin For A Bruisin Pineapple Express CGC TKN, took top honors in the Junior Showmanship competition besting a field of 104 entrants, narrowed down to eight finalists. Finalists were selected over two days of preliminary competitions by judges Rebecca Cross of Gettysburg, PA, and Stacy Threlfall of Apex, NC.

As the 2024 Westminster Kennel Club Best Junior Handler, Stensen will receive a $10,000 Junior Showmanship Finalists Scholarship Award. All other finalists also receive scholarship awards: Second place $5,000, Third place $4,000, and Fourth place $3,000. The remaining four finalists receive a $500 scholarship award. The scholarships are for their use in post-secondary schooling for the college or technical school of their choice.

Junior Showmanship is a competition assessing the handling skills of children 9-18 years of age, independent of the traits of the dog. This competition has been held as part of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show since 1934.

For full results and video, visit westminsterkennelclub.org.

Photo by: Sarah & Tanner Congleton

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=287683

Posted by Liz on May 15 2024. Filed under Current Articles, Featured, The Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.