Junior Showmanship Program
The Irish Setter Club of America is proud to have mentored many junior handlers who have already aged out as well as those that we are currently mentoring. The juniors of yesterday are an inspiration to those who are involved today and our Club realizes the importance of supporting our current juniors so that we can share the future with our talented young people. We have a very strong juniors program allowing for seminars, scholarships and awards.
Please remember to be ringside to show our juniors you are interested in what they are doing!
Who may participate
Junior Showmanship classes are open to children from 9 to 18 years old and are divided into Novice, Open and Master classes: All participants in Junior Showmanship classes must have an AKC Junior Showmanship Handler Number. Novice classes are for those children who, at the time entries close, have not won three (3) first-place awards in a Novice class at a licensed or member show. To qualify as a win, more than one child must be in competition in a class. The Novice class gives those children who are beginners a chance to gain experience and confidence apart from the more seasoned youngsters. Open classes are for those children having three or more first-place wins; these are the more experienced Junior Handlers. Beginning January 1, 2012, juniors who obtain ten wins in the open classes will then move into the masters class and will compete against each other there, and then for Best Junior. A beginner can learn how to present their dog more effectively by watching these talented youngsters in the ring.
The classes may further be divided into:
- Junior: At least 9 years old but under 12 years old on the day of the show
- Intermediate: At least 12 years old but under 15 years old on the day of the show
- Senior: At least 15 years old but under 18 years old on the day of the show
