Grace has had a love affair with dogs since she has been a little girl. This love affair has blossomed into an exceptional talent as a dog handler for both her own dogs and other people's dogs. She has been so fortunate to have had many talented people helping and mentoring her along the way and offering wonderful dogs for her to work with and co-own. Grace has had the opportunity worth with several professional handlers and has been able to handle a variety of breeds. She is in much demand as a handler in her own right. She is consistently winning and placing in the AKC junior showmanship ring as well as in the regular breed ring competition. She has won several scholarships at both the Wisconsin Best Junior Handler Competition both years she was eligible to compete, and the highest honor of earning a place in the junior showmanship finals at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog show in New York City of February 201o. Grace has been award the CCRCA Best Junior Trophy for 5 years in a row! Please enjoy her page as you take a look at various pictures and announcements as she continues to achieve success showing dogs!
HERE ARE SOME EXCITING UPDATES!
* 12/2011 Grace and Darcy finished off the year heading to Eukanuba National Championship in Florida. Darcy earned FIRST AWARD OF MERIT in the breed competition, and also made it through several tough cuts in the juniors competition. We are very proud!
* January-February 2012 brings on another year, and more dog shows. Several more wins in open senior for Grace, bringing her closer to qualifying for Westminster Kennel Club 2013. She needs 7 Best Juniors, and has 5 by January.
* February brings Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. Grace, Darcy, Diane and Sugar (Ridgeback) head to the Big Apple. Oh what a time they had!
*** GRACE AND DARCY GO BEST OF BREED!! Over tough top Field Spaniel competition, this Dream Team takes it all! How amazing and awesome of an accomplishment for a 17 year old junior and her dog!
**** GRACE AND DARCY MAKE IT TO THE FINALS IN THE JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP COMPETITION---AGAIN!! AND PLACE THIRD, FOR A $4,000 SCHOLARSHIP!
This is the second time these two have made it to the finals in this unbelievably tough competition of over 120 top junior handlers from around the country. She made it to the finals in 2010, and now 2012. Quite the accomplishment, and something that happens rarely.
*MARCH 2012- Grace qualifies for Westminster 2013 by taking back to back Best Junior honors on one weekend. Once with Tyson, once with Darcy.
Grace and Darcy make it to the finals at the Midwest Regional Best Junior Competition! in Louisville, Kentucky.
FLASH!!!!!!!!! GRACE QUALIFIES FOR WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP AND EUKANUBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP! What a great year 2011 has been for Grace! As of October 2011, she has earned 27 first place wins in open senior competition, among those first place wins, 20 of them are Best Juniors! She is currently the number 1 Field Spaniel Junior Handler, #6 All Breed Junior Handler in the US, #7 Sporting Junior Handler. WOW!!!!!
ANOTHER BEST JUNIOR HANDLER AWARD FOR GRACE AND TYSON!
Fresh off her success at the RRCUS show in Ventura, Grace earns another BJH award at the Freeport Kennel Club show October 2, 2010 under judge Peggy Beisel-McElwaine.
FLASH! Grace and Tyson win Best Junior Handler at the 2010 Rhodesian Ridgeback National Specialty, September, in Ventura California!
We are so proud to announce this!! Grace traveled with Diane and Melissa Engleking to Ventura California along with 12 Ridgebacks to compete at this specialty. Grace handled many of Diane's dogs as well as some other Ridgebacks at this show, and went on with Tyson to win the honor of Best Junior Handler, earning yet another first place win in open senior along the way to Best Junior! Grace was up against the #1 Ridgeback junior handler in the country at this competition, so the pressure was on! Way to go to Grace and Tyson!! Thank you to Diane Engelking for making this possible for Grace! Below are Grace's trophies from the Rideback Bests Junior honor!
Grace and Crosby winning their huge 6-9 month puppy class at the RRCUS Speciality
Grace shown here with Stewart in the sporting group, Racine Kennel Club 2010
Grace and Ritz, Ch. Calico Puttin' on the Ritz
Picture Below Grace and Cathall, a Stafforshire Bull Terrier owned by Cindy Bundy and shown recently by Grace!
FLASH! Grace takes another 1st place in open senior at the Waukesha
Kennel Club July 31st, 2010, showing Ritz, and then another 1st and Best
Junior Handler with Ritz on Tuesday at the Burlington Wisconsin kennel
Club show. She also showed Obie, Winfarthings Oberon, a Field Spaniel
owned by Wyn Overholt, to his AKC Championship going BOW/BOB over
specials! Grace and Ritz also took BOB at the Burlington Wisconsin
Kennel Club, BOS at the Waukesha Kennel Club day 1, and Select Bitch at
Waukesha Kennel Club day 2. Grace earned a major win on Sprout, a Field
Spaniel owned by Lisa Shaitberger.
Above, Grace is pictured with Midwest Dream Miss T Storm, bred and owned
by Ronda Grimm, shown by Grace to a 3 point major and then to her
Championship!
Grace and Darcy, Ch. Winfarthing Pride and Prejudice SH making the finals at Westminster Kennel Club Junior Showmanship 2010!
Grace pictured here with Ansel, a Rhodesian Ridgeback owned by Diane Engelking.
Pictured here is Grace and Fitz, after going Best of Winners at the FSSA specialty July 22nd to finish his Championship!
Grace continues to excell in the show ring, handling in Junior Showmansip and all breed competition! At the moment she shows in Juniors her Pointer CJ, and her field spaniels she co-owns with Kylie and Becki Hirschy and Sonya Haskell, and occasionally her Curlys Camelot or Carmen. In all breed competition she is quite versatile as well, showing a good number of different sporting breeds including Pointers, Curlies, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Brittany Spaniels, Weimaraners, and Vizlas, as well as branching out showing Yorkshire Terriers and Afghan Hounds. She is earning her name in the venue of all breed as well as juniors and I see nothing but great things in the future for Grace.
