2017 BEST JUNIOR HANDLER
CORINNE KOLZOW
Stats: 878 Dogs Defeated
Photo by Kayla Bertagnolli
None of this would be possible without the support from my mom Hannah Kolzow. I can’t thank her enough for believing in me and “letting me fly on my own.”
When I first started showing my havanese at five years old, I had told my mom how I wanted a dog to run with and one that didn’t need a table! After a few years passed I became friend with Melissa Thorson from showing in junior showmanship. She then helped me find Susan Still, who then we purchased GCH Foxboro I’ll have another “Belmont” from at 10 weeks old. I didn’t realize that day, I had also bought a ticket into a new family. I want to thank Susan and Melissa for everything they have ever done for me, from simple late night phone calls to helping with grooming and everything in between. They truly became my family in this journey.
As the year 2017 was a very hard year for me with school and family issues. I was blessed enough to be able to travel with my best friend, Belmont also known as Lips. Juniors was never about the winning for me. Juniors was my escape on the weekends from my life, it brought me so many life long friendships and life experiences.
As I’m now eighteen and can’t compete in juniors, I look at Belmont and I don’t see ribbons or all the money spent traveling or on entries. I see my best friend who was along my side for the journey every minute, while I found myself and learned how to “adult”. Since day one I fell in love with this breed and it will always be apart of my heart. Belmont still sleeps in my bed, as he has since I picked him up and we soon plan to move to an university to start another adventure.
2017 RUNNER-UP TO BEST JUNIOR HANDLER
LILY MANCINI
Stats: 306 Dogs Defeated
I was introduced to this breed and sport by well-known breeders Kathy Kirk and Dottie Cherry. When I was 9 years old I fell in love with Springers and all the hard work put into showing and taking care of them. Over the years showing in juniors I have accomplished three Springer National BJH wins, made it to finals at Eukanuba 2017, qualified for Westminster all years of showing, and to end on an exhilarating note I also received Best Junior Handler at Westminster 2018. Thank you to all of the judges over the years for recognizing me and giving me these honorary wins. I can’t thank everyone enough for the never ending love and support they’ve shown over these years.
