The final of The Kennel Club Junior Warrant Winner of the Year competition will return to Crufts on Thursday 9 March and will be judged by Jacqui Ward (Mianja), who is an experienced judge and awards CCs in 30 breeds.
The Junior Warrant is an award for pedigree dogs from the ages of six to 18 months which have won a series of first prizes at both open and championship shows. Achieving a Junior Warrant is one of the highest levels of success for young pedigree dogs, and The Kennel Club issues around 600 such awards each year.
At Crufts 2023, Lee Cox awarded Junior Warrant Winner of the Year to Lauren and Robert Goddard’s Border Terrier, Ch Awbrooksky Never Back Down JW. Since then, “Winston” has won a further three CCs and four RCCs and took Terrier group 2 at City of Birmingham in September.
The semi-finals of this year’s Junior Warrant competition took place at The Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh, in October with 62 top young dogs competing for just ten places.
The final will take place at Crufts 2024, at 5.40pm in the main arena on Thursday 7 March, and the ten finalists competing will be:
- Lhasa Apso, Crystal Eye’s Wam Bam Boom At Khumbila JW, owned by Ruth Revilla Rodriguez, bred by Charlotte Wandborg
- Miniature Schnauzer, Ch Penbro Talk Of The Town JW, owned and bred by Beccie Woods, co-owned with Laureen Woods
- King Charles Spaniel, Ch Baldragon Centre Stage With Khatibi JW, owned by Leila Tarabad and John Whitman, bred by Caroline Bowles-Robinson
- American Cocker Spaniel, Sh Ch Afterglow Bamalam With Alibama JW, owned by Darren Jennings, bred by Michael Gadsby and Jason Lynn
- Bullmastiff, Emsuart Rocketman JW, owned and bred by Liz Beal
- Newfoundland, Saskinbears True Blue For Safeharbour JW, owned by Karen Thompson, bred by Jane King
- Great Dane, Tamzane Empower Mint JW, owned and bred by Tamasin and Lorraine Pocock
- Bearded Collie, Farmarens Like A Circus For Kiltondale JW (Imp), owned by Graham and Linda Peirson, bred by Charlotte Sanburg and Ulrica Olsson
- Miniature Smooth-Haired Dachshund, Beachdaz Queen Of Hearts JW, owned and bred by Leah Michaela, Liam John and Anthony Bryan Beach
- Irish Wolfhound, Ch Gaelmarque Treasured By Goldswift JW, owned by Caroline Sheppard, bred by Mrs M L Severn-Kumar
Tom Mather, Crufts Chairman, said: “These dogs have already achieved considerable success gaining the Junior Warrant title and it’ll be thrilling to see how they perform in the main arena at Crufts. Some of the young dogs competing have already won champion titles and other top awards, so this promises to be a very exciting final indeed.”
To find out more about the Kennel Club Junior Warrant Winner of the Year competition, please visit Crufts website.