AN Alexandria trio have taken the world’s greatest dog show by storm as they won a prize in their first appearance.
Jane McNiven, 60, and granddaughters Daphne, eight, and Evie, six, have only been showing dogs for just a year after Jane got Scottish Terrier Edward 18 months ago when they decided to enter Crufts.
Daphne took first place in the Young Kennel Club junior handling 6-11 years competition, while Jane earned third in the postgraduate dog category and Evie finished fourth in the postgraduate bitch class at the Birmingham showpiece.
It has been the perfect end to a whirlwind first year in the world of dogs, and the trio are ready for more to come.
Jane said: “It has been an amazing year. As their granny, picking up a new hobby for me, and then having the girls involved has been wonderful. We do it all together and all go to ringcraft each week.
“It has taken me 60 years to come to Crufts and they are coming at six and eight. What a first day we have had.
“We are all delighted – our first Crufts and we all won a prize.”
The young pair loved their time on the famous green carpet with their Scottie dog, Ebony.
“I was mostly excited because it was my first time,” said Daphne. “There wasn’t really any nerves, I was just excited to see how I did and how Edward behaved.”
The trio have been welcomed with open arms into the dog showing world having never set foot in the ring before, but are now eager to get even more immersed in their new world.
Jane added: ““There aren’t many Scotties about so I thought a good place to find more Scotties was to try dog showing.
“We went to some local ringcraft classes and then came down to our first dog show and Edward did quite well there.
“We have done a bit more competing. We are complete novices and he has ended up as Scottish Terrier puppy this year which has been a bit of a miracle.
“The girls then decided they would like to try it too, Evie is a bit wee, she couldn’t do junior handling until she was six which was in November, so Daphne came to some of the Championship shows in the summer and she and Edward qualified.
“We couldn’t recommend dog showing enough. Crufts has been an amazing time.”
Crufts, run by The Kennel Club, is a unique celebration of happy, healthy dogs and of the loving relationship that they enjoy with their owners. Crufts was held from March 9-12 at the NEC Birmingham.
Viewers can follow all the action and highlights on Channel 4 and More4, and for further information and tickets visit crufts.org.uk.
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