The results from the 2016 Barton County Dog Show are as follows:
Overall High Point Team – Noah Deines; Overall Reserve High Point Team – Kayleigh Bitter.
Showmanship: Junior Champion – Nicole Rziha.
Intermediate Champion – Colton McPherson, Reserve Champion – Isabelle Mayers, Purple – Noah Deines, Blue – Sean Hames, White – Isaac Burgess and Bryce Oliphant.
Senior Showmanship Champion – Kayleigh Bitter, Reserve – Jesseca Hames, Blue –Michael MacMahon and Katelyn Reh, Red – Zeb Hughes and Nicholas Long.
Obedience: Pre-Novice B; Sean Hames – White; Pre-Novice C: Champion - Kayleigh Bitter, Reserve Champion – Noah Deines, Blue - Michael MacMahon and Nicholas Long, White - Isaac Burgess, Jesseca Hames, Isabelle Mayers, Colton McPherson, Bryce Oliphant and Nicole Rziha.
Novice B; Nicole Rziha – white. Novice C; White – Isabelle Mayers and Katelyn Reh.
Agility: Pre-agility small dog; White - Isabelle Mayers,
Pre-agility medium dog; White – Sean Hames and Nicole Rziha.
Pre-agility large dog; Champion – Noah Deines, Reserve – Jesseca Hames, White - Bryce Oliphant;
Agility Level 1 – Champion - Michael MacMahon, White – Colton McPherson and Katelyn Reh;
Agility Level 1 Large dog; white – Zeb Hughes, Nicolas Long and Michael MacMahon;
Agility Level 2 small dog , white - Nicole Rziha,
Agility Level 3; Champion - Kayleigh Bitter;
Rally: Level 1: Champion – Isabelle Mayers, Reserve Champion – Noah Deines, purple – Kayleigh Bitter, Jesseca Hames, Sean Hames, Isabelle Mayers, Katelyn Reh, Blue – Isaac Burgess, Zeb Hughes, Colton McPherson, Bryce Oliphant, Red – Nicole Rziha (Bug), Nicole (Loki).
Rally Level 2 small dog – Champion - Jesseca Hames.
One often looked forward to event that marks the beginning of the Barton County Fair is the dog show. There is a reason it’s held prior to the other Fair events. Even on a good day, getting a puppy or young dog to pay attentions to commands takes concentration on the dog’s part, and patience on that of the owner. With the added excitement of Fair, it’s a lot to ask of any canine to sit, stay or lay down, and that’s enough to test the patience of even the most laid back 4-Her.
In fact, the purpose of the dog project is to help youth develop pride and responsibility of taking care of and training a dog, Barton County 4-H Director Bernie Unruh said.
“Members also develop patience, sportsmanship and leadership by working together in groups and supporting community dog projects and activities,” she said.
Sunday morning, 13 participants arrived at Expo 3 at the Barton County Fair Grounds to take part in the 2016 4-H Dog Show. All levels from beginner to intermediate were put through their paces, and the kids had a great time, said Dog Project leader Michelle Mayer.
Unruh described four different areas of judging. The 4-H dog program includes: Showmanship, Obedience, Agility and Rally Obedience. In showmanship the points are based on the fitting of the dog, the showmanship of the handler and the Coordination between the dog and the handler. The 4-H member should also be able to respond to any question the judge asks about the dog’s care, condition or health.
Obedience scoring includes exercises such as heel, recall, stand for exam, sit and stay and down and stay. The rally obedience course uses sequentially numbered signs to indicate the course the handler must take during the performance. According to Mayer, all but two participants competed in the rally portion of the show, making it the most popular of dog show categories in Barton County.
Agility is another opportunity for the dog and handler to work together as a team. The obstacles that are included are many but the A-frame, teeter totter, closed tunnel, hoop tunnel and the pause table are mandatory. Agility is exciting for both the exhibitors and the spectators and it can be motivating for the dogs as well. A demonstration event is planned for Thursday, July 7 at Expo 3 after the bucket calf show, Mayer said.
