Sixteen-year old Lila Holberg from Seattle, Washington was awarded the coveted Best Junior Handler Title at the AKC National Championship (ANC) Junior Showmanship Competition, which includes a $5,000 scholarship. Holberg showed her dog, a Pointer named “Nate” (GCH CH Southern Summit Hot Gossip JH).
Holberg fell in love with showing dogs when she was just 7 years old. Although Holberg grew up around her family’s hunting dogs, she doesn’t come from a dog show family. After encouragement from their breeder, her family went to a dog show. The idea was that Holberg’s older sister would start in Junior Showmanship and Holberg would watch.
“She showed and didn’t like it, but I loved it from the moment I went to my first dog show,” Holberg recalled. “I loved the prizes and the competition and the atmosphere and I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Holberg remembers. At the time, she wasn’t yet old enough to compete, but that didn’t stop Holberg from preparing. She spent the next two years practicing at home until she was old enough to get involved with Junior Showmanship.
A Commitment to Junior Showmanship
Reaching the level of success that Holberg has achieved takes time and dedication. When she was younger, she was involved in a lot of (non-dog related) extracurriculars, but she cut back on those once she discovered her passion for dog shows to spend more time training and competing.
The COVID-19 pandemic also prompted her to make a change with school to give her more time to show dogs. “When COVID hit, I went online and loved it, and it really worked for me, and so I stuck to it, and so I do an online school program through my state,” she explains. This allows Holberg more freedom in her schedule to travel to dog shows without having to miss class. However, she was quick to point out that school is her top priority, and she always makes sure she finishes with school before she starts working with the dogs each day.
Being involved in Junior Showmanship has had a big impact on Holberg’s life so far. “It’s definitely taught me a lot of things like time management and also just how I present myself to my peers,” she says. “You can be competitive without stepping on people. You just need to do your own thing.”
For the Love of Her Dog
Showing Nate at ANC was extra special for Holberg because in 2022 it was the first show the pair competed in, when he was just 6 months old. A talented show dog, Nate finished his Championship when he was only 7 months old. At that point, Holberg decided to give Nate some time to mature while she focused on showing other dogs in Juniors.
A few months prior to this year’s competition, Holberg decided that Nate was ready to compete in Orlando. “I raised and trained Nate all on my own, so to show him and win, that was really cool,” Holberg explained. “It has been great to build this bond and teamwork. It’s not just one of us doing something, we have to work as a team to understand each other.”
To prepare for ANC, Holberg entered Nate in other shows in Juniors. “He did so well for me having done nothing with him that intense, so I was like ‘OK, now it’s time to polish everything up,'” Holberg recalls. Holberg’s priority was working with Nate on his gait, which involved a dedicated training routine. “I would go out and practice not breaking the gait, and I would lunge at him and practice at shows,” she adds.
In addition to focusing on the skills he would need in the ring, Holberg also worked on maintaining Nate’s physical fitness to keep him in top form. “I did a lot of FITBone exercises with him to strengthen his core and his muscles in general,” says Holberg. Their routine also included a lot of outside fetch games, which she says Nate loves.
For the ring, she worked on “polishing up his free stack because Pointers aren’t the most natural at it.” She says the breed is known for not always knowing where their feet are, so a nice stack is something they had to work for.
Looking back, Holberg thinks about getting ready for ANC as “a slow but fast process.” It felt that way for her because she’d been doing foundation work with Nate since he was a puppy. However, it wasn’t until Fall 2024 that she could see it all coming together. “Those two months leading into Royal Canin, I was pushing Nate, and it was intense for me,” she recalls. But, their hard work getting ready for the show paid off. “Going into Royal Canin, I felt great. I was eager to show Nate. I’ve been waiting so long to finally show him, and I felt like he was ready,” Holberg says.
Hard Work Pays Off
Holberg explains that while Nate is a natural show dog, he isn’t always the easiest dog to show because he has such a fun and playful personality. “I taught him tricks before I taught him how to show,” she says.
This means that sometimes when Holberg is looking for a free stack, Nate will offer tricks! In 2023 at the American Pointer Club National Specialty, Holberg was in the ring with Nate when he started doing tricks instead. “I wanted him to free stack and all he would do is bow or give the paw for me,” Holberg recalled.
Nate did eventually realize it wasn’t time for tricks, stacked beautifully, and Holberg won Best Junior at their National Specialty. Now, offering tricks is one of Nate’s signature moves, something he has repeated through his win at ANC. Holberg loves his big personality and how much he loves working with her in the ring.
To Junior Handlers of any age who hope to take their handling to the next level and compete at big events like ANC, Holberg says to “study your breed a lot. Study, study, study, and study even more.” She explains that nothing beats getting out there and watching the talented handlers showing in your breed. She encourages junior handlers to not only watch those handlers, but also “go up and ask them questions,” noting that the dog community wants to help and support junior handlers.
Holberg also believes it’s important for juniors not to be afraid to develop their own style. She encourages kids and teens to watch handlers in their breed and try to emulate what they are doing, but also to create their own style that fits breed-specific presentation.
Fun in the Finals at ANC
A seasoned competitor, Holberg says she doesn’t get nervous before going into the ring, even at big shows like ANC. Holberg felt especially confident this year because she was showing Nate, and Pointers are a breed she says she’s strong in. However, she did start to get nervous as the competition progressed. “When I went into the Finals, I was nervous because Nate was very amped and hot.”
After seeing the lights and the crowd, Nate was excited to get in the ring and was leaping and hopping. At that point, she was mostly nervous she might trip on Nate in Finals. “He loves to show,” Holberg laughed, explaining that when Nate hears people clapping he gets even more excited. But, it was that passion and excitement that came together in beautiful teamwork that earned Holberg the coveted Best Junior Handler Award.
Competing as a First Generation Handler
The AKC National Championship Junior Showmanship Competition win is especially important to Holberg because although many of the top junior handlers come from multi-generational dog show families, that wasn’t the case for her. Thinking back to her first show she remembers being really excited, but also feeling somewhat nervous.
“It was a little nerve-wracking because I legit didn’t know anyone other than my two breeders and the dog I showed,” Holberg explains. “I was so new to it, I am a first-generation [handler], and my mom came along to support and get me where I needed to be, but we were very overwhelmed.”
When reflecting on her win, Holberg credits her parents for being her biggest supporters. “They have done everything to help me get to the shows,” she adds.
She also credits professional handler Terri Erickson, who she has worked for over the past four years with helping her take handling to the next level. “She’s been amazing, and she’s been super supportive, and she lets me travel with her and has also been really helpful in the breeding, handling, and animal husbandry skills.”
Holberg is also extremely grateful to her breeders and the owners of the dogs who she has handled throughout her Junior Showmanship career. On the ANC win itself, Holberg says “it meant a lot to me to win this, especially since so many kids dream of winning Royal Canin. It’s what we all work all year for.”
Now that Nate has matured, Holberg is excited to start showing him more. She’s also especially looking forward to heading to New York City with Nate to compete in Junior Showmanship at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February 2025.