Hide Article Text (OCR)
timeshows this year,” Miss Mort said. She is the daughter of Randy and Susan Mort. Her father did most of the ehauffeuring to the shows in the tri-state area, while her mother headed up the chores at home on their small farm.“We’re very proud of her,” Mrs. Mort pointed out. “It has taken a lot of work on our part and has been a lot of work for her. It’s time very well invested in something that has been good for her self-esteem. When she first came to us and said she wanted to do it, we didn’t discourage it, but we didn’t put a lot of faith in it.”Mrs. Mort explained that many of the v--j. * ■ • j •—'sjunior exhibitorsAOft ^Nhave parents who ‘ v ■ , are professionalsTipynitrp bmp ^ that her daugh-vvrwu v nave ter WQUld haye t0compete with juniors who were exposed to showing at a young age.The showman has to stick to a strict routine after coming home from school, including grooming, giving the dog a bath once a week and attending training three times a week, according to Mrs. Mort. The younger Mort trains at the Catoctin Kennel Club in Frederick, where she is a junior member, under the direction of Jimmie Lloyd, her junior showmanship instructor.“At first I didn’t know what I was doing,” she said, “I’ve accomplished so much in a year. He’s really helped, as well as his daughter.”Mr. Lloyd’s daughter Angela won the junior competition at the Westminster Kennel Chib Dog Show several years ago. A good friend of the Lloyds and a professional handler in Pennsylvania, Robert Fowler, has also helped Miss Mort toBy LAURIE SAVAGE Agriculture EditorKEYMAR — A two-member team will be strutting their stuff at Madison Square Garden, hoping to catch the judge’s eye at one of the world’s most prestigious dog shows.Shannon Mort and her dog Demitre have qualified to compete at the “Olympics of dog shows,” the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, to be held next month.“I’m excited,” the young dog trainer said. “It’s going to be a lot of work taking care of a dog in New York City.”Miss Mort will bey-'—. competing in the junior showmanship competition at the show with CH.Telltale Mercury, an English Springer Spaniel better known as Demitre.She purchased the three-year-old Spaniel a little over a year ago fronTelltale Kennel in Manakln Sabot, Va. Demitre was bred by Celie Florence and Delores Streng.In order to qualify for the show, Miss Mort and Demitre had to top their class at least eight times in open junior showmanship competition in American Kennel Club (AKC) sanctioned dog shows in one year. The duo actually won 13 times. Generally, 130 to 150 juniors qualify to compete in the two-day show in New York, which works by a process -of-elimination through rounds. The junior show is not televised.The Keymar resident traveled as far away as Pennsylvania and Virginia to participate in shows. Most of the shows were several hours away. She sometimes had as few as two or three other juniors to compete against to as many as 15 or 16.WestminsterStaff photo by Skip LawrenceShannon Mort, 14, grooms her pooch Demltre during a practice session at the Catoctin Kexmel Club. Miss Mort has recently started learning how to groom her dog so that she can perform the task while at the Westminster Kennel ClubShow in Madison Square Garden in New York next month. “My parents got me to over 60 dog (Continued On Page 3)
Newspaper Details
Frederick County Leader
Frederick, Maryland, US
Fri, Jan 21, 2000
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Teresa O.
USA 03 Apr 2023
Other Publications Near Frederick, Maryland
The Frederick News Post
News
Frederick County Leader
Frederick News Post Journal
Frederick News Post Leader
