Junior Program
In 2015 MPDBA partnered with the Junior Showmanship Program in Lake Elmo, MN. The Junior program teaches kids from 8-18 how to show dogs in Conformation competition at AKC dog shows. These Juniors are taught how to handle individual breeds of dogs; how each breed is to be shown to the judge and what the judge looks for in each particular breed.
The students are taught appropriate dress for shows, ring procedures, good sportsmanship and much more. When students turn 18 and graduate from high school they can compete for Scholarships from the Junior Program for their advanced education.
MPDBA is supporting this organization in many ways; donating money and spending time with the students and bringing breeds for them to learn about and how to handle them in the ring, are just some aspects of our support.
In support of Junior Showmanship, Minnesota Purebred Dog Breeders Association sponsors annual Junior Seminars.
Care Monies
MPDBA believes that Juniors are the future of the dog fancy, which is why the MPDBA Junior Fund was created.
We understand that periodically, life takes a turn and financing extra-curricular activities for your child may be difficult. This fund may be able to give you aid by helping to finance items such as:
Entry fees
Travel expenses
Photographer fees
Show attire
Lessons/classes
The request will be kept confidential. The amount of the award will be decided by the committee after they consider the request and the factors listed on the application. $250 is the maximum amount a family will be awarded per year.
This award is only applicable for juniors aged 9-18 years.
Scholarship
- Requirements for MPDBA Scholarship-$1000
Each applicant must complete/gather the following items to qualify for the MPDBA Scholarship: an application, two recommendations and an essay on the given prompt. All packets will then be reviewed by a committee and assigned points for each section. Points will be tabulated and then a recipient will be chosen and notified. Packet including these three components should be mailed to : Wendy Olson, 2094 Cedar Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110 and received no later than May 15 . No exceptions.
The recipient of the MPDBA Scholarship will also be given a free one year membership in the MPDBA. We also require that at sometime after receiving the scholarship, the recipient would participate in a seminar put on by MPDBA or serve as a mentor to a junior active in performance or showmanship.
Criteria in the above areas:
Application: We would like to see how “well-rounded” you are so fill out the application completely. Worth 20 points
Recommendations: The 2 recommendations cannot be from a family member. Both recommendations cannot come from one family unit (i.e. one from a handler that you know but cannot have a second from that handler’s mother, wife, etc.). Suggested people to ask: anyone you have worked with in the dog fancy (i.e. instructor, handler, owner, judge etc.) teacher, religious leader, coach, community member, employer, or staff person at your school besides a teacher. Worth-5 points each-10 points total.
Essay: Essay needs to be double-spaced with 1-2 inch margins. Font size should be no smaller than 12 or larger than 14 and the text of the essay should be no longer than 500 words. The applicant must address the given prompt. Make sure you use good grammar, spelling and punctuation. Essay should also include an introduction, body and conclusion.
Prompt: Describe at least two lessons you have learned from your experience in the dog fancy and how are you going to carry these forward into your adulthood.
Essay worth: 40 points.
Two people will read each application, recommendations and essay. The authorship will be anonymous to the readers. Each reader will award 1-40 points on the essay.
It is possible for an applicant to earn up to 70 points per reader==up to 140 points total (remember, there are two readers/scorers). The person closest to 140 will win the scholarship. If there is a tie in score—the applicant that has a parent or grandparent that belongs to MPDBA will have preference. If both have or do not have that affiliation with MPDBA----another person will be assigned to read and grade the essays until the tie is broken.
Download Scholarship Requirements
Download Scholarship Application