A devoted dog owner insists she is determined to uphold her family legacy at Crufts 2023. Amber Henshaw, who will celebrate her 34th birthday on the opening day of the competition on March 9, endured a challenging childhood and found solace in the social and welcoming atmosphere of dog shows after being introduced by her grandparents.
Henshaw made her showing debut at just six years old and has been following in the steps of her family ever since. The dog lover will return to the NEC in Birmingham next month with her English Pointer George in the Show Working Gundog class.
And Henshaw, who works as a civil servant, said: "My grandparents were in dog shows, so I first started attending Crufts when I was two years old. I had a challenging time at school so being around the dogs and shows, it became my second family.
"I was born at 24 weeks, and I think it's just because I was different and I saw things differently, I got labelled at the disruptive kid. People just saw me as different and I wasn't having a very nice time with my mum being ill as well.
"The dogs and dog shows were just a nice escape, and they gave me a purpose. I could be myself, forgot about everything else and have fun. It's just so magical and my dogs love it."
Growing up around dogs, Henshaw always decided that she wanted her own when she bought a house and quickly decided on English Pointers. Along came Freddie, 8, and a few years later, George, 4.
Both dogs have grown up within a social and friendly show dog environment, with George also maturing into his natural gundog roots and thriving on the Wiltshire plains hunting birds and grouse. I've always loved pointers and I grew up around them, so I knew that when I had my own house I would get my own pointer," she said.
"George is very special because his mum and his dad are breed record holders and when I got George, I decided to try something different. So, we went on the Wiltshire plains one cold morning, and he started to find birds and he found his first grouse at eight months and now has his Show Gundog Working Certificate. You can't teach it, it's natural and it's what he was bred to do."
George will make his Crufts debut next month in the Show Working Gundog class and will be one of 226 Pointers that have entered the competition this year.
Undaunted and hoping to place well in a tough class, Henshaw is thrilled to return to the Crufts setup once more and will cherish the opportunity alongside the dog she loves. Having George as a puppy, he also had a bumpy start to life, but he's just blossomed," she said.
"So going to Crufts this year will be great, you work so hard to get there and any good judge knows the worth of the dogs. Because it's something that's been in my life for as long as I remember, it will be so magical to go back.
"To even get a placing will be something so it doesn't matter what colour the rosette is, it's still a placing at Crufts and you can't wish for much more than that."
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 is held from 9-12 March 2023 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
