Joy in the Journey: Julia Hanson and Bohdi
Cynosport first-timer shares discoveries and lessons learned.
When Julia Hanson stepped to the start line at her first trial with Bohdi, her first dog in agility, in December of 2022, all she wanted was to get through the course from beginning to end and gain some experience along the way. Little did she know that she and the Miniature American Shepherd she adopted as an 8-week-old puppy were taking their first steps on the road to the 2024 Cynosport® World Games Presented by Purina® Pro Plan®!
As a green handler paired with an equally green young, fast and high-drive dog, the duo took a while to find their groove. But they
earned their first qualifications (Qs) in May of 2023. Just a few months later, Julia and Bohdi scored their first tournament Q in Steeplechase®. Two more Steeplechase Qs soon followed, qualifying Bohdi for Cynosport.
“I was shocked!” said Julia. “And I thought, ‘Should I go? We’re still so new at this…will we be in over our heads?’
“But you only walk this path once,” she continued, “and the chance may never come around again, so I said, ‘Let’s go!’”
On the road to Cynosport
En route to Tucson with her husband, Jim, whom she called “our biggest supporter,” Julia felt some trepidation set in. “You know all the stuff that goes through your head,” she said. “Will we look stupid, will I not be good enough…but it seemed like once we got to Cynosport, a lot of things suddenly clicked.”
She was pleasantly surprised to find that Bohdi seemed to take the high-energy ambiance of his first big event in stride, thanks in part to Jim taking the young dog for leisurely strolls around the various areas of the venue. “There’s a lot going on at Cynosport, and I thought Bohdi would be a lot shakier,” Julia said. “Maybe even overwhelmed — but he was totally cool. It helped that our crating area was someplace he could really rest.”
Stepping to the start line for their warm-up run brought an epiphany. “It was like everything else went away,” said Julia. “It was just us, and it was as if there was just one of us out there — a oneness that wasn’t there before.”
Learning from the best
As the week went on, Julia made some other startling discoveries. “The best dogs and handlers in the world are here,” she said. “Competing with them is a little intimidating — but it’s also super fun. I was able to watch so many great handlers and learn from them! Now I know where the holes in my training are, and I’m going home with a homework list that’s 10 miles long.”
Julia is quick to credit her trainer, Shawn Cossart of HOT Dog Sports (Dripping Springs, Texas), who has worked with Julia and Bohdi since Bohdi was just 4 months old. At Cynosport, 
however, Julia also found tips from her fellow competitors to be invaluable.
“USDAA is such a supportive environment,” she said. “I love the way dogs bring us together. The other people in our crating tent were so nice and so helpful. I could tell them what happened in our run, and they’d offer suggestions. It wasn’t necessarily anything I haven’t heard before — it’s just that hearing it in this environment, it hit me like a ton of bricks.”
Julia’s hard work leading up to Cynosport paid off, but she also found that so did just being at the event. “I felt like every day, my handling got a little better, and I could see Bohdi’s confidence growing,” she said. “The BiathlonSM Jumpers course was my favorite. Biathlon Standard was really challenging — and so intricate, I felt like my handling skills got jacked up about 10 points! But I got to see how the really good people handled it and made it flow.”
She was thrilled to discover that once the final scores were tabulated, she and Bohdi finished 15th overall in Biathlon out of 40+ entries in the very competitive Championship 16” height class. “I was just astounded, and also very excited.” Julia said. “I feel like the two of us grew up together this week. Cynosport has been such a great experience for us!”
Camaraderie and fun for handlers and dogs
She also enjoyed participating in the crating area decorating contest, in which she earned an Honorable Mention for her interpretation of the event theme, “The Joy in the Journey.” “I wanted to bring more decorations,” she said, “But I had to leave room to bring home a jump!”
What impressed Julia most at Cynosport, though, was “the genuine camaraderie, the general atmosphere of excitement, and the feeling of ‘all for one, one for all’,” she said. “You can see just how much everybody loves their dogs, and loves doing this sport with their dogs.
"The dogs love it, too — their tails are metronomes for joy. And Bohdi? That little dog gives me so much joy! I feel as if with him, I can do anything. So that’s my biggest takeaway from our week at Cynosport: joy in the journey.”