Show Help.....PLEASE!?!

I would start looking for a breeder now because most good breeders have waiting lists, especially for show quality dogs. It would probably be a good idea to keep in touch with the breeder and learn as much as you can about the show ring before you even get a dog, just so you know for sure that it is what you want to do

when i was looking for a show kennel for my future sheltie, a good idea is to find a website which shows the local show results, so you can see which dogs are placing, there will normally be a pattern from certain kennels,
breed clubs normally have one of these pages

then you want to get hold of one of these kennels

It is my dream to show dogs too, but just like you it would be some time before I can as well. I am wanting a very popular breed to, a Lab, lol. I love labs, and that is what I have my heart set on showing some day. So go for a golden if its what you realy want. I like goldens to, but I perfer shorter hair, espicially if im going to be showing, it would be much easier to have a dog that doesnt require alot of grooming. Have you considered a Lab as well? they have a lot in common to the golden, in personality, and even looks. I still am going to do more research on different breeds, there is so many I've been thinking about, but I still cant resist the lab.
I am looking at differnt breeders right now, and have a few I like so far. Have you found any breeders you like yet?

Here are some of the breeders that I pulled off of Onofrio.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aubridge/
http://www.legendgoldens.com/index.html
http://www.gold-rushgoldens.com/
http://www.xanthos.co.uk/
http://www.runnymedekennels.com/

I have no idea on the overall quality of these breeders, but it's fun to look at different kennels.

The best way I can explain how to find the kennel names is by telling you what I did when looking for my breeder.

Go to the American Kennel Club website. There's a section titled "Events and Awards" and within that there is a search function, that allows you to find past events. You fill out what you're looking for (the state, what type of event- in your case it will be "conformation," and the time range- something like "from now to 3 months ago" should do the trick). From there, it will pull up a list of shows that occured within that time frame that meet your criteria. Click on the link on any one of the shows it's pulled up that says "view event results." Then you can simply click on the Sporting Group, and then Goldens.

It will give the names of Goldens that have placed. The kennel names will proceed each dog's name. For example- if I was competing with my Shiba boy (who is neutered, but that's not the point ) You would see his name as "San Jo Yuki Mai Tai."

San Jo is the kennel name, and is used on EVERY dog that the breeder breeds. When I was looking for Shiba breeders I noticed that locally, "San Jo" was popping up OVER and OVER again with BOBs and group placements. I had a pretty good feeling this breeder was producing some outstanding winners. So I met them in person, and went from there.

If you keep seeing "Goldspun" (just making up a name for the sake of the example), in front of winner after winner's name- you'll want to take a closer look at that breeder's program.

As a thirteen year old- you're the perfect age to start Jr. handling as well. This is a competition based PURELY on the presentation skills of the child handler, and has nothing to do with (or isn't SUPPOSED to have anything to do with) the quality of the dog. All you need is a purebred dog that belongs to you in order to compete. (It must be registered with AKC as well). It's a great way to start learning handling NOW, even when you don't have your Golden puppy.

If you don't have a purebred you can also try 4-H which does a similar Jr. handling competition, but allows mixed breed dogs.

I think it would be a great idea if you're interested. And would look VERY good to Golden breeders when the time comes.

So if I understand this right......you could compete with a mix and still win? So what are the judges looking for than? How you handle the dog?

Yes- you can compete with a mix and still win. This is because Jr. Handling (ESPECIALLY in 4-H), is all about the skills of the young handler- how well they present their animal. Depending on what breed your dog most closely resembles (say it's a GSD mix), you would handle your dog as people in the German Shepherd ring would traditionally handle their dogs. The emphasis is put completely on you- and your knowledge of dog-care and breeds (if I'm correct).