Teen dog handler wins gold in final junior contest

A teenage dog handler who has helped bring home a gold medal from a world championships said she has left the British junior team on a high.

Taylor, 17, from Roade, Northamptonshire, along with her friend Isabella, 13, from Daventry, won the small team overall category in the Junior Open Agility World Championships, held in Germany.

Taylor ran a clear final round with her dog, Asher, to help clinch the title.

She said she was "really lucky" to do so well in her final year and now hoped to move into the senior squad.

She said the event in Mannheim "was a really good experience".

"When I was running it was a bit terrifying trying to make sure I went right, but it was really fun," said Taylor.

Due to her success in last month's event and her age, she will now compete in the second round of the adults' try-out stages.

"It gives us a good progression plan," she said.

Taylor has taken part in six junior Team GB events.

She made her debut in 2019, aged 10 and was the youngest competitor at the time.

In 2022, she competed in Finland and won both team and individual gold medals and became the U15 junior medium world champion.

The following year she won team gold; in 2024 she brought home a bronze medal, and last year her team won a jumping bronze.

Her family has six other dogs, despite her father being allergic to them.

Taylor was one of the four-strong GB team, including her fellow Northamptonshire competitor Isabella, to win the gold medal in the small team overall category.

Isabella competed with Hatti, her seven-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, who she affectionately described as a little bit "psycho".

"She likes to bark at me when I'm running around - she sometimes likes to complain about sitting still," said Isabella.

She has three other dogs and said it was a "lot of work to train them".

"I'll be doing the junior try-outs again and hoping for another year on a team.

"My friends think it's cool."

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