Northampton teenager wins gold with Cocker spaniel Elliott at agility World Championships

A Northampton teenager has won a gold medal with her Cocker spaniel, Elliott, at junior agility World Championships.

Taylor Lyon, who is 13, won the medal in the medium under 15 category with her pooch at the the Junior Open Agility World Championships in Vantaa, Finland.

The competition took place between July 14 and 17 and Taylor represented The Young Kennel Club (YKC) Agility Team GB. Taylor was part of making history as her team came home with three gold medals in total.

YKC agility Team GB manager Greg Derrett said: “Bringing home three gold medals from any World Championships is an amazing achievement and I’m exceptionally proud of our handlers.

“Not only that, but the camaraderie within the team and watching them bond since being selected in March to a totally cohesive unit with every single one of them playing their part in winning the medals has been great to witness. I am excited to see what they can no doubt achieve in their futures.”

The Junior Open Agility World Championships attracted nearly 300 dogs and handlers from all over the world, with countries represented at the competition including the USA, Switzerland and Germany.

This was the sixth time a junior team from Britain made up of YKC members had competed at the championships.

The coaching team consisted of Greg, Anthony Clarke (team coach), Victoria Fraser (team vet), Ann Roberts (safeguarding and support officer), and Tina Davies (results analyst).

The European Open Junior Championship will be held in the United Kingdom in 2023.