Challenged with the task of continuing last year’s success, a new squad is set to represent Team Wales at the 2025 World Agility Open Championships
Wales’ national team is set for its strongest year yet, following recent dog agility try-outs that saw a record number of athletes attempt to earn their place on the squad.
The event took place at Alps Court Equestrian Centre in Cardiff over the first weekend of November, where judge Iain Patz oversaw the selection of Team Wales for the 2025 World Agility Open Championships (WAO) in May.
Team manager Aimee Kerton, who has been representing Wales at an elite level for over seven years, said the number of entrants at try-outs had seen a significant increase over the course of her involvement with the team.
She said: “[In 2017] our numbers for try-outs were 30 or 40, whereas now we’re looking at around 70, so it’s almost doubled since we first joined the team.”
The Team Wales manager said that having a larger pool of high-standard competitors – both handlers and their four-legged companions – to choose from at try-outs had been instrumental in the team’s recent surge in progress.
“Every year we seem to be getting stronger. Now we seem to be getting better results and bringing home more medals than we have in a really long time,” Kerton said.
At last summer’s WAO, which took place in Ermelo, Netherlands, Team Wales achieved 10 top-ten placements and came home with six medals. Next year, they’re hoping for even greater success.
However, the agility courses at WAO are highly technical, says Kerton, and even the most experienced athletes can falter under pressure.
It may also be the case that Wales is not the only team with a growing pool of competitors to choose from, with renowned dog show Crufts attracting its largest number of overseas entries in 2024 according to reports from The Kennel Club.
Despite the pressure, Team Wales remain optimistic and have numerous training days scheduled in the lead up to next year’s competition in the Netherlands.