A TAUNTON business owner and a talented teenager are both set to attend the country's best known dog competition.
Beccie Woods, from Boni&Guy Hairdressing for Dogs, and Emma Stock, a keen 16- year-old dog trainer, will both be at Crufts next month.
Miss Woods will be taking three of her miniature schnauzers, Martha, Fergie, and Harry, to compete in the competition from Thursday, March 5.
She will be featured on TV on Friday, March 6, during the breeders competition final - an event for the top 40 breeders in the UK.
Miss Woods, whose business is based in East Reach, Taunton, said: "Showing dogs is all I know, to be able to compete at crufts year after year is such an honour but to be invited to compete in the top breeders competition is a dream.
"We will have three of our home bred dogs in the main ring at the world biggest dog show. My grandmother sadly passed away last year and I can’t help but feel she will be very proud that a kennel she started has achieved this.
"I’m so excited, as are the dogs."
AGILE: Emma Stock and Athena in action
Emma Stock, who studies animal management at Bridgwater and Taunton College's Cannington campus, is set to take part in four different categories, including 'agility dog of the year' with her own dog Athena.
She took part in the event for the first time last year, bringing home four rosettes and two trophies.
Nicky Stock said: "What makes Emma’s success so special is that not only has she achieved all this in such an incredibly short space of time but that she is competing with her own dog, Athena at all these events. Emma can take pride in knowing that she has trained her agility dog from a puppy with the help of top people in the field and she can call this agility journey, with all its trails and tribulations, her own."
She will also be representing England at The World Agility Open Championships to be held in the Netherlands in May 2020.
Emma recently made it onto the junior squad of Team GB and if selected to be on the team then she will represent Great Britain in Finland at the Junior Open Agility World Championships in July.
Excited Emma said: "“I love competing at agility with Athena, every time we go in the ring we just have a great time.
"It’s my happy place.
"I am really excited to be competing at Crufts again and of course very proud to be representing England at The World Agility Open Championships in the Netherlands this May."
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