Following success at Crufts 2022, there is more great news for Eryn Williams, a Year 12 student at Richmond School and Sixth Form College, who has qualified for Crufts 2023. Eryn competed at the Birmingham National Dog Show and won her Young Kennel Club Handling Class with Dougal, a Spanish Water Dog. Eryn was also placed fourth in one of her classes with her own dog Lyra, a Golden Retriever. In addition, there were also celebrations with Toby, a Golden Retriever puppy that Eryn regularly handles for another exhibitor, who won the Puppy Dog class and was also awarded Best Puppy in Breed.
This is amazing news for Eryn who has been competing for nine years and has taken part in classes at Crufts since 2017. At this year’s Crufts, Eryn was placed second in the Young Kennel Club Gundog Handling Class when she worked in partnership with Lyra, who at only two-years-old is showing maturity and skill beyond her years.
Eryn’s passion for dogs and dog handling started at a very young age and she has been competing in the YKC events for nine years. She has competed at Crufts since 2017 and has been placed in the top three on four occasions. In the gundog handling class, the judge is solely looking at the handler, how they communicate with their dog and handle it in accordance with the breed. The judge sets the patterns and commands for all the competitors, such as triangles, straight lines and figures of eights. Eryn competes most weekends, locally in open shows and across the country in championships. She also handles for other breeders.
Eryn said: “I love dog handling and particularly enjoy the experiences I gain from working with different breeds. It’s a lot of fun and I get to meet a lot of lovely people who have the same passion as me.”
Eryn is passionate about animals. She is hoping to study for a career in Veterinary Science in the future. Jenna Potter, Headteacher, added: “This is an amazing achievement for Eryn, to be placed so highly in such prestigious competitions is most impressive and clearly shows how committed she is. I cannot wait to hear how she gets on at Crufts next year.”