FOURTEEN-year-old Will Bacchus from Week St Mary has had an amazing time at Crufts with his dog, Rudi.

Rudi is a working cocker spaniel, who was re-homed at 17 months with very little basic training. Will worked hard teaching him the basics of sit and stay, progressing onto agility training.

The pair qualified for three Young Kennel Club events at Crufts, and won the under 18 jumping final, which they won in 2019; won the under 24 Anything but Collie (ABC) final, and second in the semi-final of the Agility Dog of the Year (ADOY).

The final ADOY was held in the main arena and they had a fabulous quick run, with Rudi unfortunately making a mistake on the second to last obstacle.

Will is absolutely delighted with Rudi’s performance, and sees it as a great start to the agility season.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted with how Rudi performed at Crufts. The atmosphere at Crufts is totally different to anything else, and it is so noisy and busy but Rudi coped really well.

“I am so proud of him and I am really pleased that he had podium places in all three of our runs.”

Mum Michele added: “Will trains and works hard with his dogs and it is good to see his hard work being rewarded. The most important thing is that Rudi was happy being at Crufts, and he loved competing in front of the crowds. We are incredibly proud of Will and Rudi’s achievements.”

Both Will and Rudi (below) head to the Netherlands in May to compete in the World Agility Open representing Scotland, and the pair are also on the Junior GB Squad and hoping for selection to represent Team GB in the Junior World Agility Championships, being held in Finland in July.