AN Alton school girl has been selected to compete for Great Britain in the European Open Junior Dog Agility Championships in July.

Back in February, Gabriella Barrett, 12, and her dog Magnus went to the inaugural Great Britain junior team dog agility tryouts in Leicestershire.

Gabriella has been training Magnus to compete in this exciting sport for several years and last year was the agility winner for the Kennel Club Agility Festival Starters Cup, a competition where she competed against adults from across the country.

After an early morning briefing given by some of the country’s top coaches, more than 50 young dog handlers and their canines from across the country were soon warming up before course walking. Given only eight minutes to walk the course before the competition starts, it is a test of skill to work out the best turns and ways to navigate the jumps, tunnels and other obstacles.

Gabriella and Magnus ran several courses during the first selection day that showed how well they work and communicate together as a team. About a week later they received the news that they had made it to a final selection day.

On the second day, it was a chance to gain more experience with fantastic coaches, including GB agility team manager Mark Laker. During selection, several aspects of the competitors were considered; not only course performance but the handler’s attitude, fault recovery, and the dog’s health.

A further couple of weeks went by before the Kennel Club announced that Gabriella and Magnus had been selected for the GB agility team. The team members have now all received their official GB kit and will travel to Slovakia to compete in the European Open Junior Agility Championships from July 7-10.

Gabriella said: “I am really excited to be part of the GB team and hope that Magnus and I do the team and our country proud at the championships in July.”