The Young Kennel Club (YKC) has announced the winners of its annual Artist of the Year competition, with a young dog lover from Horsham scooping the top prize.
The popular art competition invited YKC members to express their creativity and showcase their dog photography skills, with all entries required to feature a dog and fit one of three themes: “Your everyday dog”, “Your competing dog” and “Your working dog”.
The creativity and originality of all the entries impressed the judges, but the overall winner was named as Emily Moores, aged 15, from Horsham, West Sussex, with her image, titled ‘Autumn Magic’.
Emily’s winning photograph, along with the four runners-up, will be displayed in The Kennel Club Art Gallery, as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations for the organisation.
Speaking of her win Emily said: “I am absolutely shocked but equally super happy and proud! I know how highly contested the YKC competitions are so I’m overjoyed to have won first place!”
Vanessa McAlpine, Kennel Club Events and Youth Development Executive added: “We were so impressed by Emily’s image, it demonstrated a real talent for photography. Her picture not only met the brief of ‘your everyday dog’, but was a beautiful representation of the love she has for her dog, Summer.
“We would like to congratulate not only Emily, but all of our members who entered. The standard was incredibly high this year and we are so proud to have such creative young members.”
The winner and runners up of the Young Kennel Club Artist of the Year competition are as follows:
1st place: 15-year-old Emily Moores from Horsham, West Sussex, for “Autumn Magic”
2nd place: 24-year-old Harris Dickenson from Salisbury, Wiltshire, for “Flying Xolo”
3rd place: 24-year-old Rachel Dutton from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, for “A Pixie in the Woods”
Special mentions were also given to 13-year-old Ella Wakerly for “Two Golden Retrievers Staring into the Camera” and 21-year-old Elise Finney for “The Path to Happiness”.
Further information on the competition can be found by visiting thekennelclub.org.uk/ykcartistoftheyear. For young dog lovers who are interested in joining the Young Kennel Club, further information can be found by visiting www.ykc.org.uk.
