Competing internationally and winning at a national breed specialty are big goals for most dog sports competitors. 15-year-old Emma Bayonet of Waynesboro, Virginia, has already accomplished both and more with her dogs! Bayonet began training in 2020 and got involved in dog sports in 2021 when she was 11 years old. She made the transition to competing in dog sports after health reasons meant she had to quit competitive swimming, and now trains and competes with her three dogs: “Nikki,” her Havanese, “Charle,” her English Cocker Spaniel, and “Finesse,” her Australian Cattle Dog.
Breed Accomplishments
Bayonet got her first dog, Nikki, after her grandmother passed away, and the pair have become accomplished competitors in the United States and abroad. Bayonet has competed in AKC Fast CAT, AKC Trick Dog, and AKC Rally, but she considers agility her favorite sport and what she focuses on with her dogs. Because of where Bayonet lives, she has to prioritize which sports she can commit to. “Even in agility, I drive about an hour. Anything else is going to be farther than that,” she explains. However, her commitment to agility has paid off, and the pair have been highly successful.
Bayonet and Nikki continue to wow crowds with their performances. “Her entire life, she has been a higher-energy dog and especially for her breed,” says Bayonet. “My grandmother got her wanting a couch dog, and she definitely was not. She always needed something to do, or she was running around the house being a nuisance.”
Agility Around the World
To keep Nikki occupied, Bayonet first started trying to get involved in Dock Diving at a local river. But, she quickly realized it would be a challenge for Nikki because she isn’t toy-motivated. Bayonet started looking at options, which is how she learned about her local AKC dog club and the sport of dog agility. Bayonet and Nikki competed on the JOAWC (Junior Open Agility World Championship) team in 2023 and are team members again in 2024. Nikki was the first Havanese on any USA world team and only the second Havanese to go to JOAWC from any team worldwide.
This year, Bayonet and Nikki took first place for agility at their National Breed Specialty show. Bayonet recalls that she knew going into their Jumpers run that if Nikki got a Q (qualified), she “had a solid shot at winning.” Bayonet says she was excited ahead of the event but also felt a lot of pressure. But, she trusted her dog, and the team ran clean in Jumpers, cementing their overall agility win. “It was the best feeling to win that award over some of the top Havanese in the country,” she recalls.
For her, this win was significant not just because it was at the national specialty competing against the top Havanese agility dogs, but also because of what it represented about her partnership with Nikki. “[It] really gave me a confidence boost that my dog can really hold up in bigger competition,” she says.
Establishing a Training Routine
Bayonet tailors her training plans to her dogs’ specific needs and experience levels. “I don’t really train Nikki that much anymore. She doesn’t like training at home, and she [thinks she] knows everything,” explains Bayonet. Now, most of her training time is devoted to her two younger dogs. “I have one who is going through a lot of foundation stuff right now and starting to work on courses, and usually, we do maybe an hour and a half every day, depending on the weather.”
Bayonet keeps her training plans dynamic and makes it a point to focus on each dog’s temperament. Bayonet notes that Nikki wasn’t always an easy dog to train, but she was very forgiving while Bayonet was learning how to train and handle dogs. Her middle dog has been her most challenging to train because he’s not especially food-motivated. This has presented some new training challenges for Bayonet because her first dog, Nikki, is very food-motivated. Finesse, her youngest dog, has been an even bigger challenge. Overcoming training difficulties with him, including competition stress, has taught Bayonet to be a more attentive trainer and handler.
Bayonet is homeschooled, and the flexible schedule allows her to prioritize the dog’s training. She usually trains her dogs first thing in the morning, then bases the rest of her schedule for the day around what the dogs need. In addition to dog sports, Bayonet also hunts with Charle, her English Cocker Spaniel. “It’s really cool to see him do his thing,” she says. “A lot of it is just telling him to follow his instincts. It’s a nice break from the structure of agility to just be able to go out in the field.”
What It Means to Compete on an International Stage
Last year, Bayonet was on the JOAWC team and competed in England on behalf of the United States. In dog sports, usually it’s just you and your dog, but for the JOAWC team, you also have human (and other canine) teammates. In particular, being part of the JOAWC team also helped Bayonet learn new skills in overcoming competition anxiety. “I get very stressed at competitions especially, when they are bigger and higher stakes and in environments,” Bayonet explained. Being on a team of other Junior Handlers helped Bayonet work through her fears and keep her focused. “My teammates really helped me to calm down and were there before and after my runs to help me remember what I needed to do and what was best for Nikki,” she recalled.
During the competition, the windy and rainy weather in England was especially hard for Nikki as a small toy breed. One of Bayonet’s favorite memories from being on the JOAWC team last year was while the team rallied around keeping Nikki comfortable before her runs. One day, the rain got worse, and it started to hail. Bayonet explained that several of her teammates joined her in forming a human shield, huddling over Nikki to ensure she didn’t get rained and hailed on.
Bayonet and Nikki will be back representing the United States on the JOAWC team again this summer traveling to and competing in Belgium. Bayonet encourages other junior handlers who aspire to compete at the national and international level to “go for it.” She wants other juniors to remember that “even if you’re competing at a big competition like this, it doesn’t mean that it will always go perfectly.” But part of the fun of the sport is working through these challenges. She especially encourages junior handlers to try out for the JOAWC team. “If you think you want to do it you just train hard, run hard, and trust your dog!”