‘I felt like we had won even before the results were finalised’ - Batley dog training club celebrates success at The Pawscars and Crufts

Soothill Ringcraft Club, which is based at the Whitfield Centre in Batley, was shortlisted to the final four in the entire country for Training Club of the Year at The Pawscars, before gaining some successful results at Crufts 2025.

The group, which was only established in November 2021 by Ruth Copping and Lisa Selby, teaches people, and their furry friends, how to be show handlers and show dogs, as well as giving the much-loved pets the chance to socialise with other dogs.

On the club’s Pawscars - the dog show equivalent to the Oscars - success, Ruth said:

“We were nominated by the people that come to the club and by people who have had interaction with us. We have only been open three and a half years so we have been absolutely amazed by the response.

“We are relative newcomers so to get to the last four was amazing. I felt like we had won even before the results were finalised.

“To get to the final four of that national competition was like winning for us.”

Success then followed at this year’s Crufts, the world’s greatest dog show organised by The Kennel Club, with a golden retriever that has been attending Soothill Ringcraft Club since it was a puppy winning his class.

The club also had joy when a first-ever show dog claimed the best male dog out of all the males in its breed.

The club, which also has two other trainers in Lydia Brown and Rebecca Roberts, runs every Wednesday, between 7pm-9pm, at the Whitfield Centre, 180 Soothill Lane, Batley, WF17 6HP.

Training is £3 per dog or £5 for two.

For more information email [email protected] or visit the club’s Facebook page.