Connolly turns dog agility hobby into life passion

What started as something of a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a passion for Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau freshman Addison Connolly — a passion that will take her overseas to Europe this summer to compete among the best at an international junior dog agility competition.

Connolly and her border collie, Cooper, will take part in the 2025 Junior Open Agility World Championship (JOAWC), which is set to take place from July 9 to 13 at Estádio Municipal de Abrantes in Abrantes, Portugal.

Connolly is one of 24 junior handlers and Cooper is one of 29 dogs who were selected to represent the United States as part of the American Kennel Club’s junior world agility team.

The individual competition at the JOAWC is broken down into four categories for dogs (small, medium, intermediate and large) and junior handlers are divided up among three age categories: U12, U14 and U19.

At the competition, there are two rounds for jumping and agility. Cooper will compete in the large dog category.

Addison and her family, including her dad Patrick and mom Kate, got Cooper when he was just five weeks old after consulting with a breeder to find a good dog that could match the family’s hobby farm lifestyle.

Addison and Cooper were quick to form a close bond, and they had already completed a puppy obedience course when the pandemic hit. Cooper was 18 months old at that point and Addison had seen something about dog agility competitions on TV and decided to do more research on it. Since she had plenty of extra time due to the pandemic, Addison dove right in with Cooper — with an assist from Patrick, who built her equipment and obstacles to help with the training process.

“(Addison) took (Cooper) to the fair not thinking it was a big deal,” Kate said. “And the people at our county fair were like ‘this is unreal, you need to go on.’ So, they encouraged her to reach out to more professionals.”

That helped lead Addison down the path of pursuing more serious competition, progressing her way with the American Kennel Club team to reach the point where she and Cooper are now.

“It’s been super rewarding. (Cooper) absolutely loves it,” Addison said. “We go to training once a week and he gets so excited to ride in the car and go. He enjoys every step of it. It’s his happy place. And he is very willing to try and do his hardest at everything. So, it’s been really fun to bring a dog with me that’s so confident and really wants the same thing.”

The journey has only served to deepen the connection between Addison and Cooper. She mentioned that, if she leaves the room, he’s immediately looking for her. Throughout their time competing as a team, Addison and Cooper have won five Wisconsin 4-H dog agility state championships.

Addison volunteers as the dog agility youth leader for the Trempealeau County 4-H dog project, passing along her knowledge and experiences onto others looking to pursue a similar path.

As far as this summer’s competition in Portugal, Addison calls it a “dream come true” and said she’s looking forward to meeting new people as she hopes to turn this particular passion into a career.

“It’s really kind of helped me find a place where I belong. I feel like with a lot of other sports, I’ve struggled with that,” Addison said. “Just working with my dog has taught me amazing things of patience, partnership, teamwork — everything like that.”