The popularity of dog sports has exploded over the last decade! And where there are dog sports, there are photographers eager to capture those competitive moments forever. For challenge number 4 of Empower, we were joined by specialist dog sports photographer and educator Amy Godfrey Johnson.

We've stripped it back for the Sports Star challenge, asking our students to capture the peak moment of action and only allowing for global editing adjustments, no removal of elements or distractions. Images must have been captured at an official sprint event or event practice session.

As always we were blown away with the submissions. Our top 10 images all display animals at peak moments during the depicted sprint events. Congratulations to the photographers and huge thank to Amy for creating this fantastic Empower challenge.

Charlotte & Craig 🐶 📸 ✨

We provide video feedback on all images submitted for the challenge, and from there, we select our Top 20 and Top 10. Without further ado, here are the Top 10 images for this challenge!

Angela Rose | Angie Rose Photography

Great timing on capturing this decisive moment in the action. The person being turned away gives them anonymity, that allows us to focus on the dog doing their job. The drool strings are an added bonus!

Dawn Orr | @dawno_pics

A super clean image captured at just the right moment during a direction turn in midair. Love the tucked-up back feet and the tunnel in the background adds balance and context, well done!

Ginger Wick | Ginger Wick Photography

That incredible expression made this image an instant favourite with our judges! The moment is perfect, the light and editing is clean and well managed, and the crop (though unconventional) works perfectly to give breathing room for this wacky pose.

Helen Daniels | Not Just A Dog Photography

Agility is about teamwork, so the inclusion of the owner here portrays that beautifully. The dog has been captured at the perfect time and the shallow depth of field helps to isolate the dog, while including the context of the rest of the obstacles in the background.

Helene Caraux | Digression Photo

The connection captured between dog and owner here is what this sport is all about. The dog curled around her leg but making eye contact to see what's next, and her obvious joy and enthusiasm is what makes this image special.

Julie Cork | J Cork Photography

Such a joyful expression captured here as the dog is airborne coming out of the tunnel! Great low angle and a nice clean and sharp image for being taken indoors, well done!

Liz Dranow | TimePunk Pet Photography

The dog has been captured at the perfect moment here, with their pose and body position telling the story of timing and balance that is crucial for this agility obstacle. The minimalistic feel works well to highlight the start of the show.

Marcie Fry | Marcie Fry Photography

Excellent timing on this shot, with the dog captured in that fraction of a second before grabbing the bumper, back legs fully outstretched. The water droplets against the background give context and the matching pop of colour on the bumper and collar are a great touch.

Samantha Alter | Samantha Brown Photography

This captures "the" decisive movement of a frisbee catch - that moment on anticipation before the mouth closes. Great use of light, a nice simple background and clean editing.

Yvonne Jansen | BlissfulTails

Excellent timing here that tells the story of the dog completing the poles and already moving on to the next obstacle. The composition works beautifully to give space it the direction of future movement.

Empower is the advanced 6-month interactive challenge-based dog photography course in our Unleashed Challenges series, investing you with the power to refine your creativity and explore new horizons in dog photography.

Empower is open to students who have previously completed the first and second courses in the series, Embark and Emerge.

Want to be the first to hear when Embark opens for enrolment each year? Register your interest here.