Current:Home > InvestSage, a miniature poodle, wins the Westminster Dog Show -Wealth Momentum Network
Sage, a miniature poodle, wins the Westminster Dog Show
View
Date:2025-04-15 06:52:14
A miniature poodle named Sage won the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night.
It was the 11th triumph for poodles of various sizes in the United States' most prestigious canine event — only wire fox terriers have won more. And it was the second best in show win for handler Kaz Hosaka. He led another miniature poodle, Spice, to the trophy in 2002 and said this year's Westminster would be his last.
"No words," he said in the ring to describe his reaction to Sage's win, soon supplying a few words: "So happy — exciting."
Striding briskly and proudly around the ring, the inky-black poodle "gave a great performance for me," added Hosaka, who said he'd been competing at Westminster for 45 years.
Sage bested six other finalists to take the top prize. Second went to Mercedes the German shepherd, also guided by a handler, Kent Boyles, who has won the big prize before.
Others in the final round included Comet, a shih tzu who won the big American Kennel Club National Championship last year; Monty, a giant schnauzer who arrived at Westminster as the nation's top-ranked dog and was a Westminster finalist last year; Louis, an Afghan hound; Micah, a black cocker spaniel; and Frankie, a colored bull terrier.
They faced off at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
In an event where all competitors are champions in the sport's point system, winning can depend on subtleties and a standout turn in the ring.
"Just to be in the ring with everyone else is an honor," Monty's handler and co-owner, Katie Bernardin, said in the ring after his semifinal win. "We all love our dogs. We're trying our best."
Monty, who also was a finalist last year, is "a stallion" of a giant schnauzer, Bernardin of Chaplin, Connecticut, said in an interview before his semifinal win. She described him as solid, powerful and "very spirited."
So "spirited" that while Bernardin was pregnant, she did obedience and other dog sports with Monty because he needed the stimulation.
While she loves giant schnauzers, "they're not an easy breed," she cautions would-be owners. But she adds that the driven dogs can be great to have "if you can put the time into it."
Dogs first compete against others of their breed. Then the winner of each breed goes up against others in its "group." The seven group winners meet in the final round.
The best in show winner gets a trophy and a place in dog-world history, but no cash prize.
Other dogs that vied in vain for a spot in the finals included Stache, a Sealyham terrier. He won the National Dog Show that was televised on Thanksgiving and took top prize at a big terrier show in Pennsylvania last fall.
Stache showcases a rare breed that's considered vulnerable to extinction even in its native Britain.
"They're a little-known treasure," said Stache's co-owner, co-breeder and handler, Margery Good of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, who has bred "Sealys" for half a century. Originally developed in Wales to hunt badgers and other burrowing game, the terriers with a "fall" of hair over their eyes are courageous but comedic - Good dubs them "silly hams."
Westminster can feel like a study in canine contrasts. Just walking around, a visitor could see a Chihuahua peering out of a carrying bag at a stocky Neapolitan mastiff, a ring full of honey-colored golden retrievers beside a lineup of stark-black giant schnauzers, and handlers with dogs far larger than themselves.
Shane Jichetti was one of them. Ralphie, the 175-pound great Dane she co-owns, outweighs her by a lot. It takes considerable experience to show so big an animal, but "if you have a bond with your dog, and you just go with it, it works out," she said.
Plus Ralphie, for all his size, is "so chill," said Jichetti. Playful at home on New York's Staten Island, he's spot-on - just like his harlequin-pattern coat - when it's time to go in the ring.
"He's just an honest dog," Jichetti said.
The Westminster show, which dates to 1877, centers on the traditional purebred judging that leads to the best in show prize. But over the last decade, the club has added agility and obedience events open to mixed-breed dogs.
And this year, the agility competition counted its first non-purebred winner, a border collie-papillon mix named Nimble.
- In:
- Dogs
veryGood! (98)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- Kylian Mbappe suffered a nose injury in France's win over Austria at UEFA Euro 2024
- Why Céline Dion Waited to Share Her Stiff Person Syndrome Diagnosis
- That cool Tony Awards moment when Jay-Z joined Alicia Keys? Turns out it wasn’t live
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Russian warships depart Cuba after visit following military exercises
- Mbappé suffers facial injury in France’s 1-0 win against Austria at Euro 2024
- Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota, Kia among 239k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Where is Voyager 1 now? Repairs bring space probe back online as journey nears 50 years
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Apple kills off its buy now, pay later service service barely a year after launch
- National Finals Rodeo to remain in Las Vegas through 2035
- Summer Clothing You Can Actually Wear to the Office
- Average rate on 30
- The beginners guide to celebrating Juneteenth
- Gerrit Cole is back: Yankees ace to make 2024 debut on Wednesday, Aaron Boone says
- Details on iOS 18: Better (and scheduled) messages just the start of soon-to-be features
Recommendation
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
Get free iced coffee from Whataburger in honor of the summer solstice: Here's what to know
California’s Black legislators make case for reparations bills while launching statewide tour
Boston Celtics defeat Dallas Mavericks to win 2024 NBA Finals
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
This law is a lifeline for pregnant workers even as an abortion dispute complicates its enforcement
Judge rules that federal agency can’t enforce abortion rule in Louisiana and Mississippi
Rory McIlroy's collapse at US Open has striking resemblance to a heated rival: Greg Norman