Best In Show Leaders

Best in Show was not awarded at Westminster until 1907. Prior to that year, the format for most dog shows held in the United States did not include provisions for awarding Best in Show. Best in Show was NOT awarded in 1923 at Westminster, nor at any other dog show in the United States that year, because the American Kennel Club put a moratorium on the judging of this prize until a uniform process and regulations could be adopted to insure that the Best in Show of each dog show was determined in the same fashion.

Best in Show has been awarded 97 times at Westminster to the following Groups:

Terrier Group       43

Sporting Group    16

Working Group    15

Non-Sporting Group           10

Toy Group             9

Hound Group       3

Herding Group     1

Top Winning Breeds

Forty-two different breeds have won Best in Show at Westminster. The top nine winning breeds have accounted for 49 of the 97 Best in Show awards so far:

Wire Fox Terrier 13

Scottish Terrier   7

English Springer Spaniel 5

Airedale Terrier  4

Boxer     4

Doberman Pinscher            4

Sealyham Terrier               4

Smooth Fox Terrier            4

Standard Poodle 4

Currently the Hound Group has the longest span without winning BIS at Westminster – 21 years. The last BIS win by a dog from the Hound Group was in 1983 when Ch. Kabiks The Challenger, an Afghan Hound, took top honors.

Multiple Winners

Ch. Warren Remedy, a Smooth Fox Terrier, won the first three BIS awards in 1907, 1908 and 1909 but only six other dogs – and just two in the last 50 years – have won top honors twice: Ch. Rancho Dobe’s Storm, a Doberman Pinscher, in 1952 and 1953; and Ch. Chinoe’s Adamant James, an English Springer Spaniel, in 1971 and 1972.

The LAST time a Westminster BIS winner even tried to repeat as champion was in 1993 when the 1992 BIS champion, Ch. Registry’s Lonesome Dove, a Wire Fox Terrier, returned but placed third in the Group.

The Big And The Small

The largest dog to ever win BIS was Ch. Seward’s Blackbeard, a 155-pound Newfoundland that took top honors in 1984. The smallest dog to ever win BIS was Ch. Great Elms Prince Charming II, a 41/2 pound Pomeranian that was selected in 1988.

Doing It All

There are only four owner/breeder/handlers in the history of the show who have won BIS – Chris Terrell and Ch. Kabik’s The Challenger; Walter Goodman and Ch. Glamoor Good News; Sunny Shay and Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur; Herman Mellenthin and Ch. My Own Brucie.

Now Herd This!

It wasn’t until 1983 that the Herding Group became recognized as a separate group by the AKC and was shown as a separate group at Westminster.

Prior to that the breeds of the Herding Group were included in what was then a very large Working Group and to facilitate judging, the Herding dogs were given a group of their own. With such a limited history the only dog that was listed as an entrant of the Herding Group to ever win Best in Show at Westminster was Ch. Covey Tucker Hill’s Manhattan in 1987, a German Shepherd owned by Shirlee Braunstein and Jane A. Firestone.

Three dogs currently listed as part of the Herding Group won Best In Show awards as members of the Working Group – Ch. Slumber, an Old English Sheepdog (1914); Ch. Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven, a Collier (1929); and Ch. Sir Lancelot of Barvan, an Old English Sheepdog (1975).

Terriers The Tops

A dog from the Terrier Group has won Best in Show at Westminster 43 times previously. This group has by far the most BIS wins at Westminster of any of the seven groups. The breakdown by breed within the Terrier Group is as follows:

Wire Fox Terrier 13

Scottish Terrier   7

Airedale Terrier  4

Sealyham Terrier               4

Smooth Fox Terrier            4

Lakeland Terrier                2

Norwich Terrier   2

West Highland White        2

Bedlington Terrier              1

Bull Terrier          1

Skye Terrier         1

Welsh Terrier      1

The last breed from the Terrier Group to win Best in Show was Ch. Torums Scarf Michael, a Kerry Blue Terrier, in 2003.

Note – the Silky Terrier, Manchester Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier (which won Best in Show in 1978) are part of the Toy Group while the Boston Terrier and the Tibetan Terrier are part of the Non-Sporting Group.

That’s Non-Sporting

A breed from the Non-Sporting Group has won Best in Show at Westminster nine times previously – the Standard Poodle (1991, 1973, 1958 and 1935); Bulldog (1955 and 1913); Miniature Poodle (1959 and 1943); and Bichons Frises (2001). The 2001 winner was Ch. Special Times Just Right owned by Cecelia Ruggles, E. McDonald and F. Werneck.

Working Hard

A dog from the Working Group has won Best in Show at Westminster 14 times in the past:

Doberman Pinscher            4

Boxer     4

Old English Sheepdog       2

Standard Schnauzer          1

Siberian Husky   1

Newfoundland     1

Collie     1

Collies and Old English Sheepdogs are now part of the Herding Group. However, when they won BIS at Westminster (a Collie in 1929 and Old Snglish Sheepdog in 1914 and 1975), these breeds were part of the Working Group.

That’s Sporting Of Them

A dog from the Sporting Group has won Best in Show at Westminster 15 times since 1907:

Cocker Spaniel    4

English Springer Spaniel 4

Pointer  2

Clumber Spaniel                1

English Setter     1

Gr. Shorthaired Pointer    1

Irish Water Spaniel           1

The last dog to win from the Sporting Group was the English Springer Spaniel Ch. Salilyn ‘N Erin’s Shameless in 2000.

Nothing But A Hound Dog

A dog from the Hound Group has won Best in Show at Westminster only three times – the Afghan Hound Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur in 1957; the Whippet Ch. Courtenay Fleetfoot of Pennyworth in 1964; and the Afghan Hound Ch. Kabik’s The Challenger in 1983.

Toys, Toys, Toys

A dog from the Toy Group has won Best in Show at Westminster nine times:

Pekingese             3

Toy Poodle            2

Papillon                1

Pomeranian         1

Pug         1

Yorkshire Terrier                1

The last time a dog from the Toy Group won Best in Show at Westminster was in 1999 when the Papillon Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being, owned by John Oulton, captured the honor.

sports@thebee.com