National Dog Show 2020: Scottish Deerhound Claire Wins Best in Show

Maybe she was born to win.

Claire, a Scottish hunting dog, was named Best in Show at the National Dog Show.

The big gray bitch is the first of her breed to win the competition, which began in the late 19th century and has been televised on NBC for 18 years.

But Claire – whose registered name is GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser – has something of a royal pedigree in the canine world.

His grandmother, Hickory, won the Best Show Award at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2011. The dog’s mother, Chelsea, won the Best Stock Show at the 2015 National Dog Show. .

The three dogs are co-owned by Claire’s handler, Angela Lloyd of Flint Hill, Va., And Cecilia Dove and Dr. Scott Dove, also of Flint Hill.

“Scottish hunting dogs are generally not in the limelight,” Wayne Ferguson, the dog show host, told NJ Advance Media. Hickory was the first of her breed to win at Westminster in the show’s 135 year history.

Ferguson, who lives on Broadway, Warren County, is also president of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which hosts the show. The event has been reduced this year to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Only handlers, dog owners and staff were allowed to attend, no spectators. Ferguson announced the breeds in front of an audience filled with dogs cut from cardboard.

While the Scottish hunting dogs have not emerged as the best on display so far, the breed has been featured at kennel club events since the late 1800s, he says.

“This is one of the oldest breeds that the American Kennel Club has recognized,” says Ferguson. The Scottish Greyhound joined the fold in 1886 – just four years after the AKC was founded.

Claire, 3, won the group of dogs with Lloyd by her side, beating seven finalists out of 538 entries. Lloyd was also the manager for Hickory and Chelsea.

“Claire has so many wonderful traits,” she said at the show, which was recorded Nov. 15 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. “She embodies the same qualities (as Hickory and Chelsea). She looks a lot like her grandmother, especially in the eyes.

Judge Karen Wilson chose Claire as the champion. Scottish Fallow Deer, bred to track deer, are prized for their majestic appearance.

“She’s just the picture of elegance,” Wilson said. “His movement was impeccable, just the best example of a Scottish hunting dog.

An English Springer Spaniel named Teddy and handler Howard Huber from Oxford, Pa. Won the Best Reserve award after winning the sporting group.

The “new” breeds this year – the ones that were recently recognized by the AKC – were the barbet (sports group), dogo Argentino (working group) and Belgian Laekenois (breeding group).

The dog show, which has aired after Macy’s Thanksgiving parade since 2002, has become a holiday tradition. But this year the pandemic meant the protocol was very different. The dog show was filmed at the exhibition center for two days. There was no general audience. Sponsors, vendors and the media were also excluded from the event to reduce the number of people gathered for the show. Dog entries have been reduced by 70%, from 2,000 to a high of 600.

As for the rest of the winners, a Wire fox terrier named Vinny from Newport, Rhode Island won the terrier group, having won the terrier group at Westminster this year. An affenpinscher named Chester from Houston, Texas won the toy group, while a Portuguese water dog named Bowie from New York, who won the Best of Breed award at Westminster this year, took home the work group. A miniature American Shepherd named Jimmy from Denton, Texas won the group of breeders; and a poodle named Kam from Seattle, Washington won the non-sporting group.

At the 2019 National Dog Show, a bulldog named Thor handled by Eduardo Paris from Houston, Texas won Best in Show.

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Amy Kuperinsky can be contacted at [email protected].