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PAGE 8A
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Border collie wins Westminster show agility trial
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A border colliie named Kelso rocketed to a win in the Westminster Kennel Club's new agility competition Saturday night, while a husky mix called Roo! ran away with the recognition afforded to mixed-breed dogs at the nation's premier show for the first time since the 1800s.
Shooting through tunnels, scrambling over ramps, weaving through poles as a tail-wagging blur and taking a tight turn with a celebratory bark, 7-year-old Kelso bested about 225 other dogs — including another shown by his college-student owner — to take the overall championship. And Roo! made it to the final five to garner a prize for the top mixed-breed, or "all-American" dog.
the competition put a fast-growing canine activity on U.S. dogdom's biggest stage, with the finals nationally televised on Fox Sports 1. While Kelso has won other agility titles, the Westminster trial was something special to his owner, Delaney Ratner.
"It's an awesome way to get our sport out there," said Ratner, a sophomore economics major at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The daughter of agility trainer Cindy Ratner, she could hardly decide which dog to root for in the final five — Jonesy, a miniature schnauzer she co-owners with her mom, won his height class.
she waited to be the last dog to run, the lanky husky mix zipped through the course to cheers from the crowd at Pier 94 in Manhattan.
Mixed breeds had their champion in Roo'i, a dog so high-spirited that she'd been adopted and returned to an animal shelter several times before San Francisco-based dog trainer Stacey Campbell took her home about seven years ago. Barking avidly as
"It just shows that you don't have to go get a breed to get a dog," Campbell said afterward. "Any dog can compete in agility."
Established decades ago, agility is an increasingly popular canine pursuit. The number of dogs competing in agility trials sanctioned by the American Kennel Club, the governing body for many events, has grown by nearly 50 percent over the last five years.
Agility aficionados say the sport is a canine confidence-builder that creates rapport between dogs and owners, provides a healthy outlet for high-energy pets and shows what dogs of all shapes and sizes can do. Five-and-a-half-pound, top-knotted Tommy the toy poole, for instance, flew over the jumps and tip-toed through the weave poles to finish third in his height group.
Mixed-breeds still can't compete for the sought-after Best in Show trophy. But their inclusion in the agility contest has brought cheers from owners eager to show that everyday dogs can go nose-to-nose with their purebred peers. Westminster officials say adding mixed-breed contestants helps the show make good on its aim to honor all dogs and their roles in people's lives.
Saturday's competitors spanned 63 different breeds, and about 16 competitors were mixes, a substantial shift for a dog show that has long been purely purebred turf. The 138-year-old Westminster show featured.some mixes early on, but not since at least 1884,organizers say.
Spring, a Shetland sheepdog, exits the tunnel obstacle during the Masters Agility Championship the Westminster Kennel Club staged at Pier 94 on Saturday in New York. The competition marks the first time mixed-breed dogs have appeared at Westminster since early in the show's 138 years.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Rapture, a border collie, clears the tire obstacle during the Westminster Kennel Club's agility competition on Feb. 8. Rapture qualified at the top of his height group.
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