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 Just shy of four years old, the graceful black female from
Northampton, Pennsylvania triumphed over crowd favorites Daniel
the golden retriever and Bono the Havanese at the grand finale
of the three-day event at Madison Square Garden, her crown of
tall black fluff bobbing as she loped around the ring.
"We think she's beautiful and has that special something, so
hopefully that's what he saw," Siba's handler Chrystal Murray
said, referring to the Best in Show judge, Robert Slay, in a
post-show interview.
Before Siba embarks on a whirlwind tour of television
appearances and celebrity photo shoots, as is customary for
Westminster champions, Murray said she would get to enjoy plenty
of her favorite treat: chicken.
Siba advanced to the final round as the champion of the
non-sporting group, going head-to-head with the winners in six
other groups - hounds, toy dogs, herding dogs, working dogs,
sporting dogs and terriers.
Rounding out the roster of finalists in Tuesday's best-in-show
contest were Bourbon, a female whippet, who was awarded second
place or "Reserve Best in Show"; Daniel, a male golden
retriever; Bono, a male Havanese; Conrad, a male Shetland
sheepdog; Wilma, a female boxer, and Vinny, a male wire fox
terrier.
The wire fox terrier had an edge after the breed took home the
top prize last year, but the golden retriever, a breed that has
never won Best in Show, seemed to win the hearts of the audience
on Tuesday.
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Chants of "Daniel! Daniel!" echoed from the crowd of thousands, as
Slay inspected the seven canines before making his choice.
It was the fifth time a standard poodle took home the alpha prize in
the Westminster show’s 144-year history. It is the second-oldest
sporting event in the country, after only the Kentucky Derby horse
race.
This year's competition drew a field of contenders consisting of
more than 2,600 dogs representing 205 breeds from 20 countries,
including the United States.
The prestigious dog show grew out of an 1870s gathering of sporting
gentlemen who regularly chatted at a bar in the long-gone
Westminster Hotel in lower Manhattan.
On its website, the Westminster Kennel Club says the men decided to
put on a dog show named for the meeting spot, while trading stories
about hunting and their dogs' exploits.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in New York; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Clarence Fernandez)
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