I have written this before, and obviously it applies more today than ever before.If you were a terrier competitor through the past two or three years, the one exhibit you could never complain about losing to was the Colored Bull Terrier Ch. Rocky Top's Sundance Kid, aka Rufus. I have long considered him to be a top competitor and a superior specimen of his breed. When in top condition, he is unbeatable. Such was the case in the grand finale at Westminster, as Jim Reynolds, faced with one of the better Westminster line-ups of the decade, awarded this exhibit BIS. Rufus was shown to perfection by his handler, Kathy Kirk, and never put a foot down wrong. His condition was ideal—strong, clean and sturdy—and he fulfilled every possible expectation for Judge Reynolds. Among American bull terrier enthusiasts, Rufus is considered by most to be an inspirational example of the breed both in type and temperament. The Brits seem less disposed to accept him, perhaps because of his size, but truly the better imports which have come from the U.K. to America more resemble Rufus than not!
I became enamored of team “Kirk/Rufus” the very first time I saw them together. While not a bull terrier expert by any stretch of the imagination, I have been mentored in the breed by several top-notch breeders, who,too, are enamored of this exhibit. His headpiece, of course, is virtually unfaultable, and his bite perfection. Certain so-called purists may question this or that, but personally I think this is nitpicking. And, I must add, to the credit of Kathy Kirk, she always presented the dog in terrier cadence and never (at least not that I saw) ever succumbed to running or over-handling this dog. He was never thrown down a judge's throat but was presented evenly and with an understated hand. No easy task in this era of over-handling by so many handlers. Terrier handlers, too, should take note! Of course, without the sponsorship of Dorothy Cherry, this feat of making Rufus one of the top dogs in the country and winning BIS at Westminster would have been impossible to achieve. Without the special care and attention, too, of his breeders and owners, R. & W. Poole and R. Long, who co-own with N. Shepherd and Barbara Bishop, I dare say none of this great recognition would have been possible. If ever the word “teamwork” applies in the campaigning of a dog, here's an ideal case of it.
Certainly, the overall line-up had to thrill the judge. The Rottie, of course, is a national favorite as his owner, breeder and handler, Keith Carter. The reaction to the greatest crowd pleaser, the Golden Retriever from Washington State, was well-deserved. I had never seen this dog before but watched the breed in which he excelled. It came as not a total surprise to see him win the group as Judge Faulkner had awarded this exhibit at least two other groups, but Tuesday eve was no easy chore, since there were so many top-notch sporting dogs in the group line-up. The OES I fell in love with at the Invitational (where he also won the group), whilst the Sheltie was shown by breeder-owner Tom Coen, who is well known for his magnificent dogs. The Dalmatian has a long history of dominating his breed and certainly was considered a close contender by many in the cognoscenti and surely hard-pressed the winner. The Scottish Deerhound is just a magnificent specimen of her breed and is just starting out no doubt will be a long and glorious career. As for the Pug,what a heartbreaker. Dermott gave one of the best overall performances of his show career off the table. He just showed incredibly, but unfortunately had a table lapse that basically threw him out of contention. I felt terrible for the dog, the handler—who is one great guy—and the owner, who is one of the nicest ladies on the show circuit.
I'm not getting into what I thought about the breed and group judging overall. What difference does that make? We all see things differently (or the same way) and opinions are just that—one person's opinion on the day. Overall, I thought the panel did a very good job evaluating the dogs. I thought the finale for Best was as exciting as any I have seen. The crowd the second night seemed more turned on than the first night, but I must say that personally I get more turned on by the first day of competition than the second one. I saw an Otterhound and Long-Coated Chihuahua that caught my fancy from a distance—two exhibits I had never seen before—whilst there was a Sussex which looked adorable (but then again, I am a sucker for that breed). And that’s just limiting my thoughts to dog that were new to my eye. As usual, there were several group placing and pull-outs I would have changed and/or reversed, but again, that's just one opinion versus another, and all of this is written, I must remind you, without having touched one of these dogs. I marvel at Elliot Weiss' judging techniques and procedures, and I am delighted to tell you that you learn by watching those hands of his go over a dog. Elliot hasmatured into (in my opinion) one of the top judges we have in America today.
As for the overall show, it's hard, if not impossible, to beatWestminster, as exhausting as it may be. I love the show and the atmosphere (with all the problems)—always have and always will! •