Whenever you hear of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, your mind immediately thinks of the purest of pure breeds, all vying for best in show. Yet this year, in the agility course, one dog has switched up the standard breeds with a little mix and shift from the tradition.
While the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show’s main feature is the presentation of top-bred dogs, they have other newer subunit portions of the event. The agility competition of the dog show is one of these newer editions to the show, added only a mere ten years ago.
This competition was game-changing to the dog show world, as this agility competition allowed mixed-breed dogs to participate in this show of fitness. However, each year since the start of this new competition, a pure breed has won each and every time, that is until this year.
The black and white-furred border collie-papillon mix named Nimble changed things up. Up until this point, purebred large dogs, primarily border collies, have dominated the top spot in agility, but two records were broken with Nimble, who was not only a mix-breed dog, but was also the first small dog to win, standing at only one foot (or more accurately 30.5 centimeters).
Nimble sped through the agility course with no flaws in under 30 seconds, beating other larger competitors. The owner, Cynthia Hornor, said in an interview that Nimble really tries her best and works quite hard.
Hopefully Nimble’s breakthrough performance is the start of more mix-breed dogs winning. Watch the full fast-paced run here.