100 Years of Best in Show

This is the final article in a series that began with a closer look at the Best in Show winners at all-breed AKC shows in 1924, 100 years ago, when the AKC first introduced rules for determining the best dog in the show.

These rules have remained surprisingly constant: The BIS competition is judged almost exactly the same way now as a whole century ago. The BIS award is almost as old as the dog shows themselves, but it did not always mean exactly what it came to mean after the new rules were fixed. It seems logical, for instance, that only Best of Breed winners should compete in the group, but it wasn't necessarily obvious then: Before 1924 you could sometimes participate in the group — or even Best in Show — without competing in the breed judging. Another seemingly self-evident requirement these days is that the BIS winner should be completely undefeated at that particular show, but that wasn't always the case in the past. In 1907, for instance, the famous Smooth Fox Terrier Ch. Warren Remedy was actually defeated immediately after winning BIS at Westminster in a separate competition for Best American-Bred Dog in Show. (It probably didn't help things that this was won by a 16-year-old English Setter!)

Havanese GCh. Oeste's In The Name of Love.

What an exhibitor from several decades ago would not recognize today is the mass of unfamiliar "new" breeds: In 1924 the AKC registered only 70 breeds, not 201 as now. The shows weren't necessarily smaller in the past, however: Morris & Essex had 4,456 entries as early as 1939, and Westminster often had more than 3,000 entries even before 1910. But there are certainly many more shows these days: There were only 157 AKC all-breed shows in 1924, always more than 500 since 1965, more than 1,000 every year since 1985, and 1,519 in 2006. In the last couple of years, we've probably averaged approximately 1,600 annual all-breed shows.

Whippet GCh. Pinnacle's Kentucky Bourbon.

It is hardly necessary to point out that winning Best in Show in competition with all breeds is a really wonderful thing: For those of us who do so only occasionally, or have yet to experience what an unparallelled high it is, managing to do it 100 times over would be almost unthinkable. Think of it: If winning a Best in Show is so difficult, how impossibly remote are the chances of winning the top award 100 times? There are no records of how often the dogs that win that much are shown, but even if they are shown 500 times that means they have won BIS at every fifth show they participate in …

It no doubt costs a pretty penny to bankroll a dog that is shown as often as required to win this much, often during several years. Entry fees, travelling, staying in hotels, usually advertising — it all adds up, and if you employ a professional handler, which is usually the case with these dogs, that involves additional costs. I usually do not mention the owners, however, as they frequently change and it's impossible to know who the "real" owners are. It makes sense to include the handlers, however, especially if they are also listed as co-breeders, as this gives them an extra involvement from the start — long before the dog was deemed worthy of a major specials campaign.

Wire Fox Terrier GCh. After All Painting The Sky.

Since there is no way I can mention all the deserving winners of BIS, I have focused on Dog News' 100 Club, which requires its members to have won at least 100 BIS. There are almost 50 dogs that qualify, the first from the 1950s, but most from considerably later years: All those that won in previous decades have been named and pictured in earlier articles. This time we are concentrating on those dogs that have won at least 100 all-breed BIS in the two decades from 2004 through 2023. (The exact number of BIS won by each dog is often not available; after 100 wins it's probably not that important anyway.)

Trying to look your best often takes its toll; it demands a dog that's not only good but also likes to show itself off and has that little extra something to attract the judges. Yet there are some superdogs that won 200 BIS or more … The Portuguese Water Dog GCh. Claircreek Impression de Matisse is the only dog that has managed this in the past 20 years or so; he was shown by Michael and Michelle Scott for a trio of owners that consisted of Milan Lint, Peggy Helming and Donna Gottdenker. In 2014 he was awarded 94 BIS, and in 2015 he won an unbelievable 134 BIS, the most any dog has ever won in a calendar year. (The German Shepherd Dog Ch. Altana's Mystique won 116 BIS in 1993, the only other dog to win more than 100 BIS in a year; she is pictured in a previous article.)

Toy Poodle Ch. Smash JP Win A Victory.

There were no fewer than four Poodles that won at least 100 BIS each since 2004. One is a Toy, the other three Standards. The Toy was the white Japan-born Ch. Smash JP Win A Victory (shown by Kaz Hosaka), while two of the Standards — the black Ch. Randenn Tristar Affirmation and the white GCh. Brighton Lakeridge Encore — were both handled by Tim Brazier and owned by Martin and Toni Sosnoff. The third Standard was a black male (the other Poodles were all bitches), GCh. Jaset's Satisfaction, shown by Ann Rairigh to, among much else, BIS at the AKC National Championship in Florida in 2011. The AKC's own show has been won by many members of the 100 Club: in 2008 by the Pointer Ch. Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry, in 2009 by the Scottish Terrier Ch. Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot, in 2011 by the Standard Poodle mentioned above, in 2012 by the Wire Fox Terrier GCh. After All Painting The Sky, in 2013 by the already mentioned Portuguese Water Dog, in 2015 by the German Shepherd Dog GCh. Lockenhaus Rumor Has It v Kenlyn, in 2016 by the Australian-born Puli GCh. Cordmaker Mister Blue Sky, and in 2020 by the Whippet GCh. Pinnacle's Kentucky Bourbon.

Pointer Ch. Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry.

The Scottie and the Wire Fox won BIS at Westminster, too; both were #1 all breeds one year each (2009 and 2013, respectively), shown by Terrier handler Gabriel Rangel. The German Shepherd bitch also won BIS at two of America's top shows and was #1 All Breeds 2015; she was handled by co-breeder Kent Boyles. The Pekingese GCh. Palacegarden Malachy won BIS at Westminster 2012 as well as at the Morris & Essex show (held once every five years) in 2010, handled by David Fitzpatrick, who had imported Malachy from England. The Old English Sheepdog Ch. Bugaboos Picture Perfect was Reserve BIS at Westminster in 2013 before he was even a champion, but proved to be a stayer and soon a member of the 100 Club; he was shown by co-breeder Colton Johnson. And the already mentioned Whippet bitch was Reserve BIS at Westminster for two years in a row, 2020 and 2021, something no other dog can claim, shown also by her co-breeder Cheslie Smithey.

Giant Schnauzer Ch. Galilee's Pure of Spirit.

The Giant Schnauzer Ch. Galilee's Pure of Spirit was handled by Taffe McFadden to 100 BIS and #1 all breeds in 2008, winning narrowly over the already mentioned Pointer, Hollyberry; the latter won more BIS (96!) during the year, but the former got more points. (In fact, I don't think the outcome was clear until the last weekend of the year.) Taffe has shown another member of "The Club" in the 2020s, the Havanese GCh. Oeste's In The Name of Love, of which she is also a co-breeder. The handlers of the Portuguese Water Dog, Michael and Michelle Scott, also showed the Pointer.    

Smooth Fox Terrier GCh. J'Kobe Kemosabe Vigilante Justice.

The Smooth Fox Terrier GCh. J'Kobe Kemosabe Vigilante Justice was #1 all breeds 2010; he was handled by Amy Booth. Her husband Phil Booth was the handler of another member of the 100 Club: the German Wirehaired Pointer GCh. Mt. View Ripsnorter Silver Charm, #1 all breeds 2012. The others who have won so much that they are members of the club are the Black Cocker Spaniel GCh. Casablanca's Thrilling Seduction (#1 all breeds 2011, handled by Michael and Linda Pitts; Linda also showed the Puli mentioned above); Miniature Pinscher GCh. Marlex Classic Red Glare (handled and co-bred by Armando Angelbello); Akita GCh. Mojo's Continuation Of A Myth (handled by Laurie Jordan-Fenner); Boxer GCh. Cinnibons Bedrock Bombshell (handled by Michael Shepherd), and the Canadian-born Samoyed GCh. Vanderbilt 'N Printemp's Lucky Strike (shown by Laura King).

Boxer GCh. Cinnibons Bedrock Bombshell.

There have been no new additions to the 100 Club recently, but some currently campaigned dogs are getting close … We will soon most likely see at least one, perhaps more, new winners of at least 100 Bests in Show.