German Shepherd Dog "Rumor" Wins Best In Show At Largest Ever AKC/Eukanuba National Championship

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GCH Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn, a German Shepherd Dog known as "Rumor," triumphed over more than 4,000 dogs to earn a $50,000 cash prize and the title of Best in Show at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, held this weekend in Orlando, Fla. "Rumor," owned by Deborah Stern, Pamela Buckles, Patti Dukeman, Pam McElheney and Kent Boyles of Maumee, Ohio, was crowned "National Champion" by Best in Show judge Mr. Robert Stein after a weekend of intense canine competition.

Combined with other weekend events like the AKC Agility Invitational, the AKC Obedience Classic, and the Junior events, the overall show totals topped 6,100 entries, making this the largest dog show held in the United States in the past 20 years.

The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship evening live stream is available for replay at live.eukanuba.com, alongside on-demand coverage of the Bred-By Exhibitor groups, Veteran groups, agility and obedience. The show will also re-air on the FidoTV Channel (channel 245 on DISH) at 6:00 pm EST and 10:30 EST on December 24 and December 25, 2015.

The winners:

Reserve Best in Show and Group Winners

Reserve Best in Show: GCH Round Town Queen Of Hearts Of Maryscot, a Scottish Terrier known as "Queenie," owned by Amelia Musser of Mackinac Island, Michigan.

After winning Best of Breed competitions the following top dogs went on to win in their respective groups and compete for Best in Show:

Sporting: GCH Darnelle's Pennies From Heaven, an Irish Setter known as "Penny," owned by Melinda Higby and Susan Schafer of Jacksonville, Florida.

Hound: GCH Sporting Fields Shameless, a Whippet known as "Brazen," owned by Dionne Butt, Barbara Call, Jane Cooney-Waterhouse and Amanda Giles of Brooksville, Florida.

Working: GCH Aviators Lady's Man De Remis, a Portuguese Water Dog known as "Manly," owned by Remy Smith-Lewis and Julie Conger of Sonoma, California.

Terrier: GCH Round Town Queen Of Hearts Of Maryscot, a Scottish Terrier known as "Queenie," owned by Amelia Musser of Mackinac Island, Michigan.

Toy: HIDDEN VALLEY B R8, a Toy Poodle, owned by Gilje Seong of South Korea.

Non-Sporting: GCH Eastern-Magic Fly Me Safe, a Chow Chow known as "Co Pilot," owned by Matthew Fan, Kiki Pratna and Layla Loveless of Lubbock, Texas.

Herding: GCH Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn, a German Shepherd Dog known as "Rumor," owned by Deborah Stern, Pamela Buckles, Patti Dukeman, Pam McElheney and Kent Boyles of Maumee, Ohio.

Other top dogs awarded during the two-day event included the following:

Best Bred-By-Exhibitor in Show
GCH Vjk-Myst Garbonita's California Journey, a German Shorthaired Pointer known as "CJ" bred, owned and handled by Valerie Nunes-Atkinson of Temecula, California was awarded Best Bred-By-Exhibitor in Show.

Best Veteran in Show
GCH Cashnross' First Griff Tina Fey, a Brussels Griffon owned by Felicia Cashin and Carole Ross of San Luis Obispo, California was awarded Best Veteran in Show at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.

AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals Best in Show
GCH Ripsnorter Reigning At Thunder Myst, a German Wirehaired Pointer known as "Reggie" owned by Steve & Betsy Bernock and Lisa George of Fenton, Michigan won the AKC National Owner-Handled Series (NOHS) Finals Best in Show, prevailing over an invitation-only entry of 677 dogs.

Best in Miscellaneous Group
Eidi N' Amanar Gaeraat Starfire, an Azawakh owned by Jose Cabrera and Fabian Arienti of Hendersonville, North Carolina, won the Miscellaneous Breeds competition.

Junior Showmanship
In the Junior Showmanship competition, for handlers from between 9 to 18 years of age, Raina Moss with her Clumber Spaniel GCH Clumon Ragin Cajun At Breakaway was awarded the coveted title of Best Junior Handler, along with a $2,000 scholarship.

Agility and Obedience Competitions
The 2015 AKC Obedience Classic and the AKC Agility Invitational were held in conjunction with the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. The two events demonstrate the highest level of training and teamwork between dog and handler. Obedience and agility competitions for junior handlers were held for the fifth year, and an AKC Rally^® Junior competition was held for the second year.

AKC Obedience Classic
Four obedience dogs and their owners – one dog/handler team in each of the four classes – were crowned at the AKC Obedience Classic, which brought together 217 dogs from across the country and beyond.  

Placing first in their class (Novice, Open, Utility and Masters respectively) were:

• Novice: Goldstar Steadfast Nathan CD, a Labrador Retriever owned by Constance Cleveland and Judy Rasmuson of Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
• Open: Katwalk Extra Special CDX BN, a Border Collie owned by Kathleen Walker of Flemington, New Jersey.
• Utility: GCH CH Wyndale's Enchantress Of Gwynedd UD CGC, a Labrador Retriever owned by Karen Vare of Ambler, Pennsylvania.
• Masters: OTCH Rhumbline's Once In A Blue Moon OM1 BN GN RE, a Labrador Retriever owned by Linda Brennan of Columbia, New Jersey.

AKC Juniors Obedience/Rally Classic

Juniors who participated in the AKC Juniors Classic competed in Obedience and/or AKC Rally^®. 

In Obedience, Juniors competed in two divisions (Obedience Junior Titled (OJT) – where the Junior earned all the titles on the dog that met the requirements and Obedience Junior Handled (OJH) – where the Junior may handle any dog that met the requirements). The Juniors competed in the Beginner Novice, Preferred Novice and Preferred Open classes twice, based on their AKC obedience accomplishments.

Placing first in their divisions were:

Obedience Junior Titled (OJT)

• Beginner Novice: Cassy Didelot, Ruby Red Didelot, Labrador Retriever
• Preferred Novice: Brittaney Allen, Allen's Ollie CD BN RN CGC, All-American Dog
• Preferred Open: Mara Wacker, Sandy Creek Wanna'Be Like Me CDX BN GN RN, Miniature American Shepherd

Obedience Junior Handler (OJH)

• Beginner Novice: Anneka Mikel Dahle, Western Hills Texas Ranger AX MXJ XF, Australian Shepherd
• Preferred Open: Avery Adams, Smokingold Vibrant Spark CDX RA MX MXJ XF, Golden Retriever

In AKC Rally^®, Juniors competed in Rally Novice, Rally Advanced or Rally Excellent, based on the dog's class eligibility (qualifying scores and/or titles earned). 

Placing first in their class were:

Rally

• Rally Novice: Mara Wacker, Sandy Creek Wanna'Be Like Me CDX BN GN RN, Miniature American Shepherd
• Rally Advanced: Brittaney Allen, Allen's Ollie CD BN RN CGC, All-American Dog
• Rally Excellent: Destiny K. Lytle, Veniaminof Vom Lytle RE NAP OJP CA, German Shepherd Dog

AKC Agility Invitational
Five agility dogs and their owners – one dog/handler team in each of the five height categories – were crowned as the 2015 winners of the AKC Agility Invitational, which brought together more than 700 dogs from across the country and beyond.  

Placing first in their height division (8", 12", 16", 20" and 24" respectively) were:

• 8" – NAC MACH12 Wildfire Heavens To Betsy MXG3 MJB4 OF T2B2 ("Gigi"), a Papillon owned and handled by Lisa Evans
• 12" – OTCH MACH7 Triune's Baby's Gone Shopping UDX3 OM4 VER RAE MXC2 MJC2 MXF T2B ("Visa"), a Shetland Sheepdog owned and handled by Angela Evers
• 16" – CH MACH3 La Brise Moustique Bleu MXS MJG NF T2B ("Skeeter"), a Pyrenean Shepherd owned and handled by Kelly Maier
•  20" – MACH13 Rivercity Outrageous MXG4 MJC4 FTC2 MFC2 TQX T2B9, a Golden Retriever owned and handled by Patricia White
• 24" – MACH5 Hildidan's Some Kind Of Magic MXB2 MJB2 MXF MFG TQX T2B7, a American Foxhound, owned and handled by Candy Gaiser PHD

AKC Juniors Agility Competition
Juniors who participated in the AKC Juniors Agility Competition competed in either the Junior Excellent or Superior Classes, depending on whether they had achieved an agility title.

Placing first in their height division (8", 12", 16", 20" and 24" respectively) in the Junior Excellent class were:

• 8"-  Kayangee Dorothy Parker ("Dot"), a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel handled by Anthony Rotelle
• 12"- PACH5 General Tommy Franks AX MXJ MJB MXP12 MXPC MJP16 MJPS2 PAX5 XF OFP T2BP ("Tommy"), a Parson Russell Terrier handled by Deva Wilson
• 16"- Foxglove Tempus Fugit MX MXJB OF T2B ("Zippy"), a Shetland Sheepdog handled by Tessa Winialski
• 20"- MACH Pine Run Pity The Fool ("Mr. T"), a Golden Retriever handled by John Rotelle
• 24"- MACH3 Zonkers Texas Hold'em CDX VCD2 RE XF ("Ace"), a Golden Retriever handled by David Frasca

Placing first in their height division (8", 12", 16", 20" and 24" respectively) in the Junior Superior class were:

• 12"- Pinky's Rockin' Rio CGC RN BN ("Rio"), an All-American Dog handled by Kailyn Merkle
• 16"- Kaiden's Blue Blaize RN BN CGC ("Blaize"), a Miniature American Shepherd handled by Kaiden Snider
• 20"- Eyespy Cech ("Check"), a Border Collie handled by Karr Hersh
• 24"- Sergeant Spencer ("Spencer"), a Golden Retriever handled by Emily Tregler

North America Diving Dogs/AKC Eukanuba National Championship.
A record entry of 276 dogs entered the NADD/AKC Eukanuba National Championship.

The NADD World Record was set not once, but twice during the Elite Finals. "Prospect" jumped 30'6, followed by "Storie" jumping 30'7.  

The Championship winners include:

• Elite Division: Storie, a Labrador Retriever owned by JD McKnight (Score: 30'7)
• Master Division: Malek, a Dutch Shepherd owned by Kathryn Schreiner (Score: 24')
• Senior Division: Surge, an All-American dog owned by Suzanne Rider (Score: 22'5)
• Veteran Division: Arran, a Weimaraner owned by Sheila Cook (Score: 20'6)
• Junior Division: Cita, a Belgian Malinois owned by Victoria Harter (Score: 17'5)
• Novice Division: Eddy, a Dutch Shepherd owned by Melissa LaMere Dragovich (Score: 14')
• Air Retrieve Elite: Gunner, a Labrador Retriever owned by Jason Young (Score: 22')
• Air Retrieve Master: Jovi, a Belgian Malinois owned by Tim Boyd (Score: 20')
• Air Retrieve Senior: Cody, an All-American dog owned by Mindy Len (Score: 18')
• Lap Elite: Kaya, an All-American owned by Keri Caraher (Score: 18')
• Lap Master: Cane, a Parson Russell Terrier owned by Mindy Lytle (Score: 17')
• Lap Senior: Hoodlum, a Boston Terrier owned by Jennifer Zimmerly-Offinga (Score: 14'6)
• Lap Junior: Bandit, a Rat Terrier owned by Rochelle Fugate (Score: 8'1)
• Lap Novice: Macho, a Russell Terrier owned by Lori Signs (Score: 6')

AKC Breeder of the Year
John Buddie was presented with the 2015 AKC Breeder of the Year Award for his Tartanside Collies at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship on Saturday, December 12, 2015. The annual award honors breeders who have made an impact on their breed and dedicated their lives to improving the health, temperament and quality of purebred dogs.

AKC Meet the Breeds^®
The Chihuahua booth won AKC Meet the Breeds^® Best Booth in Show.

Click here to download images from the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.

The American Kennel Club (AKC), founded in 1884, maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world. Its rules and regulations govern more than 20,000 canine competitions each year. For more information, visit www.akc.org.

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SOURCE American Kennel Club

Related Links

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