Sage the small but mighty takes prestigious Westminster crown

It was a paw-sitively fabulous night.

Sage the dapper* poodle took home the title for “Best in Show” at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tuesday evening local time.

The three-year-old miniature poodle from Houston won the top prize at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, after beating out more than 3000 pups across three riveting* days of competition.

Sage’s handler Kaz Hosaka said he had “no words” before revealing he was retiring after this year’s Westminster after spending 45 years in the ring.

The best in show win marked Mr Hosaka’s second — he led another miniature poodle, Spice, to the trophy in 2002.

“So happy — exciting,” Mr Hosaka said, adding that the uniquely styled pup “gave a great performance for me.”

Sage — who sported giant 1980s-era hair — was awarded the crown after the competition, founded in 1877, was narrowed down to what best in show judge Rosalind Kramer called an “absolutely glorious” line-up of dogs that included Mercedes the German shepherd, Comet the Shih tzu, Louis the Afghan, Micha the black cocker spaniel, Monty the giant schnauzer and Frankie the coloured bull terrier.

A Westminster finalist in 2023, Monty was initially favoured to win, but sent shockwaves* through the arena when he was locked out of the top two, coming in behind Sage and Mercedes, the latter of whom was crowned the Reserve Best in Show.

Dogs are judged according to which one best matches the “standard,” or ideal, for its breed.

More than 200 dog breeds competed first against others of their breed. Then the winner of each breed goes up against others in its “group” until the top seven group winners meet in the final round.

Sage moved to the final round after beating out 21 other dogs competing in the non-sporting group.

The best in show winner gets a trophy and a place in dog-world history, but no cash prize.

Sage’s win marks the 11th triumph for poodles of various sizes in the US’s most prestigious* canine event, most recently Siba the standard poodle in 2020. The last miniature poodle to take the trophy was Spice, also with Mr Hosaka, in 2002.

This story was originally published by the New York Post and republished with permission

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GLOSSARY

• dapper: neat, trim, groomed in a tidy or stylish way
• riveting: extremely interesting and exciting, diverting, holds your attention
• shockwave: informally, the effect of something surprising that causes a strong reaction as it spreads
• prestigious: very much respected and admired

EXTRA READING

Wasabi the Pekingese wins Westminster dog show

Siba the standard poodle wins best in show

5min with a dog can make you happier

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which breed of dog won the Westminster crown and what was the winner’s name?
2. How many pooches took part in the three days of competition?
3. When was the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show founded?
4. How many times has a poodle claimed the top prize in the prestigious competition?
5. How much money is in the top pooch prize pool?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What would Monty say?
Imagine that you could interview Monty (the giant schnauzer who was the early favourite to win) after the competition. What five questions would you ask him? Write them down. Then write the answers that you think that he would give you.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
“Breeding dogs for shows like Westminster is cruel. They should be banned.”

Do you agree with this statement? Write paragraphs that will convince your reader to agree with your opinion. Use your research skills to find out what the issues are.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the cartoon – a person or an animal. Write it down.

Add three adjectives to describe them better.

Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?

Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.

Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.