10th Anniversary Masters Agility Championship at Westminster
350 dogs competed in the 10th anniversary Masters Agility Championship at Westminster, presented by Purina® Pro Plan®. The competition was held at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.
Purina Pro Plan has been a proud sponsor of the Masters Agility Championship at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show since its inception in 2014. The Masters Agility Championship is a competition that showcases the speed and agility of dogs as they navigate a series of obstacles on a course they have never seen before.
Each dog competed in two qualifying rounds: a Standard Agility course and a Jumpers with Weaves course. The ten dogs with the highest combined scores from each height course moved on to the Championship Run consisting of 50 dogs.
This year’s finals course offered 19 obstacles: tunnels, jump bars, seesaw, a-frame, dog walk, tire jump, and weave poles.
The canine athlete breeds competing in the final ranged from Miniature Pinscher to Rhodesian Ridgeback, with Border Collies being the top-represented breed with six finalists. Five competition classes were divided by jump heights to even the playing field.
First up was the 16" Class, where reigning Masters Agility Champion of 2022, Bee the Shetland Sheepdog, came out on top with a time of 28.27 seconds.
Next up was the most petite dog heights in the 8" Class, and Purchase the Papillon blew away the competition at 32.01 seconds.
It was then the big dogs' turn to run. In the 24" Class, Howie the Border Collie narrowly slid by his half-sibling and three-time Westminster Agility Class winner Kaboom to take first place with 32.34 seconds.
In the 12" Class, Swindle the Shetland Sheepdog swept through the course topping the leaderboard at 28.39 seconds.
The final class at 20" was dominated by the eventual Masters Agility Champion, Truant the Border Collie, who displayed a flawless run in 28.68 seconds. Also in the 20” Class was Score, who was awarded this year’s overall All-American (mixed breed) winner with a run of 38.96 seconds.
As a leading pet food company, Purina is committed to promoting the health and well-being of dogs through proper nutrition and exercise. The Masters Agility Championship aligns with Purina’s mission to support the bond between pets and their owners and to promote the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle for dogs.
Congratulations to all of the winners!
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