The American Kennel Club (AKC®) is excited to announce the return of the wildly popular AKC Agility Premier Cup. The second annual event is set to take place on April 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, MN and will be judged by Dan Butcher of Portland, OR. Continue reading SECOND ANNUAL AKC AGILITY PREMIER CUP
I just realized I never let you know that the Yukon Quest is officially over.
The Yukon News reports that Alaskan musher Olivia Webster is the 2020 Yukon Quest’s red lantern, crossing the finish line in Whitehorse at approximately 8 p.m. on Feb. 15. The rookie is the granddaughter of Leroy Shank, one of the founders of the Yukon Quest, who was at the finish line to show his support.
The “red lantern” indicates the last musher to cross the finish line. Until that team comes in, a red lantern remains lit at the finish line to guide the mushers home.
Congratulations to all who participated.
Next up: the granddaddy of them all: the Iditarod! It begins with a ceremonial start on March 7th, followed by the real start on March 8th. I can’t wait!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
This just in…Brent Sass has won the 2020 Yukon Quest with a time of 10 days, 2 hours, and 53 minutes.
Congratulations, Mr. Sass!
Here are the top five mushers in the Yukon Quest this afternoon. All times shown are Alaska Standard Time (four hours behind EST)
Brent Sass passed mile marker 959.3 at 10:51 am
Michelle Phillips passed mile marker 936.7 at 10:50 am
Cody Strathe passed mile marker 883.2 at 8:04 am
Allen Moore passed mile marker 883.22 at 10:01 am
Torsten Kohnert passed mile marker 852.8 at 10:48
Sass is traveling at 4.4 miles per hour, so he may finish overnight!
The top five on the leader board as of this afternoon. Remember all times shown are Alaskan Standard, four hours behind EST.
Brent Sass passed mile marker 854.4 at 10:20 AM
Michelle Phillips passed mile marker 852.7 at 10:11 AM
Cody Strathe passed mile marker 814.0 at 10:22 AM
Allen Moore passed mile marker 785.7 at 10:22 AM
Ryne Olson passed mile marker 736.2 at 10:22 AM
The event website has lots of helpful information, including a live tracking map and a graph showing which checkpoints each of the top ten mushers have gone through.
Just as a reminder, here are the dogs who won each class and are eligible to be the Masters Agility Championship:
8-inch class: Fortune
12-inch class: Pixel
16-inch class: Pink
20-inch class: Lilliann
24-inch class: Punk
And the winner is: Pink, the Border Collie!
Check back tomorrow for the best in breed winners throughout the day in the Terrier, Non-Sporting, Toy, and Junior Showmanship groups.
Times from the 24-inch class
Irish Setter Ava – 36.42 clean
Beauceron Maya – 44.02 + 15
Irish Red & White Setter Cushla – 54.47 + 5
Dalmatian Mason – 43.41 + 20
Labrador Retriever Banshee – 51.54 + 5
Siberian Husky Lobo – 76.32 + 60 – Lobo had a lot of fun, stopping to sniff the roses along the way. He thought he might take some time out to see if there was a treat on the champions bench. This is why I love the 24-inch class.
Poodle Shambhu – 44.16 + 5
**Golden Retriever Punk – 36.05 clean
Belgian Tervuren Kira – 41.37 + 20
Border Collie Kaboom – 33.25 + 10
Punk takes top honors in this class.
2nd – Kaboom
3rd – Ava
4th – Shambhu
Next up: the Champion!
Times for the 12-inch class:
Chinese Crested Decker – 52.9 + 10
English Springer Spaniel Tinkerbell – 52.87 + 25
Boston Terrier Darby – 42.33 + 5
Shetland Trek – 46.3 clean
Danish Swedish Farmdog Bullet – 39.1 clean
Poodle Pre – 34 + 5
All American Dog Jeter – 48.06 + 5
Manchester Terrier Prix – 50.8 + 15
Cocker Spaniel Pink – 42.64 + 25
**Miniature American Shepherd Pixel – 36.4 clean
And Pixel takes the 12-inch class!
2nd – Pre
3rd – Bullet
4th – Trek
Coming up next: the 24-inch class. This one is fun to watch because some of the dogs just lumber through the course because they’re so big.
Times for the 16-inch class
Miniature American Shepherd Loyal (Preferred class) – 46.99 clean
Rat Terrier Ferris B (Preferred class) – 42.44 clean
All American Dog Cameo (Preferred class) – 45.90 clean
Cocker Spaniel Joey – 44.26 clean
English Springer Spaniel Fern – 41.93 + 5
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Liberty – 36.88 + 10
Australian Shepherd Lira – 36.85 clean
Shetland Sheepdog Streak – 35.29 clean (I swear they were running the tape in fast forward through the weave poles!)
Shetland Sheepdog Boss – 35.22 + 5
Border Collie Pink (Defending class champion last two years) – 29.35 clean
And Pink takes the win!
2nd – Streak
3rd – Lira
4th – Boss
Coming up next: the 12-inch class
Times from the 8-inch class
All American Dog (Preferred Class) Logan – 40.23 clean
**Papillon (Preferred Class) Fortune – 36.73 clean
Poodle Carly Rae – 61.64 + 20
Scottish Terrier Pickles – 46.78 + 5
Mini Australian Shepherd Cassion – 42.58 + 30
Pembroke Welsh Corgi Gwendolline – 43.3 clean
Havanese Bexar – 50.52 + 10
Bichon Frise Razzberry – 52.46 + 5
Papillon Pink – 37.55 clean
Papillon Wren – (2016 champion) – 38.83 + 5
8-inch class winner: Fortune, the Papillon
2nd: Pink
3rd: Logan
4th: Gwendolline
Coming UP: the 16-inch class