According to the Westminster Kennel Club archive, in 1935 Mrs. Sherman Hoyt handled her Standard Poodle to Best in Show, the first such win ever for a woman handler.
According to the American Kennel Club, the magnificent snow-white standard Poodle Ch. Puttencove Promise was whelped in 1955 and won Best in Show at Westminster three years later. He was the turning point for the standard Poodle as we know the breed today, a bridge from the working water dogs of the past who brought the breed into the present.
Below is a full list of Westminster Kennel Club Best In Show Poodles provided courtesy of Westminster’s Joanne Anderson. It appears the Poodle had quite a popular run in the late ’50s to early ’60s across the categories. Note the back to back wins of a Standard Poodle in 1958, a Toy Poodle in 1959 and a Toy Poodle again in 1961. Viva La Poodle in 2020 again!
Standard Poodles
1935 – Ch. Nunsoe Duc de la Terrace of Blakeen
1958 -Ch. Puttencove Promise
1973- Ch. Acadia Command Performance
1991- Ch. Whisperwind On A Carousel
2020- GCHP CH Stone Run Afternoon Tea
Miniature Poodles
1943-C. Pitter Patter of Piperscroft
1959- Ch. Fontclair Festoon
2002- Ch. Surrey Spice Girl
Toy Poodles
1956- Ch. Wilber White Swan
1961- Ch. Cappoquin Little Sister
The 2020 Best in Show Westminster Kennel Club Winner Siba
The History of Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
The Westminster Dog Show has a rich history. It was established in 1877 and is America’s oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. Westminster pre-dates the invention of the light bulb, the automobile, basketball and the establishment of the World Series in baseball.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, first held in 1877, is America’s second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby. It has survived power outages, snowstorms, a national depression, two World Wars, and a tugboat strike that threatened to shut down the city.
The dog show has been held in all four editions of Madison Square Garden, and is currently the only organization that has. Westminster has been held at Madison Square Garden in all but seven years of its existence.
For more on Westminster Historical highlights, visit here.
