GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind (December 20, 2005 – June 13, 2017), also known as Hickory, is a female

Scottish Deerhound The Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a large breed of sighthound, once bred to hunt the red deer by coursing. In outward appearance, the Scottish Deerhound is similar to the Greyhound, but larger and more heavily boned with a rough-c ...

who was named Best in Show at the

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

in 2011. She is the first of her breed to have won the title.

Biography

GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind was named after a song written by

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

and Bob Buchanan. She was owned by Sally Sweatt, along with her breeder, Cecilia Dove, and her husband Scott. During 2010, she was ranked fifth out of all American dogs in the

Hound Group A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...

. Following her victory at Westminster, she retired from show competition. Her owners made plans to breed her in 2011 and move her permanently to her breeder's farm in Flint Hill, Virginia. Speaking of Hickory's retirement, her handler Angela Lloyd said, "She's a wonderful dog to live with. I’m going to miss the nose nudge in the middle of the night." Hickory died, aged 11 years, on June 13, 2017.

Westminster

Being handled by Angela Lloyd, who won the junior competition in 1998, she was entered in the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2011. In her breed judging, she was judged the best of three entrants who had qualified for Westminster, moving onto the

, the other two entrants being GCH Thistleglen Rowan and Ch. Altnamara's Trial By Fire. She placed first in the Hound Group, beating the

Beagle The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the ...

GCH Torquay Midnight Confession into second place, and the

Norwegian Elkhound The Norwegian Elkhound is one of the Northern Spitz-type breeds of dog and is the National Dog of Norway. The Elkhound has served as a hunter, guardian, herder, and defender. It is known for its courage in tracking and hunting elk and othe ...

GCH Vin-Melca's Voyager into third. She won the title of Best in Show in what was described by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as "surprising many", beating four dogs which were ranked in the top ten of all breeds in 2010: the

Pekingese The Pekingese (also spelled Pekinese) is a breed of toy dog, originating in China. The breed was favored by royalty of the Chinese Imperial court as a companion dog, and its name refers to the city of Peking (Beijing) where the Forbidden City i ...

GCH Palacegarden Malachy, the

Cocker Spaniel Cocker Spaniels are dogs belonging to two breeds of the spaniel dog type: the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel of which are commonly called simply Cocker Spaniel in their countries of origin. In the early 20th century, Cocker ...

GCH Casablanca's Thrilling Seduction, the

Bearded Collie The Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is a herding breed of dog once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion. Bearded Collies have an average weight of . Males are around tall at the withers while females are ...

GCH Tolkien Raintree Mister Baggins, and the

Smooth Fox Terrier The Smooth Fox Terrier is a breed of dog, one of many terrier breeds. It was the first breed in the fox terrier family to be given official recognition by The Kennel Club (circa 1875; breed standard 1876). It is well known, and although not a ...

GCH Slyfox Sneak's A Peek. Her odds prior to winning Best in Show were placed at 60–1. However, these were not the longest odds of a recent Best in Show winner; in 2009, a

Sussex Spaniel The Sussex Spaniel is a breed of dog native to Sussex in southern England. It is a low, compact spaniel and is as old a breed as and similar in appearance to the Clumber Spaniel. They can be slow-paced, but can have a clownish and energetic te ...

named Ch.

Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (December 1, 1998 – September 25, 2012), better known as Stump, was a male Sussex Spaniel who won Best In Show at the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Stump was the first of his breed to win that h ...

came out of retirement to win at odds of 275–1. Paolo Dondina, the Best in Show judge and first

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

to judge the prize, said of Hickory, "This one feels perfectly the standard in all the ways, I am a hound person. I had Afghans, I had whippets, I had Irish wolfhounds. I never owned a deerhound. This is my dream." During the press conference following the victory, Hickory grew tired and restless of the photographers, and at one point walked off the stage. As Best in Show, she appeared on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' and ''

The Martha Stewart Show ''Martha'', also known as ''The Martha Stewart Show'', is an American cooking show hosted by Martha Stewart. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, in syndication until it was picked up by the Hallmark Channel in September 2010 as part of a l ...

''. At Westminster, GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind became the first ever of her breed (

) to capture the Best in Show award.

References

External links

List of American Kennel Club Titles and Abbreviations for Championship Dogs
{{Westminster Best in Show 2005 animal births Best in Show winners of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Biography

Westminster

See also

References

External links