Crufts 2024: Australian Shepherd Named Viking Wins Best In Show
That’s a wrap on Crufts 2024! Delighted dog lovers from across the world enjoyed yet another fury display of cute and cuddly canines.
Viking, a gorgeous Australian Shepherd, won being Best in Show at Crufts 2024 on Sunday.
This three-year-old dog from Birmingham beat around over 19,000 dogs from all over the world to claim the show’s top prize.
Viking, co-owned by Melanie Raymond, John Shaw and Kerry Kirtley, was also the winner of the pastoral group.
Handler and co-owner Melanie, a third generation dog breeder, was delighted. She said of their win: “Pinch me! This is everyone’s dream. Crufts is the one we all want to win!
And when asked if Viking did her proud, she said: “I should never doubt him because he always gives me everything and you come in and he’s like ‘yep, come on let’s do this’. So he loves every minute of it.”
The Kennel Club says the Australian Shepherd was developed in America as a sheepdog to work on the ranches. The breed later became a successful show dog thanks to their ‘attractive colours and athletic movements’ and is a very popular pet.
Very majestic!
Crufts 2024 highlights
Crufts attracts 160,000 visitors every year, and around 220 breeds were on show at Crufts 2024.
A nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier, Zen, from Japan – adorable! – triumphed in the terrier group and was named Reserve for Best in Show.
Zen, a Jack Russel, named Reserve for Best in Show.
There are just seven places in the Crufts 2024 Best in Show final. The other six finalists were: Elton, a French Bulldog; Raffa, a Papillon; Hendricks, a Weimaraner; Neville, a Leonberger and Getme, a Basset Griffon Vendeen (Grand).
Battle of the Bands
A somewhat surreal show highlight was the competition between two star-owned dogs for a top spot. The dogs belonging to singer-songwriter Chris Amoo of The Real Thing and Sting of Police battled it out on the green.
Singer Chris Amoo with his Irish Wolfhound, Sade Melchior. Credit: BeatMedia
Trudie Styler, Sting’s wife, brought nine Irish Wolfhounds to the show. Creena Atticus Finch went head-to-head with Amoo’s Sade Melchior. Styler’s wolfhound finished runner up to Amoo’s in Irish Wolfhound Limit Dog class.
This isn’t Chris Amoo’s first rodeo – his Irish Wolfhound named Paris won spot in Crufts Best in Show 2023.
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Hannah McLaren
I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.
