United States Eventing Association

US Eventing team rider Will Faudree, Southern Pines, NC traded his boots and breeches for a blue suit with coordinating blue and yellow tie when he entered the show ring on Monday, January 15^th. But this was no horse show. Faudree was competing at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City; instead of a big powerful event horse he was showing a tiny, meticulously groomed Yorkshire terrier. No stranger to bringing home blue ribbons, Faudree was nevertheless surprised and delighted when he and his tiny charge won Best of Breed - and why not? It was, after all, his first time at a dog show.

(Left: Will Faudree handled a different type of four-legged animal this past weekend--Jennifer Mosing’s adorable Yorkshire terrier Legacy’s Beat The Odds. Photo courtesy of Will Faudree.)

Faudree’s current top event horse, Pawlow, is owned by Jennifer Mosing, who is also an avid dog person. The story began at the Blenheim three-day event in England last year. While Faudree was caring for Pawlow after cross-country he started chatting with Desiree Livingston, whose husband Brian is the professional handler for Mosing’s dogs. Faudree commented that he would like to show a dog at Westminster, and Livingston said that it would be no problem. Little did he realize that she was serious.

Faudree had put the conversation out of his mind, but Mosing didn’t forget. “Every year I make up a calendar of events to give out to my owners,” he said. “When I gave Jennifer this year’s calendar there was a high performance training session scheduled in February and she said, “You can’t go to this training session.” I had no idea what she was talking about, though I had my horses entered at Pine Top the previous weekend so I wouldn’t have made the training session anyway. But to answer my question, she said, “It’s Westminster!”

Mosing sent seven dogs to Westminster, and Faudree handled her Yorkshire terrier Legacy's Beat The Odds. He flew in Monday morning, had wardrobe consultation (he ended up wearing an old trot-up suit, in a royal blue that coordinated best with the dog), a crash-course in dog handling, and then entered the ring at one of the world’s premier dog shows. As Faudree noted, “Mark Weissbecker’s mom compared it to doing your first event at Badminton.”

After winning Best of Breed they advanced to the “Toy Group” competition on Tuesday. Group winners went on to compete for the Best in Show title, which this year was awarded to a Scottish terrier named Sadie. (Incidentally last year’s Best in Show winner was a Cumberland Spaniel named “Stump” who is owned by Southern Pines horsewoman Beth Dowd).

“It’s intense!” said Faudree. “It’s like going into the dressage ring at Kentucky on a hot horse that’s lit up by the atmosphere. The dog I was showing is hyper – he’s a seasoned show dog and really knew what he was doing, but he wanted to follow the other dogs. They told me ahead of time that he’s a follower and to make sure to give him plenty of room, to show him off. You have to remember to smile at the judges, make sure the dog is standing square, lay them down, brush them out, it’s a lot to remember! And if you pull too hard on the leash you can lift him off his feet, so you have to be careful.”

In preparation for the big day Faudree watched the movie “Best in Show”, a mockumentary about showing dogs. “It really is just like the movie!” he said. “In the horse world we are so meticulous and detail-oriented and it is the same in the dog world. The grooming takes hours; with the Yorkie they flat-ironed the thing and tease his hair! But they’re athletes and know their job, too; it’s impressive to watch.”

During his whirlwind trip to New York Faudree also managed to see “Wicked” on Broadway and catch some of the Winter Olympics on TV. He said that he and Mosing always have a good time together.

“I think I’ll stick with horses, but we’re going to have to make this an annual thing,” he said.