Nimble the dog made Westminster Dog Show history after becoming the first mixed-breed to win the 11th Annual Masters Agility Championship on Saturday, May 11.
The 6-year-old pooch made sure everyone knew why she was named Nimble. Because aside from being the first mixed-breed to win the Masters Agility Championship, she is also the first dog from the 12-inch division to win the title.
According to a Westminster release, Nimble, who has the show name NAC MACH Breezy Blue’s Be Quick! T2B MXF, bested 351 agility competitors, including 26 other All-American dogs (the term the Westminster Dog Show uses to refer to mixed-breed dogs), to bag the title with a time of 28.76 seconds.
PEOPLE reports that Nimble is the fifth dog to complete the Masters Agility Championship in under 30 seconds, and is now the third fastests canine contestant to participate in the competition.
Handler and owner Cynthia Hornor told NPR, “I was surprised. But she proved that she’s the little engine that could.”
Nimble is a Border Collie-Papillion mix – a great recipe for an agility champion. This is because, according to Fox Sports, Border Collies have dominated this category and have won a total of eight out of the last 11 titles. And Papillons make up the top three finishers of this year’s Masters Agility Championship.
Furthermore, Nimble’s handler and owner won last year’s Masters Agility Championship with her Border Collie, Truant.
Hornor said that she has rained numerous dogs to master the course. And while she looks for dogs that will excel in the competition, she said that the most important thing to her is that her dogs are treated as pets first.
“They’re pets first because the amount of time that we actually do agility is very small, versus the time we go hiking or swimming, or just lounge around our house,” she tells WTOP.
Hornor said she hopes Nimble’s historic win will be enough proof that mixed-breed dogs can be as fast as purebred dogs.
“Agility is the equalizer. Mixed-breed dogs can be just as fast as purebred dog,” Hornor said.
And as for Nimble’s reward for her historic win? “She got steak, and she got to play,” said Hornor. “She just really loves playing, so her reward is being able to go run and play.”