America's top dog is from Palm Springs. Meet Buddy Holly, Westminster's 2023 Best in Show

Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY
·3 min read

A Palm Springs pooch has become New York's new top dog.

Buddy Holly, Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen (pronounced peh-TEE’ bah-SAY’ grihf-FAHN’ vahn-DAY’-ahn) from the desert city, won the Best in Show honor at the 147th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Holly, who is 6-years-old, beat over 3,000 dogs of more than 200 different breeds for the ultimate prize.

Here's what we know about our local very good boy and his very good win.

How a Palm Springs dog made history

Holly's selection marked history. He's the first Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen (PBGV for short) to ever win Best in Show in Westminster's 147-year history. This is the second year in a row that a dog from the hound group has won the gold-and-purple ribbon after Trumpet the Bloodhound became the first Bloodhood to win Best in Show last year.

"I never thought a PBGV would do this," said handler and owner Janice Hayes. "Buddy Holly is the epitome of a show dog. Nothing bothers him. He loves all the cameras... He's just everything a PBGV should be, hard-headed, stubborn, happy and he moves just so easily. We are so proud of him and this is so surreal."

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Buddy Holly, the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, won Best in Show.
Buddy Holly, the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, won Best in Show.

What is Westminster and Best in Show?

The Westminster Kennel Club's dog show, in which dogs are judged for how much they conform to the traits of their breed, is held annually.

The Best in Show winner is selected from seven competitors – each of whom first won Best in Breed, and then best in one of the seven groups that purebred dogs are divided into: Hound, Toy, Non-sporting, Sporting, Herding, Working and Terrier.

The champion was selected by Elizabeth Sweigart, a breeder and handler from Pennsylvania, who judged Best in Show. Sweigart gave the runner-up honor – Reserve Best in Show – to Rummie the Pekingese.

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Who else won?

In addition to Buddy Holly the PBGV (Hound) and Rummie the Pekingese (Toy), the finalists were Winston the French Bulldog (Non-sporting), Ribbon the Australian Shepherd (Herding), Cider the English Setter (Sporting), Monty the Giant Schnauzer (Working) and Trouble the American Staffordshire Terrier (Terrier).

Four of those breeds – Giant Schnauzer, Australian Shepherd, American Staffordshire Terrier and French Bulldog – have never won Best In Show.

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The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show − which this year was held at the same sports complex that hosts the annual U.S. Open tennis tournament − is the second oldest continuously running sporting event in the U.S. behind the Kentucky Derby. Westminster was previously held at New York City’s Madison Square Garden from 1877 to 2020, but moved to the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York, in 2021 and 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: America's top dog is from Palm Springs. Learn more about the local Westminster winner