Tupelo family, who has fastest Borzoi in country, invited to taping of ESPN show
Sep. 15—TUPELO — In August, 14-year-old Kirbie Allen got an unexpected invitation.
She and Salt, her Borzoi, were invited to Kannapolis, North Carolina, for American Kennel Club Fastest Dogs USA, which is being produced for broadcast on ESPN.
Salt holds the No. 1 AKC Fast CAT ranking for Borzois in the country. Fast CAT — which stands for Coursing Ability Test — is a timed 100-yard dash where dogs run one at a time, chasing a lure.
"Her fastest time is 32.99 mph," said Stephanie Allen, Kirbie's mother. "AKC averages the top three times to determine the ranking."
Salt's average time for her No 1. ranking is 32.31 mph.
Once known as the Russian Wolfhound, the Borzoi is a graceful and swift sighthound, bred to chase and pin prey. It was recognized as a breed by the AKC in 1891.
The Allens traveled to North Carolina on Wednesday to settle in and rest, and today they will go through practice runs. The show begins at 10 a.m. Friday, and will be broadcast at a later date.
"We expect her to match her fastest time this weekend," said Kirbie, who is homeschooled.
Stephanie Allen has been a dog trainer for 38 years. She started with working breeds, and now raises Silken Windhounds, and occasionally Borzois.
"Since my mom was a dog trainer, I wanted to do dog sports, too," Kirbie said.
At all Fast CAT events in which the Allens take part, mother and daughter are both considered handlers. Kirbie is the releaser, and her mother is the catcher.
"It's a 100-yard sprint," Stephanie Allen said. "Somebody has to be on both ends of the dog."
Kirbie got her first Borzoi, Bruce, in July 2017, when she was just 9. She first handled him at a Fast CAT event at the MidSouth Fox Terrier Club of Memphis. After that, Team Bruce competed in several more Fast CAT events and dog shows, and Kirbie even did therapy work with Bruce at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Tupelo.
The family retired Bruce, who is Salt's father, in March 2020. He died of cancer at the age of 10 in June 2022.
Kirbie's first event with Salt was in October 2020 at a Jackson, Tennessee, Dog Fanciers Association event. Salt was just 22 months old at the time.
"Salt did good," Kirbie said. "She ran two 31 mph dashes."
Early on, the Allens took Salt and her siblings, Manny and Lovey, to competitions about once a month. Now, they're at an event almost every weekend.
"Both Manny and Lovey are ranked in the Top 20 Fast CATs," Stephanie Allen said. "They're just not as fast as their sister."
The family has never been to anything like Fastest Dogs USA show before.
"I'm not really nervous," Kirbie said. "I'm excited. Salt is the only Borzoi invited to the show. We're thrilled to be invited."
Salt's official name is Perla Avalon Noblehouse Midnight Margarita — Salt is her "call" name. The Allens hope she has many more years of No. 1 rankings ahead of her.
"She's 3 1/2 years old," Stephanie Allen said. "Dogs can run until age 8 to 10, if you keep them in shape. I hope she's still going at 10. We let them tell us when it's time to stop, when it's not fun anymore."
