Judge Praises Herding Group Depth at Westminster’s 150th Show

Four of Channing Sheets’ six breed winners were pulled into the Herding Group at Westminster’s 150th show, a sign, she said, of how much depth the ring held in dogs built to work. The longtime breeder, handler and judge said the assignment felt like a career milestone, but also a test of the kind of breed quality, movement and conditioning that separate a good herding dog from one that can keep climbing under pressure.

Sheets judged Australian Shepherds, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, German Shepherd Dogs, Old English Sheepdogs, Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Pulik, and she said she had gone back to the breed standards before the assignment to make sure every exhibit got full attention. That mattered in a Herding Group with 385 entries across 33 breeds, where small differences in type and presentation can decide which dogs advance. Westminster said the 2026 show drew more than 3,000 dogs representing more than 200 breeds, with breed judging at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Group judging and Best in Show at Madison Square Garden.

Her strongest comments centered on the heavy hitters, especially German Shepherd Dogs and Old English Sheepdogs, while also noting strong Australian Shepherd entries. Sheets said judging her own breed, the German Shepherd, was the most demanding part of the assignment because the entry was larger than usual and because she was evaluating against a breeder-judge in the Group. The female she selected to represent the breed in the Group, she said, “exuded breed type” and was a beautiful package.

The results backed up her read on the class. Of her six breed winners, four moved forward into the Group, and the Old English Sheepdog ultimately won Group 1. Miniature American Shepherd GCHS CH Flying M's Modern Day Warrior took Group 2, German Shepherd Dog CH Kenlyn Marquis' Queen Of Hearts finished Group 3, and Bouvier des Flandres GCHB CH Quiche's Vogue Covergirl CGC TKN was Group 4. Westminster has contested the Herding Group since 1983, with the winner taking home the Strathglass Trophy, and its records show German Shepherd Dogs lead the group with 13 wins since then.

That history gave extra weight to Sheets’ focus on German Shepherd Dogs and Old English Sheepdogs, both breeds that have also won Best in Show at Westminster. The club marked the 150th anniversary with a green-carpeted presentation and an in-show museum retrospective, while Best in Show judge David Fitzpatrick, a previous two-time winner in 2012 and 2021, capped a show built around the same idea Sheets highlighted: the best herding dogs are not just stylish in profile, they are made to move, hold together and keep working.