Tim McGraw’s Floppy-Eared Dog Won Best of Breed at the Westminster Dog Show
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An extremely good dog with extremely good floppy ears — who just happens to be co-owned by Tim McGraw — won Best of Breed at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday, May 9.
Lepshi (pronounced “LEEP’-she”) bested the competition in the Bracco Italiano breed, which was just added to the Westminster Kennel Club competition this year. McGraw, who’s one of Lepshi’s four owners, celebrated the big win on Instagram, writing, “So proud of Lepshi!! He’s always been a winner in our eyes!”
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Speaking with The Associated Press, Lepshi’s handler, Ryan Wolfe, praised the pup as “a wonderful ambassador for the breed” and said it was “an honor to be first.” Wolfe added that Lepshi “loves everybody,” and without sacrificing any kind of journalistic neutrality or integrity, we think we can safely say the feeling is mutual.
Despite winning the breed competition, Lepshi unfortunately fell short in the Sporting Group, reaching the semifinals before he was eliminated. An English setter named An Apple A Day a day won the group. Best in Show ultimately went to a petit basset griffon Vendéen named Buddy Holly.
The Westminster Kennel Club describes the Bracco Italiano breed as “an ancient pointing breed native to northern Italy,” typically “used for hunting birds with nets … and alongside falconers.” A “large and powerful pointing dog with aristocratic bearing,” their “most notable features are a sculpted head with divergent facial planes, long ears, and a fast, extended trot.”
McGraw and his wife Faith Hill have several Bracco Italiano dogs at home, one of whom — with the incredible name Stromboli — went semi-viral back in 2020. The singer shared a clip on Instagram of one of his daughters howling along with Stromboli, then chatted about the pups on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“He’s just a glorified bird dog,” McGraw quipped. “We had a family of those dogs, and he’s the last one left — well, we have one more at the farm. But we gave them all Italian names.” McGraw then joked, “To be fair, Stromboli sings a lot better than me!”
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