More than 2,500 dogs begin the day competition-ready. By the end, however, only a handful stand in the spotlight.

Long before the judges make the final cuts at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Colorado Springs trainer Tommy Dantzler and his 4-year-old black Russian terrier, Rye, are ready for anything.

“He’s on autopilot,” Dantzler said. “Whenever we go to a dog show event, he wakes up as soon as we get to the parking lot. He can smell the excitement and all the other dogs, and he just knows what to do.”

Under judge Sandra Pretari-Hickson, Rye received an Award of Merit at the show, competing under his registered name, Naissurs The Real McCoy.

But for Rye, winning isn’t new territory; it runs in his blood.

According to Dantzler, Rye’s father, Bogie, holds the breed’s record with eight Best in Show titles.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Rye arrived at Westminster in February after a dominant 2025 season, earning Best of Breed at the National Specialty, along with Best in Show and the Top 20 People’s Choice award.

Dantzler and Rye’s co-owners, Lian Chase and Patty Bartley-Shonts, spent months “plotting the show and campaigning the dog.”

“To get awarded at something as prestigious as the National Specialty was a dream come true,” Chase said. “It’s arguably one of the most prestigious things you can win. It’s basically all the dogs in the country of your breed competing against each other.”

A day at the National Specialty starts early, Dantzler said, with grooming and preparing the dogs hours before the competition begins.

Dogs are first judged by class, based on age and experience, and how closely they match the written breed standard. The top dogs then move to the open division and, eventually, to the group stage, where breeds with similar roles are compared. The winners of each group then advance to Best in Show, where only one dog is named the day’s champion.

“He’s very aware when he wins and knows that everyone’s happy with him,” Dantzler said. “When he won nationals, it was a whole lot of emotions poured into that, and he knew that something big had happened right then and there. He cuddled up to Lian and gave her a big old hug. It was a really, really special moment.”

With national titles already secured, the next prize on Rye’s horizon is the elusive triple crown.

To achieve the dog show triple crown, a dog must win three major titles in the same year: Best of Breed at Westminster, the National Specialty and the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin.

Rye’s team plans to pursue that goal this year, and he is “more than capable” of taking on the challenge, according to Chase.

“He’s just a goofball,” Chase said. “He just has a good time no matter what he’s doing. He’s just not a serious dog, and he’s really an abnormality in the breed. They’re often not very outgoing and bouncy the way Rye is.”

With a team of trainers supporting him, Rye is marking his territory in the world of dog shows one paw at a time.

“I feel like he is just now at a point of adulthood where he is having fun, enjoying things and not wearing out, and that’s going to last for a really long time,” Dantzler said. “I’ve known dogs like this that have lived for about 14 years, and that’s really long for a large breed. They act young forever, so as long as he wants to do this, I’ll do it with him.”