Draco finishes championship at the Welsh Terrier Club of America National Specialty!

New Champion Darwyn’s Black Magic.  Many thanks to Welsh Terrier breeder judge, Mrs. Allison Sunderman.

It was truly a dream come true, my home-bred boy won WINNERS DOG every day he was shown on Montgomery County KC week (and Best of Winners twice!).  To finish at the National Specialty, from the bred-by class, is what every serious show breeder dreams of.

Katheryn Murray conditioned Draco for the previous few months, and showed him every day except for Montgomery County.  Kate works closely with her family, Chrystal Murray and Paul Clas, and they make a wonderful team together.  Kate had Draco in very beautiful condition, and the team runs a well-run and low-stress set-up.

2025 Montgomery County week was very special year for many reasons including:

1.  The famous Morris & Essex KC, only held every 5 years, was part of the 2025 Montgomery week of shows, and 2025 was an extra WTCA Specialty (Draco was Winners Dog and Maddie won Award of Merit!);

2.  Multiple Best in Show Welsh Terriers from other countries were competing in the classes for Winners Dog;

3.  There were 2 official WTCA breed specialties held, Morris & Essex and the National on Montgomery Day

4.  Every day of shows, the breed was judged by well-known and well-respected terrier-breeder judges, with a long-time successful Welsh Terrier breeder judging the National Specialty.

5.  AND … it was the 125th Anniversary Show for the Welsh Terrier Club of America!

Going into Montgomery week …

Draco was relatively new to showing, and most people had not heard of him.

A year earlier, as a 9 month old puppy, Draco was awarded his Canadian Championship, all from group placements, in just 2 weekends of shows.  Draco’s finishing points in Canada came from a respected breeder-judge from Columbia, Mr. Ivan Sandoval.

Prior to going to Kate, Draco was shown in Canada for a couple of weekends, and he was awarded multiple group placements, and a group 1st — these wins finished his Canadian Grand Championship!

The first day of the “Montgomery week of shows” was the famous Morris & Essex KC show, held once every 5 years.  Mrs. Lydia Coleman Hutchison judged, and she confidently pointed to Draco for Winners Dog for a major!

The next two shows on “Montgomery week” were Hatboro I and Hatboro II, and Draco was awarded both Winners Dog and Best of Winners!

We could have moved him up to specials to compete directly for Best of Breed, however, it has happened multiple times over the decades where foreign dogs have been entered incorrectly, and wins that you think you have, don’t end up with the points that you expect.  Instead, we chose to pull him from competition for the Devon show day (day before Montgomery).

The last day of the circuit really is the main reason that terrier enthusiasts come from all over the world to just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I (Larisa Hotchin) have has attended this show weekend over 25 times now all of the way from the West Coast of Canada.  For 2025, it was even MORE special since it was the WTCA’s 125th Anniversary!

The National Specialty was judged by Terrier Specialist and Welsh Terrier breeder-judge, Mrs. Allison Corn Sunderman of Michigan, USA.  Draco was shown in the BRED-BY EXHIBITOR class with his breeder-owner, Larisa Hotchin.

At the WTCA 125th Anniversary National Specialty, Draco was awarded:
– Winners Dog for a 5 point major!
– Best Bred-by in Breed!
– Award of Merit, from the classes!

For something even more exciting was participating in the Montgomery County KC’s Bred-By Exhibitor Best in Show ring where Draco was then awarded BIS 3 (Group 3) Bred-By!  WOW!!!!

What made this even more special was the fact that I was able to share these amazing wins with very good friends of mine, who had traveled from other countries (England and Australia) … we all shared a hotel suite, meals, and many laughs together.  Both Alexandra Hall and Sonya Cornick are themselves noted for showing beautiful Welsh Terriers, to many top awards, in their own countries.  Thank you ladies for helping make this year so very special for me!

2025 was most definitely a very memorable National Specialty weekend for sure!

This was a dream come true for me – sweeping the classes, then awarded Best Bred By for the 125th Anniversary, then a Group 3 in one of the most competitive Terrier Group’s I have ever been in!  Even more special was the fact that I had so many people, from all over the world, comment on how extraordinary Draco was — TYPE …. QUALITY …. SOUNDNESS.

Given that Draco was not yet 2 years old for these wins, I am hoping that more will be written as his career continues.

WTCA Specialty at Morris & Essex
Terrier Breeder Judge:  Mrs. Lydia Coleman Hutchinson

WTCA Specialty w/e at Hatboro
Terrier Breeder Judge:  Mrs. Connie Clark