From the entry of 2,652, after two days and nights of the premier competition in the country, the big black dog became the first Newfoundland to capture the major honors at Westminster.
Kitty Drury, from Saranac Lake, N.Y., only the seventh woman ever to make the final decision in America's most prestigious canine event, was calm as she stood in the middle of the dark-brown carpeted ring. She had just returned from judging in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Unruffled by Crowd
Unruffled by the crowd's applause, her hands clasped behind her when she wasn't using them to check the conformation of the dogs, she turned in a 16-minute no-nonsense job of judging that revealed the merits and demerits of seven outstanding dogs.
She examined them collectively and singly, gaited them up and down and across the ring, felt the body structure, then wheeled around and strode to the judges' table to mark her book.
Accompinied by William Rockefeller, who was carrying the big Tiffany bowl that goes to the winner, and Chet Collier, the show chairman, she returned to the center of the ring and pointed to the 155-pounder.
''I've judged 1,000 Newfs all over the world in the last year and this one is the finest, '' said Mrs. Drury. ''This was the greatest group of specials I've ever seen. All seven finalists were gorgeous but the Newf had it all. He was the best balanced and best mover. He looked at me, smiled and said, 'I'm the best dog yet.' ''
Winner Is 5 Years Old
The big dog, who will be 5 years old in July, is one of 40 Newfoundlands owned by Elinor Ayers, whose mother established the Seaward Kennels in Manchester Center, Vt., in 1932. ''We call him Adam,'' explained Gerlinde Hockla, his handler, ''because he was the first whelped in a litter. I walk him three miles every day. It keeps us both in shape.''
Mrs. Drury showed a Newf at Westminster in 1928 and she has bred many good ones over the years. However, she hasn't bred one in a decade and doesn't even own one now.
Each of the finalists had a previous best-in-show performance and among them they had a total of 221 top awards.
The animal with the most impressive credentials was the top winning dog of all breeds in 1983. She was a Scottish Terrier, Ch. Braeburn's Close Encounter, owned by Sonnie and Alan Novick of Plantation Acres, Fla. The black bitch was shown 100 times last year, captured 95 groups and was best 63 times. And she has kept up the pace in 1984 with awards last month in Savannah, Ga., Jacksonville and Lakeland on the Florida circuit and Marion, Ohio, 10 days ago. Over all she has 113 top awards and 196 groups.
Then there were Mary Caudo's and Zola Coogan's chow chow, Ch. Wah- Hu Redcloud Sugar Daddy; Judi Boston-Payne's and Cindy Trefrey's Irish setter Ch. Meadowlark Anticipation; Suzy Reingold's and Emily Latimer's English foxhound Ch. Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Winslow, and Linda George's smooth chihuahua, Ch. Ouachitah For Your Eyes Only.
Brad Buttner, a 16-year-old high school junior from Hayward, Calif., was the winner among eight finalists in the junior showmanship competition. The exhibitor from the West Coast was first in 30 classes during this year. He showed a Great Dane, Terrydane Hans, and guided him to his championship. Buttner receives the Scholarship Award Certificate, sponsored by the Quaker Oats Company, under which $1,000 will be held in escrow until he decides what college he will attend. The judging is based solely on the handling ability of the junior and not on the dog's conformation.
A second article about Adam's win, and his continuing show career, appeared the very next day in the New York Times. Check it out here at The Cultured Newf.
Adam's win at Westminster was also mentioned prominently in Elinor Ayers' obituary in the New York Times on January 12, 1991:
Adam's feat has been repeated only once so far, when Josh (CH Darbydale's All Rise Pouch Cove) went BIS in 2004.
