Today's Breeder - Issue 107 - 10

'TRUMPET'
IS FIRST BLOODHOUND TO WIN
BEST IN SHOW AT WESTMINSTER
T
he graceful, fluid movement, sleuth-hound attitude
and sweet disposition of a black-and-tan male
Bloodhound named " Trumpet " (MBIS/MBISS GCHB
Flessner's Toot My Own Horn) tracked straight to Best in
Show at the 146th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Presented by Purina Pro Plan.
The first Bloodhound to win Best in Show at Westminster
- and the 15th of the past 16 winners that are fed Purina
Pro Plan - Trumpet topped more than 3,000 dogs of 211
breeds at the iconic show held June 20 to 21, 2022, at Lyndhurst
Estate in Tarrytown, New
York. Trumpet is the eighth
Bloodhound to win Hound
Group First, following his sire,
" Nathan " (MBIS/MBISS GCHP
Flessner's International S'Cess
MTI), who won in 2014.
Handler Heather Buehner of
" I WENT INTO THE
BEST IN SHOW
RING WITH NO
EXPECTATIONS,
BUT KNOWING
THAT ANYTHING
IS POSSIBLE. "
Heather Buehner, Trumpet's
handler, co-breeder and
co-owner
Berlin Center, Ohio, who showed
her family's Irish Setters in
Juniors and who has co-bred
and co-owned Bloodhounds,
including Trumpet, with Chris
and Bryan Flessner of St. Joseph,
Illinois, since 2007, says, " I went
into the Best in Show ring with
no expectations, but knowing
that anything is possible. "
It was a " pinch-me " moment for Team Trumpet when
Best in Show judge Dr. Donald Sturz Jr. of Brooklyn, New
York, who is recognized internationally as a prominent show
judge, named the Bloodhound as the winner. " Trumpet
had flawless movement and athleticism. This breed must
have endurance to track and trail, and that is what I saw
in this Bloodhound, " Dr. Sturz said after the show.
Watching the live broadcast from their homes, the
Flessners, co-breeder and co-owner Tina Kocar of Puyallup,
Washington, and co-owner Missy Bettis of Orlando, Florida,
were overwhelmed with joy. Heather's proud mother, Mary
Zitek, watched on television, as did Heather's boyfriend,
Chuck Stanaitis, who later welcomed her home with a
red-carpet rollout, balloons and signs. Heather's aunt,
Linda Krawczonek, who was at Westminster so Heather
10 | ISSUE 107
could show her Long-Coat Chihuahua, an Award of Merit
winner, was thrilled to be ringside. All have rewatched
the show many times.
As for Trumpet, he went into Westminster a debutant
who had just started his Specials campaign in January 2022.
The handsome 130-pound hound took his ninth Best in
Show at Westminster. Shown only 10 weekends in 2021,
Trumpet finished the year as the No. 1 Bloodhound in
breed and all-breed points. Highlights included winning
two Hound Group Firsts on the Florida Circuit and Best
in Specialty Show at the American Bloodhound Club (ABC)
Specialty in Temonium, Maryland. Physically mature at 4 ½
years of age, Trumpet's thick bone, solid structure, pendulous
ears, and superabundant wrinkled head are the hallmarks
of the scent hound breed.
Trumpet is one of few linebred Bloodhounds from the
Flessners' breeding program, now in its 35th year, as they
generally practice type-to-type outcross breedings. Trumpet is
reminiscent of his sire, Nathan, the Best in Show winner at
the 2014 National Dog Show Presented by Purina Pro Plan.
" Trumpet has Nathan's showmanship, good looks and
beautiful gait, which comes from proper structure, form
and function, " says Heather, who also handled Nathan.
Trumpet's dam, " Buckles " (CH Fessner's Rock'Em Don'T
Knock'Em), finished her show championship in 2014 at
the ABC National Specialty winning Winners Bitch and
Best of Winners. Her first litter, dubbed the " music " litter,
produced Trumpet and his brother, " Bugle " (MBISS CH
Flessner's March To Beat Of My Own Drum), who were
born Dec. 23, 2017.
Trumpet's paternal grandsire, " Harvey " (MHOF GCHB
Flessner's International Harvester), was the No. 1 Bloodhound
in breed points in 2010 and an ABC Hall of Fame
(HOF) Sire of Merit and Show Dog, and Trumpet's paternal
great-grandsire, " Tigger " (2XHOF BIS CH Flessner's And
Tiger Too), was a two-time HOF Sire of Merit. Trumpet is
an ABC HOF Show Dog.
Tigger, whelped in 1997 from one of the Flessners' first
Bloodhound litters, was sired by " Rad " (HOF CH Legacy's
Totally Radical), a No. 1 Bloodhound in the 1990s, who
was from the breeding program of their mentor, Legacy
Bloodhound breeder, the late Anne L. Legge. Tigger's dam
was their foundation bitch, " Amber " (CH Coshelav Sparkling
https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dog-food https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dog-food http://www.flessnerkennels.com
Today's Breeder - Issue 107

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