A Masterton corgi breeder won best of show at the Clareville dog champs on Saturday and beat out hundreds of rivals from across New Zealand. Chris Sigvertsen, who has owned and bred Welsh corgis over the past decade since first using them to help herd cattle, won the champs ribbon withDebbie - pedigree name Glen Opal Costabom - on the opening day of the three-day event. The Wairarapa Kennel Association hosted the triple championship show, which ended today, and took entries comprising more than 500 dogs from as far away as Whangarei and Christchurch. Entrants competed over seven group events over the three days that were critiqued by judges from Australia and New Zealand. Mrs Sigvertsen said she now shares her Masterton home with eight corgis and also contested two other events over the weekend alongside daughters Janette and Diane. Show dog Debbie took out best in breed and in working group before capturing the top prize for the day, her owner said. "I had a corgi when I was 13 but didn't really get back in to it again until I started using them to get the cows in on a dairy farm we were on about ten years ago - they were bred as cattle dogs after all," she said. "They're just so loyal and very intelligent. And they love rugby, the All Blacks, the haka. Just like Mum."
