THOR the chesapeake bay retriever won two classes at Crufts this year, making a comeback after a two-year break.

Crufts is the world’s largest and most prestigious annual dog show held in the UK and organised by The Kennel Club. In order to take part in the event, only dogs who have been invited by The Royal Kennel Club or those which has qualified are permitted to attend.

The event took place on March 5-8 at the NEC in Birmingham, and the groups were under the categories of: Working and Pastoral, Terrier and Hound, Utility and Toy and Gundog.

Thor had a striking record at the prestigious show, and he was campaigned regularly until 2023 when his owner Katy Marie decided to take a break.

“There is no real preparation involved with Thor, he is a low maintenance breed. So, a dip in the Monnow was the only thing required to lift his coat and get him looking his best,” said Katy.

“It was great to be back in the ring with him,” she added.

“It was like he never forgot his job and to be honest he exceeded expectations by going out and winning both classes.”

The first crufts event started at the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington in 1891 and it was named after Charles Cruft who founded the event.

The inspiration of Crufts came around after he was inspired at his previous role as the general manager of a dog biscuit factory which involved visiting different dog competitions so from that he decided to create his own.

This years winner 2026 Crufts winner was a Clumber spaniel called Bruin who competed against around 19,000 other participants.

“It’s always an honour to show at Crufts,” said Katy. It was a busy day as always, but we really enjoyed ourselves.”