Call it the Dog Bowl. Westminster show's canine athletes get their piece of Super Bowl weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — They're at the top of their sport. They run, weave and go airborne. And they went all out for this weekend's championship.

Sorry — no, they're not the Chiefs or the Eagles. They're the agility dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club show, which began Saturday by showcasing agility and other dog sports.

Dog folk often call Westminster the Super Bowl of dog shows, and the comparison might be especially fitting this year. The United States' most prestigious canine competition opened on the same weekend as pro football's Super Bowl, which features the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The rare coincidence comes after both competitions' dates shifted in recent years.

“I always said I wanted people to call the Super Bowl ‘the Westminster of football,’ ” quipped dog expert David Frei, who has a foot in both worlds: He used to work in publicity for the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Westminster of football? Well, Westminster is 90 years older than the Super Bowl, after all.

And there have been some other connections between the gridiron and Westminster’s green carpet. Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Morgan Fox co-owns a French bulldog who came within a smushy-nose length of winning at Westminster in 2022 and was a finalist the following year. (Many other NFL players also have dogs for fun, if not for show, including Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.)

Whatever the analogy, being at Westminster was a triumph for Guster the rescue pug. He and owner Steve Martin took up agility after Guster started wagging his tail and tilting his head while they watched the Westminster agility contest on TV several years ago.

“We never thought we’d be here. And now we’re here,” Martin, of Austin, Texas, said Saturday.

A border collie named Vanish won the contest, which featured about 300 champion-level canines.

“She’s very intuitive, very natural — probably smarter than me,” handler Emily Klarman of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, told a Fox interviewer in the ring. While Klarman said the win initially left her speechless, Vanish had plenty to say, barking enthusiastically.

A special award for the best mixed-breed competitor went to Gable, handled by Kayla Feeney of Lima, New York.

Westminster added agility in 2014, marking the show's first event with mixed-breed dogs since the 1800s. Last year saw the first mixed-breed agility winner, a border collie-papillon mix named Nimble, who competed again this year.

She's an intentional blend of two top agility breeds. But the sport also draws rescue dogs such as an Australian cattle dog mix named Sawyer, or Soy Sauce for short.

His owner, Dr. Amy Ondeyka, has a complicated work schedule as a New Jersey emergency room doctor and EMS medical director. But she made time for agility after realizing she'd adopted a super-energetic dog who opens cabinets, unzips things and otherwise causes domestic mayhem when bored.

“He's always exciting — he does ridiculous things,” Ondeyka said as he intermittently leaped into her arms during what was ostensibly down time between agility runs. “We have fun, regardless what happens.”

While some dogs do agility to burn off energy, the sport helps others come out of their shell. Tully, a lanky, shaggy, mostly Labradoodle mix, used to be “afraid of the world” but now is excited to go to agility classes and competitions, owner Carla Rash said.

Saturday's competitors were a spectrum of dogdom, from a great Dane to a 7-pound (0.9-kilogramg) papillon, and they included such lesser-known breeds as a large Munsterlander and a Danish-Swedish farmdog.

They navigated jumps, tunnels, ramps and other obstacles as handlers gave hand and voice signals. The object is to be the fastest, without making mistakes.

Regardless of scores, some dogs won cheers from spectators. There was a bichon frise with its tail dyed blue, a standard poodle that took a leisurely trot across an A-frame ramp, and a curly-coated mix that apparently had second thoughts about the weave poles, circled around and went through them again.

Westminster’s traditional, breed-by-breed judging happens Monday and Tuesday, capped by the coveted best in show prize Tuesday night.

That's for purebreds only, but mixed-breed dogs also were eligible for Saturday's obedience competition, an event that Westminster added in 2016. The top prize went to Willie, an Australian shepherd who also won in 2022 with handler Kathleen Keller of Flemington, New Jersey.

Steve Wesler sported a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt as he cheered on partner Jennifer Weinik and Cookie, her Belgian Malinois. They came away with a ribbon, which Wesler deemed more exciting than the Super Bowl — because he was confident the Eagles would prevail.

There are no cash prizes at Westminster, but the agility and obedience winners each get to direct a $5,000 donation to a training club or the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.

The show also featured Westminster's first demonstration of flyball, a canine relay race that involves retrieving a ball.

“It's a lot of organized chaos,” Hillary Brown said after competing with her Boston terrier, Paxil. His teammates on a York, Pennsylvania-based squad called Clean Break were a standard poodle, a border collie and a whippet-border collie mix.

“It's a blast. The dogs love it,” Brown said.

This story corrects that the dog named Cookie won a ribbon, not the overall prize, in obedience.

Chloe the poodle watches as Colleen Swierkocki takes a photo at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)wld

Nico Hutkin, center, reacts after feeding a dog during the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Champion, an All-American breed, sticks out their tongue at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

People utilize the empty demo ring benching area for dogs at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

A dog competeswld in the Masters Agility Championship Finals during the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Kimber, an Australian Cattle Dog, competes in the Masters Agility Championship Finals during the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Hadley Cooper, left, and Amanda Gabriele take a selfie while watching the Masters Agility Championship Finals during the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Alicia Bismore with her dog Dazy, waits for the flyball tournament at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Handlers and their dogs wait for the start of the flyball tournament at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Judy Harding wears a sweater featuring a Shih Tzu while holding her dog Tova at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Alicia Bismore and her dog Dazy rub noses as they wait for the start of the flyball tournament at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

A dog waits near the demo ring benching area at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Colleen Swierkocki takes a photo of Diane Stenberg and her golden retriever, Brook, at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Katrina Wallace poses for a photo with her mixed breed, Beatrice, at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Ellie, an All-American half Pomeranian and half Husky, looks up while surrounded by supporters at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Benny, left, and Tansey, Norwich Terriers, sit in a stroller at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Ellie, an All-American half Pomeranian and half Husky, waits for a treat at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Dogs compete in the Flyball tournament at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen later this week in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten to seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of the NATO ally.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., is leading the trip of at least nine members of Congress, including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The group will be in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday and will meet with high-level Danish and Greenlandic government officials and business leaders.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Coons said the delegation wants to send a message that “we understand the value of the partnership we have long had with them, and in no way seek to interfere in their internal discussions about the status of Greenland.”

Coons stressed that the United States and Denmark have long been allies, noting that the northern European nation came to the U.S.'s defense in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and have for years worked in tandem on other priorities.

“As long as we have been constructive and respectful allies, the Danes have been open arms with us on security and investment and the region,” Coons said, adding: “I think the only thing that has changed is the recent statements by the president and the extent to which it seems to have gone from casual to serious, and I just think it’s important for us to be heard as strongly supporting NATO and our alliance.”

The delegation considered traveling to Greenland on the trip, but ultimately could not due to logistical issues, according to a person familiar with the trip planning who was granted anonymity to discuss earlier private discussions.

Tensions have grown between Washington, Denmark and Greenland this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire the vast Arctic island. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.” Danish and Greenlandic envoys are expected in Washington this week for talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

China responded in kind on Monday, saying the United States should not use other countries as a “pretext” to pursue its interests in Greenland and said that China’s activities in the Arctic comply with international law.

Asked in Beijing Monday about U.S. statements that it is necessary for Washington to take over Greenland to prevent China and Russia from taking control, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning replied that “China’s activities in the Arctic are aimed at promoting peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and are in accordance with international law.” She didn’t elaborate on those activities.

“The rights and freedoms of all countries to conduct activities in the Arctic in accordance with the law should be fully respected,” Mao said, without mentioning Greenland directly. “The U.S. should not pursue its own interests by using other countries as a pretext.”

She said that “the Arctic concerns the overall interests of the international community.”

Coons said in addition to reinforcing the U.S.’s relationship with Denmark, he wants the trip to emphasize that “there is no imminent threat to Greenland from the Chinese and the Russians.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO. On Friday, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and the leaders of the four other parties in the territory's parliament issued a joint statement reiterating that Greenland's future must be decided by its people and emphasizing their “wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends.”

Greenland’s leader also issued another statement on Monday, saying Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and part of NATO through the Realm.

“This means that our security and defense belong within NATO. This is a fundamental and firm line,” he said.

“We are a democratic society that makes our own decisions. And our actions are based on international law and the rule of law.”

China in 2018 declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in an effort to gain more influence in the region. Beijing has also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic links with countries around the world.

FILE - Danish military forces participate in an exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO members in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

FILE - A boat rides though a frozen sea inlet outside of Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)