Big-winning whippet, Pekingese face off at Westminster show

Despite the shock and worry, “I’m really glad to be here. I wish my husband was with me,” Taffe McFadden said. “It’s a highly coveted dog show to be at, and for them to work this hard to make it happen is pretty awesome.”

This year marks the first time the show, which dates to 1877, is outside Manhattan. Part of the competition is usually in exhibition buildings on Hudson River piers, and the rest in Madison Square Garden.

Many owners and handlers say they and their dogs relish the fresh air and breathing room of the sprawling Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown, New York. Still, the outdoor setting came with some challenges, including not having a power and water supply for grooming.

Some participants brought their own — the McFadden team, for instance, was set up in a parking lot with five generators, six 6-gallon jugs of water, a tent and small fenced pens for the dogs to bide time outdoors.

For others, it was more catch-as-catch-can. Janet Atkins and Charles Namey bathed and blow-dried their bearded collie, Moet, at a local pet store Friday, then brushed her and did other final touches Saturday on a table outside their minivan, with plastic sheeting for a canopy.

“You make do with what you can,” said Atkins, of Winter Park, Florida.

After flying in from Toronto on Friday evening, Irina Falk was up until 2 a.m. Saturday bathing and drying her Yorkshire terriers Tim Tim and Kenzo, then got up three hours later to get to the show, fix their topknots and try to keep their silky, flowing coats fresh on a humid morning on the Lyndhurst lawn.