Home for the holidays with ten-time best in show German Shorthaired Pointer Jade; co-owners Valerie Nunes-Atkinson, Carley Simpson

Three-year-old MBIS, MBISS GCHG Clarity Reach the Sky VJK-MYST “Jade” goes on the record with proud co-owners Valerie Nunes-Atkinson and Carley Simpson via Zoom days after their final show weekend of 2021, during which Jade clinched two Best in Show’s and three Best in Groups, putting her 2021 total Best in Show count to 10. Both Simpson and Nunes-Atkinson have been engaged in conformation since their teenage years on the junior circuit.

Simpson’s conformation work sparked her interest in television production, she says. These days, Simpson, who grew up near Seattle, serves as a co-executive producer on ABC’s “Pooch Perfect” , a series of dog grooming competitions with celebrity judges, alongside Rebel Wilson.

Valerie Nunes-Atkinson, whom TCR profiled last year after the tragic and sudden loss of Jade’s father, who died at only 7 years of age last September, has also been involved with conformation since her days competing on the junior circuit. In 2016, then 3-year-old CJ took Best in Show at Westminster. CJ’s grandmother, Carlee, won Best in Show in 2005 at Westminster, making Valerie one of only ten owners in the history of WKC to win a Best in Show title twice, each time with a different dog.

According to Westminster Kennel Club’s Gail Miller Bisher, only one other person  in the history of the show has won three times with three different dogs. Thus, if Valerie and Jade were to win in 2022, Valerie would tie with one other person.

How does the biggest star in the conformation galaxy like to unwind? How does she maintain her amazing physique? What do her co-owners do as far as preparation for Westminster? How intrigued is Jade by the sight of other dogs on Zoom? Jade, Valerie, and Carley talk to TCR through Zoom while they enjoy a rare and brief pause from the show circuit before they head to the first show of the year in Palm Springs, and then to Westminster! Update:  The Westminster Kennel Club’s board of governors announced on December 30 that the longheld tradition known as “Westminster Week,” which usually takes place in February (daytime competitions at Pier 94 and evening primetime competitions, including Best in Show at Madison Square Garden) would be postponed. The events were scheduled to begin the week of January 24, 2022. The new dates and location have yet to be determined, according to the Club’s website.

Abbreviated/Clips during which Jade watches Jade discovering other dogs watching Jade (funny)