“So proud of Lepshi!! He’s always been a winner in our eyes!”
Dogs are by far the most country-rockin’ animals out there, so it’s fitting that Tim McGraw would be celebrating the efforts of his own lil’ rodeo king, Lepshi, who won a huge award at this year’s Westminster Dog Show.
Lepshi (pronounced “leep-she”) is a Bracco Italiano, hailing from a breed of pointing dogs tailored for particularly strenuous hunting expeditions. At the Westminster Kennel Club show on Tuesday (May 9), the droopy-eared dynamo scored the prestigious title of Best Of Breed.
Not only is that a special feat in its own right, it’s especially notable because this year marks the first that Bracci Italiani were judged at Westminster. Announcing as much on Instagram, McGraw wrote: “So proud of Lepshi!! He’s always been a winner in our eyes!”
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Lepshi’s handler, Ryan Wolfe, expounded on the win’s significance in a statement given to the Associated Press. “He’s a wonderful ambassador for the breed,” he said. The prized pup himself is six years old, and according to Wolfe, “loves everybody”. He’s co-owned by Kristi Libertore, Tony Libertore and Jenell Tonini-Zanotto.
The news comes hot on the heels of McGraw’s recent single Standing Room Only, which arrived back in March. There’s hopes it’ll appear on the follow-up to his 2020 album Here On Earth, which he’s said to be working on at the moment. Since dropping that record – his 16th studio album all up – McGraw has starred in two episodes of Yellowstone and ten episodes of its prequel spin-off, 1883.