Longtime Meadows Standardbred Owners Association members Rick and Regina Beinhauer earned an honour of a different sort on Tuesday, February 16, when their cocker spaniel ‘Striker’ was named Best In Breed at the prestigious 2016 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Striker (full name GCH Silverhall Strike Force) has won several awards so far in his young career, including Best In Show at the 2015 American Spaniel Club event.

The cocker spaniel, who just turned four, was shown just a handful of times in 2015, and the Beinhauers only recently decided to make this the dog’s full-time career.

“It is a huge honour just to win the breed at Westminster,” said Regina Beinhauer. “We are thrilled, and we’ve had a wonderful time in New York.”

The Beinhauers, of Venetia, are well known around the world of harness racing, as Rick developed and raced Sierra Kosmos (t, 3, 1:53.4, $558,710), a world champion and one of the top trotters to ever come from The Meadows. Sierra Kosmos went on to become a leading stallion in the sport, with his progeny earning over $27 million. Rick Beinhauer followed that success with dozens of other stakes winners, many of which were sired by Sierra Kosmos, including million-dollar winner Springtop (t, 3, 1:53.1).

Rick continues as an active trainer and driver at The Meadows on a regular basis.

It seems their venture into this new sport is a success as well.

(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)