Crufts judge NI woman Ann Ingram on what she'll be looking for in the Best in Show winner

"It's an amazing honour to be asked, and to be the first person ever from the island of Ireland makes it even more significant,” says Ann, speaking to the News Letter from the show, which is well underway in the NEC Birmingham.

“The support that I have had from all over Ireland has been unbelievable, the messages, the cards….. you feel you are carrying the pride of Ireland on your shoulders to a degree, so you want to make sure you do full credit to the support.”

Of, course, along the honour comes the weight of responsibility and Ann, who also celebrates her 72nd birthday tomorrow, admits there have been a few nerves.

“I started to get a bit of a wobble last week – about staying fit for it as much as anything else. I’ve become very conscious of going up and down kerbs, or slipping in the shower. It makes you very conscious if something happened to you – if you weren’t fit for purpose. But now I'm here (at the show) and chatting to people, I’ve started to relax a bit more. But I’m sure I’ll be pretty nervous and excited on Sunday.”

Ann Ingram commands great respect both domestically and internationally, boasting a rich family history deeply entrenched in the world of pedigree dogs.

With an impressive background, Ann's involvement spans more than 50 years, marked by a diverse portfolio of breeds, including Boxers, Pugs, Shetland Sheepdogs, Boston Terriers, and Toy Poodles. Her kennel, Tirkane, has produced over 100 Irish champions and champions in various other breeds.

“My father showed Terriers and was a professional handler and my mother actually introduced the Boxer breed to Ireland. She was the doyenne of the breed here and then I followed on from her. She judged Boxers at Crufts, as have I – we were the only mother and daughter to do that, so it's quite a legacy.

"My brother and I have often joked that we were brought up more like a Boxer puppy!’’ she laughs.

“And, of course, Boxers are a great breed with children. They are so good-natured. They seem to have a natural instinct if something's dangerous, or a person is threatening. They’ll protect you with their life. Right into old age they’re like kids, they have have a great sense of humour, they can amuse themselves with an empty water bottle for hours on end.”

Ann started to handle dogs almost as soon as she could walk (as the picture, far right, proves!).

“My brother James and I both competed in the children’s handling class at dog shows. The dogs were nearly as big as we were!”

Wanting to have something different for herself, Ann bought a Boston Terrier from England, which became her first English Champion at Crufts when she was just 14 years old.

Amazingly, Ann was a judge at Crufts when she was just 16, adding, “you wouldn’t be allowed to nowadays” and awarded Challenge Certificates (C.C.s) for Boxers for the first time when she was 25 years old.

"I was the youngest ever to do so and will remain the youngest because you couldn't do it nowadays at that age,” she says.

Crufts was founded by Charles Cruft. Cruft worked as a manager for a dog biscuit manufacturer and Crufts was originally organised as a marketing event for the company.

The first Crufts show took place in 1891 at the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington, London. The show involved 36 breeds and had 2,437 entries.

The Crufts Best in Show award began in 1928. The first winner was a Greyhound called Primley Sceptre.

At Crufts, dogs are judged according to breed, age, gender and previous wins.

The seven breed groups are: Hound, Gundog, Terrier, Utility, Working, Pastoral, Toy.

The dogs compete against other dogs in their breed group to become Best of Breed winners.

The Best in Breed winners compete to become Best in Group, before the Best in Group winners compete for the finale, Best in Show.

The winner of Crufts Best in Show receives a £100 cash prize and a replica of the Crufts Keddall Memorial Trophy.

Ann has judged at Crufts many times, most recently last year in the working group, and has a solid pedigree at dog shows worldwide, having judged in 37 countries, but, she says, “there’s nothing quite like Crufts”.

"The atmosphere here is just fantastic. The array of trade stands and all the different agilities and obedience, it’s just amazing.”

So when it comes to selecting the Best in Show, when some 24,000 dogs from 50 countries have been whittled down to seven, one from each of the categories, what will Ann be looking for?

“The first thing you want is for each dog to come in and look happy and not looking as if they don’t want to do this today. Sometimes you see it in the group ring that a dog is not used to the big lights of the TV cameras. There’ll be the occasional one that will drop the tail or something like that, but usually by Best in Show they have already been through quite a few ordeals, so they are on top of their game.

"You would presume that all the group judges will have done a good job because they certainly have very top quality dogs to choose from.

“What you really like to see is when a dog first comes into the ring, and it gets you excited and you can't wait to go over that have a closer look. And some dogs just have that charisma that lifts them just above the crowd.

"There can be seven beautiful dogs and one dog will come in and go, ‘hey, look at me’….. I know it probably sounds crazy to a non-judge,” she laughs.

“And, of course, at that level we would expect them to have very good temperaments, I’d be surprised if it they didn’t.”

She adds: “Over the last few years, and I think it was last year, three of the group winners were from abroad, so you just don't know what's going to be in the rings, they come from all over the world to go to Crufts so that lifts it to another level.

"One would like to think I’d be spoilt for choice and splitting hairs.”

As for what the Best in Show judge wears on the day, Ann says it’s up to the individual.

“It's always a lot harder being a woman because a man just puts on a nice suit and tie, whereas as a woman you have to consider shoes that you can walk in and that you're not going to fall flat on your face, or a skirt that's not going to ride up and show things that you might prefer not to be seen. So there's a few considerations to be taken into account," she laughs.

Ann, who owned boarding kennels and pet crematorium in Belfast and retired to Cork, has tried to find a balance between judging and breeding dogs. She no longer shows Boxers but still exhibits Toy Poodles on a regular basis.

“Toy Poodles are a breed that’s misrepresented. A lot of people just think they are lap dogs, but I used to take mine down over the fields and they would boss the Boxers about. They are great little characters. They're much better and tougher dogs than people think they.”

And what happens after the top dog is selected tomorrow?

“There’s an official dinner after the judging is over. Then I’ve a few friends coming back to the hotel, so it’ll just be relaxing and a few drinks!,” she says.

Crufts 2024 will be broadcast live on Channel 4 and More 4.