On a crisp, fall day at Purina Farms outside St. Louis, a dog-enthusiastic crowd has gathered for the National Finals of the Purina® Incredible Dog Challenge® . Gentle, rolling hills just starting to turn the vibrant red and orange colors of autumn set the backdrop.

A hush settles over the audience as a lanky, brindle Grey­hound prepares to take a running start. This star athlete is expected to set a new world canine high-jump record. The Greyhound leaps into the air, seemingly suspended in mid-air, and then she clears the 64-inch high jump bar.

Though the jump takes only a split second, the moment is forever frozen in time. Cinderella May a Holly Grey, the Greyhound known lovingly as “Soaring Cindy,” has just broken the world record.

A few minutes later, Cindy is still barking. The crowd’s excitement is topped only by the Greyhound’s exhilaration at the thought of another jump. Cindy’s ears flap in the breeze as she springs from the grass. Her long tail launches straight into the air above her, nearly doubling the height of her statuesque frame. With her front legs tucked neatly beneath her, Cindy breaks her own high-jump record clearing 66 inches.

Born in December 2000, Cindy was part of an unplanned litter conceived by two Greyhounds at a racing track in south Florida. The breeder gave part of the litter, including Cindy, to Hollydogs Greyhound Rescue for placement in loving homes.

Hollydogs is located in Hollywood, Fla., one of 15 states with legalized Greyhound racing. Hollydogs specializes in matching adoptive families with retired racing dogs after their “careers” have ended.

Cindy was initially placed with a family who was forced to keep her crated during the workday. They quickly realized that the puppy had boundless energy and needed to be raised in a home that could provide her with proper exercise and attention. Cindy was returned to Hollydogs to await readoption.

Kate Long and Kathy Conroy of Pal­metto Bay, Fla., had owned a retired Greyhound racer for many years. When their beloved “Trinity” passed away, Long approached Hollydogs about adopting a dog with whom she might participate in agility competition.

“Cindy was 6 months old when she came to live with us,” Long says. “The first day she was at our house, I was thinking, ‘She has so much energy. I don’t know if I can do this.’”

Long had seen the benefits of agility training in her smooth-coated Collie named “Colleen.” She was confident that Cindy might benefit similarly from focused training, so soon Cindy began accompanying Colleen to agility training.

“Greyhounds love to work and have something to do,” says Long. “Sure, they like to lie on the couch, but most would prefer to be challenged and out running around. Cindy thrived on being out there. For the first year we just let her run in circles around us. She would take off, just having a grand old time.”

Cindy’s trainer, Sally Roth of Homestead, Fla., says that taking Cindy off the lead was one of the main training hurdles. Whenever Cindy was off lead, she would run laps at full speed around Roth’s 5-acre training ground.

“It was like she was on a track,” Roth says. “The running fulfilled her more than any human connection. We’d get her back, and she would be winded. Training doesn’t really progress when a dog is off doing sprints on her own.”

Roth finally peaked Cindy’s interest. A tug toy provided Roth with the give-and-take necessary to make a connection with Cindy while rewarding her behavior.

In January 2003, Cindy competed in her first agility event. Within the year, Cindy completed both the Novice Agility (NA) and Open Agility (OA) titles. Now training for the Agility Excellent (AE) title, Cindy has just one more leg to go.

Roth and her business partner, Lourdes Edlin, quickly realized that Cindy had extraordinary jumping ability. In agility competitions, the dog was consistently jumping 24 inches without displacing a rail. Cindy could easily perform consecutive jumps, while controlling her speed and composure.

Cindy’s training team, comprised of her owners, Long and Conroy, and her trainers, Roth and Edlin, decided to begin training Cindy for freestyle high-jump competitions. These high-jump events take place across the country at competitions like the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. Similar to mini-Olympics for canine athletes, the events feature agility, dog diving, Jack Russell hurdle races, pole weaving and free­style flying disc in addition to high jump.

Edlin had also started training Cindy in flying disc. The idea was to use the Frisbee® disc as a reward to motivate her to jump. “One of us would stand on one side of the jump about 20 feet back tossing the Frisbee so that Cindy could see it,” Roth says. “She worked the jumping out all on her own.

“As the jump got higher and higher, Cindy started backing up because she wanted more room to run on the approach. She has amazing power and speed to get up over the jump. She leaves the ground pretty early, and her power takes her up and over. At the very end she kicks out her rear.”

Cindy’s training jumps began at 36 inches. She quickly progressed, and within four months, Cindy was easily clearing bars set at 56 inches. “We were starting to sense that this was the beginning of something big,” says Long.

As Cindy advanced, Long decided to enter the Greyhound in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Regional Finals in August 2003 at Chicago. Word of the newcomer with amazing jumping talent spread. In the sweltering summer heat, crowds gathered to watch Cindy clear 60 inches and set a new Incredible Dog Challenge record.

Two months later at the Finals in St. Louis, Cindy set her first world record.

“I never expected to have a dog that was a Guinness World Record high-jump holder,” Long says. “To this day, it amazes me every time she does a really high jump. Anything over 64 inches is unbelievable to watch.”

After Cindy set the world record, she continued to participate in high-jump competitions as well as agility events. She also had become a canine celebrity who appeared in commercials for Kellogg’s® cereal, and in a Britney Spears’ concert televised on Showtime. The National Geographic Channel featured her on “Dogs with Jobs,” and she was on “The Today Show” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Recently, the Japanese-version of Animal Planet filmed a story on Cindy.

Yet, in the midst of the media frenzy, Cindy has used her celebrity status to better the Greyhound community. She is a “spokesdog” for Greyhound rescue and adoption, and makes appearances at Greyhound rescue events nationwide.

“Many people assume that retired racing dogs are content to laze around,” Long says. “We encourage people to get their dogs involved in agility classes or other activities.”

At Greyhound rescue events, Cindy kicks off festivities with several demonstration jumps. After her performance, she frequently poses for photos. Cindy especially likes attention from children.

“Even though Cindy knows she’s famous and carries herself like she’s the queen, she’s really just a house pet at heart,” Long says.

Cindy’s healthy, shiny coat is due in part to the dog food she is fed, Long believes. This athletic canine is fueled by Purina® Pro Plan® brand Selects® Natural Lamb & Oat Meal Formula, and she is sometimes fed Purina® Pro Plan® brand Selects® Natural Salmon & Brown Rice Formula.

“I’ve tried pretty much every super-premium brand of dog food out there,” Long says. “People kept telling me that I needed to try Pro Plan because they were having such great results with their dogs’ coats. I eventually tried Pro Plan, and we haven’t gone back. Cindy likes it a lot.”

Cindy enjoys time with her housemates as well. “Colleen,” the smooth-coated Collie, retired with an Agility Excellent title. The newest addition to the family is “Spirit,” a white-and-tan Greyhound born in 2006. Spirit is training in agility and is currently clearing 52 inches in the high jump.

As Spirit’s jump training progresses, she will find no better inspiration than Cindy, the award-winning Greyhound. Since Spirit joined the family, Cindy has upped her game even more, having set yet another world record in 2006 by jumping 68 inches.

Last fall Cindy teamed up with honorary coach Jackie Joyner-Kersee at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. Joyner-Kersee holds the world record in the Olympic heptathlon, a seven-event track-and-field competition that includes the high jump. When Joyner-Kersee set the heptathlon world record at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, she jumped over 73 inches in the high jump, a mere 5 inches higher than Cindy.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, Cindy jumped over a replica of the St. Louis Arch while Joyner-Kersee cheered her on. As the crowd roared, and Cindy’s feet cleared the arch, it was the pinnacle of this Cinderella’s story. ©

New Book Coming on ‘Soaring Cindy’

A book on Cindy’s life and her amazing high-jump feats is soon to be published. Geared to children ages 9 to 12, but also enjoyed by adults, the book is written by owner Kathy Conroy and her niece, Kristina D’Amico, and illustrated by Jill Hayes. For information, visit www.soaringcindy.com.