Mike Wildman secured his second Best in Show win in a year at the British Dog Grooming Championships at Bingley Hall, on Sunday 6th October. Following on from his success at Premier Groom and with new dog Violet (a Cocker Spaniel), Mike demonstrated his skill in handstripping to produce another showstopper. For the first time he also competed at the show with his own homebred poodle Norris in the scissoring class.
‘This is just amazing,’ Mike said. ‘I owe a huge thank you to Michaela Burns who owns Violet and also to my friend Shirley Jones who helps prep all my dogs for shows. I have been handstripping for a long time so I’m used to it, but scissoring was a new experience for me and I look forward to doing more. Both dogs are only 12 months old but they behaved impeccably and I’m so proud of them.’
The Championship went with a bang at its new location of Bingley Hall in Staffordshire. The light and airy annexe at Bingley Hall provided an exciting new venue for the competition, which was constructed in the round, with the judges elevated on a raised platform in the middle of the ring. Seven classes were available to each group to enter, as well as the Junior Competition. The new Pot Pourri Clip & Scissor class proved popular, allowing groomers to demonstrate more of their salon skills in a competition environment.
The prize fund was bigger than ever this year. In addition to his prize money, Mike won a trip to the USA to compete for International Groomer of the Year compete at Intergroom. He will be joined there by Shaun Leach from Scruffy Pups Grooming and Training Centres, who won the draw from the Pet Industry Federation Accredited Training Centres.
Groomer of the Year 2013: Mike Wildman
(winning £1,500 prize money, a trip to the USA to compete for International Groomer of the Year at Intergroom)
Runner-up: Richard Smith (winning £500)
3rd place: Su Eld-Weaver (winning £300)
Juniors Group
1st Sian Beddoe (winning £75)
2nd Lottie Garratt (winning £50)
3rd Imogen Heaton (winning £25)
Student & Newcomer Group (sponsored by Christies)
1st Sarah McCarney (winning £125)
2nd Susan Jennings (winning £75)
3rd Rebecca Cook (winning £50)
ALL THOSE PLACED IN THE STUDENT & NEWCOMER CLASSES WON A SET OF OSTER CLIPPERS EACH
Experienced Group (sponsored by Redcape)
1st Richard Smith (winning £300)
2nd Richard Smith (winning £125)
3rd Dawn Inett (winning £75)
Advanced Group (sponsored by Pet Revolution)
1st Mike Wildman (winning £300)
2nd Su Eld Weaver (winning £125)
3rd Peter Ensell (winning £75)
Special Awards – (Sponsored by Simpsons of Langley)
Outstanding Achievement – Hayley Payne
Best Technique – Klaudia Szonyi
Best Handle & Approach – Sian Beddoe
Scissoring Award – Chrisse Warwick
One to Watch – Richard Smith
ALL THOSE WHO WON SPECIAL AWARDS ALSO WON A SET OF OSTER CLIPPERS
A full list of the class winners appears below.
JUNIORS
Clip, Trim & Strip (6-10 year olds)
1st Sian Beddoe
Clip, Trim & Strip (11-16 year olds)
1st Lottie Garratt
2nd Imogen Heaton
STUDENT AND NEWCOMER GROUP
Handstrip & Clipped Gundogs
1st Chloe Brown
Clipped Terrier or Schnauzer
1st Sarah McCarney
2nd Stacey Webb
Handstrip – any type of dog other than a gundog
1st Rebecca Cook
2nd Steph Kelly
Poodle Scissor
1st Susan Jennings
2nd Adele Pegram
3rd Brenda Furlong
Pot Pourri Scissor
1st Catherine Tranter
2nd Steph Kelly
3rd Gemma Bond
Pot Pourri Clip & Scissor
1st Hayley Payne
2nd Annabel Green
3rd Keri Donnachie
EXPERIENCED GROUP
Handstrip & Clipped Gundogs
1st Andrew Carr
2nd Suzie Moss
Clipped Terrier or Schnauzer
1st Richard Smith
2nd Sophie Fury
3rd Amanda Knight
Handstrip – any type of dog other than a gundog
1st Dawn Inett
2nd Dana Grant
3rd Jessica Walker
Poodle Scissor
1st Cheryl Greenhough
2nd Dana Grant
3rd Carol Miller
Purebred Scissor
1st Richard Smith
2nd Sarah Tullock
3rd Maria Raymond
Pot Pourri Scissor
1st Aleksandra Kunicka
2nd Verity Watts
3rd Jessica Walker
Pot Pourri Clip & Scissor
1st Kelly Vodden
2nd Wayne Roby
3rd Donna McGarry
ADVANCED GROUP
Handstrip & Clipped Gundogs
1st Mike Wildman
2nd Laura Campanella
3rd Tanya Stevens
Clipped Terrier or Schnauzer
1st Sara Hussein
2nd Peter Ensell
3rd Joanne Beddoe
Handstrip – any type of dog other than a gundog
1st Denise Westbrook
2nd Klaudia Szonyi
3rd Julie Lalou
Poodle Scissor
1st Su Eld-Weaver
2nd Chrisse Warwick
3rd Denise Westbrook
Purebred Scissor
1st Peter Ensell
2nd Laura Campanella
3rd Rachel Symonds
Pot Pourri Scissor
1st Steven Gorman
2nd Lesley Harpham
Pot Pourri Clip & Scissor
1st Jade Georgiou
2nd Victoria Jones