Mar 2011: Gundog day

Due to the great success of our Short Legged Terrier day, we decided to hold a Gundog day, and with membership rising to an all-time high we went for a bigger venue so we could keep costs down by enabling more people to attend.

So, on 27th March at our new venue at Larkfield in Kent The English Groomers Group played host to 15 Breed Demonstrations and 78 groomers looking for hints and tips on how to trim Gundogs. Agnes Murphy, renowned groomer and show judge started the day with an introduction on stripping the silky coat and the best equipment to use.

Amazed at all the different techniques available, we were entertained by the demonstrators who allowed us to tap into their immense knowledge of the different breeds, revealing some tricks of the trade besides some well-kept secrets. A big revelation for me was the Sussex Spaniel demonstration where I found out that the highlights of this breed’s coat that I spend time thinning and stripping out are meant to be KEPT!!!! It is specified in the breed standard that they’re to have highlights, oh dear! I also had the great pleasure in trimming a Curly Coated Retriever under the watchful eye of Agnes Murphy. Jo Botwood showed how to trim the American Cocker both in show and pet trim, both dogs being beautifully presented and showing the importance of good prep work. Other demonstrations included the Welsh and the English Springer, showing the differences between the two, clipped and handstripped English Cockers, the Italian Spinone, beautiful Gordon, English and Irish Setters, Golden and Flat Coated Retrievers, and to finish, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - ultimately not a gundog, but a hugely interesting demonstration by Dinah Armatage-Walker who held everyone’s attention while she talked and answered questions on Syringomyelia, or SM, (a neurological problem) brought to the public’s attention recently in a TV documentary.

Grateful thanks go - as always - to all of the demonstrators, some of whom travelled a great distance to attend and empower us with their knowledge, and to the spectators and English Groomers Group members and helpers whose appetite for knowledge seems boundless! See you all again soon at our next event.

Oct 2010: Quiz day

Just to prove that groomers can have a chance to enjoy themselves on a more social level we decided to invite groomers to our very popular quiz.  

This was a chance to have fun and learn at the same time.  Friendly banter between teams made for a really entertaining day. Held at Hadlow college on the 10th October 7 teams tried to beat each other to win medals and also the much coveted wooden spoon trophy.

The catagories included grooming as well as current affairs and general knowledge. A finger buffet was then laid on giving the teams members a chance to mingle and chat.  We also had a couple of rounds of bingo with prizes and that made for a whole new level of entertainment.  We had our usual raffle and also a live auction which went down a storm.   The most popular items were a pair of Kenchii scissors very kindly donated by Redcape that retailed at £120 that went for only £75, a selection of Les Pooches brushes among other items.

The winning teams were as follows

Gold medal ~
Bears Bunch 

Silver medal ~
The Latecomers 

Bronze medal -
South coast superstars

Wooden spoon award  Tunbridge Wells Grooming Centre 

Many thanks to you all for coming along!

June 2010: Challenge Day

On the 13 June 2010 we held our second annual English Groomers Challenge.  With over 50 competitors and a record number of spectators the day was our biggest success yet.  

Judges Melanie Winters-Holmes, Jitka Krizova and last year’s Challenge winner Sharon Smith had the difficult job of judging the Advanced, Experience and Newcomer classes.  

For the first time we also held a Creative Challenge and the winner was crowned Creative Stylist of the Year.  The Creative Challenge is the only competition of its kind in the UK and was immensely popular and hopefully will have a firm place at the Challenge. 9 dogs were dyed and transformed into all manner of different creatures, from a Dragon to Bertie Bassett.  The class was judged by Anita Bax, who was very disappointed that she could only give 3 awards to these talented groomers.

With so much going on in the ring it was a wonder that the spectators had time to watch any of the seminars and demonstrations, but each one was full to capacity.  There were 5 seminars covering topics such as the new qualifications, exams, competition grooming, and one on how to make bows and bandanas that had the audience all having a go - and having a go is what The English Groomers Group is all about! The 8 demonstrations included a Hungarian Puli, exam dogs, handstripping and competition grooming. A big thankyou to our demonstrators who were all hugely talented, with a wide range of experience and did a brilliant job of keeping our spectators informed and entertained.

Big “Thank You’s” go to Redcape, Groomers, Simpsons, Petquest and Barkleys who were all very generous sponsors of our classes, gave us some wonderful items for our goodie bags and also donated items for our raffle - Simpsons very kindly donated a stand dryer for the raffle worth over £400 (lucky winner!).

We also received donations from Scruffychops, Purina, and the NAPCG amongst others - THANK YOU ALL for your support; we could not do it without you!

Thanks also go to all our helpers and committee  members who made the day run smoothly and professionally.

RESULTS

Jan 2010: Terrier Day

A very big Thank you to the brilliant people who put on such a great day in January – just the thing to take one’s mind off the winter blues and to start the year with inspiration!

I forget just how many demonstrations they managed to fit into the day – there were 2 or 3 grooming tables on the go the whole time (10.00 till 4.00?) and the groomers demonstrating were all people well known in the grooming competition world, so you knew you were going& to get top-quality work to watch. 

I particularly liked the fact that the day was all focussed on ‘long-legged’ terriers – you could easily see the similarities (and conversely, the differences) between the breeds, and again, between the clipped (Advanced exam-type) dog and the handstripped version of the same breeds. It certainly helped me to see where I could improve!

People had come from quite a way to attend the day, and for some this was their first English Groomer’s Group event.

It was good to chat with groomers and to hear their set-ups, work-load, problem dogs and so on – it’s nice to know that other groomers find some things difficult! We were free to watch whichever demo’s we wanted, ‘dipping & diving’ to see just the bits we wanted of EVERY dog as we wished, and we were all encouraged to ask questions at any time, and the demonstrators were SO good at answering, showing us exactly how to do something, or where the trimming line goes, or the head … it was a golden opportunity to grab more than a few pearls of wisdom!

From the lovely big Airedale to the tiny Fox Terrier puppy the dogs were great examples of their breed, and seemed to take all the close scrutiny in their stride, and I am very grateful to the owners who let their dogs be used for the day.

Also, Hadlow College’s new grooming facility made a superb venue, we were given a splendid lunch, doggy outlines to doodle notes on, and sent home with chalk and shampoo samples (courtesy of Petcetera).

Not to mention the camera full of pictures to help us remember what we saw, and the Certificate of Attendance(now on display in my studio, thanks)

Thanks - Molly Bayswater

June 2009: Challenge Day

I would like to, on behalf of the committee express our sincere thanks to everyone who supported the challenge on 14th June at Swanley and our congratulations go to Sharon Smith for winning Best In Show, a full list of the results are printed later in the newsletter. 

To enter a competition requires a huge commitment in preparing the dogs, vast amounts of courage, mixed with excitement, nerves, doubts and fears when you have all these things and more the adrenaline kicks in and you are hooked.

Entering your first competition it is a truly courageous thing to-do even for the more confident .So to those of you first timers this year we applaud you and look forward to seeing you next year, and to the spectators who thought they may give it a go, we would be thrilled if you joined us in 2010 and experienced the excitement that is competing.

Results

Best In Show  - Sharon Smith

Best Advanced - Sharon Smith

Best Experienced - Haley Mackinson

Best Newcomer - Donna Verden

Clip Advanced - 1st Sharon Smith, 2nd Denise Westbrooke, 3rd Becky Ross

Clip Experienced - 1st Damarral Werry-Easterbrook, 2nd Tegan Broady, 3rd Karen Goldsmith

Clip Newcomer - 1st Donna Verden, 2nd Linda Marchena, 3rd Hayley Thomas

Handstrip Advanced - 1st Nina Gooding, 2nd Ann Meadon, 3rd Sue Burley

Handstrip Experienced - 1st Angela Simpson

Handstrip Newcomer - 1st Simone Arter

Scissor Advanced - 1st Susan Pratt, 2nd Kelly Davis, 3rd Linda Williams

Scissor Experienced - 1st Hayley Mackinson, 2nd Alison Shoosmith, 3rd Rowena Parker

Real Life Advanced - 1st Emily Mulholland, 2nd Ann Meadon, 3rd Jo Beddoe

Real Life Experienced - 1st Heather Maxfield, 2nd Amanda Williamson, 3rd Bryony Mehigan

Real Life Newcomer - 1st Shanice Ling, 2nd Jason Williams, 3rd Gill Ward

Best Technique - Becky Ross - Clipperwork on a Spaniel and Thinning on a Westie

Best Handling - Fleur Maitland - Best Handling on a Lakeland 

Best Preparation - Sharon Smith - Best Preparation on a Bichon

Biggest Transformation - Fleur Maitland - Biggest Transformation on a Lakeland

Great Expectations - Denise Westbrook

Feb 2009: Poodle Day

On a cold, snowy, February, Sunday morning at Hadlow College Grooming Room, the English Groomers Group had arranged for a gathering of some hardy groomers to all converge on the college for what was to be an enjoyable educational social event with poodles being the main topic on everyone’s mind.  

The morning started with an introduction from the Chair Person of the English Groomers Group, Julie Harris who welcomed everyone to the event. Then the grooming began with Chrissie Warwick starting the day with a nice miniature black poodle being put into a Euro trim. Louisa Tandy put a toy poodle into the 7750 blended lamb trim. Julie Harris put a puppy standard poodle into puppy pants. Nicole Mills also with a standard poodle worked it into the Dutch clip. Chrissie put Joe the previously dyed purple poodle into a spiral cut. This was followed by a short break so that every one could have refreshments. 

During the morning and over the refreshment break Riley the standard poodle was put on a grooming table for people to have a go at scissoring with advice on technique and method from Louisa and Julie, there was also different scissors for people to try. 

Chrissie then moved onto a toy poodle with a snap on comb attachment. The final demonstration was creative grooming with colour on a white toy poodle that was turned pink, blue and yellow by Julie and Chrissie. 

This was a well attended event on a smaller scale to the Launch Day but as with the launch enabled spectators to get up close to the demonstrations and ask those important questions that could make the difference to their grooming.   

Also during the day there was a raffle and a chance for all who attended to socialise making and renewing acquaintances and friendships.

Nov 2008: Launch Day

On Sunday 16th November 2008 at White Oak Leisure Centre in Swanley, the launch of the English Groomers Group took place. 

Over 150 people attended the launch to watch many dog grooming demonstrations being undertaken by various grooming and breed experts. 

The demonstrations on numerous breeds of dogs ranged from Toy Poodles to St Bernard’s and used different equipment and styles including CG 7750 Standards. 

The arrangement of this launch enabled visitors to get up close to the demonstrations and gave the opportunity to quiz qualified groomers on all aspects of the grooming industry. This was welcomed and utilised by many of the visitors that attended the launch. A number of photographs of the day are included in the gallery. A well-equipped folder was provided that included notes from each of the demonstrations. 

In addition various stalls provided dog related products including equipment which could be tried and purchased along with any necessary grooming products. 

This was a very well received Launch Day for the English Groomers Group with a number of new members utilising the day to join the group in order to receive four newsletters packed with relevant grooming information regarding forthcoming events being arranged by the English Groomers Group.