Mike Wildman secured his second Best in Show win in a year at the British Dog Grooming Championships at Bingley Hall, Staffordshire County Showground.

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.

With over 40 trade stands in attendance, as groomers enjoyed shopping for both their businesses and their own faithful companions, picking up a mixture of grooming specific products and doggy treats and accessories.

The professional grooming seminars were packed out with groomers keen to learn from the expert speakers demonstrators. Julie Harris and Shaun Leach gave the low down on the level 3 City & Guilds 7763 introductory grooming qualification, as well as top tips on how to go about passing the diploma to obtain the full qualification. Pammie Carmichael Hogg’s Asian Fusion Grooming demonstration was especially popular.

Pet Industry Federation Grooming Director Heidi Anderton gave an excellent cat grooming demonstration for those looking to extend their skillset. Others benefited from the first aid seminar run by veterinary nurse Catherine White. The programme was rounded up by a lively session on the new Quality Assurance Standard, delivered by Nigel Baker, chief executive of the Pet Industry Federation, with Elaine Pendlebury, senior vet at PDSA (who are supporting the scheme).

The Championship was held against the backdrop of the new family dog day, Paws at Bingley. Demonstrations by talented display teams created a real buzz in the show ring, and a Companion Animal Dog Show took, with plenty to entertain and interest the dog loving public. ‘One of the objectives of the new event was to show dog grooming and all the great things about it to the general public,’ explained Nigel. ‘I spoke to a number of people who said how much they’d enjoyed seeing the expert groomers at work and they had learned a lot from it. People left the show with big smiles on their faces.’

For a full list of the results from the Championship, log onto www.petfederation.co.uk

Groomer of the Year 2013: Mike Wildman

Runner-up: Richard Smith

3^rd place: Su Eld-Weaver

Juniors Group

1^st Sian Beddoe (Airedale Terrier)

2^nd Lottie Garratt

3^rd Imogen Heaton

Student & Newcomer Group (sponsored by Christies)

1^st Sarah McCarney

2^nd Susan Jennings

3^rd Rebecca Cook

Experienced Group (sponsored by Redcape)

1^st Richard Smith

2^nd Richard Smith

3^rd Dawn Inett

Advanced Group (sponsored by Pet Revolution)

1^st Mike Wildman

2^nd Su Eld Weaver

3^rd Peter Ensell