The First Annual Kenchii Kup
On March 12th Kenchii Professional named our first Kenchii Kup champion! A gorgeous English Springer Spaniel named Mouse was exquisitely groomed by our first ever champion, Amanda Zeller of Groom Team USA. Amanda was awarded $5,000, a one of a kind Kenchii Grooming Shear, a first place trophy, and her name engraved on the perpetual Kenchii Kup trophy at Kenchii Professional Headquarters! Congratulations Amanda!
June Beckwith was named our second place champion and was awarded $1,000 and a second place trophy.
Jackie Boulton rounded out our winners by placing third. Ms. Boulton was awarded $500 and a third place trophy. Congratulations to our winners!
We were proud to host Jonathan David, Michell Evans, and Ann
Martin to judge and score the first competition.
A graduate of the prestigious Nash Academy, Jonathan David began an award
winning grooming career as a teen in the show ring, but rose to national
grooming fame on Animal Planet’s “Groomer Has It”. As a groomer in New York
Jonathan routinely groomed celebrity pets and earned a spot on Groom Team USA. When
Jonathan’s not traveling with Kenchii Professional’s tradeshow team you can
find him grooming at his luxury dog spa in South Florida.
Michell Evans, multi-award winning groomer, including Groomer of the Year for
2011 and 2015, has been a passionate member of the dog grooming community for
many years. As a 5-year member of Groom Team USA, Michell competed on the 2011
and 2013 internationally winning teams! Recognized by officiating associations across
the globe as a professional show judge, Michell speaks and trains groomers all
over the world. In 2000 Michell founded a groomer training program to extend
access to her invaluable grooming industry knowledge and techniques.
Ann Martin is an internationally recognized and award winning certified Master
Groomer with over 30 years of experience in the dog show and grooming world. Going
as far as New Zealand to teach and lecture on the art and science of dog
grooming, Ann has taught, judged, and presented at numerous industry
conferences and tradeshows throughout the world. Respected for her immense knowledge
in the industry, Ann currently serves as a certifier for the National Dog
Grooming Association, judges competition grooming, and continues to teach and
lecture worldwide.
The 2017 Kenchii Kup was an excellent showcase of breed and talent with several different breeds featured and over 20 competitors representing 14 different states and provinces.
When we decided to host a grooming competition we did so with the hope of perpetuating professionalism and excellence in breed standards within our beloved industry. This competition is a way for us to give back to a community of professionals that has enriched our lives and strengthened our company culture for over a decade. As the second highest pay out for a grooming competition in the country, and the largest in the Southeast, we wanted to garner attention from some of America’s best groomers and bring the talent to our hometown show, the Atlanta Pet Fair. We look forward to a tremendous turnout for the second annual Kenchii Kup at the Atlanta Pet Fair in 2018 and invite you to join the competition for a chance to win $5,000!