The First Annual Kenchii Kup

On March 12^th 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!