This is what we’ve all been waiting for. And I have to say, both Jonathan and Artist were phenomenal competitors, great human beings, and terrific groomers. The competition for the final showdown was neck and neck all the way through. It wasn’t an easy final challenge–Jonathan and Artist, assisted by Will and Kathleen, worked, literally, like dogs. Over ten hours of grooming one representative each from the AKC breeds, seven dogs apiece, plus the added surprise of a mixed breed dog, to demonstrate creativity, added on after that long day. Everyone involved was a real trooper, and they epitomized everything the grooming industry should be.
That said, I foresaw that judging this final challenge wouldn’t be easy, either. So I had a system: I graded each of the dogs on a one to five scale, five being best, one being worst, and kept a running total for each of the finalists. And here’s the news–by my system, Artist won, by a single, solitary point.
And here’s why. Jonathan’s Lab was dirty when I ran my hands over it–the dirt came from the outside of the ears. Will had cleaned the ears, and, through an oversight, had left them dirty. It was Jonathan’s job to check Will’s work, and make sure it was not only competent, but perfect, and Jonathan neglected this. Will didn’t clean the ears properly, and Jonathan didn’t catch or remedy this error. I subtracted three points for this oversight–so to my way of thinking, this may have cost Jonathan the competition.
Now, given the nature of our three judge panel, there is clearly a difference in expertise among the three of us. So our judging criteria had to be different. And this was correct–the most expert, sophisticated groomer is not necessarily the one you want to take your dog to, as that groomer, with all the skill in the world, may not be the safest, or the most compassionate, or may not have that rapport with your dog that you hope to see. There’s a lot more that goes into being a great groomer than just grooming expertise, and this competition was supposed to judge all of the criteria–communication, rapport, love of animals, enthusiasm, passion, knowledge about dogs–not just expert skill. I think that the three of us judges accomplished that. Because of her background, Doc looks at rapport, compassion, health and safety. Xavier, because of his background, looks at conformation. I look at grooming skill. Together, I think we came up with really well-rounded opinions, and correct opinions. And I have to tell you that even with such differing backgrounds and ways of looking at the competition, our decision was unanimous–we all believed that Artist was the Groomer of the Year.
Artist’s emotional response was a beautiful thing. And Jonathan was gracious and generous as the runner up. These two men are both terrific representatives of our industry, and all the things that it can and should be. I have to say that I’m proud to know both of them.
