About the Competition: May 12th, 2024
We are so excited to see you all on the 12th of May 2024 at our 5th Style to Rescue charity dog grooming competition.
Style To Rescue is an innovative way of supporting rescue organisations and helping rescues find their new forever homes.
The dogs are groomed beautifully by experienced, professional groomers and spoiled to bits with care and loving kindness. The most important to us is that the dogs being groomed always feel safe and loved before, during, and after the groom!
The rescue centers receive financial support whether their dogs win or not!
Style to Rescue is run on a not-for-profit basis by volunteers.
The Categories
There will be just one category to be judged, which will run over two sessions, morning and afternoon. There will be a maximum of 70 entrants in total.
The Prizes
In total, ten groomers & their dogs will be chosen by our judges over the two sessions (5 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon).
Of these ten places, all will receive a financial reward. There will also be other prizes in the form of products kindly donated by the sponsors. Prizes will also be awarded for Best In Show, Reserve Best in Show, People’s Choice, and Best Transformation.
All winning groomers will receive a unique and stylish trophy and a rosette.
First prize: £500 + products
Second prize: £400 + products
Third prize: £300 + products
Fourth prize: £100 + products
Fifth & sixth prizes: £50 + products
Seventh & eighth prizes: £30 + products
Ninth & tenth prizes: £20 + products
The winning dogs receive the same financial prize as the groomer as a donation to the rescue organisation that entered them. Every canine entrant also receives £10 as a donation to its rescue organisation.
The Competition Schedule
Competition Schedule
8:00 – Doors open for competitors
8:30 – Doors open for the general public. Entrance fee by donation but min. £5
recommended per person.
– Pre-judging
9:00 – 12:00 – Morning Class
12 – 12:30 – Judging of Morning Class & Announcing the 5 Finalists
12:30 – 13:00 – Lunch Break
12:45 – Pre-judging
13:00 – 16:00 – Afternoon class
16:00 – 16:30 – Judging of Afternoon Class & Announcing the 5 Finalists
17:00 – Awards
There will be a break halfway through each class, am and pm, to allow the dogs to stretch their paws and have a pee – and the groomers, too 🙂
The Judges
Verity Hardcastle
Verity is a Master groomer and is a multi-national and international award-winning groomer at the Championship level. She shows Miniature and Toys Poodles and recently won the bitch ticket at Crufts with her Champion Toy Poodle Gigi. Verity has been working with dogs and around working dogs all her adult life, and her two favourite breeds are the Poodles and Dobermanns.
Verity has been a Podcaster- Pod on the Dog, worked as the judge on the UK’s BBC1 production of Pooch Perfect and as a featured presenter on a Channel 4 live show and other media work.
She is now a published author after writing her first book, Happy Dog, Happy You with Hodder & Stoughton.
Verity is still a working groomer and trainer and hosts regular online webinars to pass on her skill set and be an EGA judge of the Poodle.
She has a pack of Poodles at home, and when she isn’t working with dogs, she’s talking about dogs, looking at dogs, or snuggling a dog!
Zoe Duffy
Zoe has been a professional groomer for over 33 years and has been teaching for 31 years. She has been a part of one of the country’s leading dog grooming training schools, Look North Grooming and Training Centre, for most of that time, and in 2014 became co-director of the Approved City & Guilds Centre, Summit Groomer Training Group.
Zoe prides herself on promoting quality training and education and is a huge advocate for the industry learning qualifications offered through City & Guilds.
Zoe has won many competitions both in the UK and abroad with many breeds, and she is probably best known for trimming the Bichon and Lakeland Terrier. Major wins include British Groomer Of The Year 1994 & 2005, runner-up three times, and gold medal Intergroom USA; her highest achievement was becoming European Grand Champion at the Oster Invitational Championships 2008 in Prague.
Zoe is keen to pass on her grooming knowledge by hosting educational seminars and demonstrations. She also judges at grooming competitions at all experience levels – from total novice to champions and Best In Show.
For this dedication to the industry, Zoe received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 industry awards, which she was highly honoured to receive.
Zoe has been an active member of the British Groom Team, is a founder member of Groom Team England, and is vice chair of the current committee.
Zoe co-authors the Dog Grooming book ‘What Every Professional Groomer Should Know.’