The Art of Trimming – Part 2 – Developing Techniques
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By Amy Fernandez
Okay, now that we’ve got your attention, George and I will continue our exploration of trimming for perfection. Scissors, knives, and everything else…ever wonder how, when or why any of this stuff came into existence?
Regardless of the breed, exhibitors can avail themselves of vast instructional resources. Online or in person, the information is specific, detailed and invariably requires very specialized equipment. For example, a Maltese and a Westie are both small and white, but no one would consider using Maltese equipment on a Westie, well not if they has any reasonable expectation of winning anything. This story examines the evolution of those technological breakthroughs and how they became incorporated into our dog show tradition.
As George explains, he and Phil Prentice began working at Jane Kamp’s superpower show kennel around the same time. Prentice was redirecting his career following an AKC suspension. George, then 18, was the brand new recruit, Kamp’s apprentice/assistant. Prentice did her Terriers, George was in charge of the Sporting dogs. Business was hopping and they had plenty of work. However, they shared the same workspace and even though Phil was not the chatty type, he recognized talent and determination in George. He also harbored a secret fondness for Gundogs. As George confided, Prentice was pals with Bill Holt and quite a fan of Ch. Rock Falls Colonel. Phil began giving the kid a few tips and that unlikely friendship led to some astounding new ideas.
“Phil Prentice set the standard for perfection–invisible, totally natural trimming. One of the greatest compliments I ever got was from Ann Rogers Clark. She was judging an Irish Setter specialty and I had spent 14 hours trimming McCamon Marquis for her. I used to hand strip the ears, the throat, everything.” It was a tremendous amount of painstaking detail work and as George admits everybody thought he was crazy for doing it. “She gave me BOB and when we were taking the picture she commented that ‘it must be so nice to have a dog you don’t have work at to trim’. She didn’t realize it, but that was the ultimate compliment. Years later, we talked about it and she admitted that she couldn’t see that the dog was trimmed.” As you might guess, the Setter crowd also took notice.
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Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=218123
Posted by AnthonyA
on Dec 21 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured.
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