Team Feldspar (2024)

19/08/2023

and Bender had a great time competing with some fierce competition in Poodles this week at SuperZoo. Congratulations to all the winners!

19/08/2023

having fun with her bumbledoodle this week at SuperZoo. Have you ever seen a cuter one?!!

19/08/2023

Congratulations to Angel Chaffin and sweet Gemma on her 3rd place win at SuperZoo in Other Purebreds this week!!

25/02/2023

We had a great time last weekend. It was so fun to see all our friends and colleagues 💕 It was even more fun to watch our teammate Angel Chaffin take Best First Time Competitor with Gemma the Bichon in All Other PureBreds and our teammate Heather Ausburne take 3rd place with her mini poodle Henley in Salon Freestyle. We are so proud of these two! We want to thank our coach Ann Martin for all her hard work in coaching to get us to where we are today. Thank you again to our sponsor for your sponsorship and for those amazing shears, blades, brushes, and combs that helped us speed through those coats and make our dogs so beautiful.

26/09/2022

We kicked off our first fall team meeting today. It felt good to be back in the saddle again!

27/08/2022

Our coach .martin.ncmg entered the most high profile and competitive competition the Jackpot. She competed against the best of the best and took third place with Mister! We are beyond proud ❤️

27/08/2022

We had so much fun competing this week at this weekend. We met so many amazing groomers, saw the best of the best live in action, and decided to take home some ribbons too! While it was a bit stressful at times, took a lot of energy, it was so worth every minute. A special thank you to our sponsor .a.s_sharpening for making sure our shears were super sharp and ready to go for each competition.

17/05/2022

Meet Friday the Scottish Terrier! This feisty girl is an AKC champion shown by her owner, Kathlena. She also competed with Kathlena this year for the first time and won first place in wire! She looks forward to having a litter of puppies, competing again next year, and finishing her grand championship.

03/05/2022

Meet Charlotte the Standard Poodle! Charlotte was EXACTLY what Juan needed to take his career to the next level. Certifications ✅ TV ✅ Competitions ✅ After three competitions in Poodle, she’s excited to grow her face and feet out to live her Teddy Bear fantasy in the Freestyle ring!

Bonus video in comments. 🤓

30/04/2022

Meet the pups! We wanted to post about all the lovely pups that we use in competition. Without these sweet dogs, we wouldn’t be able to do the thing we enjoy so much! Thank you for all your patience with us on and off the show floor!

Meet Jettie the Standard Poodle! She is retired now but Jettie competed with Nathan twice, winning first place both times, and was used twice for NDGAA certification! She now leads a very leisurely life relaxing and being spoiled at the age of 9!

26/04/2022

Meet the team! Last but certainly not least!

Nathan Austin began grooming in 2007, where he met his wife, Kathlena. After getting married and having two kids, Nathan began his journey into higher education and became an NCMG with the NDGAA in 2017. Nathan and his wife opened A Cut Above Grooming Salon in 2019 and began competing that same year, winning first place with his Standard Poodle and best girl, Georgette. In 2021, he competed at SuperZoo and won first place in Poodle with Georgette and first place in Sporting with his English Cocker Spaniel, Ronin, boosting him into the Intermediate division. GroomExpo West 2022 in Pasadena was his third time competing and he entered all four categories. He placed third in Wire, first in Sporting, first in Poodle, and first in All Other Purebreds. He also earned two group placements alongside current GroomTeam USA members, with second in Poodle, and first in AOPB. He participated in his first Best In Show lineup and took home the award for Best All Around Groomer. In one weekend, Nathan advanced to an open-level competitor. He hopes to continue on this path to earn his spot on the GroomTeam USA travel team and become a certifier for the NDGAA.

24/04/2022

Meet the team!

Kathlena Austin has been grooming since 2007. She met her husband, Nathan, at work and had the pleasure to work with both her husband and her best friend, Kat, for the last 15 years. After having two children, she followed in Nathan’s footsteps and achieved her status as an NCMG with the NDGAA in 2018. Shortly after, Kathlena decided to branch out and started showing her dogs in AKC conformation. She quickly realized how passionately she felt about the sport and now owns three show dogs with plans for more! In 2019, she and Nathan opened up A Cut Above Grooming Salon and quickly put together a stellar team. As a founding member of Team Feldspar, Kathlena competed for the first time at SuperZoo 2021 and won the award for Best First Time Competitor in Show with an English Cocker Spaniel. Later that year, Kathlena finished her Scottish Terrier’s championship, moving her into the Intermediate division. At her second competition, GroomExpo West 2022, she won first place in Wire with her Scottie, Friday. Kathlena enjoys her many dog-related pursuits and hopes to keep pushing for more. Showing and competing is a true passion for her and she looks forward to where the future will take her!

23/04/2022

Meet the team!

Kat Greaney began her grooming career as a bather in 2004. She became a groomer in 2006 and was certified as an NCMG with the NDGAA in 2018. Kat’s love for animals started as a young child, pet sitting and showing her first purebred dog in the AKC conformation ring. She began fostering dogs, cats, and critters at a young age, and has fostered over 200 animals to date! Kat also volunteers for Canine Companions, helping whelp litters and raise service dogs. Kat’s compassion and willingness to always lend a helping hand have made her invaluable to Team Feldspar. She competed for the first time at SuperZoo 2021 and won second place in the Wahl Clipper Classic Contest. She is looking forward to competing in both the AKC conformation ring as well as in the competitive grooming ring with her Bichon Frise, Lumiere.

22/04/2022

Meet the team!

Lindsey Pinson has been grooming since 2014 and moved to California from Ohio in 2018. She met Kathlena and Nathan Austin and began working at their salon in 2020. By 2021, Lindsey gained her NCMG title with the NDGAA and stepped into the AKC show ring. She accompanied Team Feldspar to their first competition at SuperZoo 2021 as an assistant and was invited to join the team as an official member for their following competition. Lindsey won second place in a very competitive Rescue Round-Up at GroomExpo West 2022 in Pasadena and learned so much competing in Poodle Entry. She has goals of winning her way into Open class and finishing her future Scottish Terrier in the AKC conformation ring. With drive and determination, Lindsey hopes to continue growing and learning alongside her ambitious colleagues and friends.

21/04/2022

Meet the team!

Heather Ausburne has been grooming since 2006, starting off with self-training and then honing her skills in a high-volume salon. Seeking to perfect her craft, she attended and graduated from The Nash Academy of Animal Arts and is currently a National Certified Groomer in three of the four breed groups. In 2015, she opened her own shop, The Bark Side, where she started her journey to expand her knowledge of breed trims. Looking to push herself even further, Heather decided to join Team Feldspar and put her skills to the test. Her first win was at SuperZoo in 2021 for Best First Time Competitor with her Standard Poodle and placed second at GroomExpo West in 2022 in the All Other Purebreds category with a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. Heather is passionate about the marriage of precision and art that exists in the world of grooming and is looking to advance in the competition ring. Ultimately, she wants to leverage her experiences to teach and train others to promote that same passion for the craft to new groomers as well as those looking to improve on their existing skill set.

20/04/2022

Meet the team!

Juan Rivera has been grooming since 2007. Over the course of his career, he has groomed in corporate salons, high-end pet resorts, private salons, and as a mobile groomer. He opened Juan’s Groom Room with his husband, Ronney, in 2015 and began attending grooming conventions regularly. Juan became an ICMG with the IPG in 2020, an NCMG with the NDGAA in 2021, and is currently working on his third master groomer certification with the ISCC. He started his grooming competition journey by appearing on “Haute Dog,” a dog grooming competition show on HBOMax, with his Standard Poodle, Charlotte. He won third place in Poodle at SuperZoo 2021 and second place in Poodle at GroomExpo West 2022. Juan is very excited to continue competing and hopes to become an industry leader in the future.

19/04/2022

Introducing our team members! Starting with our Leader Ann Martin.

Ann Martin is an international award-winning master groomer, judge, instructor, and speaker. She has been handling and exhibiting show dogs since she was a child, and now continues that legacy with her line of Feldspar Standard Poodles. Certified as an NCMG at age twenty, Ann began competing in grooming competitions in 1992 and became a certifier for the National Dog Groomers Association of America in 1995. In her six years of competing, she became a member of GroomTeam USA and received many top awards, including the title of Best American Groomer, Best Team Groomer in the World, Oster Tournament of Champions Winner, and Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award Winner, as well as multiple Best All Around Groomer and Best in Show awards. Ann has since taught seminars and judged grooming competitions around the world. Focused on sharing a lifetime of expertise with groomers looking to expand their skill sets, she is currently recording a video library of educational grooming videos and is launching the Mastery Series with Irina Pinkusevich later this year.

16/04/2022

Jettie has taken her new job seriously since retiring from competitive grooming.
Looking adorable: ✅
Make sure to secure comfy chair: ✅
Keep team members calm by always being the sweetest and offering lots of affection: ✅✅

16/04/2022

Team Feldspar was put together in early 2021 by Ann Martin, Kathlena Austin, and Susie Corrie. What started out as a joke at one of Ann’s seminars took flight and became something magical! Most of us had never competed before joining Team Feldspar, so having THE Ann Martin as our fearless leader is a dream come true for all of us. Her experiences as both a competitive groomer and judge paired with her extensive knowledge of AKC breed standards have been instrumental to our success. We meet regularly to practice and hone our skills while learning proper conformation and how it pertains to grooming. Being part of a team like this has made learning and competing incredibly fun and rewarding. We travel to shows together, walk each other’s dogs, and help each other prep at 4 AM. In our short time together as a team, we have become family. We are driven, dedicated, and absolutely love what we do. With Ann by our side, we hope to continue learning, inspire others, and leave our mark in the grooming industry.

14/04/2022

Why join a team? Besides making great friends and having lots of support, you learn things that books and videos just can’t teach you: hands on learning.

First we have a poodle in a historically correct continental trim that was done so beautifully by our teammate Nathan . And thanks to our coach, Ann Martin, it was made just a little bit better. Nathan was shown how the poms needed to be just a bit higher.

Or take this poodle for another example. Heather is seen here proudly chopping away at the crest of her poodle - all while thinking of how proud our coach will be that she finally got it down to the correct length. Nope 😂. When coach came to look the groom over, she took off more than two inches! Heather’s mouth dropped open and then started laughing, as it had been the smallest crest she had ever achieved 😂.

Without a good coach right there with her and Nathan ,they could have continued to make mistakes and been so frustrated.

12/04/2022

One of the fun things to learn about grooming competitions is how much some dogs were just made for the spotlight. Francine is the perfect example. She is just glowing that she is getting all the attention!

06/04/2022

A little over a year ago Team Feldspar was just an idea, just a glimmer of hope to accomplish something incredible! Here we are at our first competition together at superzoo last year, we learned so much and grew together as a team. We all took home a win at that show and it felt great!

05/04/2022

What an incredible surprise we got at our team meeting yesterday! Pina came to visit! It was such a pleasure to watch these two amazing groomers work! It seems so effortless for them! We all hope to someday emulate their skill!

22/02/2021

Welcome to Team Feldspar! We are a group of groomers who are dedicated to learning and training together under Ann Martin and competing as a team at grooming events.

Team Feldspar

19/08/2023

19/08/2023

19/08/2023

25/02/2023

26/09/2022

27/08/2022

27/08/2022

17/05/2022

03/05/2022

30/04/2022

26/04/2022

24/04/2022

23/04/2022

22/04/2022

21/04/2022

20/04/2022

19/04/2022

16/04/2022

16/04/2022

14/04/2022

12/04/2022

06/04/2022

05/04/2022

22/02/2021

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