Meet Your Instructors:
The Global Poodle Summit Panelists
Our 5 panelists came together to create the first ever Global Poodle Summit out of a shared love of Poodles! Pre-COVID, they had the idea to bring together a global panel of instructors and students to a dedicated space to share knowledge about Poodle history, breeding, grooming, handling, the breed standards, and much more. This idea came to life in September 2023 alongside the world-renowned 'Groomania'!
Meet Your Instructors:
Allison Alexander (Canada): Allison Alexander has been involved in dog shows, and Poodles, nearly her whole life. Allison enjoyed a successful career as a Professional Handler starting in 1987, with many top winning Poodles. Two of these Poodles attained Top Dog of All Breeds status in Canada; "Dawin High Falutin" AKA Lutin, in 1995; and "Dawin Stellar Performance" AKA Stella, in 2004. She has also won the variety at Westminster Kennel Club with "Vetset Kate Winsit" AKA Kate, in 2021, and the variety at Poodle Club of America with "Afterglow Maverick Sabre" AKA Ricky, in 2016. Along with many other successful Poodles, Allison handled dogs of many breeds that hold national records to this day, including Shetland Sheepdogs, Australian Shepherds, Skye Terriers, Affenpinschers, Salukis, and more. Today Allison is known as the founder and lead instructor at Leading Edge Dog Show Academy (home of Poodle University) and hosts seminars on grooming and handling around the world.
Tom Isherwood (United Kingdom): Tom's great passion for the show scene started with Papillons - a breed with which he experienced success and bred several champions. He went directly from school to apprentice at the Vanitonia kennel and was under the guidance of the kennel’s co-founder Roger Stone. Tom’s initial success came with Poodles and Chinese Cresteds and a string of champions and group winners followed. Amongst them Tom showed the iconic Chinese Crested “Unwrapped” aka Nora through her “Pup of the Year All Breeds” win to “Top Dog All Breeds” the following year with a then record number of BIS wins.. Since joining the Afterglow team there have been multiple champions including group and Best In Show winning Standard Poodles, Affenpinschers, Papillons and of course the Toy Poodles. Tom has exhibited a different “Top Toy” male, each a group winner for 4 successive years culminating with the top winning Ch Afterglow Agent Orange, “Waffle” and his Crufts Reserve Best in Show win in 2022.
Maud Nilsson (Norway): Maud Nilsson was born in Sweden, but moved to Norway at age 18. She is a breeder with prefix Alchemy, and also works together with the World renowned kennel Afterglow, United Kingdom. Her family always kept poodles and when she was 14 years old she got her first Standard Poodle. She was bred by Margaret Wear, kennel Racketeer. When the opportunity came to work for Victor Hansen, kennel Farday in Norway, she went. She started her own grooming business in her early twenties and it became a great success. She bred a couple of standard litters at that time. The most famous was by her Ch Farday High on Emotion, some of her offspring grew up to be great show dogs. In 2005 she got the opportunity to buy her wonderful Noah, Ch Hallifax D'Havilland Dove. He has become a top producer. The most famous of his offspring is Jason, Ch Afterglow Tyrone Power, winning both in the UK and USA. Most recently she co-owned Grace, Ch Afterglow Poppa Don't Preach, with the Afterglow team. She also works as an Artist, with poodles as her biggest inspiration. She still takes big pleasure in grooming and showing poodles. She really couldn't imagine living her life without sharing it with this wonderful breed. Nothing can make her more excited than seeing a truly beautiful poodle!
Jason Lynn (United Kingdom): Jason Lynn was a 7 year old Kentucky boy when he watched a televised replay of the great German Shepherd Dog “Manhattan” winning Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club in New York City. Although his family did not own a show dog, he was captured by the vision and from that day forward it was his goal to achieve that dream. Dedication, hard work and dash of good fortune have brought him, exactly 30 years later, to the realization of that long-cherished goal. Today under the Afterglow prefix, Jason has owned, co-bred with Michael Gadsby, and handled two of the recent Best in Show winners at Crufts. Winning with the Standard Poodle Ricky, Ch/Am Ch Afterglow Maverick Sabre, in 2014 and in 2017 with Miami, Show Champion Afterglow Miami Ink, the American Cocker Spaniel.
Michael Gadsby (United Kingdom): Not many breeders have enjoyed so much success as Mike has, including being a breeder of two Crufts Best in Show winners in two different breeds. Today internationally most famous for its American Cockers and Poodles, Afterglow has been perhaps the most prominent kennel on the British show scene for the past few decades. Mike’s introduction to the show world came when he was 13 years old as that’s when he got his first job as a kennel helper for a lady who bred Pyreneans. All after that is history. Mike has bred and owned many top winners in different breeds during the years, including Afghans, PBGVs, Pugs, Papillons, Spinones and many other breeds he successfully campaigned and bred. His views on breeding and judging dogs are not to be missed! Whoever has met Mike or just seen his dogs knows that he has an immense amount of knowledge and experience that he shares in a very honest and direct way.
