Many thanks to Hayley and Leanne for judging. Fair searches that didn’t look too difficult but proved to be quite challenging,, clearly effected by the weather, really pleased to see the teams rise to the challenge and not allow their first search results to effect there overall performance, this saw some through to rosette places. Well done everyone and thank you for a great evening,
Susan Elliott

Judges Report

Hayley Whitaker – report
Thanks you Susan for asking me to judge at this lovely L4 trial. Thanks also to Gill who was my scribe for the evening.
I judged the exterior items first. The clove scent was on the traffic cone and everyone seemed to find that with very little trouble. The gun oil was on the washing basket under the rim and this caused problems for about half of the dogs. I can only put this down to the weather which became a really muggy about half was through judging this area. Nicky with Luna and Jeanette with Boogie were liek little rockets whizzing around this search whereas Wendy with Dottie and Hilary with Wilfie were much more considered. Both approaches were very effective!
I then judged the boxes, bags and fixtures inside. This was a very lucky call as it just started raining as we began so Gill and I got to stay lovely and dry while Leanne and Janice got a little damp outside (sorry!). I was very hot and humid in the hall but most dogs/owners seemed to seemed to cope with it for the short time they were in there. The clove was on the handle of the bag and this odour was getting pulled towards the patio doors leading to a lot of interest from the dogs and a few false calls. The gun oil once again gave the most problems. This was set under the door latch about 6 inches from the floor. Almost every dog showed interest in this area but a lot struggled to work the space within the doorway. Well done Julie and Max for the fastest time here and it was great to see Debbie and Bucky working to well as a team.
The weather really seemed to affect the results so everyone should be very proud of their searching – it wasn’t easy! Congratulations to everyone but especially those that placed and Julie and Max for getting their Excellence and their Tier 1 pin.