1 Lynne Fletcher – Barney – 100
2 Vanessa Bonner – Willow – 100
3 Janet Phillips – Coco – 99.95
4 Jacky Lawrence – Henri – 99.95
5 Christine Davis – Indy – 99.9
6 Lena Stenton – Angel – 99.75
7 Anne Vellenoweth – Rosalie – 80
8 Lyn Church – Tero – 80
9 Helen Hankins – Sam – 80
10 Margaret Deucher – Fizz – 80
11 Anne Glennon – Missy – 80
12 Heidi Totesaut – Konnie – 79.9
13 Barry Cook – Ziva – 79.7
| T&C - A/F | T&C - H | T&C - T | ES - A/F | ES - H | ES - T | VS - A/F | VS - H | VS - T | B&L - A/F | B&L - H | B&L - T | Marks | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | |||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | |||||||||||
| Level 1 | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | |
| 1 | Lynne Fletcher – Barney | 20 | 5 | 39 | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 35 | 20 | 5 | 29 | 100 | 124 |
| 2 | Vanessa Bonner – Willow | 20 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 45 | 20 | 5 | 82 | 100 | 184 |
| 3 | Janet Phillips – Coco | 20 | 5 | 39 | 20 | 4.95 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 39 | 99.95 | 108 |
| 4 | Jacky Lawrence – Henri | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 4.95 | 78 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 99.95 | 136 |
| 5 | Christine Davis – Indy | 20 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 4.95 | 25 | 20 | 4.95 | 55 | 20 | 5 | 24 | 99.9 | 118 |
| 6 | Lena Stenton – Angel | 20 | 4.75 | 100 | 20 | 5 | 17 | 20 | 5 | 52 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 99.75 | 194 |
| 7 | Anne Vellenoweth – Rosalie | 0 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 80 | 44 |
| 8 | Lyn Church – Tero | 20 | 5 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 80 | 92 |
| 9 | Helen Hankins – Sam | 20 | 5 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 80 | 114 |
| 10 | Margaret Deucher – Fizz | 20 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 53 | 80 | 128 |
| 11 | Anne Glennon – Missy | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 58 | 80 | 136 |
| 12 | Heidi Totesaut – Konnie | 20 | 4.95 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 24 | 20 | 4.95 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 79.9 | 154 |
| 13 | Barry Cook – Ziva | 20 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 4.75 | 47 | 20 | 4.95 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 48 | 79.7 | 136 |
To follow
First of all I would like to thank Lyn Bowers for asking me to judge the clubs first level 1 trial, and I can honestly say they ran this like a well-oiled machine. Not only was I plied with large amounts of coffee and piles of homemade cakes (how to keep a judge happy), but they also organised the search areas perfectly. They all pulled together to set up the outside areas and it was a very quick switch around to the vehicle search, and the inside searches were organised in the same efficient way. Also massive thanks to my fabulous scribe and the runner for the day, you made judging really easy, so thank you.
We started with the exterior search, the hide was hidden on a rolled yoga mat and the handlers were given the option of the 3 items. This posed no problems for nearly all the teams, with only one struggling in this search. We had 2 teams who were NFC (not for competition), Dawn Jenkins & Diesel having already obtained their level 1 Excellent award entered just for the practice opportunity. He performed reliably and enthusiastically through all searches, I’ve judged him before and he really is a superb boy. The second NFC team was Heather Donnelly & Dali, Dali performed like a pro through all 3 searches that they took part in, she really is a little cracker and had no problems finding the hides. Barry Cook & Ziva searched well in this area, with Ziva alerting on the correct item pretty much as soon as she entered the area. Vanessa Bonner & Willow also had a good search, Willow has a really subtle indication so I was really impressed how well Vanessa was able to read her, and they were successful in all search areas. There were also some lovely searches from Lyn Church and Tero, Caroline Nicholson & Gus, Anne Glennon & Missy and Pam Butcher & Willow.
Then to the vehicle search, with the scent being hidden in a wheel nut area. Again this search went very well with 16/18 teams being successful in this area. Some great searches from Helen Hankins & Sam, Heidi Totesaut & Konnie & Ros Kellow & Grace. Then straight on to the next search, the boxes & luggage!!!!!
Boxes & Luggage really seems to be a difficult search and that day was no exception. The scent was placed in the main zip on the bag with at least half of the article exposed, I placed the bag at the back of the room with the scent facing Scent
towards the back wall. I ran my own dogs as white dogs that day and Maya had no trouble in finding the scent. Diesel being the first dog in had no trouble locating the bag, and then the next 3 dogs in couldn’t find it. 3 different bags were alerted on during this search other than the bag with the scent. I started to get a little panicky but then Vanessa Bonner & Willow, Anne Vellenworth & Rosalie, Christine Davis & Indy and Lynne Fletcher & Barney came in and located the correct item. The next 2 teams didn’t find it, which then made me put a temporary hold on things to we could work out what was going on. I’ve never had a search go as wrong as this, and I was getting quite concerned. We decided to run another white dog and we used Lyn Bowers’s Foxy, who again came in and located the correct article. We even removed the scented item and ran the dog over all the bags & boxes to see if we’d missed anything, but the dog didn’t pick up and clove scent from the other items. So we restarted the search. The remaining teams who found the item were Lena Stenton & Angel, Jacky Lawrence & Henri, Janet Phillips & Coco and Heather Donnelly & Dali. So well done everyone. Why was this search so difficult, I just don’t know, but only 9/18 dogs were successful in this area. Then it was on to the tables & Chairs.
Fortunately this was a much more successful search with only 2 dogs unable to identify the correct chair. Lyn Church & Tero were first in and Tero had no problem identifying the correct chair, which was a huge relief for me. Again Lynne Fletcher & Barney, Caroline Nicholson & Gus, Jacky Lawrence & Henri, Janet Phillips and Coco, Helen Hankins & Sam, Margaret Deuchar & Fizz, Lena Stenton & Angel, Anne Glennon & Missy, Barry Cook & Ziva, Ros Kellow & Grace, Heidi Totesaut & Konnie, Vanessa Bonner & Willow, Dawn Jenkins & Diesel and Christine Davis & Indy were also successful in this area. Then it was all over.
I was really impressed by the attitude of the competitors and a few really stood out for me. Jacky Lawrence & Henri were one team. I Judged Henri back in December and he really made Jacky work hard that day, 3 months on he was now working with gusto and you could see he was really getting to grips with the searches which was good to see. Caroline Nicholson & Gus were another team, although they didn’t qualify on the day, I was really impressed by Caroline’s attitude throughout the day and even thanked me for my feedback (crazy lady).
Last but by no means least was Lynne Fletcher & Barney. Lynne’s attitude just amazed me, I’d heard that her dog had been a bit poorly but didn’t know the extent of it until the searches had finished. Lynne didn’t want 30 second warnings and she didn’t want to know what items she should search, all she said was that she just wanted Barney to have some fun, that this was about him having a great time and she wasn’t bothered if he was successful or not. Well what a cracking little dog, he entered each search area with enthusiasm and was 100% successful on the day, with all 4 search times adding up to just over 2 minutes. They were amazing together. It was only afterwards that I found out this was a very very poorly dog. So when Lynne & Barney went on to win the trial, there were tears a plenty including mine. They really were the winning team for me, and having my photo taken with him was an honour. (still shedding a tear here).
So on conclusion, the trial was a great success with 16/18 dogs being successful. I saw some lovely team work and was impressed how supportive you all were to each other. A massive well done to you all and I really hope to see you in the future.
Just one last thank you to Lyn Church for providing me with a pack lunch to drive home with, the Lemon Drizzle Cake was amazing.