Fri 8th Jun 2018, Belbroughton

Levels 1, 2, 3 & 4
Judges: Nigel Wilkes, Tina Schuster, Tracey Alker, Nikki Inglis
Level 1


1st Gabrielle & Ellli
2nd Gabrielle & Peppa
3rd Lisa &Tomba
4th Jill & Milo
5th Julie & Poppy
6th Julie & Daisy

Level 3


1st Alison & Peppa
2nd Jackie & Poppy
3rd Tracey & Billy
4th Roz & Really
5th Maria & Flo

Level 2


1st Alison & Izzie
2nd Lynn & Ludo
3rd Denise & Butty
4th Judy & Jaffa
5th Janice & Ginny
6th Alison & Dylan

Level 4


1st Katrina & Jumble
2nd Zoe & Dexter
3rd Deb & Belle
4th Sheila & Zak

I was looking forward to this Trial as we were running 4 levels with a lot of competitors. The weather was perfect – cloudy, warm and still. My judges all arrived in good time and, after a quick catch up, we were ready to go.

Tracey, Nigel and Tina judged Levels 1 & 2 and the dog and handler teams did really well with everyone qualifying. Well done everybody! Your nerves held and your dogs did you proud.

Nikki, Nigel and Tina judged Levels 3 & 4 and some of the teams struggled a bit with a few non-qualifiers. I tried to stay out of the search areas as I don’t want to put handlers or dogs off but I believe the main downfall for most was the perimeter search with dogs disregarding items without properly investigating them. As each level progresses the finds become more difficult and handlers should be aware of less obvious places that judges may choose. Don’t forget to approach from both directions as scent moves in mysterious ways.

It was still quite a long day despite there being 3 judges judging separate areas at the same time but everyone was good hearted and and seemed to be enjoying each other’s company with plenty of chat while they waited their turn.

I would like to thank Nigel, Tina, Tracey and Nikki for giving up their time to judge for me and I’d also like to thank my scribes Ellen, Helen and Michelle who did a fantastic job in their first experience at this role. Many thanks too to my runners Jackie, Sue, Liz and Gabrielle who did a sterling job at efficiently keeping the whole Trial moving with ease.

Well done everyone. It was lovely to see you all today. I hope those who weren’t successful have another shot at it. Onwards and upwards. 😊

Karen Denton

What a lovely day to judge a Scentwork Trial! Sunny, with cloudy spells lovely helpers and competitors. When we arrived, the helpers (Sue and Jacqui) had already set up the exterior cordon and items, so all I needed was a scribe (thank you so much Michelle!) and scenting the item(s) up. After some small confusion, we started with L2s. Thanks to my runner Liz, we were moving at a quick pace and all teams did well, stepping up from L1 and continuing searching for a second item. It was lovely hearing from Deb (& Louis) that my feedback worked for her on the other searches! Glad I was able to add value. We then moved on to the L1s and all competitors took the offer up of being told which of the 3 items the scent could be hidden in. I have to admit that apart from Yvette in her early trial, I haven’t seen a handler as nervous as Lisa (& Tomba), who despite the nerves, did a lovely search. After a short break (and while the inside searches were still taking place) we moved on to L3. It was interesting to see that the gun oil (being the “newer” scent was harder for the dogs to find and unfortunately we had a number of wrong alerts. Both Maria with Flo and Alison with Peppa (who went on to win the trial) did us as their trainers proud. Well worked Maria and Flo! Moving on to the L4 searches, I decided on a tennis ball in a pouch as distraction and unfortunately, its draw was too much for a couple of dogs – sorry Anne! Lynne called the distraction as well – when Kaiser was investigating and ended up calling 2 wrong alerts, which was a real shame.

It was great seeing the teams work at the different levels – I have never judged 4 levels in a day before. Again, I wanted to recognise all the helpers that made the day run as smoothly as it could and thank you Karen for being so well “wo-manned” and for asking us to judge.


I was honoured to be asked to judge alongside Nigel, Tina and Tracey, originally, I had planned to enter Peppa in the Level 2. So, day off work booked, I drove up the M40/M42 in the sunshine.

When I arrived, I learnt I would be judging the Level 3 on some sections alongside Nigel and Tina and that Tracey was judging the Levels 1 and 2, as she was going to compete in Level 3.  Karen had an amazing team of runners, scribes and helpers so 4 Levels in one day were planned and achieved, down to Karen’s impressive logistical skills. As I had a little wait I was able to watch the competitors in the earlier levels.  It was lovely to see them progress throughout the day and relax with their dogs, it is such a lovely sport with all breeds able to take part.

My first section was the Level 3 Vehicle Search, with Karen, I quickly set up the cars, stealing one from the earlier levels, only to find a competitor had just seen that car in Level 2, so we had a swap around. Those who worked every inch of the cars found the scents easily, but as the day wore on the wind changed and made the scent swirl slightly, so it became more difficult.  It was lovely to see “Dolly” and Peter as last time we met, “Dolly” was insisting on eating stones and not playing the game, good searching throughout the day with massive improvements.  A couple of the dogs were working well and wanted to move from one car to the next quicker than their handlers, I am always told to trust your dog.

Next section was Level 3 Tables and Chairs and Perimeter, for some of the teams this was their first move up to this level and although they searched the tables and chairs well, everyone finding this scent, but they were not always as thorough on the perimeter.

Level 4 Tables and Chairs and Perimeter was next up, we decided to hide both items on the perimeter and not use the chairs, it was lovely to see the teams working together moving on once they had checked out the chairs to work the perimeter. The first item was in the door jamb.

The 2nd scented item was in the frame by the wheel of a chair trolley placed between 2 other items on the back wall, those who found it worked the area in both directions and checked all around each item, those who didn’t almost disregarded the item as they went to more familiar hiding places, only giving it a fleeting check.

We quickly removed the items and moved on to the Level 3 Boxes and Luggage, where most people had a good quick find, and remembered the rules so worked their dogs methodically. “Flo” came into the hall playing her game of jumping around which usually means she does want to work but settled immediately to give two lovely solid indications for Maria. Roz held her nerve as “Really” {I love that name} waited to the last moment to alert on the 2nd find, “Billy” decided to sit and wait by the cones before he got started and then had 2 positive finds with great indications,

Level 4 Boxes and Luggage includes a distraction or 2, but all the teams all worked well the only time the distraction came into play was when Deb unfortunately tripped over the box and “Belle” alerted on the next item. Zoe worked “Dexter” in a methodical pattern all day and only just missed out on first place to “Jumble” and Katrina who put in a solid performance on each section.

I would like to thank my scribes Michelle and Ellen for their patience and Jackie for acting as runner, I must say everyone was very friendly and helpful all day even when it took longer than expected.  Lastly thank you to Debbie {Karen’s sister} who made tea and coffee for everyone all day. I hope everyone went home having enjoyed their day and learnt lots, I know I did. Nikki

A/F = Alert Find H = Handling T = Time (seconds)
Level 1 Tables & Chairs Exterior Search Vehicle Search Boxes & Luggage Totals
Name of Handler & Dog A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T Marks Time
1 Gabrielle Inglis – Elli 20 5 21 20 5 10 20 5 16 20 5 14 100 61
2 Gabrielle Inglis – Peppa 20 5 14 20 5 35 20 5 27 20 5 49 100 125
3 Lisa Finney – Tomba 20 5 28 20 5 28 20 4.75 22 20 5 10 99.75 88
4 Jill Law – Milo 20 5 11 20 4.75 23 20 4.75 105 20 5 20 99.5 159
5 Julie Russon – Poppy 20 4.75 28 20 5 22 20 4.75 39 20 4.75 80 99.25 169
6 Julie Russon – Daisy 20 4.25 93 20 4 167 20 5 20 20 4 130 97.25 410
Level 2 Tables & Chairs Exterior Search Vehicle Search Boxes & Luggage Totals
Name of Handler & Dog A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T Marks Time
1 Alison Deakin – Izzie 20 5 33 20 5 21 20 5 49 20 5 61 100 164
2 Lynn Grice – Ludo 20 4.75 45 20 5 38 20 5 180 20 4.75 76 99.5 339
3 Denise Pile -Butty 20 4.75 55 20 4.75 86 20 4 98 20 5 37 98.5 276
4 Judy Worton – Jaffa 20 5 39 20 5 63 10 4.75 79 20 5 64 89.75 245
5 Janice Dent – Ginny 20 5 48 20 5 51 20 4.75 171 10 5 62 89.75 332
6 Alison Williamson – Dylan 20 4.5 136 20 5 29 10 5 30 20 5 46 89.5 241
7 Deb Nolan – Louis 20 5 47 10 3 114 20 4.75 103 20 5 57 87.75 321
Level 3 Tables & Chairs Exterior Search Vehicle Search Boxes & Luggage Totals
Name of Handler & Dog A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T Marks Time
1 Alison Williamson – Peppa 20 4.75 113 20 4.75 72 20 5 73 20 4.5 99 99 357
2 Jackie Walters – Poppy 10 4.75 124 20 5 51 20 4.75 171 20 5 87 89.5 433
3 Tracey Alker – Billy 20 4.5 164 10 4.75 50 20 4.5 297 20 5 177 88.75 688
4 Roz Bradbury – Really 10 4.5 285 10 5 199 20 4.75 129 20 4.5 148 78.75 761
5 Maria Daley – Flo 10 4.5 136 20 5 36 10 4 193 20 5 26 78.5 391
Level 4 Tables & Chairs Exterior Search Vehicle Search Boxes & Luggage Totals
Name of Handler & Dog A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T Marks Time
1 Katrina – Jumble 20 5 161 20 4.5 53 20 4.75 147 20 5 40 99.25 401
2 Zoe – Dexter 20 5 207 20 5 121 20 5 172 10 5 118 90 618
3 Deb – Belle 20 5 239 20 4.5 130 10 4.75 228 10 4.5 73 78.75 670

Belbroughton Recreation Hall, Hartle Lane, Belbroughton, Worcestershire. DY9 9TG

Start 10am
Entry Fees: £20 per dog.
Contact: Karen Denton 07968 413543
Download Entry Form to book a place.