I was invited to judge this L1 Trial in Wichenford and what a lovely environment to hold a trial. Well run and very friendly – thank you Pauline Whittaker. And special thanks to Charlotte Jauncey for her excellent scribing duties.

The weather forecast was not great with heavy rain predicted as the day progressed so we started with Exterior Items. There were 11 items and the hide was on a tripod to the centre left of the square. All the dogs found the scent – it seemed to be picked up coming back over it. Some nice thorough searching across the board. Stand out were Irene and Poppy who were so quick despite being the oldest dog present, Bridget and Salvo who continued to work despite some nearby distractions and some lovely line handling from Nikki and Cara.

We then moved inside to the hall to conduct tables and chairs in a traditional square. The hide was on a left hand chair. Once again all dog found the hide however there were a number that were distracted and wanted to check the exterior/floor and needed persuasion to go back to task. Fast Labrador time by Virginia and Murphy, very methodical searching by Debbie and Dylan and great indication by Wendy and Storm who lay down underneath the chair.

Back outside and it was starting to rain more heavily. We used a wall at the rear of the building with a couple of doors, drainpipes and drains. The hide was placed on first door under cover (how considerate!). This had the potential to be quite environmental due to grass and weeds however all the dog worked really well and all were successful again. Particularly nice and quick searching from Mary and Bonnie, Sue and Mollie took on the challenge really well having never done a wall before!

As the rain increased we thankfully moved back in to boxes and bags. The hide was in a shoe box at the back middle of the hall. This was the decider and the nemesis for some but again some lovely work and the dogs were more settled in the hall. Ann and Steel were quick and methodical especially as he was off lead and directed from a distance.

Finally thanks to everyone for being so efficient, the whole trial was completed by 10:40am which was amazing and congratulations to everyone (because you all qualified) and to Irene & Poppy and Virginia & Murphy who gained their excellence.