Sat 21 May 2022, Hethe

Levels 2 & 6: Judges - Gloria Bonnell & Harry Latusek

Hethe Village Hall, Hardwick Road, Hethe, OX27 8EY

Start: 9am
Entry Fees: £28 per dog.
Contact: Heather Donnelly heather.donnelly6@btinternet.com

Trial Manager and Judges Reports

Thankyou Heather for inviting me along to judge this level 6.My first visit to this lovely quaint little village of Hethe.Thankyou to my scribe for the afternoon,Gloria Bonnell.

There were 10 competing teams and 1 running NFC.
Following a tour of the three search areas,we commenced with interior 1.
This was set up in the main hall area,5 scents were used,made up of cloves,gun oil and truffle oil.
I marked the start with some 8 chairs lined across the room,these were included in the search area.
The scents were laid out as follows.1).Cloves,this was hidden inside a cut out for pipe work, in a wooden panel on the wall.2).A gun oil Velcro patch,hidden inside a cabinet drawer.3).At the far end of the room,I hid a truffle oil scent on the bottom of a table leg.4).A cloves Velcro patch,I stuck to the bottom of a fire extinguisher,which was attached to the wall.5).A gun oil hair band,this was secreted in a crack in the brickwork of the patio door,fire escape.Five minutes was allocated.
First team in was Hazel with Cedar.A lovely systematic search of the area,finding all 5 scents with the allotted time.I’ve made this to easy,I thought.I was proved wrong as no other competing team found all the hides.Number 5 hide proved to be one which the majority of dogs struggled with.
Exterior
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This was set up at the end of the building and around the corner,this area was adjoined by a child’s play area on one side, and football field on the other.4 hides were placed out.1).A cloves scent, hidden at the bottom of a door,this was an early hide,some 6 ‘ from the start.2).Truffle oil,secreted at the bottom of a garage door,behind a padlock.3). Gun oil,around the corner,facing the football field and tucked into corner brickwork.4).Cloves scent,tucked into a gap between paving slabs which ran the full length of the search area,as a walkway around the building.Good methodical searching by 6 of the teams who successfully found all 4 without to much difficulty.The other 4 dogs failed to find this scent,partially due to the handlers standing on it.Excellent displays here by,Stacey and ghost in some 96 seconds,Rebecca and Marvel,137 secs and Lynda and Magic,finding all with 1 second to spare.

Interior 2
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This was set up at the end of the main hall.A small storage area and all 3 toilet areas,(Ladies,Gents and disabled).3 scents and 3 minutes allocated.
1).Cloves scent, tucked into a small hole in the leg of a stacked chair in the storage area.2).Gun oil scent,also hidden in this area,some 6’away at the bottom corner of a door.3).This was a truffle oil scent,hidden under a foot stool,this was free standing in the ladies.We had 4 teams successfully find all 3,the others finding 2 ,the scent on the chair leg appearing the most problematic to those.Excellent handling skills shown here by,Pam and Willow,Rebecca and Marvel ,Lynda and Magic,Stacey and Ghost perciveered,a sigh of relief,calling the last hide with 1 second to spare.

A good display all round on the day.I have judged a number of these dogs in the past,it was lovely to see their progression.Final tally being 8 of the 10 teams successfully qualifying.A very enjoyable afternoon indeed.
Congratulations to Rebecca and Marvel on achieving their excellence.Well done!
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Well done to the Rossette winners on the day.
1….Lynda and Magic……..2…Rebecca and Marcel……3…Ruth and Dot……4…Anne and Missy

Thank you to Heather for inviting me to judge L2, and my scribe Harry Latusek. It was a pleasant day with good weather and a great group of people. On the whole the handling was very good, just a couple who needed to give their dogs a little more encouragement, but well done to everyone.
I was tasked to judge all 4 searches, and Cloves was used on all searches. No white dog was used.
I started with:
Tables/Chairs and Perimeter
A combination of two tables and 8 chairs with 6 perimeter items. 1st scent was placed on the perimeter in a cd player to the left as handlers went through the start 2nd scent was under the centre of the chair on the right of the table, the chair nearest as handlers went through the start. Nearly everyone found them quite easy, just one wrong alert.
Vehicle Search
A Wall and one car used. The 1st scent was in the padlock of a garage door to the bottom of the garage on the left as handlers went through start, 2nd was on the front driver’s side wheel. All handlers found both with some very good handling.
Boxes & Luggage
There were 13 items placed – consisting of boxes and bags. 1st scent was placed on the box to the right of the entry point – 2nd scent was on the left at the top of search area in the buckle of a flight bag. 3 handlers wrong alerted on 1 item and one handler wrong alerted on both items.
Exterior
This consisted of 12 items. The 1st scent was to the right in an electric hair brush, and the 2nd in a drill to the left of the search area, both items half way down search area. Everyone found both scents without too much trouble. I must mention Kim & Dexter Super handling and great a search.
Also, a Special mention must go to Paula Davis & Merrijazz, super young spaniel, made all the searches look easy. Lynda Bowers & Lacey, not an easy dog, but put her best paw forward.
I’d like to thank everyone who entered, it was a joy to watch your dog’s work. Congratulations to the qualifiers and rosette winners:
1st Paula Davis & Merrijazz
2nd Helen Strszewska & Thistle
3rd Jane Hudson-Evans
4th Lynda Bowers & Lacey
I look forward to judging you all again in the future.

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