Level 1
1st Barbara O’Brian Joey – 100
2nd Harry Latusek Zak – 100
3rd Belinda Zorab Miage – 100
4th John Hearn Skip – 100
5th Gill Robinson Sybil – 99.65
6th Carole Thornley Spice – 99.5
7th Julia Reeves Dandy – 99
8th Sonia Pidhajeckyj Ruby – 78.75
9th Jeff Allen April – 78.75
10th Helen Waring Boo – 78.75
11th Carol Green Tashi – 76.5
Level 2
1st Jean Tuck Zac – 100
2nd Keith Clowes Monty – 99.6
3rd Sandra Hartwell Archie – 99.25
4th Charlotte Hamblin Mabel – 90
5th Collette Guy Lola – 89.5
6th Dianne Weston Megan – 84.25
7th Mary Allen Alfie – 79.25
8th Carole Thornley Zoe – 69
Level 3
1st Sue Kirkham Tilly – 99.9
2nd Kathy Fitzgerald Portia – 99.5
3rd Linda Stangle Max – 90
4th Jackie Hodge Lima – 90
5th Katrina Landrey Nigel – 89.9
6th Claire Bennet Benson – 89.9
7th Lisa Finney Tomba – 89.4
8th Janet Wykes Jess – 79.8
9th Rene Centa Finn – 68.8
Where did the early morning rain come from? I was sure the forecast had been for a dry day, but my nice clean van was splattered with dirt by the time I arrived at the Grange Hall. However super star helper Liz Ormerod had thought ahead and brought cloths and water to wipe off the bottom third of her and my vehicle, both of which were going to be used for searching. We were running Levels 1 to 3 today so 7 vehicles in all were needed. My thanks to everyone who kindly let us use their car, as from a trial manager’s point of view, getting enough vehicles can be the most difficult thing to arrange.
I had divided the day up into 2-hour slots, one Level per slot. We manage this quick turnaround by having two judges and each doing search at the same time (one inside and one outside). Super Judges Heather Donnelly and Susan Benson worked hard to keep to time by getting the searches set up and scents in place for a prompt start, keeping to task and working through the numbers smoothly. They were greatly helped in keeping the “flow” moving along, by our fantastic runners, Charlotte Hamblin, Liz Ormerod (am) and Sue Lawrie, Harry Latusek, Kathy Fitzgerald and Keith Clowes (afternoon).
Lynda Crossland looked after registration for each level very efficiently and kindly, though I interrupted her for 10 minutes as she needed to put her car in position for the vehicle search. While I covered the desk I forgot to write handlers names on their sheets when I gave them out, oops!
Thanks also to the team and all our competitors for being so friendly, helpful and supportive of each other. People with anxious dogs were allowed to get safely to searches with enough room, and when we had to jiggle running orders everyone was really positive. No wonder the dogs worked so well for you all despite having a very sniffy exterior search area on grass.
The team were so efficient I wasn’t needed, so I “got out of the way” and watched quite a few of the outside searches. I thought the dogs worked really well and handlers were so kind and caring of them. Just loved the comments and banter while handlers were waiting.
Thank you to Sue Lawrie for putting out the lunch after Level 1, and for the scrumptious homemade cake we enjoyed at “afternoon tea break” between Levels 2 and 3.
Huge thank you as always to my husband Paul Bailey who took care of processing the results into the spreadsheet for electronic adding up, resulting in very short waits before presentations. Huge congratulations to all who qualified, and those who weren’t quite there, I’m sure you will do it next time.
Congratulations to Sue Kirkham and Tilly for your Excellence award at Level 3, it was a very well deserved first place.
Karen Kendall
Trial Manager
Heather Donnelly
Many thanks to Karen for asking me to judge the L1,2 & 3 at the Southam trial which attracted an enormous entry of 33 dog & handler teams. I must say that it was extremely well organised with each level having their own time slot which meant that competitors were hanging around all day. The timing were spot on and along with Paul’s efficient recording of the results on the laptop, calculating all the marks, meant that the presentation for each level was completed almost instantly after the last competitor had run.
A big thank you to Lynda Crossland and Liz Ormerod who helped out all day with these two ladies probably doing every job that was going today so thank you ladies. Also thank you to Sue Lawrie who again did numerous tasks and even baking a delicious scrummy cake! Other helpers were Kathy Fitzgerald, Harry Latusek, Charlotte Hamblin & Keith Clowes.
Level 1
We had 15 entries in L1 and 1st was Barbara & Joey the very enthusiastic cockerpoo. Barbara showed a good systematic coverage of the search area as well as allowing Joey space whilst guiding this little dog around efficiently gaining full marks and getting the well deserved top stop. 2nd Harry & Zak I was also impressed with this team, also gaining full marks with Harry showing nice calm handling enabling Zak to work in an enthusiastic way. 3rd Belinda & Miage again showed a very polished performance with dog & handler working in unison. This team have come on since I last saw them several months ago. 4th John & Skip Nice to see the team work go up a notch this week so well done John nice to see that you have found you groove again with this sensitive dog.
Level 2
1st Jean & Zac A very polished performance from Jean who allowed Zak to work in a very happy and relaxed way. Good training skills from Jean who had taught Zak a passive indication which made the call so much easier for Jean. 2nd Keith & Monty. A nice team to watch and I could see that Keith understood the wind direction in the Exterior Search, the only competitor that did, enabling Keith to work Monty in the most efficient way. A good rapport between these two as Keith seems to understand Monty so well. 3rd Sandra & Archie A well deserved 3rd spot although Sandra thought that Archie was abit below par today. You wouldn’t have known this though observing Sandra lovely quiet and sensitive handling. Well done. 4th Charlotte & Mabel .Very good control from Charlotte with the rather enthusiastic Mabel when Charlotte seemed to know when Mabel was searching or just sniffing dog odour in the exterior search; So well done Charlotte.
Level 3
Well done to all those that qualified as the Exterior Search was very difficult with all the dog odour from the mornings trial. Also I made the boxes & luggage rather more challenging as I feel L3 is all about stepping up the game but most rose to the challenge so well done.
1st Sue & Tilly. A well deserved top spot and gaining their ‘Excellent’ title on the day too. Sue has come on so much with Tilly and now has really found their groove together. A team to watch for the future. 2nd Kathy & Portia Again a rather impressive team although Kathy just needs to watch Portia’s slight deviations in the Exterior Search but once Kathy has cracked this the team will go far. 3rd Lynda & Max Lovely quiet handling from Lynda with this rather sensitive dog who has only just gone into L3. Max was one down in the boxes & luggage search but I am sure Max will only go from strength to strength in Lynda’s capable hands. 4th Jackie & Lima Really nice to see that Jackie has really sussed out this very difficult dog to read. I have seen Lima before who does like to throw the occasional false alert but with Jackie’s expert handling and observation skills she can read Lima’s intentions really well. Well done with this particularly difficult dog.
Susan Benson
It was a pleasure to be asked to judge at this trial alongside Heather. The weather was chilly and dismal but the great teams definitely were not.
Level 1. I started with tables and chairs and this didn’t cause too much trouble and neither did the vehicle search. Barbara and Joey zipped through both the searches and got a well deserved win.
Level 2. The dreaded boxes and luggage, again not too much trouble and Mabel, Charlottes girl leaping from one piece of luggage to another had us all laughing at her.
The outside search was made difficult with lots of distractions and the handlers had to be on the alert. Well done to Jean Tuck and Zac winning Level 2, lovely handling .
Level 3. Tables and chairs and perimeter search. The perimeter search was hidden in a tin and several of the dogs through it about and had a game with it. So e of the handlers needed to get their dogs back searching more quickly.
The last search for me was vehicle. Decided to make it a little more challenging. It was a strong wind. Several of the teams got both straight away, some missed one and trusted their dogs to take them back to the second scent, a couple called on the wrong scent due to the wind blowing it under the car and onto another one.
Congratulations to Sue Kirkwood and Tilly winning this level and also herExcellence for Level 3. Lovely calm handling.
Well done to everyone it was certainly interesting and pleasing to see how everyone works. For those who weren’t successful this time I know you will all get to your goals.
Big thankyou to my scribes, Kathy Fitzgerald and Liz Ormerod. Charlotte Hamblin for keeping everyone moving so we didn’t have to wait. Linda for checking everyone in, sue for the lovely lunch and scrummy cake, everyone else who made the day such a success and great fun. Not forgetting Karen and Paul, who had organised everything so perfectly.
Well done everyone
| 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 | Barbara O’Brian | Joey | 20 | 5 | 28 | 20 | 5 | 37 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 100 | 87 |
| 2 | Harry Latusek | Zak | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 5 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 23 | 100 | 100 |
| 3 | Belinda Zorab | Miage | 20 | 5 | 54 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 100 | 103 |
| 4 | John Hearn | Skip | 20 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 88 | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 5 | 23 | 100 | 161 |
| 5 | Gill Robinson | Sybil | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 5 | 66 | 20 | 4.85 | 31 | 20 | 4.8 | 44 | 99.65 | 160 |
| 6 | Carole Thornley | Spice | 20 | 4.75 | 48 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 4.75 | 23 | 20 | 5 | 52 | 99.5 | 127 |
| 7 | Julia Reeves | Dandy | 20 | 5 | 33 | 20 | 4 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 88 | 99 | 188 |
| 8 | Sonia Pidhajeckyj | Ruby | 20 | 4.75 | 18 | 0 | 4.5 | 0 | 20 | 4.5 | 23 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 78.75 | 59 |
| 9 | Jeff Allen | April | 20 | 4.5 | 31 | 0 | 4.75 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 23 | 20 | 4.5 | 67 | 78.75 | 121 |
| 10 | Helen Waring | Boo | 20 | 4.75 | 155 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 51 | 20 | 5 | 41 | 78.75 | 247 |
| 11 | Carol Green | Tashi | 20 | 4 | 61 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 4.5 | 62 | 20 | 4 | 132 | 76.5 | 255 |
| Level 2 | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | ||
| 1 | Jean Tuck | Zac | 20 | 5 | 60 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 75 | 20 | 5 | 24 | 100 | 184 |
| 2 | Keith Clowes | Monty | 20 | 5 | 123 | 20 | 4.85 | 91 | 20 | 4.75 | 127 | 20 | 5 | 54 | 99.6 | 395 |
| 3 | Sandra Hartwell | Archie | 20 | 4.75 | 61 | 20 | 4.5 | 100 | 20 | 5 | 91 | 20 | 5 | 66 | 99.25 | 318 |
| 4 | Charlotte Hamblin | Mabel | 20 | 5 | 130 | 10 | 5 | 75 | 20 | 5 | 61 | 20 | 5 | 22 | 90 | 288 |
| 5 | Collette Guy | Lola | 20 | 5 | 198 | 20 | 5 | 100 | 10 | 4.5 | 164 | 20 | 5 | 47 | 89.5 | 509 |
| 6 | Dianne Weston | Megan | 20 | 5 | 128 | 10 | 0 | 168 | 20 | 4.25 | 100 | 20 | 5 | 85 | 84.25 | 481 |
| 7 | Mary Allen | Alfie | 10 | 5 | 93 | 20 | 4.5 | 114 | 20 | 5 | 65 | 10 | 4.75 | 174 | 79.25 | 446 |
| 8 | Carole Thornley | Zoe | 10 | 4.5 | 138 | 10 | 5 | 133 | 10 | 4.5 | 124 | 20 | 5 | 29 | 69 | 424 |
| Level 3 | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | ||
| 1 | Sue Kirkham | Tilly | 20 | 4.9 | 112 | 20 | 5 | 103 | 20 | 5 | 68 | 20 | 5 | 113 | 99.9 | 396 |
| 2 | Kathy Fitzgerald | Portia | 20 | 5 | 65 | 20 | 4.5 | 160 | 20 | 5 | 65 | 20 | 5 | 34 | 99.5 | 324 |
| 3 | Linda Stangle | Max | 20 | 5 | 70 | 20 | 5 | 127 | 20 | 5 | 77 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 90 | 299 |
| 4 | Jackie Hodge | Lima | 20 | 5 | 49 | 20 | 5 | 136 | 20 | 5 | 83 | 10 | 5 | 123 | 90 | 391 |
| 5 | Katrina Landrey | Nigel | 20 | 5 | 50 | 20 | 5 | 69 | 10 | 4.9 | 124 | 20 | 5 | 45 | 89.9 | 288 |
| 6 | Claire Bennet | Benson | 20 | 5 | 66 | 20 | 5 | 106 | 20 | 4.9 | 131 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 89.9 | 341 |
| 7 | Lisa Finney | Tomba | 20 | 4.9 | 74 | 10 | 4.5 | 233 | 20 | 5 | 203 | 20 | 5 | 70 | 89.4 | 580 |
| 8 | Janet Wykes | Jess | 20 | 4.9 | 165 | 10 | 5 | 35 | 20 | 4.9 | 88 | 10 | 5 | 79 | 79.8 | 367 |
| 9 | Rene Centa | Finn | 20 | 4.9 | 128 | 10 | 4.5 | 76 | 10 | 4.9 | 60 | 10 | 4.5 | 133 | 68.8 | 397 |