Level 1
1 Denise Pile & OddBod – 100
2 Deb Atkins & Belle – 100
3 Ann Simpson & Honey – 100
4 Fay Lloyd & Duggie – 94.5
5 Lorraine Taylor & Pip – 79.75
6 Pat Wills & Lulu – 79.5
7 Sarah Barr & Bella – 79.25
8 Nigel Wikes & Brandy – 79
Level 2
1 Andrea Boldon & Ruby – 100
2 Paula Davis & Bonnie Jazz – 99.75
3 Clare Robbins & Ripple – 99.75
4 Julie O’Neale & Wren – 99.75
5 Caroline Jackson -Adams & Millie – 99
6 Lisa Finney & Brew – 99
7 Rachel Gowshall & Hattie – 89.75
8 Jackie Hodge & Kona – 89.25
9 Patrick Harte & Rossi – 89
10 Lena Stanton & Angel – 88
11 Julie Cox & Edith – 78.5
I woke up to rain and the weather forecast for the day was not very good!
I immediately drove to the main collection point at the Post Office as unfortunately the post man left a note that no one was in when he tried to deliver the rosettes and trophy’s for the day.
It was 8.30 am when I got to Daglingworth Village hall and some teams were already in situ and our Judge Sue Gardner was soon with us. We set up all the rooms and soon it was time for the Judges Briefing. Luckily my scribes Helen and Alan arrived around 9 am and I introduced them to the Judges.
As I was running Brandy Tina took over as Trial Manager for this period and I joined the group and waited for my turns to arrive.
The Level 1 trial ran to time and by 10.45 we were doing the presentations.
It was now time for the Level 2 Trial and the weather was slowly getting worse. All the teams though were there, and the Judges Briefing was done and we were ready to go. Sue I think was the luckier person as she did the exterior search but was able to stand under the porch as each team were out in the rain.
Tina unfortunately Judged the Vehicle search and by the time she started this part of the trial the Heavens had opened. The car park was semi flooded, and I felt sorry for her standing out in all this rain. I scribed but was able to do this in the dry. The longer this search went on the more the dogs were finding difficulty in finding any scent. I am sure that some dogs had given up, but to the credit of the handlers they kept their nerve and coaxed their dogs forward. Unfortunately one of the vehicles used even though it had been washed, it was found after 4 wrong alerts by some of the teams that a scent had been left in the front of the vehicle. A quick discussion with Tina, Sue and myself decided that these so called wrong alerts would be accepted, as it was not acceptable to sent the teams back outside.
After a change of jackets halfway through Tina made it back into the dry and on checked the scores it was found that all teams had passed.
I would like to thank Sue Gardner and Tina Schuster for Judging, Helen and Alan for Scribing, but really the day belongs to those who put up with the adverse weather conditions to make the trial a success. WELL DONE EVERYBODY
Nigel Wilkes
Trial Manager and Judges Comments Combined
I managed to walk the dogs before the trial and the weather was dry but windy… well that changed quickly and by the time we did the Judges Briefing for L1 at 9:15, the rain was torrential. Sue and I agreed to split the external searches and share the pain of standing in the rain.
We started with Tables and Chairs and a couple of competitors (Gaye and Nigel!) jumped in too quickly when their dogs go scent on the chair next to the chair with the scent. Lorrain’s Pip was very hard to read and she called the find on the wrong chair too.
We then moved on to the vehicle search and apart from licking water off the car, all dogs were successful in finding the scent that was hidden under the number plate. Thank you very much Roger for scribing, being drafted in by Lorraine – and I do think Lorrain’s exclamations when she managed to find the scents in the other 3 areas could be heard in the next village!
At 11:30, we started the L2 search, again with Tables and Chairs. It was great to see all teams moving on from only searching tables/chairs and also searching the perimeter. The hide was in a carpet roll by the fire exit, which unfortunately posed a distraction for some dogs (being able to see what was happening outside) and missing the scent. By the time we moved on to vehicles, it was a downpour! I jokingly told competitors that anyone taking the full 3 minutes would be deducted points – by the time we were 1/2 way through, my coat was leaking. Thanks Paula for the loan of your coat. A lot of dogs struggled working in these conditions, with some dogs indicating on the middle of car grille rather than the number plate (left), which was unfortunately > 6″. After 4 dogs had indicated on the number plate of Paula’s car, I got suspicious and with Paula’s help found a 2 week old hide underneath it (the car had gone through 2 washes since!). I was greeted with enthusiasm and relief when I told competitors that their “wrong” indication would count due to this discovery.
Thank you everyone for making this a friendly trial and being very supportive – even with the weather being against us. Thank you Helen for your help all day – you are a star. Thank you Nigel for scribing for L2. My feet are finally dry!
| 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 | Denise Pile & OddBod | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 22 | 20 | 5 | 62 | 20 | 5 | 45 | 100 | 154 | 2 |
| 2 | Deb Atkins & Belle | 20 | 5 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 5 | 41 | 20 | 5 | 55 | 100 | 175 | 3 |
| 3 | Ann Simpson & Honey | 20 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 5 | 50 | 20 | 5 | 36 | 20 | 5 | 72 | 100 | 190 | 8 |
| 4 | Fay Lloyd & Duggie | 20 | 5 | 29 | 20 | 0 | 242 | 20 | 4.5 | 33 | 20 | 5 | 27 | 94.5 | 331 | 7 |
| 5 | Lorraine Taylor & Pip | 0 | 5 | 85 | 20 | 5 | 48 | 20 | 4.75 | 114 | 20 | 5 | 35 | 79.75 | 282 | 1 |
| 6 | Pat Wills & Lulu | 20 | 5 | 35 | 20 | 4.75 | 63 | 20 | 4.75 | 62 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 79.5 | 195 | 4 |
| 7 | Sarah Barr & Bella | 20 | 4.75 | 78 | 20 | 4.75 | 68 | 20 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 4.75 | 54 | 79.25 | 231 | 5 |
| 8 | Nigel Wikes & Brandy | 0 | 4.5 | 35 | 20 | 4.75 | 91 | 20 | 4.75 | 95 | 20 | 5 | 126 | 79 | 347 | 6 |
| Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Andrea Boldon & Ruby | 20 | 5 | 59 | 20 | 5 | 89 | 20 | 5 | 183 | 20 | 5 | 49 | 100 | 380 | 3 |
| 2 | Paula Davis & Bonnie Jazz | 20 | 5 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 42 | 20 | 4.75 | 122 | 20 | 5 | 30 | 99.75 | 234 | 9 |
| 3 | Clare Robbins & Ripple | 20 | 4.75 | 104 | 20 | 5 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 98 | 20 | 5 | 56 | 99.75 | 284 | 7 |
| 4 | Julie O'Neale & Wren | 20 | 5 | 105 | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 79 | 20 | 4.75 | 86 | 99.75 | 291 | 4 |
| 5 | Caroline Jackson -Adams & Millie | 20 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 28 | 20 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 99 | 90 | 5 |
| 6 | Lisa Finney & Brew | 20 | 5 | 81 | 20 | 5 | 77 | 20 | 4 | 285 | 20 | 5 | 71 | 99 | 514 | 8 |
| 7 | Rachel Gowshall & Hattie | 20 | 4.75 | 54 | 10 | 5 | 39 | 20 | 5 | 122 | 20 | 5 | 43 | 89.75 | 258 | 1 |
| 8 | Jackie Hodge & Kona | 10 | 4.75 | 135 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 4.75 | 196 | 20 | 4.75 | 41 | 89.25 | 397 | 11 |
| 9 | Patrick Harte & Rossi | 10 | 4.75 | 191 | 20 | 4.75 | 117 | 20 | 4.75 | 112 | 20 | 4.75 | 121 | 89 | 541 | 2 |
| 10 | Lena Stanton & Angel | 20 | 4.5 | 116 | 10 | 4.5 | 129 | 20 | 4.5 | 247 | 20 | 4.5 | 64 | 88 | 556 | 6 |
| 11 | Julie Cox & Edith | 20 | 4.75 | 163 | 20 | 4.75 | 225 | 0 | 4 | 299 | 20 | 5 | 79 | 78.5 | 766 | 10 |