Thanks to Helen Jones for agreeing to judge our first Trial in Scotland despite completing a sponsored walk early in the morning! We had 7 competitors who had completed the Level 1 syllabus of classes.

Everyone arrived nice and early and not without a bit of nervousness about what lay ahead. We decided to start with the Table and Chairs first then the Vehicle Search, followed by the Exterior Search which gave Dave, our willing assistant a chance to put the table and chairs away ready for the boxes and luggage.

Five from seven teams completed the table and chair search as nerves played a part in two false alerts. Avril’s Ridgeback Mika did her search in 5 seconds flat! The vehicle searches went well with everyone completing the search.

The exterior search was again executed very well with 5 teams completing and 2 calling a false alert. With two false alerts, Lucy and Poppy decided not to proceed. Both are great in class but nerves took their toll on the day.

The boxes and luggage search was completed quickly with everyone alerting in under a minute and as this is probably one of the favourite searches in class the outcome wasn’t surprising.

We had coffee and cake whilst the marking was completed and certificates written. Helen then had a chat with each competitor and it was on to the presentation. Avril and Mika were in a well deserved first place with two very fast searches. I’m sure Mika scents right from the cone!

Huge thank you to everyone for taking part, accepting decisions and making it a great event and to Helen for giving up her time. We are all looking forward to the next one.