It was forecast to be a drizzly today but the sun made an appearance for the whole day after a very brief hail storm although it was pretty cold. The ground was saturated but luckily our competitors didn’t have to go onto the sodden grass other than water their dogs.
Sue Benson and Liz Ormerod, my judges, arrived bright and early with big smiles. They organised their search areas and we got cracking on time. I’ll let them comment in detail but most dog teams were successful with Jil & Herbie coming in 1st and Felicity & Danni Darko coming 2nd and earning an Excellent rosette. Many congratulations to all the Level 3 folk.
Level 4 started on time after lunch and because I was entering the scores into my electronic scoresheet, I was able to be present during the interior searches for both levels. I tucked myself away in the corner which gave me the opportunity to observe some amazing handling and super keen dogs who were a pleasure to watch.
Sarah & Hugo came a well-deserved 1st place and won an Excellent title. What a superstar he is! Congratulations to all who qualified and to those who didn’t but accepted their lack of success on this occasion with good grace and a smile.
Thanks to you all for entering this Trial and for waiting patiently for your turn in the cold. I hope you’ll come back again!
I must thank my lovely judges who gave feedback to everyone after every search which was appreciated by all. Many thanks also to my wonderful team of scribes, runners and kitchen helpers who all swapped roles from morning to afternoon. These were Deb, Lisa, Michelle, Sheila and Helen, who, as well as scribing and running today, also made some yummy cake for us all to enjoy. 😊
I enjoyed watching everyone’s enthusiasm for the sport and the love for your dogs. It was really nice. 😊
Karen Denton
I was back to Bourne Heath again on 10 February to judge at Karen Denton’s Level 3 and 4 trials. I shared the judging with Liz Ormerod so even though the weather was very mixed we had an enjoyable day.
Level 3. There were some lovely searches. I started with boxes and luggage. As usual this caught some teams out, especially a bag, with gun oil. It does seem to be the least favourite out of the four searches.
I then judges exterior search. Quite a few dogs didn’t like the surface of the area, some trying to eat it, others rolling in it but we finished with good results.
Worthy winners, Jill and Herbie, followed by felicity and Dannie Dario, and third place to Carol and Fiddle. Well done to everyone who qualified. Special congratulations to Felicity for attaining her Excellence award.
Level 4. Tables and chairs and the perimeter. Distractions were out and hardly any dogs knocked them. Some very impressive teams.
Vehicle search. There were some awsome teams. It was blowing a gale and raining. The teams that did the best were the one where the owners listened to their dogs. It was a line of 3 cars, with both scents being on the last car. Most impressive was Janet and Jess. Jess set off straight down the line to the last car with Janet in hot pursuit. Jess found the scents in 43 seconds. Janet trusted Jess and she was rewarded. Sarah and Hugo was a similar search. Both teams were delighted.
Sarah and Hugo won level 4, next were Kate and kiwi and Janet and Jess were third.
Well done to everyone.
Thankyou to Karen for asking me to judge such a well organised, friendly trial. We even had time for a leisurely lunch together. Many thanks to Lisa and Debra my scribes, Michelle and all the other people who make everything work so well.
Thankyou
Sue x
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 3 A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T A/F H T Marks Time
1st Jill Harper – Herbie 20 4.9 126 20 5 51 10 5 40 20 5 34 89.9 251
2nd Felicity Ashford – Danni Darko 20 5 120 20 4.9 67 20 5 63 10 4.9 114 89.8 364
3rd Carol Carelsee – Fiddle 10 4.8 190 20 5 81 20 4.9 129 20 5 80 89.7 480
4th Melanie Goble – Rowan 10 4.9 194 20 4.9 63 20 5 62 20 4.75 92 89.55 411
5th Julie Russon – Daisy 20 4.6 291 20 4 80 20 5 98 10 4.9 72 88.5 541
6th Nikki Ingliss – Peppa 10 4.8 109 20 5 77 20 5 89 10 5 72 79.8 347
7th Kym Salisbury – Max 10 4.6 240 20 4.9 45 10 5 82 20 4.9 237 79.4 604
8th Sara Wren – Tia 10 4.5 285 20 5 108 20 4.5 122 10 4.9 77 78.9 592
9th Judy Worton – Jaffa 20 4.7 186 10 4.5 130 20 4.7 122 10 4.75 81 78.65 519
10th Amanda Mundell – Bailey 20 4.7 191 20 5 111 10 4 104 10 4.75 77 78.45 483
Level 4
1st Sarah Taylor – Hugo 20 5 67 20 4.9 87 20 5 166 20 5 40 99.9 360
2nd Kate Osborn – Kiwi 20 4.75 182 20 5 28 20 4.75 160 20 4.6 197 99.1 567
3rd Janet Wykes – Jess 20 4.9 145 20 5 51 20 5 43 10 4.9 55 89.8 294
4th Jackie Walters – Poppy 20 4.75 163 10 4.9 42 20 5 121 10 4.8 164 79.45 490
5th Lynn Grice – Chess 20 4.9 174 20 5 85 10 4.75 280 10 4.7 170 79.35 709
6th Zoe Ashman – Beth 10 4.5 66 10 4.8 52 20 5 174 20 5 41 79.3 333
7th Kathy Fitzgerald – Portia 10 4.75 79 20 4.9 112 10 4.9 211 20 4.7 212 79.25 614
8th Paula Davis – Jazz 20 4.5 216 20 5 45 10 4.75 97 10 4.6 149 78.85 507
9th Claire Bennett – Benson 10 4.75 93 10 3 300 20 4.5 220 20 5 103 77.25 716