Level 1
1st Sharon – Inca – 100
2nd Jayde – Impi – 100
3rd Kathy – Star – 100
4th Louise – Buddy – 99.75
5th Jayne – Salvo – 99.25
6th Jayde – Chase – 94.5
Level 3
1st Sue – Halle – 99.5
2nd Geoff – Bug – 99.25
3rd Becky – Lacey – 90
4th Becky – Flossie – 89.75
5th Teresa – Archie – 79.75
6th Sarah – Flynn – 79.75
Level 2
1st David – Nikan – 99.75
2nd Georgina – Archie – 99.5
3rd Kat – Kula – 78.75
Once more on a Sunday morning my car is packed and I am heading off to Sharnbrook to get set up ready for todays level 1, 2 & 3 trial.
I had requested sunshine for today and I was not disappointed. We had a lovely day. Both myself and Heather Day arrived nice and early to set up ready for Judge Nigel. Heather was helping me today as my daughter who usually helps was not able to come today.
We were doing level 2 first and got underway nice and early. As Nigel had a good scribe to help him then I was able to get the next search area ready each time. Some lovely searches and handling. Level 1 people arrived and got straight into their searches. There were quite a few nervous handlers but all settled down during the morning.
Level 2 competitors were finished first so we had the presentation from Nigel and I think we were very privileged to be able to award the second Excellent rosette to David and Nikan. A very well deserved rosette.
Then all level 1 competitors were done by lunch time so another presentation when Nigel was once again thanked. He then gave out all the rosettes and trophies.
After a short lunch break we were off again, but the weather was not condusive to doing the exterior search so we changed our minds and did the tables and chairs first. By the time this had finished the rain had stopped so we were able to get outside to do the exterior and vehicle search.
As Sharnbrook hall is a very busy centre we were interrupted with people trying to get to tennis, football and some just to walk in the park. The dogs and handlers coped really well but think we will move to our new venue for the next trial.
I was very impressed with the fabulous handling during the day and the way that everyone was supporting each other. The camaraderie that happens during the day is a real pleasure to see.
Once again Sue and Geof brought a lovely picnic. The brownies were superb.
Overall it was a really good day with everything running very smoothly.
A huge thank you to Nigle Wilkes for being a brilliant judge and Jennie Fairweather for helping and to Heather Day for scribing.
We could not run these trials without the helpers, the judge and of course the competitors, so from me I would like to say a very big thank you to you all.
I had a fabulous day, encouraging each and every team as they prepared to do their search and then really enjoyed watching them. Marianne
It was a privilege to be asked to judge the levels 1, 2 and 3 Trials on the 14th May at Sharnbrook Village Hall by Marianne Tembey.
It was a lovely morning as I set off at 6.45am to get to Sharnbook. Unfortunately to start with I ended up in the next village, but a quick call, Marianne got me to the Village Hall by 9.10 am.
On arrival I was met by Marianne and we discussed how the trial was going to take place. Marianne had decided that Level 1 and Level 2 Trials would start at 9.30 am with the Level 3 Trial commencing later at around 1.00 pm.
Level 1
We started on time and with my scribe Heather in place and Jenny Fairweather rounding the 6 teams up, the first area of search was the Boxes and Luggage. Many of the handlers were quite nervous as they came into the hall and we also had one person running two dogs. Throughout this part of the Trial I found it difficult to mark down many of the handlers as they were all doing so well with their dogs!
Next was the vehicle search and I think that the nerves were nearly gone as the handlers seemed happier and all the dogs were working well! It was nice to see so many different types of dog and how the handlers worked them. Jayde with Chase and Impi worked very well off lead and were a very good team as were Kathy and Star who eventually came third with 100 points.
We then went onto the Exterior search which was held on the grass. In my mind this could prove difficult for Level 1 dogs as many other dogs had been over this area, but the teams again proved that they were accurate in finding the scent
Our final search was back inside for the Table and chairs in which there were a few dogs who had got tired but their handlers really did well getting them through the final hurdle.
The results were very close with 3 getting the maximum 100 points, but the eventual winner was Sharron and Inca
Level 2
The level 2 Trial started at the same time and there were three entries. I had been lucky enough to Judge Dave and Nikan previously and the speed that Nikan went around finding the scent made me wonder how Dave ever kept up!
Kat and Kula were also a good team, however, had a couple of wrong alerts, but Kula was very tired by the end of the Trial but still tried her best and with relief passed.
The final pairing of Georgina and Archie were also a good team with Archie going into a down when indicating, which made it easier for the handler to call, they eventually came second only .25 behind the eventual winner.
At the end of another tight trial Dave and Nikan came first and also they got their ‘Excellent’ award which was well deserved.
Level 3
This trial started after a quick lunch break with 9 teams. We were going to start with the Exterior Search, however, it was the only time throughout the day that we had rain and it was so heavy that after a quick discussion with Marianne we decided to start inside. Again there were many different combinations of dogs and how they were handled! It is very easy to pick out numerous pairings for this trial, but I have to mention Sara and Flynn. Unfortunately Sara had an injury caused by another competitor’s dog, who ran into the side of her knee. The leg/knee came up like a balloon but even through the pain she managed to get to the end, which both deserved. In this trial we had a few who had wrong alerts but they should be proud of how their dogs worked.
On the vehicle search things were made more difficult as the vehicles were parked close to the tennis courts and many of the dogs where distracted by the bouncing of balls and people walking by. Unfortunately when Nicola and Acer were doing their search a child walked towards the area and Nicola asked for us to stop as Acer has had problems with children in the past. As Judge I understood the reason and when clear we started again, but I am sure that it did have an effect on both in this team.
At the end of this trial we had Sue and Halle were the winners and with how Halle barked and charged around during the trial made me wonder how Sue ever knew when Halle alerted. I was exhausted just watching!!
I would like to congratulate all participants and I had a great day seeing all these dogs working so well for their handlers. A special ‘Thank you’ to Heather and Jenny who did the whole day with me and made my job much easier and also to Marianne for asking me to Judge.
| Level 1 | A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | ||||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | |||||||||||||
| Name of Handler & Dog | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | |||
| 1 | Sharon – Inca | 20 | 5 | 61 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 5 | 36 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 100 | 128 | ||
| 2 | Jayde – Impi | 20 | 5 | 44 | 20 | 5 | 24 | 20 | 5 | 36 | 20 | 5 | 26 | 100 | 130 | ||
| 3 | Kathy – Star | 20 | 5 | 56 | 20 | 5 | 62 | 20 | 5 | 53 | 20 | 5 | 53 | 100 | 224 | ||
| 4 | Louise – Buddy | 20 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 53 | 20 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 4.75 | 34 | 99.75 | 115 | ||
| 5 | Jayne – Salvo | 20 | 5 | 23 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 4.75 | 33 | 20 | 4.5 | 66 | 99.25 | 130 | ||
| 6 | Jayde – Chase | 20 | 5 | 26 | 20 | 0 | 116 | 20 | 4.5 | 46 | 20 | 5 | 57 | 94.5 | 245 | ||
| Level 2 | A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | ||||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | |||||||||||||
| Name of Handler & Dog | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | |||
| 1 | David – Nikan | 20 | 5 | 39 | 20 | 5 | 55 | 20 | 4.75 | 134 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 99.75 | 253 | ||
| 2 | Georgina – Archie | 20 | 5 | 105 | 20 | 5 | 90 | 20 | 5 | 96 | 20 | 4.5 | 24.5 | 99.5 | 315.5 | ||
| 3 | Kat – Kula | 10 | 4.75 | 192 | 20 | 4.75 | 122 | 10 | 4.5 | 194 | 20 | 4.75 | 93 | 78.75 | 601 | ||
| Level 3 | A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | ||||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | |||||||||||||
| Name of Handler & Dog | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | |||
| 1 | Sue – Halle | 20 | 5 | 71 | 20 | 5 | 76 | 20 | 4.75 | 125 | 20 | 4.75 | 73 | 99.5 | 345 | ||
| 2 | Geoff – Bug | 20 | 5 | 124 | 20 | 4.5 | 113 | 20 | 5 | 61 | 20 | 4.75 | 85 | 99.25 | 383 | ||
| 3 | Becky – Lacey | 20 | 5 | 116 | 10 | 5 | 49 | 20 | 5 | 72 | 20 | 5 | 72 | 90 | 309 | ||
| 4 | Becky – Flossie | 20 | 5 | 117 | 10 | 5 | 109 | 20 | 4.75 | 107 | 20 | 5 | 98 | 89.75 | 431 | ||
| 5 | Teresa – Archie | 10 | 4.75 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 71 | 20 | 5 | 102 | 10 | 5 | 72 | 79.75 | 274 | ||
| 6 | Sarah – Flynn | 20 | 5 | 61 | 20 | 5 | 52 | 10 | 5 | 120 | 10 | 4.75 | 75 | 79.75 | 308 | ||