Firstly thank you to Jennie for inviting me to co-judge with Kim in her L2 & L3 trials, held at North Mundham. Huge thanks also to my experienced scribes Nicola in the morning (L2) and Sarah in the afternoon (L3). They both did excellent jobs as well as being excellent company. Our runners Sarah in the morning and for the afternoon, Julie, both made sure we weren’t waiting around for competitors. Very smooth running indeed. Thank you Sarah & Julie.
Both levels and all areas were white dogged by either my Nellie or Tilly or Nicola’s Corky.
Level 2
I judged the Tables and Chairs first whilst Kim judged the Vehicle search. For a lot of the competitors it was either their first ever L2 or their first trial since before the lockdowns began so nerves were evident. All those who qualified found both finds. I would like to mention Nikki and Theo who took this search to the wire, finding the second find at 4 minutes and 59 seconds! Nikki, you must have nerves of steel, I think I had stopped breathing! Super well done for keeping your nerve and persistence.
We swiftly moved onto Boxes and Luggage whilst Kim judged the Exterior search. Teams had settled by this time and no handling points were lost by all qualifiers. Well done handlers.
My second mention is a very special one to Sandra and her gorgeous 13 year old Indie. Despite health issues and the heat they came away with the red rosette and trophy. What a superb swan song, as Indie is bowing out of competitive sport and this was their last trial together. We were all a little emotional to find this out after their last search, but what a way to finish your career! Congratulations and enjoy your well-deserved retirement Indie.
Congratulations to all the competitors, even those of you who didn’t quite qualify this time. All of you were fabulous to judge. I really hope I see you again and watch how your partnerships flourish throughout your scentwork journey. Thank you for making my morning a very enjoyable one.

Level 3
Once again I judged the Tables and Chairs and Kim the Vehicle search. Despite having lots of newbies to L3, these teams knew where they needed to be and had read up on the rules, so it seemed to go so quickly. The majority of the teams found the 2 finds.
Next up was Boxes and Luggage. A few groans from some teams but there needn’t of been, no trashing and no handling points lost! Well done Teams!
I would like to mention Anne & Gabriella. Anne always handles Gabriella on the lead but she chose this trial to see how Gabriella would perform off lead. This was a big deal for this little dog who is not the most confident of dogs. Boy did she do you proud! Well done for having the confidence to let her try, trusting her and doing it at a trial! It paid off, you both came away with the 4th place – Super well done!
Special mention goes to a superb team. Claire and Jelly, they came first with a score of 100%, the only ones to achieve this all day! Fabulous searching. A very well deserved win.
Congratulations to all the competitors, even those of you who didn’t quite qualify this time. Keep going, I speak from experience when I say when you do qualify or are placed in the rosettes, it makes them even more special. Keep Enjoying the game and hope to see your progression in the future.

Thank you to all the partnerships today for letting me be a tiny part of your scentwork journeys. Huge thanks to the absolutely fabulous Jennie for a well organised, happy trial and her awesome team for a really lovely day. Last but certainly not least, thank you to my co-judge, Kim, who let me stay nice and dry inside, whilst she did not! Thank you my friend.