1 Laura – Maya – 100
2 Maria & Flo – 100
3 Sally & Asher – 99.75
4 Jan & Amber – 99.75
5 Yvette & Dylan – 99.75
6 Gabrielle & Elli – 99.5
7 Zoe & Teg – 99.5
8 Nicky & Gauss – 99.25
9 Anna & Jinx – 99.25
10 Julia & Spot – 97.75
11 Shaun & Cassie – 94.75
12 Joanna & Zippy – 79.75
13 Carol & Zoe – 79.5
14 Jennie & Bear – 79.25
15 Matilda & Mitford – 79.25
16 Tracey & Boo – 78.75
17 Gabrielle & Peppa – 78.75
18 Stephanie & Bran – 75.75
It didn’t seem long since I did the previous trial, but on waking it was a dull misty morning with drizzle!
I arrived at the Hall just after 10am to find that some competitors were already there and walking their dogs.
Our Judges for the day Tina Schuster and Karen Denton were in situ and we discussed how the trial would be run and decided that we would start inside as the weather was supposed to be better later on. This was totally incorrect, as it actually started to rain and kept raining most of the morning!
We all meet at 11 am, which was earlier than advertised due to the amount of people entering and some wishing to get away early due to having to drive long distances.
Tina had already ambushed a fellow German ‘Tobias’ into scribing for her and I scribed for Karen. Luckily Nikki Inglis came to give support to Gabrielle and she was our runner for the day which helped considerably.
Most of the competitors where nervous as this was their first Trial, however, we did have a few that had done trials before and Sally and Asher were going for their Excellent Award, which I am pleased to say they got.
The day went very quickly and it soon came around to working out the scores. Tina and Nikki sat around the table and Tina used her new computer programme to work all scores and times out.
After this was done it was presentation time and both Laura and Maya who came first, together with Maria and Flo, of which Flo who only a week or so ago had an operation and it was touch and go as to whether she would actually be able to walk on 3 legs for the Trial both got 100 points with Laura winning on time. I would also like to say how happy I was that Shaun and Cassie passed, as I know that Cassie is a reactive dogs and can get very nervous of strange sounds and happenings going on around her.
It was a first for me, but unfortunately the winning team Laura and Maya, had to rush off to another engagement and were unable to pick up their Trophy and Rosette, so this will be handed out at our next training.
It turned out to be a successful trial with everybody passing and we finished around 2.30 pm which gave people time to drive most of the way home before it got dark
I would like to thank Karen and Tina for judging and giving so much positive feedback to the handlers to put them more at ease. I would also like to thank Tobias for helping to scribe at the last minute as well as Nikki for keeping everybody moving
Karen’s comments
It was very nice to be invited by Nigel and Tina to Daglingworth again to judge their Level 1 Trial. We had a full house and, with Tina co judging, we each took an inside and an outside search. The standard was high and we had a 100% pass rate with many Clean Sweep rosettes being awarded to those whose dogs had detected all four finds and an Excellence rosette achieved by Sally & Asher. Congratulations folks!
Once again people had come from all over the country to take part in this trial but unfortunately one competitor from Worcestershire didn’t get to the venue having driven over something in the road which punctured two tyres so she had to be recovered by truck and taken home.
We started with the Boxes and Luggage search which didn’t prove too problematic for most although a few dogs enjoyed a brief play with the boxes until their handlers got them focused on the job again. One dog managed to pull out and swallow the scented swatch in a nano second without his handler realising and then continued his search!
The drizzle didn’t put the dogs off the Vehicle search and many completed this in super quick time. The majority of dogs had a lovely search pattern and methodically worked their way round the car with only one dog putting its feet on the paintwork. Maya held a beautiful indication leaving Laura in no doubt exactly where the odour swatch was. Shaun did well to encourage Cassie to stay focused despite her fears and she did him proud succeeding in all four exercises.
The standard and scores were very high so a special well done to Laura & Maya and Maria & Flo who both scored 100% to take 1st and 2nd place.
Many thanks to Nigel, my super scribe and also to Nikki Inglis who volunteered to be our runner and whose help was invaluable by keeping the flow of participants going and in calculating the scores at the end of the day.
I really enjoyed judging this great group of owners and dogs. It was lovely to see them get onto the first rung of the ladder in a very addictive sport!
Well done to everyone and good luck in your future Trials.
Have a great Christmas!
Karen Denton
Tina’s comments
It was drizzling when I left for the Level 1 Trial in Daglingworth on Sunday morning. Thankfully it stayed a light drizzle all day and it was pretty mild for early December, so the searches conducted outside weren’t too horrible. When we got to the village hall, we had 2 scares – one that it might have been double booked (as people were already going in and out of the hall) and secondly that we had forgotten the rosettes at home. A swift drive back home to get them and a quick chat with the “strangers” in the hall made it clear that they were competitors and my blood pressure dropped.
We got off to a nearly “on time” start, with both interior searches happening simultaneously. Thank you Nicki for organising the steady supply of competitors. Having a German scribe clearly put Karen and her scribe Nigel at a disadvantage and we were finished with “Tables and Chairs” way ahead of her “Boxes and Luggage” search. Some of the later teams had problems “going to source” on our tables and chairs search, as the odour had had a chance to expand – especially with the heaters going.
I have huge respect for all those competitors who despite training at a different venue (and in some cases only twice, like Nicky and Gauss) braved taking their first trial at a brand new venue! Shaun and Cassie did really well in the Tables and Chairs (12 seconds!) – especially considering Cassie’s nervousness around other dogs and the scrambling noises coming from the boxes and luggage search happening at the same time just behind the curtain!
We then moved on to the “Exterior” search, with the hide underneath an intruder alarm cover. All but Carol opted to be told which 3 items the scent could potentially be hidden in, and unfortunately Carol convinced Zoe it was in the wrong place. I was impressed how all dogs handled the difficult surface (gravel which is exposed to lots of local dog club members (and their dogs)).
The prize for the “dog the judge would most like to take home” goes to Amber (I still can’t believe she does flyball!) and a well-deserved 4th place to Jan and Amber! I would like to say a huge “Thank you” to Tobias for being volunteered to being my (brain and) scribe for the day and thanks for the patience of everyone for waiting for the presentation while working out the “kinks” in the spreadsheet and validating the calculations the old/manual way, which delayed the price giving. Thank you Stef for your cakes and help cleaning up!
Kind Regards,
Tina Schuster
| A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | ||||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | ||||||||||||
| Handler & Dog | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | ||
| 1 | Laura – Maya | 20 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 39 | 100 | 82 | |
| 2 | Maria & Flo | 20 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 30 | 100 | 99 | |
| 3 | Sally & Asher | 20 | 4.75 | 63 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 99.75 | 111 | |
| 4 | Jan & Amber | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 4.75 | 46 | 20 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 46 | 99.75 | 127 | |
| 5 | Yvette & Dylan | 20 | 5 | 62 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 51 | 20 | 4.75 | 54 | 99.75 | 185 | |
| 6 | Gabrielle & Elli | 20 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 4.5 | 42 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 19 | 99.5 | 93 | |
| 7 | Zoe & Teg | 20 | 4.75 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 20 | 4.75 | 70 | 99.5 | 140 | |
| 8 | Nicky & Gauss | 20 | 5 | 60 | 20 | 5 | 28 | 20 | 4.75 | 31 | 20 | 4.5 | 115 | 99.25 | 234 | |
| 9 | Anna & Jinx | 20 | 4.75 | 91 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 88 | 20 | 4.5 | 62 | 99.25 | 257 | |
| 10 | Julia & Spot | 20 | 3 | 74 | 20 | 5 | 40 | 20 | 4.75 | 45 | 20 | 5 | 45 | 97.75 | 204 | |
| 11 | Shaun & Cassie | 20 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 64 | 20 | 4.75 | 102 | 20 | 5 | 65 | 94.75 | 243 | |
| 12 | Joanna & Zippy | 0 | 4.75 | 47 | 20 | 5 | 22 | 20 | 5 | 37 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 79.75 | 112 | |
| 13 | Carol & Zoe | 20 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 4.5 | 160 | 20 | 5 | 89 | 20 | 5 | 42 | 79.5 | 312 | |
| 14 | Jennie & Bear | 20 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 4.75 | 55 | 20 | 4.5 | 32 | 79.25 | 111 | |
| 15 | Matilda & Mitford | 0 | 5 | 27 | 20 | 5 | 50 | 20 | 4.5 | 38 | 20 | 4.75 | 38 | 79.25 | 153 | |
| 16 | Tracey & Boo | 0 | 4.75 | 23 | 20 | 4.5 | 60 | 20 | 4.5 | 54 | 20 | 5 | 38 | 78.75 | 175 | |
| 17 | Gabrielle & Peppa | 20 | 4.75 | 84 | 20 | 4.5 | 81 | 0 | 4.75 | 133 | 20 | 4.75 | 105 | 78.75 | 403 | |
| 18 | Stephanie & Bran | 20 | 4.5 | 72 | 20 | 4.5 | 40 | 20 | 4.75 | 77 | 0 | 2 | 87 | 75.75 | 276 | |