Bronze Part 1 - Benburb, N.Ireland 30/09/2023
1st Jillian and Humprey 86
2nd Laura and Munchie 85
3rd Lesley and Tejo 83
4th Eileen and Buddy 73
5th Sue and Rika 68
6th Andrea and Silver 58
Search area was in a primary school which is currently unused. We decided to keep part 1 in the corridor and open access to a small room immediately on the left and a small store beside it. There were various other rooms on the left and right all closed off with a small porch type area towards the end of the corridor. A few chairs and some collapsed tables with fire extinguishers and radiators completed the search area.
The first hide was located on a chair in the corner of the small room and the second on a radiator half way down the corridor on the right.
All teams decided to work clockwise aiming to clear the room and store first which worked in most cases! Any that hadn't settled enough for the early hide found it when they came back for a second visit. All then headed down the corridor finding the second on the radiator on the way back up. It was an area that encouraged systematic coverage and it was lovely to watch these teams work appropiately.
All in all a very enjoyable morning!
Bronze – part 2 Judge: Jillian Marshall
1st Lesley Clements and Gavita 82 (Diamond)
2ndAileen Toye and Buddy 79
3rd Sue Christie and Kaija 74
4th Dawne Wilson and Reggie 71
5th Debbie Goligher and Holly 70
6th Irene Scott and Luna 68
The venue for this trial was an old, disused, primary school. Teams had to search a short length of corridor, with a few tables stored against one wall, a very small alcove with a few items in situ, and a large classroom.
The classroom had a lot of chairs stacked against one wall, and a few stacked tables. The next wall had some shelving, a small cupboard with drawers, and a piano sitting slightly forward of the cupboard. The third side had radiators along the whole length, leading to a shuttered door and a kitchen hatch on the fourth side, along with a wheelbarrow containing various bits n pieces. There were a few subbuteo tables, and children’s toys placed in the floor area.
Both hides were inside the large room. The first in a seam of the second drawer on the cabinet. The second hide was a lower hide, hidden inside a little hole in the wall where a heating pipe was attached (there was no heating on!), about 6” off the floor, beside the shuttered door.
All 7 teams had a similar search plan, to clear the alcove and corridor first, with a few spending a lot of their allocated time checking the corridor, however all teams did find both hides within the time limit.
They all worked the room in a clockwise direction. If they had chosen to work the room anticlockwise, they would have winded the first hide quicker. As it was, most teams passed the cabinet before picking the scent up at the piano and seat, then working it back to source. Some lovely examples of dogs working the odour in. Others didn’t pick up the odour pool until handlers had turned and came in from the other direction – the scent was getting trapped at the side of the piano.
The second hide was easier; however, some teams did miss it on their first pass. Handlers worked the corner of the room lovely, then focused on moving on towards the ‘busy’ wheelbarrow, totally missing the hide. These teams did pick up the odour as they worked round the barrow, and tracked the scent back to source.
There were some beautiful indications and partnerships working together. Also a few teams quite new to this style of searching, lovely to watch them succeed. A rewarding experience for my first Scent Ops judging appointment.
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