Previous Trials PHOTOS can be found Here
Previous Trials REPORTS are below (Click on a year heading to view/hide the report(s) )
Trials Manager Report - Carla Nieuwenhuizen
Our 23rd Open Trial will be remembered for ‘wall to wall’ sunshine from beginning to end. It was even hotter than last year and some of our judges looked like cowboys dressed in big hats; one of them even carried his gun in a holster! No guessing who that was!
The downside of weather like that after the long dry & windy winter is that we basically lost all our crop fields, bar 2 of them, to the sprayers & fertilizers. They were everywhere, but lucky for us we were saved by an offer of one very large grass field which is being converted into a deer park and it had not been grazed for some weeks. So for the first time in 23 years we ran the UD Stake on grass and the TD stake on the 2 wheat fields. Fortunately we managed to get all the tracks into these fields thanks to our super team of Tracklayers: Jane Webb & Penny Bellis in the TD and John Turtill & Clive Griffiths in the UD Stake. Thank you guys, you did a great job!
We had another good entry (33 in the TD, 25 in the UD, 6 in the CD and 20 in the Intro Stake) and we do not as yet seem to be effected by the general down trend in entries. This could be due to the fact that we are located in the Midlands and maybe also having the trial a bit later in the season may count. But of course it could also be due to the fact that we have such a fantastic Team of helpers who work very hard to help people have, if not always a successful day, at least a very enjoyable day at our trial.
I will let all the judges thank their helpers in the field, but would like to say a few special thank yous to those who ‘beavered’ away in the back ground for all 3 days:
First of all the Catering Team led by Steph Gordon & Lynn & Colin Bricknell and assisted by a large number of Club Members who all take turns in the kitchen. They did a superb job and as always created something out of nothing as there are still no facilities at the Cricket Club. We bring in our own Calor Gaz bottles and Generator to produce ‘all day cooked breakfasts’ and beverages. The speed of service is second to none and there is nothing like the smell of bacon & eggs welcoming you when you arrive at 7.30am. So a huge THANK YOU to all of you. Too many to mention any of you by name.
Our Base Steward, Lynn Griffiths, now in her 6th year (nearly medal time, Lynn!) did all the ‘check ins’ and scoring very efficiently again and together with our escorts, Pat Sunderland and Brian Hartree did a great job and made sure everybody arrived at their track on time and we did not lose any more land. Thank you all.
Last and certainly not least a big Thank you to the Judges for setting such straightforward and sensible Tests and for being great company: Tony Lockyer (TD), Anne Shepherd (C & A), John Simpson (UD) & Paul Adams & Ken Coleman (CD & Intro).
Congratulations to the winners: Rita Banfather (TD), Maurice Millington (UD), Carol Burgess (CD & Intro Stake). It was the first time we ran the Introductory Stake and I hope it has encouraged a few newcomers into the Sport of Working Trials.
Thank you to all the competitors for entering our Trial and for all your nice comments. We wish you all good luck at your next trial and look forward to seeing some of you again next year.
On a final note: 2 fleece jackets (one green and one lilac) were left in the base. So please let me know if you are missing yours.
Carla
Intro & CD Stake Report - Paul Adams (C & A Judge), Ken Coleman (Group III Judge)
Intro & C.D. STAKE
Judges: Paul Adams (C & A) - Ken Coleman (Group III)
Stewards: Gill Cooke & Patty Goriainoff
Thank you to Carla and the Committee of Banbury DTS for the invitation to judge both the Intro and CD stake at their Open trial. I always enjoy competing at Banbury and I certainly enjoy judging there, I have judged now on 4 occasions and every time I have been looked after extremely well by everyone involved with the trial, today was no exception so thank you to the ladies in the kitchen Steph, Lynne and Di and of course the main man Colin, thank you to Lynne on reception and scores, thank you to Heather for stay stewarding and of course a very big thank you to Gill for your good company and excellent stewarding, you made all the competitors feel a little less nervous and a bit more confident with your friendly approach.
When Carla originally asked me to judge we had no idea that we would have such a high entry in the Intro stake and so after entries had closed it was decided that we would ask someone else to judge the group III in both stakes and because we couldn’t think of anyone we asked Ken to step in and help me out which he kindly did, thank you Ken. It was a beautiful day and I was privileged to watch some good control rounds. I had decided that because it was the Intro stake and we really need to encourage people to start competing in Working Trials that I would be fairly flexible and allow them to work their dogs as they would if it were a normal training session and so if they did obedience Heelwork it would be ok and not marked (although I made it clear that it would be in higher stakes) I was looking for dogs with attitude and basically told everyone to do whatever you need to do to complete the round. The control was fairly straight forward with aSendaway of 35 paces to crossed poles in the hedge, which was really done well, this was followed by the jumps which a few people decided not to do as they felt they weren’t ready which I guess is ok, the one’s that attempted the jumps did really well and I was very pleased.
The results were :-
1st: Carol Burgess with Carobills Sienne Lace, Min Poodle, B, 92.5/100 What a smashing little dog did a full mark control round followed by 17.5 for jumps unfortunately needed a 2nd attempt at the long jump. Well Done.
2nd: Chris Clements with Mountlochan Chanonry Lad, BC, D, 91.5/100 Another nice control round apart from the fact that there was a lot of barking which needs to stop NOW! Full mark jumps well done.
3rd: Chris Clements with Mountlochan Queva Diva, BC, B 90/100 Another nice control round only spoilt by the barking again full mark jumps. It is hard to work more than one dog so you are doing well, but please work on stopping the barking and you will do better.
4th: Judith Owen with Brentmoor Jay, BC, D, 88.5/100 Nice control, on theSendaway Jay went to the wrong place, but Judith did the right thing and left him where he was instead of trying to make him move and probably lose more marks. Normally if I give a second attempt on the Scale it is only at the face of it, but in intro if it was needed I let the handler put the dog back in position and Recall back over the Scale, this is what happened here and he made it easy. Well done.
Also Qualifying
Lynn Bricknell with Solindy Black Magic, WSD, B, 88/100 Good control except no Sendaway, 18 for jumps Well done.
Gillian Baird with Laucott Kaiser St Loys, ESS, D, 88/100 Nice control and only wrong position on Scale losing 1 mark on jumps. Well done.
I think that all of the above are worthy of CD Championship, so why not give it a go. Today I felt that all the dogs I have seen are certainly worth continuing with and I am sure it won’t be long before you all do well. I know there were a lot of nerves but it won’t be long before they do get better (even Ticket handlers get nervous).
CD C & A Report
For the CD I kept the Heelwork the same but I changed the Sendaway to 60 paces but to the same markers in the hedge. I made it clear that what I wanted in Intro still counted, but I didn’t want Obedience type Heelwork and I wasn’t disappointed. Again all of these dogs will do well in higher stakes.
1st: Carol Burgess with Carobills Sienne Lace, Min Poodle, B, NQ. Yet another good control round. Well done.
2nd: Hazel Marraner with Sod Legs, Cross, D, NQ . A nice dog with a good future handled brilliantly by Hazel. Well done
3rd: Chris Clements with Mountlochan Chanonry Lad, BC, D, NQ. Nice control but was taking forever to set up for the Sendaway, so when I stopped her she asked if she could send him for no marks but with only one command, I said yes and the dog did it perfect which shows that he probably doesn’t need such a lot of setting up. Full mark jumps. Well done.
4th Jan Turner with Axl Nose (NAF) Std. Poodle, NQ. Control Ok but no Sendaway and jumps didn’t help today.
I would like to say thank you to all the competitors for allowing me to judge your dogs today I really enjoyed it. For those whose first time it was in Trials I hope you enjoyed your experience, it’s a good sport with a lot of nice people so keep at it. To those that qualified Well Done, to those that didn’t ,your day will come.
Paul Adams
Group III Intro & CD Report
I would like to thank the Committee of Banbury for the invitation to judge the Search and Retrieve for the above stakes at what must be the friendliest trial on the Calendar. Thanks also to Carla for running the trial with her usual expertise. To the ladies in the kitchen for food in and out of the base thank you. To my steward Patty, who carried out anything that was asked of her and lastly to all the competitors for allowing me to judge their dogs.
The weather was dry, sunny and warm, the standard of work was very mixed as was expected in these stakes. All had a good attempt at the test, but many dogs did lack motivation. The results were as above.
Ken Coleman
C & A Report - Anne Shepherd (Judge) Shirley Simpson (Steward)
UD/TD Control and Agility. Judge Anne Shepherd. Steward Shirley Simpson.
Many thanks to Banbury and District DTS for inviting me to judge the C & A for the UD and TD Stake at this trial. This trial is superbly organised by Carla, and her team is second to none. Many thanks to the Catering team who looked after me extremely well ( Iam sure I have put on ½ stone!!). To Lynn for doing all the scores etc, not an easy task, especially this year with the high entries, and last but not least to Shirley. You are a brilliant steward, putting everyone at ease with your friendly and efficient manner. The weather was hot and sunny from morning till night, it was like being on holiday! Many thanks to you all.
I did a fairly straight forward test starting with the Retrieve or Speak and then to Heelwork, Sendaway and then the Jumps. The Sendaway was to a gap in the hedge and the Redirection was left down the hedge ending up in a gap between the hedge and a pile of rubbish.
UD STAKE.
1st: M. Millington and GLENALPINE JUD, BC, D. a very nice round. Really good s/a.Very well done.188½ , Q.
2nd: M Regan and WILLOWMEG FRATEAS AT KIRLIZEGAN Cdex. GSD, B. Retrieve and Heelwork well done, just needs work on s/a. Full mark jumps. Well done. 186.Q
3rd.R Cahill and VOMKYNA DEIKA, GSD, B. Lovely round only losing 2 on Control and ½ on Agility. Well done. 185 ½. Q
4th.David Sidaway with PRECIOUSPEGG ALFIE, Bearded Collie, D. One of the best Control rounds only losing 1mark. Full mark s/a but no return on the scale. Well done.183, Q.
Also qualifying:
Mrs J Wood with LUDGATE POWER’N’GLORY BC.D. 181 Q.
Ms C Clements with MANDERIAN SOLSTICE BELLE OF MOUNTLOCHAN, BC, CDX,179½ Q
Mrs G. Cooke, SWEET GEORGIA BLACK. X. B.179 Q.
Mr D Self, LAURINCO RED KITE. Lab.D.178, Q.
C Clements, MOUNTLOCHAN QUEVA DIVA.BC B.175½, Q
Mrs L Johnston, RAVEN HILL RORY. X D.174, Q
TD STAKE.
1st.Rita Banfather and NICOLEE TRUE GRIT OF BANNERSWAY Cdex-Wdex GSD D. Excellent round. Losing 1½ on control and full mark jumps. Very well done. 193½ Q.
2nd.Pat Tagg and ABAPSOMA BIANNKA Cdex Udex. GSD B. Just lost odd marks here and there on control, but just managed it on the agility as no long jump today. Well done. 182½ Q.
3rd John Wykes and KIPCROFT MEG OF TARNFORCE. Cdex-Wdex. BC B. A good round and full mark jumps but unfortunately moved in the stays. 176 ½ NQ.
4th.Mrs L Newman. And STARDELL LEDA Cdex. Udex. BC D. 173 ½ NQ.
To all competitors- thankyou. I hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did. Good luck in the future.
UD Stake - John Simpson (Judge)
U.D. STAKE
Many thanks to my own Club for giving me my first Nosework stake to judge at the Open Trial on 8th & 9th of April 2011. What a time we had - from the full English on arrival to the perfect weather. Carla must have got the order in very early. We do like to give the competitors a good welcome at the Hinton H.Q. and I would like to say a special thanks to the Catering Team, the food alone is worth the journey, especially Steph and Colin for organising it and Lynn for lending me her husband for the two days.
My steward for the Search squares was Colin Bricknell, who made everyone feel at ease and was good company for the two days. Completing the all boys team were my two Track layers, Clive Griffiths and John Turtill. They both performed without fault on good grass for all the Tracks. It was good to know them both beforehand and have confidence in them for my first appointment. Many thanks lads, you made it all work well.
RESULTS
1st: Maurice Millington and Glenalpine Jud, BC, 188½, Q. Looked as though they were on for a full mark Track, but one very messy corner spoilt the round. They went on to do the only full mark Search, clean presents and no mouthing.
2nd: Maurine Regan and Willowmeg Frateas at Kirlizegan, GSD, 186, Q. The only clear Track, never lifted her head nor did a messy corner. We all wanted to take her home. Didn’t get the 4th article in the square. Also won Best Track Rosette.
3rd: Ruth Cahill and Vomkyna Deika, GSD, 185 ½, Q. Another dog that flew round the Track, handled with confidence and experience, again missed the 4th article in the square.
4th: Dave Sidaway and Preciouspegg Alfie, Bearded Collie, 183, Q. Not a fast dog and it wouldn’t have taken much to put him off, but handled with understanding and sympathy. He was well motivated by the first article on the Track, the dog that is.
Also qualified:
Jane Wood and Ludgate Power’Glory, BC, 181, Q. Quick he was not, thorough though and well worth his qualifier.
Chris Clements and Manderain Solstice Belle of Mountlochan, BC, 179½, Q. Most of the marks lost on or around the start and indicator poles.
Gill Cooke and Sweet Georgia Black, XBreed, 179, Q. Got all 4 articles in the Search and a sound Track, must have been the C & A that let her down. Nice line work!!
Dave Self and Laurinco Red Kite, Lab, 178, Q. A well built, well pigmented, powerful lad. Made that lovely snuffling noise when he was Searching. Got all 4 articles, with time to spare. Most of the Track marks lost on Dave not believing him yet on the corners.
Chris Clements and Mountlochan Queva Diva, BC, 175½, Q. A nice Track but not so good in the Search, not a confident dog but worked with sympathy.
Lynda Johnston and Raven Hill Rory, XBreed, 174, Q An excellent Search compensated for a weak Track mark.
Best Nosework trophy went to Jennifer Speake and her Golden Retriever, Alveston Bixhead. Slava worked his socks off and then got all 4 articles out of the square.
TD Stake - Tony Lockyer (Judge)
T.D. STAKE
Search Stewards: John Turtill and Nathan Wilson.
Many thanks to Carla and the Committee at Banbury for the invitation to judge the TD nosework at this Trial. I had a fantastic weekend with a great group of people. Thank you to the ladies in the kitchen, from the cooked breakfast to all the food bags in the field, fantastic, and then the cakes that just kept on arriving from members were terrific, I’m sure I put on a stone in weight!! Thank you also to Carla and Jeremy for allowing me to stay in their lovely house, so peaceful and quiet I slept like a log.
The Team in the fields could not have been better; Jane Webb and Penny Bellis laid all the tracks exactly as I wanted so giving all competitors an equal chance. The squares were laid by John Turtill on Friday and Nathan Wilson on Saturday and Sunday, both doing a superb job, including having to recover a lot of articles. Thank you all.
The weather was fine and dry for all three days, as it had been for a long while before the Trial, which made the ground conditions very dusty which probably accounted for so many track failures. We were working on growing crop which did vary a bit in length, but the winner worked on the longest and the second place on the shortest, with all three track articles recovered by both dogs.
Twenty four teams worked, 12 completed the track, 3 recovered all the track articles and 4 recovered 2 articles. Of the dogs that completed the track only 1 then went on to get 4 from the square, overall 9 teams did recover four from the square, 5 had 3 and 2 recovered 2 articles.
1st place and C.O.M. Rita Banfather & McCoy, GSD, 94 for the track, 3 articles and 2 from the square. 140. Also the Best Track trophy, well done.
2nd place and C.O.M. Pat Tagg & Lara, GSD, 89 track, 3 articles and 3 from the square. Also the Best Nosework Trophy, keep it up.
3rd N.Q. John Wykes and Kyle, BC, 94 track, 2 articles and 3 from the square.
4th N.Q. Le Newman and Jonty, BC, 91½ track, 3 articles and 1 from the square.
Tony Lockyer.
Trials Manager Report - Carla Nieuwenhuizen
Wow, what a weekend!
Our 22nd Trial held at the Hinton Cricket Club will be remembered as one of our best ones yet. The weather was superb for both helpers and competitors, sunny throughout and nice and warm on the Friday and Saturday. We even thought for a fleeting moment that Summer had arrived until the cold temperatures returned on the Sunday. The only downside of nice weather is that the farmers want to get onto the fields to spray which meant that we lost all our original fields and had to move from plan A to plan C, which involved using very sparse Spring Barley fields for the UD stake. However, we need not have worried as the success rate was the same if not higher than we have had in previous years on lusher ground.
I always knew that the Banbury Team could run this trial without me and this year they were put to the test. They really pulled together and did a terrific job with very little assistance from me as in between writing the Certificates I had to feed and attend to 9 pups. I would like to say a huge thank you to Chris Gregory for standing in for me at the base at the last minute and dealing with anything that cropped up unplanned. Lynn Griffiths ran the Base in her useful cheerful and unflappable manner, keeping up the Scores and making sure everybody got escorted to their tracks. The Catering Team led by Steph Gordon, Judith Perrin and Colin & Lynn Bricknell, did a sterling job in the poorly equipped and very basic kitchen, keeping everybody well fed and hydrated. They were helped by a string of very willing club members all taking a turn over the 3 days. Lynn assisted by Judith, cooked all the helpers a lovely meal on the Friday. John & Shirley Simpson did a lot of prep work before the trial; John, together with Paul Thornton, organised the trailer with the jumps and also the Calor Gaz for the kitchen and Shirley did all the last minute paperwork as well as some puppy sitting. Most of the escorting was done by Sue Lawrie, Pat Sunderland and Paul Thornton. So an extremely big THANK YOU to you all. I shall leave the judges to thank their helpers in the field but would just like to mention that having everybody there for the full 3 days made all the difference to the smooth running of the trial, also giving all competitors an equal chance at qualifying.
We had a very good entry: 40 in the TD stake, 36 in the UD stake and 5 in the CD Stake, but we also had a lot of cancellations, especially in the TD stake, which worked out well with the loss of fields due to the spraying.
I would like to thank the judges: Heather Donnelly (TD Nosework), Norma Ansell (UD Nosework), Pat Parkinson (C & A) and Jenny Orchard (CD) for their cheerful company and for setting sensible tests, which resulted in a good number of qualifiers and hopefully encouraged those who failed not to give up. Congratulations to the winners: Mary Prentice (TD), Paul Adams (UD) and Ann Ferens (CD) and all the other TD and UD qualifiers. We wish you all good luck in the Championship Trials.
Just remembered that John Turtill took some nice photos, capturing the essence of our trial, which are now on our website . If you ‘google’ Hinton Open Trial it will take you straight to our site. Thank you, John.
Finally big THANK YOU also to all my puppy sitters: Shirley, Pat and Nicky Downes but especially Dianne & Ray Lea for volunteering to come all the way from Cheshire to help look after them. Hope you have recovered by now! You kept me sane and helped give 9 Guide Dog pups a better start in life.
CD Stake Report - Jenny Orchard (Judge)
C.D. STAKE
Judge: Jenny Orchard
Steward: Sue Lawrie
I wish to thank Carla and Banbury and District Dog Training Society for the invitation to judge the C.D stake at this extremely friendly and well run trial, every small organisational detail has been planned and thought of in advance and the catering provided by Banbury and District Catering Corp was superb.
Five teams had entered with one scratch and one no show this left three, enabling the test to be undertaken in a leisurely manner on a beautiful sunny day.
We started with the Nosework, whist Sue laid the square I called the Retrieve, with all competitors showing that their dogs had a competent retrieve which proved to be the case as all nine articles were recovered from the square. The articles comprised of a dolly peg, green cartridge and a 4 inch piece of knotted brown felt.
The C & A round commenced with a group the Sit Stay, followed by individual Heel on Lead around a square, Recall diagonally across the square, the same pattern of Heel on Lead finishing with a 45 pace Sendaway to 2 crossed white poles in the boundary.
Jumps followed and the test finished with the Down Stay. As is so common in C.D, Stays and Jumps took their toll leaving one worthy qualifier.
Results as follows:
1st Mrs Ann Ferens & Clover Hayes Maisie Mouse, (Spaniel Cross), 95½ pts, Q.
Maisie (a rescue dog), having struggled previously with the Jumps, this time did not lose a point, just lost odds and ends on the Heel work. Maisie has such a happy attitude to work that I am sure she has a long trialling career ahead. Many congratulations.
Also winning the Best Crossbreed trophy.
2nd Mrs Judith Perrin & Banjo Patterson, (Cross), 78½pts, NQ.
Lovely Nosework and Control; however Jumps took their toll. Banjo won the Best Nosework award so a lovely way to end a trialling career. I do hope that he enjoys retirement.
3rd Mr Maurice Millington & Glenalpine Jud, (B.C.), 45pts, N.Q .
Beautiful Nosework; the C & A just needs a little polish and I am sure it will not belong before you and Jud are successful.
I would like to thank the competitors for entering and accepting my decisions and lastly but not least I would like to thank Sue for making such an efficient friendly steward and putting the competitors at their ease.
TD Nosework - Judge Heather Donnelly
Tracklayers: Jane Webb, Penny Bellis & Jennifer SpeakeSquare Steward: John Simpson
My thanks to Carla Nieuwenhuizen on behalf of Banbury DTS for the invitation to judge the TD Nosework, judging being something I haven’t done for 5-6 years!
Jane Webb laid all the early tracks, Penny Bellis did the middle slot, both did all 3 days, and Jennifer Speake (unfortunately only needed for the one day) did the last 3. Knowing that I was to have these 3 experienced tracklayers, gave me the judge, the added confidence, not only from the start, but throughout the three days. Thank you girls. Not forgetting John Simpson, my square steward, who by the end of the 3 days became a wind direction expert, ensuring that every competitor was given the same test. Also my thanks to Chris Gregory who was a welcome sight when she appeared with the food bag and also to the folk in the kitchen, especially Steph and Judith who handed me a much needed cup of tea as soon as I entered the base. I set a straight forward track pattern, with fair size articles but with a couple of TD challenges which unfortunately did catch some competitors out. The first article, 15 paces from the pole, was indicated by nearly all of the dogs but I was surprised how many handlers ignored this and pushed their dogs on. This actually cost one team to fail the whole test. The square, again had four fair sized articles, but was laid according to the wind direction and where I thought the handler would stand to work their dog. The 3 competitors who got all 4 articles worked three sides of the square whilst others, who only found 1 or 2, stayed routed to the downwind base line. Most memorable moments were:
Marie Dixon with HYPERBOLIC ORBIT and Mrs Robson with CORBY CRAGS KIZZY (Lab x Poodle) for sensitive handling and excellent teamwork, Val Upton with GLENALPINE RAFFERTY, Julie Atkins with GLENALPINE REG and Mrs K Tiffany with BRICKER BRACKEN for accurate tracking with near all perfect corners, and Suzanna Jaffa with OB CH AMBERSLADE BUCKANEER for perfect retrieving in the square. Qualifiers were:
1st Mary Prentice and MOUNTLOCHAN LAIRD. 92.5/30 & 4/34
The first team on the Friday who worked in the field with the sparser growth. I was really impressed by Mary’s quiet, calm and relaxed manner when she entered the field and how she supported her young dog when it was needed. After their very exact performance, somehow I knew we had just witnessed the winner although this was only the first day. Well done.
2nd S. Jaffa and OB CH AMBERSLADE BUCKANEER. 97/30 & 3/28
Was looking forward to watching this team and wasn’t disappointed. Susanne knows how to get the best out of her dogs by making them feel so good. Buck’s article recovery on both the track and in the square was superb. Liked the confidence boosting games Susanne played in-between the exercises. One for the beginner handlers to watch, and I mean the handler!
3rd Gill Lawrence and BEKKIS DULCIMER 96/20 & 4/33
I liked Toffee’s very methodical approach to her tracking. Most impressive was that on the second day, in the fields with the longer growth, Gill expertly worked the square which gave Toffee every opportunity to get all 4 articles. Well done and good luck in ticket.
4th Val Upton and GLENALPINE RAFFERTY (Best Track) 97.5/20 & 4/33
Loved this dogs accurate tracking style; I just couldn’t steal many points of him.
5th W Donaldson (handled by S.Jaffa) with SHEPALIAN PILLOW TALK 97/20 & 4/35
Loved the bunny hops when this little bitch found the line of track.
6th Ann Clarke and STYPERSON QUINCEY 95/30 & 2/20
This dog really goes out on a mission to find the articles. The most article focused dog we had during the three days.
7th Dave Marchant and MISTER BEAMISH 96/30 & 2/20
Liked this young dog I think there is a lot more to come from him. 8th Gill Lawrence and BEKKIS BEKWEY MERRIDOWN. 95.5/20 & 2/20
A very accurate tracking dog reminded me so much of my own boy (Half brothers). Tigger coped well with the hot weather but struggled during the square in the afternoon heat. Just unlucky really
9th Elizabeth Unger and STYPERSON ROYCE 95.5/20 & 2/20
A very accurate tracking Labrador showing a completely different style from the Labradors we saw. Difficult to steal points from him. Heather Donnelly
PS The thank you pressie from the trial’s manager was great, much healthier than a bottle of wine; will be put to good use.
UD & TD Control and Agility - Pat Parkinson (Judge)
UD & TD Control and AgilityJudge: Pat Parkinson
Steward: Shirley Simpson
My thanks to Carla and Banbury & District DTS for the invitation to judge C & A at their Open Trial. What an enjoyable weekend! As always this team worked like clockwork. To all at the base and the kitchen team a big thank you. Nothing was too much trouble.
Shirley was the perfect steward, putting competitors at their ease and giving clear instructions whilst maintaining a sense of humour! We even had some sun. Lastly thanks to the competitors for accepting my decisions. I was impressed with the overall standard of work with many new faces to Working Trials. Good luck to you all in the future.
UD Stake
1st Paul Adams and SHERINGEM GLYNN (BC) D, 191pts, Q
.An impressive dog Paul, I’m sure you are going to have some fun with him and the glory will be sweeter for having bred him yourself.
2nd Jean Cooke and WAGGERLAND TOPIC (BC) D, 191pts, Q
. Glad to see you back. I for one have missed you. Topic performing the best control round of the stake. He was very calm and quiet. Let’s hope it stays that way!
3rd Lindsey Poole and VON KYNA DIAZ (GSD) B, 190pts Q
. What a lovely looking bitch she is, working a very stylish round. Good luck with her.
4th Janette Sayer and TAZ OF HOLLOWGATE (WSD) D, 189pts Q
. Enjoying every minute of his round as you would expect from a Jake son. Well done.
Also qualifying:
Maurice Millington and GLENALPINE PERDI (BC) B, 185.5pts
Pat Sunderland and MORDONVALE MISTY MORNING (BC) B, 176.5pts
Lorna East and PENDRE IOLO (WSD) D, 171.5pts
Jane Lewis and CLERAFORA VARZIELA (Estrella) B, 167pts
TD Stake
1st Mary Prentice and MOUNTLOCHAN LAIRD O’LEYS CDEx-WDEx (BC) D, 210pts
. This dog took my eye on the first day. A stylish tri colour dog with loads of enthusiasm. I’m sure he will do well in the future.
2nd Suzanne Jaffa and Ob Ch Amberslade Buckaneer Ow, CDEx-WDEx (ASD) 209.5pts
. This is the first time I have had the pleasure of judging this well known dog and handler. What presence he has. Losing just half a mark on Sendaway and winning the Best Control trophy. I’m sure he’ll be winning tickets soon.
3rd Gill Lawrence and BEKKIS DULCIMER CDEx-WDEx (BC) 201.5pts
. A good solid C & A round. Well done.
4th Val Upton and GLENALPINE RAFFERTY CDEx (BC) D 199.5pts
. Val’s dogs always look as though they are enjoying themselves as Raffa did today. Good luck in ticket.
Also qualifying:
Wendy Donaldson’s SHEPALIAN PILLOW TALK (ASD) B 197.5pts, handled by Suzanne Jaffa
Ann Clark and STYPERSON QUINCEY CDEx-WDEx (Lab) D 196.5pts
Dave Marchant and MISTER BEAMISH (WSD) D 1931.5pts
Gill Lawrence and BEKKIS BEKWEY MERRIDOWN CDEx-WDEx (BC) D 188.5pts
Liz de Unger and STYPERSON ROYCE (Lab) D 185.5pts
Well done to those that qualified and to the rest keep at it. You’ll all get there! Have fun on the way.
UD Stake - Norma Ansell (Judge)
U.D. STAKE
Tracklayers - Anne Shepherd & John Turtill
Squares - Dianne Stephens
Thanks to Carla and Banbury for the invitation to judge UD, Gracious we must all be very good, talk about the sun shining on the righteous! What could be nicer than standing in the sun, good company watching good dogs track? It truly was a pleasure. Many thanks to all concerned with running the trial especially to my Tracklayers and Search Steward who all did a wonderful job. Thanks to Pat Parkinson who allowed some of my Nosework qualifiers to qualify the Control, I’ll leave comments on that part to her.
Tracking on winter wheat, fairly sparse, drying out during the day in the sun, did I mention the sun(!) and a bit of breeze on Sunday. Some lovely dogs working, all had a good attempt at the track but faith in the dog was not always there! I had two experienced tying for first place; neither were present on the final day so decided the winner on Nosework marks (only 0.5 point between them).
1st Mr Paul Adams, Sheringem Glynn, BC, 191 Qualified.
Lovely young dog, super attitude, bred by Paul, you must be really pleased with him, Good Luck. 85.5, 20, 33.
2nd Ms Jean Cooke, Waggerland Topic, WSD, 191 Qualified.
Topic slightly steadier but very correct on his track and I’m sure in Jeans careful hands he is on his way to the top. 86, 20, 32.
3rd Mrs Lindsey Poole, Vom Kyna Diaz, GSD, 190 Qualified.
Also getting best track rosette, well done Lyndsay. Stunning track from this dog, drive and accuracy followed by a good square, looks a very fit athletic bitch, good luck. 89, 20. 30.
4th Mrs J Sayer, Taz of Hollowgate, WSD, 189 Qualified.
More used to seeing this handler with her pointer but is obviously adapting to this breed very well, lovely track and excellent square. 88.5, 20, 34.
Also Qualified:
Mr M. Millington, Glenalpine Perdi, BC, 185.5
Another handler who served his apprenticeship with another breed! Lovely track have faith, well done.
Mrs P Sunderland, Mordonvale Misty Morning, BC, 176.5.
First dog on first day Della gave us a good start to our weekend.
Mrs L East. Pendre Iolo, WSD. 171.5
I think Lorna was quite surprised by her qualification, well done don’t retire him yet!
Mrs J E Lewis, Clerafora Varziela, Estrella, 167
Not the breed one would expect to see in trials, Pi did a carful and accurate track but unfortunately overshot the last corner and couldn’t recover. Full point square done in her own style, sincere congratulations I hope you continue with this three year old bitch.
21st. Hinton Open Trial 10th- 12th April 2009
Trials Manager Report - Carla Nieuwenhuizen
Our 21st Trial, which ran at Easter, was very different from our previous trials in that our regular sunshine did not materialise and the crops were nothing like as lush, in fact they were quite sparse which may have accounted for the lack of qualifiers in the TD Stake. The UD Stake fortunately had plenty of qualifiers. In spite of numbers being down at the Championship Trials recently, our entry was similar to most other years: 31 in the TD Stake, 26 in the UD Stake and 7 in the CD Stake. Interestingly we only had 1 TD cancellation at the start of the trial but word must have gone around about the difficult conditions in this stake and a further 6 cancelled during the trial, 3 of which were on the last day which meant we could finish early on the Sunday.
I would like to thank all our judges: Paul Adams (TD Stake), Ken Coleman (C & A), Judy Meekings (UD Stake) and Jane Webb (CD Stake) all of whom had judged for us before and who did not appear to have aged at all! You were all great company and made every competitor feel good about their dog’s performance in parts of their test if not all of them!
Whatever it was that made the TD Stake so hard this year, the failures were definitely not due to all the hard work our judges and helpers put in and all credit must go to them for the smooth running of the trial and giving everybody a nice day out with their dogs. I shall let the judges thank their own helpers again but would like to thank a few people who were not out in the field but worked very hard in the background, mostly at the Base: Steph Gordon, Lynne & Colin Bricknell who organised all of the catering and did most of the cooking, and all the other helpers in the kitchen, especially Di Asbow who turned up at 7am on most days to help cook the breakfasts. You all turned the Cricket Club into a 5 star kitchen and there was no nicer place to hide from the dreariness outside. Also big thank you to Sue Lawrie, who cooked our Friday meal, assisted by Lynne Bricknell. Poor Sue went ill on the Friday morning and had to abandon ship for the rest of the trial. Thank you so much Sue for organising yourself well in advance so we did not have to go hunting for fish & chips on the day. Thank you also to John & Shirley Simpson for organising the Calor Gaz again and also the generator which thankfully provided us with light inside the base when there was none outside! Our escorts, Pat Sunderland and Paul Thornton made sure everybody got to their field in time and we never lost any tracks. And last and certainly not least: Lynn Griffiths for running the base very efficiently on all 3 days for the 3rd year in a row and doing all the scoring faultlessly, ensuring an early presentation on the Sunday afternoon.
Finally Congratulations to the winners: Liz Hickman (TD), Pat Herbert (UD) and Marie Dixon (CD) and all the other UD qualifiers. Thank you to all the competitors for supporting our trial. If you did not manage to qualify this time spare a thought for the poor farmers. When delivering the whiskeys the next day one of them told me that because the crops are so behind after last summer’s floods, they will now not catch up and there will be a very poor harvest. At least our livelihood does not depend on our dogs’ performance at a trial.
We hope to see you all again next year. Meanwhile: Happy Trialling!
UD Nosework Report - Judy Meekings (Judge)
Tracklayers: Clive Griffiths and Anne Shepherd
Steward: John Simpson
My thanks to Banbury & DDTS and Carla for the invitation to judge the UD nosework. It was a real pleasure to return to Hinton in the Hedges, and to meet up again with the friendly Banbury crew. Special thanks must go to all at the base, for working so hard all weekend to make the trial the success it was, and for looking after little Jessica (I was able to hand her back to her owners fully socialised with dogs and people!); scorer Lynne Griffiths, escorts Pat Sutherland and Brian Hartree, and of course the catering team, led by Colin and Lynne Bricknell and Steph Gordon. Sue Lawrie produced an excellent meal on Friday evening, but was unfortunately not well enough to join us – I hope you are now fully recovered, Sue. Also many thanks, Carla, for the accommodation in your lovely home, and for managing the trial with your usual quiet efficiency.
My tracklayers, Clive and Anne, laid every track exactly as required, and John, my very efficient search steward, not only laid each square exactly as instructed but was also very good company throughout – I think!! Thank you all very much. 26 dogs were entered, 23 ran. The tracking was on winter wheat, not nearly as lush as in previous years, but dogs which were determined to work had no problem with the lack of growth. The standard of tracking in the main was very high, and all 18 teams who completed the track recovered both articles; only three dogs failed the search, with 9 recovering all four articles.
1st Pat Herbert, GLENALPINE MOO, BC, B, 194.5, Q.
Moo stormed round the track with only a couple of minor glitches, and then completed a full mark square in 1 minute and 8 seconds. Looks like another on heading for the top, Pat! Very well done. Also won the Best Nosework Shield.
2nd Di Cottrill, SANDY’S OAK, CDEx, Lab, D, 192, Q.
Simba galloped round the track in under 5 minutes, and showed his fitness and enthusiasm by quickly recovering all 4 search articles. I think you’ll need to slow him down a bit, Di, if you’re going to be able to keep up with him! Well done on your athletic performance.
3rd Brenda Nevard, REDFOR SPIN, WSD, D, 191.5, Q.
Spin tracked almost faultlessly, and then completed the search in 2 minutes. A very promising performance, very well done.
4th Kelly Chapman, TARNEDGE POSY, CDEx, Lab, B, 190, Q.
Kai tracked steadily and accurately; the fourth article from the square would have made a huge difference to the placings.
Also qualified:
Rosemary Elliott, WINDMILLS MISTER SOFTEE, CDEx, UDEx, WSD, D, 174.
Angie Fields, JUST RED ROBIN, Lab, D, 171.5
Marie Dixon, THE GODWIT, Cross, B, 170.5
Ray Lea, ANMEETUE COLOURFUL LADY, BC, B, 164
The best track was by Kath Channing and GLENALPINE ACE, BC, D, who went round the track as if on rails, never putting a foot wrong for full marks. Wonderful to watch. Thank you to all the competitors for entering and competing in such a friendly, sporting manner. Congratulations to all the qualifiers, and the best of luck to all in the future.
TD Nosework Report - Paul Adams (Judge)
Search Steward: Diana Stephens (3 days)
Tracklayers:
Friday: Jane Webb, Sue Ashby and Jennifer Speake
Saturday: Jane Webb, Sue Ashby
Sunday: Heather Donnelly and Jennifer Speake
Tracking Ground: Winter Wheat (about 6’’ high)
Weather: A mixture of wet, dry, windy and cold.
I would like to thank Carla and the committee of B & DDTS for the invitation to judge the TD Nosework at the above trial. Also I would like to thank the ladies and gentlemen in the kitchen for keeping us fed and watered for 3 days, especially for the lovely evening meal on Friday night. Thank you to Carla and Jeremy for letting me stay at Hotel Ryelands at the very reasonable rate of £13.50 per night (she said she has vacancies for the rest of the year so give her a ring it is very nice). I was very lucky to have the company of Diana for 3 days; she laid all the squares just as I asked her to, thank you Dianna. I was also very lucky to have 5 of the best tracklayers with Jane and Heather doing the early tracks; unfortunately they all had to pick up the majority of the articles. I would be happy to have anyone of them lay tracks for me again and I certainly would be happy to work one that they had laid, - thank you ladies. The tracking was on lush wheat and to be honest if I had been entered I would be thinking: wow I am in with a good chance here, however out of 24 teams we only had 1 team get round the Track. It was very disappointing. I think that possibly a few of the dogs were not ready for TD and didn’t really have the right attitude approaching the track and there were a few dogs that did have the right approach but for some reason just found it to hard on the day, who are we to know? The results are as follows:-
1st: Liz Hickman with Wolfhart Touch of Gold, CDx, UDx, WDx (GSD) B: C.o.M 202pts.
Well done Liz and good luck in Ticket. As soon as this dog started to work it was obvious she would be successful and she was, with 90 for the track and 3 articles. She then had a full mark square. Liz had a few people watching her and at the end of her track there was a round of applause.
Also winning:
Best Nosework Shield and Best Track Rosette and the Rocky Mountain Trophy for Best GSD.
2nd: Margo Brothwell with Tangham Little Ryan CDx (Cross) D NQ.
3rd: Jackie Dykes with Daisy Doo CDx, UDx, WDx (Cross) B NQ.
4th: Bob Shropshire with Styperson Oliver (Lab) D NQ.
Finally, this is a very happy and friendly trial which I thoroughly enjoyed being part of, thank you Banbury.
UD & TD Control and Agility Report - Ken Coleman (Judge)
Steward: Shirley Simpson
Firstly I would like to thank B&D DTS for the invitation to judge at their Open Trial and with Carla at the helm, the trial was really well organised once again.
Thank you to Carla for putting us at ‘Hotel Ryelands’ - shame I had to go home. The hospitality shown to us - a meal at the base on Friday was great, followed by a great pub meal on Saturday, made for a truly enjoyable weekend.
Big thanks to Lynn at the base for scores and keeping the competitors coming up for control. Thank you to all the Banbury catering people: Steph Gordon, Colin & Lynne Bricknell, Di Assheton-Bowtle, Sue Lawrie, and all the others that helped out when needed. Nothing was too much trouble for them.
Thanks to Shirley for her expertise over the three days. She is brilliant at giving competitors every chance with her clear and consistent instructions.
The weather was the same for all three days, overcast and showery.
RESULTS UD
1st Mrs. P. Herbert & Glenalpine Moo (BC) B, 194.5pts Q
Strong in all exercises: Control 33 Agility 19.5
2nd Mrs. D. Cottrill & Sandy’s Oak (LAB) D, 192pts Q
Control 32.5 Agility 18
3rd Ms. B. Nevard & Redfor Spin (WSD) D, 191.5pts Q,
Control 33 Agility 16.5
4th Mrs. K. Chapman & Tarnedge Posy (Lab) B, 190pts Q.
Control 33..5 Agility 20
Also winning the Merry Steps Cup for Best Control.
Also qualifying C.O.M.
Ms. R. Elliott & Windmills Mister Softee (WSD) B, 174pts Q.
Mrs. A. Fields & Just Red Robin (Lab) D, 171.5pts Q.
Mrs. M. Dixon & The Godwit (Cross) B, 170.5pts Q.
also winning Mr. Sam’s Cup for Best Crossbreed
Mr. R. Lea & Anmeetue Colourful Lady (BC) B 164pts
RESULTS TD
1st Mrs E A Hickman & Wolfhart Touch of Gold (GSD) B, 202pts Q.
Control 27 Agility 20
The only qualifier with the Sendaway needing more work, but with Liz in control will soon get stronger.
Also winning the Hinton Trophy for Best Control.
2nd: Margo Brothwell with Tangham Little Ryan (Cross) D NQ.
3rd: Jackie Dykes with Daisy Doo (Cross) B NQ.
4th: Bob Shropshire with Styperson Oliver (Lab) D NQ.
The Hinton Trophy for Best Control was won by Jenny Holt & Beelaholt Ziggy Zag.
Well done to all who qualified and for those who didn’t: keeping trying, your time will come!
20th. Hinton Open Trial 11th- 13th April 2008
Trials Manager Report - Carla Nieuwenhuizen
It was 20 years since we started this trial and Shirley Simpson had collated all the reports going back to our first trial in 1989 and created a History of the Banbury Trial which makes fascinating reading. Some people who are now well known triallists, including club members were just starting out with their first dog and it records other ol’ timers competing with their young dogs, some of whom went on to become Working Trials Champions. Big thank you to Shirley for putting it all together, you did a great job.
We had a good entry again this year: TD Stake 40, UD Stake 24 and the CD Stake 6. The UD Stake had quite a few newcomers and some competitors in the TD stake had not been in trials long, which may have accounted for the low number of qualifiers compared to previous years. The weather conditions on the Friday were less than ideal, changing every half hour from hail to sunshine (only 1 qualifier) but on the Saturday and Sunday the weather was better than forecast and we saw more qualifiers, ending up with 4 in each of the Nosework Stakes.
Our judges were great and had all judged for us before, one of them (Tony) at our very first trial. They were: Tony Orchard (TD), Ray Lea (C&A), Peter Jones (UD) and Jennifer Speake (CD). Thank you all for your company and making the trial run so smoothly. We managed to do the presentation earlier than ever before.
Over the years we have acquired a great team of helpers, who very soon will be able to run this trial without me! Some of the helpers have been with us from our very first trial, some from the time we moved the trial to Hinton, and others were helping for the first time this year. So a big thank you to all of you:
The Trailer Cleaning Team: Mark Riley, Ann Ferens, Keith Rowley, Fliss Samuels and Paul Thornton and Anne Shepherd. You did a great job and did I hear somebody say we should now clean the trailer on a regular basis and not just once a year?!
The TD Team: Tracklayers: Penny Bellis, Chris Gregory, Jennifer Speake, Jane Webb, Search Stewards: Patty Hunter & Jenny Orchard. The majority of this team worked very hard for 3 days in adverse weather conditions.
The UD Team: Tracklayers Clive Griffiths, Anne Shepherd and Search Steward: Diana Stephens. This team worked together for the second year running and have now really got it sussed!
The CD Team: Steward John Simpson and Judge Jennifer Speake
The Control & Agility Steward: Shirley Simpson, our resident Chief Competition Steward! Like the TD team stood out in all weathers for the full 3 days.
The Base Steward: Lynne Griffiths worked very hard keeping competitors and helpers happy, ably assisted by 9 week old Border Collie, future competitor, Vela!
The Escorts: Pat Sunderland, John Simpson and John Turtill who made sure all competitors found their tracking fields.
And
last but very definitely not least:
The Catering Team: Steph Gordon, Sue Lawrie, Jo Jennings, Colin
& Lynne Bricknell did most of the organising and were ably assisted
on the different days by Mark Riley, Di Assheton-Bowtle, Judith
Perrins and Lesley Turtill. They all looked awfully smart in their
new blue aprons supplied by Steph.
You all did a terrific job.
Can we book you all again for next year, please???!!!!
Steward Shirley Simpson.
Many thanks to the committee of Banbury for the invitation to judge the C/A at the recent open trial. It was a great pleasure to be back at Banbury again and to be apart of this lovely friendly trial. To all the kitchen staff for keeping Shirley and myself fed and watered for three days (over fed ) a very big thank you, and you all looked fantastic in your new Banbury uniforms; to Sue Lawrie thank you for a fantastic meal on Friday night and to Jo for the fab deserts made to make your mouth water, thank you. To Lynne and Jane in the base always a tough job thank you. Carla and Jeremy a MASSIVE thank you for the hospitality you showed to Dianne and my self in opening your beautiful home to us for the three nights we stayed with you. To Shirley my steward for all three days who gave clear instructions to every one and put everyone at their ease and who also played mum out in the field making the tea and making sure I had something to eat, very many thanks you were a pleasure to work with and great company.To you the members of Banbury - you should give yourself's a big pat on the back for the way you make every one welcome and for making me feel like a part of your big family, thank you .And to the land owners for allowing us to use their land, thank you, without you we can not carry out our hobby. And to all who took part thank you for entering and allowing me to judge you and your dog.
U.D Stake
the UD round started with the retrieve then on to the heel work with 20 paces at normal right turn still in normal for a further 20 paces then left turn into fast pace for 20 paces left turn for 20 paces then left turn into slow pace for 20 paces about turn for 20 paces to the sendaway point wich was 60yrds to a post in the hedge this was followed by walking to the jumps with the dog under control not a big control round but I wanted to see it done in a smart and tidy way
1st Ms R Elliot with Windmills Mister Softee wsd on 194.5pts very nice steady round well done.best c/a trophy
2nd Mr L Newman with Sally Bell wsd on 191pts very nice round by an experienced handler well done
3rd Mrs I Seymour with Oakenheart Just an Illusion gsd on 182pts good steady round well done
4th Miss A Collen with Rambauds Ortie Pyrenean Sheepdog on 169.5ptsa little dog with a big heart well done.
TD Stake
The TD round was exactly the same as the UD except they did the speak instead of the retrieve. The TD sendaway was again quite short for a TD just 96 yrds to a pole with a right redirect to a big manure heap 95 yrds this seemed to cause a problem with only 4 dogs doing the out run and the redirect.
1st Miss M. Mclellan with Astra Storm on 201pts a very good competent round as the score shows well done
2nd Mrs J Holt with Hullater Brock on 193.5pts well done Jenny good luck in ticket
3rd Mr P Adams with Glenalpine Meg on 182 pts worked on the first day in the worst of the weather well done .
4th Ms R Cahill with Vomkyna Boruss on 176.5pts best c/a trophy well done.
Thank you for entering and good luck to you all in the future