Kennel Club Working Trials Championships
The Kennel Club sponsors the annual Kennel Club Working Trials Championships, hosted by a different Working Trials society each year. The Championships are the ‘showcase’ of Working Trials, featuring the most successful dogs from trials in the previous 12 months, and are the equivalent of the Obedience and Agility Championships held each year at Crufts (the need for large tracts of suitable land makes it impractical to stage the Working Trials Championships at Crufts itself).
The Championships, usually held in the third weekend of October, are restricted to the two top level stakes, Tracking Dog (TD) and Patrol Dog (PD). Competitors are invited to take part if they have won first place in a Championship TD or PD stake with an ‘Excellent’ qualification during the previous qualifying year, from September to August. Dogs which have 
qualified in both stakes can compete in both PD and in TD. The previous year’s Championship winners are also automatically invited provided they qualified Excellent at the previous year’s Championship.
Judges for the Championships are nominated by the Working Trials Liaison Council and selected following a ballot of representatives on the Council, subject to approval by the Activities Sub-Committee and the General Committee.
The Championships are usually staged with a view to allowing some opportunity for spectators to observe the dogs working, even in the nosework rounds, and they offer an opportunity to appreciate some of the best handlers and dogs at work in this demanding discipline.
Future Championships
Societies hosting forthcoming Kennel Club Working Trials Championships are:
2013 Midlands Border Collie Club
Dates: 17-19 October 2013
Venue: Scalford Hall Hotel, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
Judges: Patrol Dog Stake – Mr E Roberts and Tracking Dog Stake – Mrs Jean Howells.
2014 Wessex Working Trials Club
2012 Kennel Club Working Dog Championship Results
Scottish Working Trials Society
Sponsors: The Kennel Club and Arden Grange
Dates: 18-20 October, 2012
Place: Lauder, Berwickshire (Scottish Borders)
Judges: TD - John West
PD - Jeff Poole
Patrol Dog Stake
- 1st & CC: Lee Payne with W.T.Ch Little Rough Rhinestone. CDEx – TDEx, PDEx
- 2nd & RCC: Dave Olly with W.T.Ch Stardell Alula. CDEx – TDEx, PDEx
- 3rd: Graham Reaney with W.T.Ch Tarnedge Rough Diamond. CDEx – TDEx, PDEx
Tracking Dog Stake
- 1st: Andy Baker with W.T. Ch Sid The Lemon Squeezer. CDEx – TDEx, PDEx
- 2nd: Diane Ling with Deben Little Tom. CDEx – TDEx
- 3rd: Sue Ashby with W.T. Ch The Titan. CDEx - TDEx
Further Information
Other Working Trials Pages
- What are Working Trials
- Getting Started in Working Trials
- Competing in Working Trials
- Working Trials Diary (PDF)
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