If you've ever been a trial secretary, you know that building the run order is one of the most important — and most stressful — parts of the job. A good run order keeps the trial on schedule, handlers happy, and the ring flowing. A bad one creates delays, frustrated competitors, and a very long day for everyone.
Here are some practical tips for building run orders that work.
Prevent Handler Conflicts
The number one complaint about run orders is handler conflicts. A conflict happens when the same person is scheduled to run two different dogs back-to-back, or nearly back-to-back, in the same class. The handler has to rush from one run to the next without time to catch their breath, settle their second dog, or even grab a leash.
To prevent this:
- Identify multi-dog handlers early. Go through your entry list and flag every handler who has entered more than one dog. These are the people most likely to have conflicts.
- Space their dogs apart. Put at least three or four runs between dogs belonging to the same handler. More is better, but even a small gap makes a big difference.
- Check across rings. If your trial has two rings running at the same time, make sure handlers aren't scheduled in both rings at the same moment. This is easy to overlook and very frustrating for competitors.
Minimize Jump Height Changes
Every time the jump height changes between runs, the bar setters have to adjust the bars. This takes time — not a lot per change, but it adds up over a full class. A run order that bounces between heights (8 inches, then 20, then 12, then 24) will slow your trial down noticeably.
- Group by height. Run all dogs at the same jump height together before moving to the next height. This is the simplest and most common approach.
- Go in order. Run heights from smallest to tallest (or tallest to smallest). This means bar setters only adjust in one direction, which is faster.
- Balance height grouping with conflict prevention. Sometimes you need to break the height order to avoid a handler conflict. That's okay — handler conflicts are usually more disruptive than an extra bar change.
Consider Ring Flow
Ring flow is about keeping things moving without unnecessary pauses. A few things affect this:
- Gate steward communication. Make sure your gate steward has a clear, easy-to-read run order. If the gate steward is confused, the whole ring slows down.
- Buffer between classes. Leave time between classes for course changes. Judges need time to reset, course builders need time to move equipment, and handlers need time to walk the new course.
- Move-ups and day-of changes. Dogs that move up mid-trial need to be inserted into the right class. Have a plan for where they go in the run order so it doesn't disrupt your height grouping or create new conflicts.
Why Automation Helps
Building a good run order by hand is possible, but it's slow and error-prone. You're juggling handler conflicts, height groupings, ring assignments, and schedule constraints all at once. With 80 or 100 dogs entered, that's a lot of variables to manage in your head or on a spreadsheet.
Trial management software can handle the heavy lifting. It can automatically detect multi-dog handlers, group by height, space out conflicts, and generate a run order in seconds that would take you an hour by hand. And when a last-minute scratch or move-up happens, the software can re-sort the order without starting from scratch.
Common Pitfalls
- Forgetting about walk-throughs. Handlers need time to walk each new course. If you schedule classes too tightly, you'll either cut walk time short (handlers get upset) or run behind schedule (everyone gets upset).
- Ignoring the lunch break. A trial without a break burns everyone out. Build a lunch break into your schedule, even if it's short. Volunteers, judges, and handlers all need it.
- Not publishing the order early enough. Handlers want to plan their day. Try to publish the run order at least the evening before the trial so people know when to arrive and when their dogs run.
- Overlooking FEO and exhibition runs. These runs still need a slot in the order. Don't forget to include them when building the schedule.
Building run orders shouldn't take hours. Barkloop automatically generates conflict-free, height-grouped run orders in seconds — so trial secretaries can spend their time on what matters instead of shuffling spreadsheets.