“The Original” Around The Up North Combine
Sportsman & Comrades H/S and Sunderland Premier Federation Presentation Night
By Good Corn
The very hard working Sportsman & Comrades H/S Chairman John Potts invited me to present the silverware for the Sportsman & Comrades H/S and the Sunderland Premier Federation on Saturday 24th November, I took grandsons Hayden & Tyler along to the payout night which is held at the Silksworth Comrades Club. I have attended a couple of their payout nights and also attended a number of the Clubs Breeder/Buyer Sales over the years, which are always very well organised by John, who is a credit to the sport. The night got under-way with John taking to the stage to welcome everyone to the Big Night, after paying respect to the passing away of the fanciers the Club and Federation had sadly lost throughout the year John gave a run-down on the format of the evening. The prizes and Trophies of the Sportsman & Comrades H/S would be presented first followed by the Clubs Breeder/Buyer payout and then moving on to the Sunderland Premier Federation presentation, the rest of the night would be spent with the Disco, Buffet and Raffle. I think it's only right to mention behind every hard working fancier of the sport there is always a woman involved and that Lady in John's case his is very hard working wife who is the Clubs treasurer and what a fantastic job she does.
Thompson, Kell & Frost, the winners of 6 x 1st Clubs, winning the Old Bird Average, Young Bird Average and Combined Average in the Sportsman & Comrades H/S
The Silksworth & Comrades top prizewinners for 2018 was the loft of John Thompson, Eddie Kell & Frost who were the winners of 6 x 1st Clubs, winning the Old Bird Average, the Young Bird Average and the Combined Average with a total of 173pts. They were third highest points scorers in the Federation Old Bird Inland Average with 336pts, fifth Federation Channel Average on 47pts, fifth highest Federation Old Bird Combined points scorers on 317pts and fourth Federation Combined Average with a total of 398pts. The lads also racked up seventh Section Channel points scorers with 171pts and tenth Section Old Bird Combined points scorers with a total of 524 pts.
The partnership were in the points from day one when they chalked up a notable 2nd Club, 3rd Sunderland Premier Federation and 4th Section 4, a later bird was timed to notch up 17th Fed. The lads birds achieved a brilliant performance out of race three, Chelmsford (1) when they timed no fewer than four of their entries to win an outstanding 1st, 2nd and 4th Club, 1st, 3rd, 6th and 20th Fed when there were 1,748 birds competing, 1st, 4th and 16th Section from a whacking convoy of 5,957 birds which was a fantastic achievement by anyone's standards. The first Classic race of the season was from the Eastbourne National where John, Eddie and their partner had a single bird on the clock to net 3rd Club, 14th Fed; the boys took 3rd Club again out of Burbure (1) where only this time their green card potter went onto pocket 13th Fed. A fantastic team performance was put up from Huntingdon when no less than six birds were timed to win a brilliant 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th Club, 5th, 6th, 8th, 14th, 15th and 16th Fed. Onto Oakham (2) where 5th Club, 17th Fed was taken and this was followed up by lifting 2nd Club, 18th Fed, 30th Section and 146th UNC Burbure 2 (sub Roye). The lads were still chipping away a week later from Chelmsford (2) when 4th Club, 13th Fed was picked up and then they netted a nice 3rd Club, 9th Fed out of the Maidstone National. The partnership returned to their winning ways from the fourth French race point Reims which is from a distance of 454 miles, when their chart-topper went onto score a brilliant 5th Fed, 6th Section and 21st Up North Combine from a convoy of 3,265 birds. Moving onto the Oakham (4) race where a single bird was timed to pocket a useful 2nd Club, 5th Fed. A cracking loft performance was racked up out of Oakham (5) when four of their entries were on the clock to chalk up a very impressive 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th Fed with their final three timers being clocked within two seconds of each other. The final old bird race of 2018 took place from the Belgian race point Ypres where John, Eddie and their partner had a couple of their channel entries in the clock to score a notable 4th and 5th Club, 9th and 13th Fed, 16th and 26th Section, 49th and 87th Up North Combine out of 8.775 birds. The partnerships Young Bird Average winning season saw them time three youngsters in the space of two seconds from Wetherby (2) to win a cracking 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club and this was quickly followed by taking 2nd Club, 12th Fed out of Worksop (1) a week later. Young bird win number two was achieved at Oakham when no fewer than three babies were on the clock to win a belting 1st, 2nd and 5th Club, 6th, 7th and 16th Fed. The ink was barely dry on the Oakham clocking printout sheet when the lads knocked up their second win on the trot after timing no less than four of their Huntingdon entries to win a top-notch 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 4th, 14th, 18th and 20th Fed; with the pole position winner going onto score 18th Section. The inform trio enjoyed a cracking clocking day out of Chelmsford when they timed another four of their squad to chalk up a notable 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 16th, 18th and 19th Fed.
Sportsman & Comrades H/S Hammond & Webster winners of 9 x 1st Clubs, the Old Bird Inland Average and Runners-Up Old Bird Inland Federation Average.
Hammond & Webster were the Clubs second highest prizewinners with them being the winners of a whacking 9 x 1st Clubs, winning the Inland Average scoring a season total of 133pts. The boys were also Runners-Up Old Bird Inland Federation Average with 336pts, third highest points Old Bird Combined Average scorers with 336pts and fifth highest Federation Combined Average with a total of 375pts. The lads brilliant season also saw them be eighth highest Old Bird Inland Section points scorers on 494pts.
The lads hit the winners' enclosure from the very first old bird race when they timed no fewer than seven of their team to win a brilliant 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 14th and 18th Fed when there were 1,280 birds competing, 3rd, 5th, 13th, 15th and 19th Section from a convoy of 4,703 birds. The third race was from Chelmsford (1) where a couple of birds were timed to pocket 5th and 7th Club, 10th and 13th Fed; two more birds were in the frame out of the Eastbourne National to notch up 2nd and 6th Club, 10th and 19th Fed. Onto Oakham (1) where the boys were just off the pace but still managed to time no less than five birds in the space of 43 seconds to claim a tidy 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th and 20th Fed. This was followed up by taking 4th Club, 13th Fed Huntingdon, a second bird was timed to pick up 18th Fed. Win number two was achieved at Oakham (2) after clocking two of their team to win 1st and 6th Club, 5th and 18th Fed out of an entry of 496 birds, and this was followed up by timing a single bird out of Burbure 2 (sub Roye) to net 4th Club, 24th Fed, 40th Section and 198th UNC.
Chelmsford (2) saw the partnership rack up their third old bird win of the season after timing two of their entries to win a belting 1st and 2nd Club, 2nd and 3rd Fed when there was 1,049 birds away, with the pole position winner going onto score 13th Section while the blue card potter chalked up 18th Section from a convoy of 2,433 birds. Onto Oakham (3) where a trio of birds were timed in the space of 42 seconds to lift a notable 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 5th, 7th and 8th Fed. The inform partnership who were reaping their rewards were back in Town out of the Maidstone National when they returned to their winning ways after timing a couple of yearlings to win an outstanding 1st and 2nd Club, 2nd and 4th Fed when there were 565 birds competing, with the red card winner that was just under 10 minutes in front of its loftmate going onto score a fantastic 7th Section from 2,191 birds and 21st Up North Combine from a convoy of 11,782 birds. The Club charts was topped for the fifth time at Oakham (5) when three birds were timed to win 1st and 6th Club, 2nd, 9th and 12th Fed out of 424 birds, with the winning yearling blue hen going onto net 19th Section when there was 1,721 birds competing. A single bird was timed from over the water Belgian race point Ypres to notch up 207th UNC and round off an impressive old bird season.
Moving onto the young birds where the lads started the nine race programme where they started with the old bird, in the winners' enclosure after timing no fewer than three babies in the space of three seconds to win an awesome 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club, 18th, 21st and 22nd Fed out of a 39 members entry of 1,693 birds. The partnership recorded their second young bird win from three starts out of Worksop (1) when their pole position winning chequer cock that topped the Club charts by just under a minute going onto score 8th Fed from a 43 members entry of 1,935 birds, and going on even further to pocket 22nd Section from a convoy of 5,984 birds. A blue hen was timed a week later at Worksop (2) to claim 6th Club, 21st Fed: and that was followed up by taking 4th Club, 15th Fed Oakham. Young bird win number three was clocked up out of Chelmsford when the chart-topping young blue hen who won the Club by just over 2 minutes went onto score 9th Fed from a 34 members entry of 1,160 birds. The curtain came down on the 2018 racing season from the back-over race Bubwith where the lads recorded there fourth young bird win and their ninth win of the season.; with the red card winning blue hen going onto lift 16th Fed out of a 23 members muster of 618 birds to round off an impressive all round season. I'm sure these two lads will be up among the best in 2019.
Graham Potts of H Potts & Sons winners of 4 x 1st Clubs receiving the “Jimmy Lynn Memorial Trophy”. - Dunn Bros Ray & Derek winners of 2 x 1st Clubs.
The partnership of H Potts & sons John & Graham were the winners of 4 x 1st Clubs and 91pts. They were also fifth highest Old Bird Inland Federation points scorers on 197pts, fourth highest Federation Channel Average points scorers with 57pts and sixth Old Bird Combined Federation points scorers with 251pts. The brothers had a single bird on the clock out of old bird Bubwith to notch up 6th Club, 9th Fed and 18th Section, and that was followed up a week later by taking a useful 2nd Club,10th Fed Newark. The boys were in the points out of Chelmsford (1) when a notable 3rd Club, 5th Fed was netted. The lads hit winning form from the Eastbourne National after timing no fewer than three of their entries to win a top-notch 1st, 4th and 5th Club, 8th, 16th and 18th Fed from an entry of 1,113 birds. The duo were out of the frame at Oakham (1) but more than made up for it a week later when the birds were over the water from the first French race Burbure (1) where they timed as yearling to win an impressive 1st Club by 7 minutes, with the red card winner going onto score a brilliant 1st Fed out of 773 birds, 2nd Section when there was 2,271 birds competing and 8th Up North Combine from a convoy of 10,633 birds which was a tremendous achievement. John & Graham were in the points again at Oakham (2) when 4th Club was taken with their yellow card potter going onto net 10th Fed. A couple of birds were in the clock out of Chelmsford (2) to claim 3rd and 7th Club, 4th and 20th Fed; with the green card scoring 2y going onto pocket 20th Section. John & Graham returned to the winners' enclosure to record their third old bird win of the season at Oakham (3) after clocking a trio of birds to win 1st, 6th and 8th Club, 4th, 11th and 20th Fed when there were 714 birds away. And this was followed up by timing two birds out of the Maidstone National to lift 4th and 5th Club, 15th and 18th Fed; and then a useful 2nd Club, 6th Fed, 7th Section and 25th Up North Combine was chalked up at the fourth channel race Reims. Onto Oakham (5) where three birds were on the clock to notch up 10th, 14th and 15th Fed. John & Graham timed two of their entries out of Ypres to pocket 2nd and 6th Club, 5th and 16th Fed, 10th and 38th Section, 41st and 148th Combine. Moving onto the young birds where John & Graham who was the Clubs second highest prizewinners in 2017 had a good clocking day out of Worksop (2) after timing no less than three babies in the space of 18 seconds to lift a very nice 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 10th, 11th and 17th Fed. This was followed up by having a silver hen on the clock at Oakham to notch up 6th Club, 17th Fed.
The loft of Dunn Bros Ray & Derek were the winners of 2 x 1st Clubs and 41pts. The lads were sixth highest points scorers in the Old Bird Inland Federation points netting 193pts. Ray & Derek who were the Clubs top prizewinners in 2017 were out of the Club points at old bird Bubwith but did time a couple of yearlings seven seconds apart to notch up 11th and 15th Fed, 23rd and 31st Section. Ray & Derek hit operation lift-off at Oakham (1) after timing no fewer than six of their squad to win a earth-shattering 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Club, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 10th Fed out of an entry of 860 birds, with their first three timers that were clocked within ten seconds of each other going onto score 18th, 19th and 21st Section from a convoy of 3,438 birds to round off a brilliant team performance. Onto Oakham (2) where a couple of birds were on the clock to chalk up a useful 2nd and 3rd Club, 6th and 7th Fed; and that was followed up by timing another two birds out of Chelmsford (2) to lift 5th and 6th Club, 18th and 19th Fed. Ray & Derek had two birds on the clock for the third consecutive inland race at Oakham (3) to net 5th and 7th Club, 10th and 12th Federation. The brothers recorded their second old bird win of the campaign from Oakham (4) when their previous scoring yearling going onto win a top-notch 1st Fed when there were 423 birds away and 22nd Section when there was 1,646 birds competing.
Gavin Godfrey with Les Thurlow & Frank Strong of Thurlow, Strong, the winners of 1 x 1st Club and the Club Channel Average - Dylan Dowd & Rob Reilly of Dowd & Young the scorers of 1 x 2nd, 1 x 5th, 1 x 6th and 8pts.
Les Thurlow, Frank Strong, Fisher & McCluskey were the winners of 1 x 1st Club, winning the Channel Average and a season total of 33pts, they were also sixth highest Federation Channel Average points scorers with 44pts and ninth highest Section Channel points scorers with 155pts. The lads were out of the Club points at old bird Oakham (1) but still managed to time a yearling to pocket 18th Fed. The birds were over the pond at Burbure (1) for the first of four French channel races when the boys clocked a yearling to score a cracking 2nd Club, 4th Fed, 6th Section and 14th UNC when there was 10,633 birds away. The partnership hit the winners' enclosure at the second channel race Burbure 2 (sub Roye) when a couple of their entries were timed to win a very nice 1st and 3rd Club, 16th and 24th Fed out of 325 birds, 24th and 37th Section when there was 842 birds away, 120th and 180th Up North Combine from a convoy of 4,051 birds. The lads were back in the channel points out of Reims after timing a couple of 2y to chalk up a useful 3rd and 4th Club, 14th and 19th Fed from the distance of 454 miles, with the green card scorer going onto net 19th Section, 78th UNC while the yellow card potter claimed 35th Section and 149th Combine. A yearling chequer cock was on the clock from Ypres to score a very well-earned and notable 3rd Club, 8th Fed, 13th Section and 44th UNC.
The birds of the late Jimmy Lynn that were flown by D Brown was the winner of 1 x 1st Club and 16pts. Mr Brown showed what he was capable of achieving at the fourth young bird race Worksop (2) when he timed a blue cock to win an impressive 1st Club, 5th Fed out of an entry of 1,586 birds and 30th Section from a massive convoy of 5,390 birds. Another young blue cock was on the clock at the six race Huntingdon when a cracking 2nd Club, 5th Fed and 19th Section was taken. 2nd Club was netted again from the final young bird race Bubwith with the blue card scoring blue cock going onto chalk up 17th Fed and 36th Section.
Barnes & Swinney were the winners of 1 x 1st Club and 16pts. The partnership did some damage from the second old bird race Newark when they had three of their squad on the clock to win a top-notch 1st. 3rd and 4th Club, 8th, 13th and 14th Fed out of an entry of 1,602 birds. A single bird was on the clock a week later out of Chelmsford (1) to notch up 6th Club, 12th Fed.
The New Kids On The Block Dylan Dowd & Young were the scorers of 1 x 2nd, 1 x 5th, 1 x 6th and 8pts, the duo and new helper Rob Reilly were in the young bird points out of Worksop (2) when they clocked a chequer cock to net 5th Club, 19th Fed.
The loft of Fred Murphy was the winner of a brilliant 1st Club, 2nd Fed out of 481 birds, 8th Section when there was 1,543 birds competing and 38th UNC Ypres from a convoy of 8,775 birds.
Ken Hall
The 94 years young Ken Hall was the scorer of 4pts with the former Marathon runner Ken chalking up a nice 5th Club, 25th Fed, 45th Section and 206th Up North Combine Reims.
While Ian Nisbit was the scorer of 3rd Club, 13th Fed young bird Oakham.
Lamb Bros & Son the breeders of 1st Sportsman & Comrades H/S breeder/buyer winning £2,250, with Dixon & Sons 1st buyers also winning £2,250 in prize money. - Claire Leighton receiving Billy Rush, Jeff Leighton, Matty Kilty & Ronnie Davison £1,250 2nd buyer prize money with Hayden & Tyler receiving Brian & Keith Simpson's £1,250 2nd breeder prize money.
John Potts presenting cheque for £500 to Kevin Armstrong 3rd buyer, bred by the £500 winning Keith Arkless & son Matty - Colin Chapman 4th breeder and Jeff Leighton 4th buyer receiving £250 each in prize money from John Potts.
Now for the Breeder/Buyer winners, with 1st breeders being the loft of Lamb Bros & Son and cousin Dave who banked the £2,250 1st prize, while 2nd buyers was Dixon Bros who also pocketed £2,250 in prize money. “The Castletown Marauders” Billy Rush & partners Jeff Leighton, Matty Kilty & Ronnie Davison netted the £1,250 2nd buyers prize money with Brian & Keith Simpson also lifting £1,250 for 2nd breeders. Keith & Matty Arkless potted £500 for 3rd breeder for Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson & Moon who collected the £500 buyer prize money. Colin Chapman & Sons was 4th breeder picking up £250 prize money while “The Money Men” Billy Rush, Jeff Leighton, Matty Kilty & Ronnie Davison were 4th buyers lifting another £250 for 4th buyers. John Potts restarted the breeder/buyer in 2017 and has worked hard in running this event for the past 2 years and he will be aiming to make it bigger in 2019.
Gareth Hall of Oddfellows the winner of 1st Club, 1st Fed and 3rd Section young bird Huntingdon from a convoy of 4,203 birds - Sunderland Premier Federation Secretary Nigel Mason presenting to Kevin Armstrong & Paul Shergold of the Channel Average & Old Bird Combined Average winning Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson & Moon - Dawson, Peacock & Smith winners of 4 x 1st Federations and 2nd UNC Bourges with Federation Chairman Paul Shergold
John Potts of H Potts & Sons winners of 1st Federation, 2nd Section and 8th UNC Burbure (1) with Paul Shergold - Paul Shergold with John Thompson of Thompson, Kell & Frost winners of 1st Federation Chelmsford (1) - Jeff Leighton of Rush & Partners winners of 1st Fed Oakham (3) with Paul Shergold
Paul Shergold with Dunn Bros winners of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fed Oakham (1) - Nigel Mason presenting £950 in prize money to Kevin Armstrong winners of 1st in a breeder & buyer event -
Paul Shergold presenting prize money to Colin Chapman
Kevin Armstrong & Paul Shergold with their 1st & 3rd £268 Roye Show Race prize money - Steve Wilson of Wilson, Son & Dtr receiving prize money from Paul Shergold
Top loft in the Sunderland Premier Federation for 2018 was that of W (Billy) Cummings of Oddfellows, and what a season Billy had, winning the Old Bird Inland Federation Average with 337pts, Runners-Up Old Bird Combined Federation Average with 337pts, winner of the Young Bird Federation Average with a massive 639pts and winner of the Combined Federation Average with a earth-shattering 976pts which was a fantastic achievement by anyone's standards. Billy was also tenth highest Section Old Bird Inland points scorer with 442pts, he was also Runner-Up Ford 2-Bird Club Average with 12pts. Billy was in the frame out of old bird Newark when 2nd Club, 15th Fed was taken, things started to come together from the Eastbourne National when Billy's yearling won a fantastic 1st Club, 1st Fed, 8th Section out of 3,897 birds and 30th Up North Combine from a convoy of 18,545 birds. And then a week later a couple of birds were timed in the space of 17 seconds at Oakham (1) to chalk up 2nd and 3rd Club, 11th and 12th Fed. Billy enjoyed a brilliant race out of Huntingdon after timing no fewer than than five of his squad to win 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 12th Fed, with the first three on the clock going onto score 1st, 6th and 7th Section. Billy's fourth old bird win was recorded at Oakham (2) where a trio of birds were timed to win a notable 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club, 2nd, 8th and 9th Fed, with the red card winner also netting 29th Section. Another winning and even better performance was racked up at Chelmsford (2) after no less than six birds were timed to win an outstanding 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th Club, 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 16th Fed, 12th, 25th, 29th, 30th and 42nd Section. The much inform Billy recorded another cracking winning team performance at Oakham (3) when four birds were on the clock to win 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 3rd, 6th, 16th and 18th Fed, with the red card winner going onto score 23rd Section while the blue card potter claimed 36th Section. Moving onto the Maidstone National where Billy knocked up another win when his chart-topper went onto win an awesome 1st Fed, 3rd Section when there were 2,191 birds competing and 10th UNC from a convoy of 11,782 birds. Billy's outstanding season continued at the final old bird inland race of the season where three of his entries were on the clock out of Oakham (5) to win 1st, 4th and 5th Club, with the red card winning chequer hen going onto score 4th Fed, 25th Section. Billy's earth-shattering young bird performances are going to blow your minds, for Billy's consistent top class team performances will not only take some beating, they will take your breath away. Billy timed an incredible thirteen babies from Wetherby (1) to win a star-studded 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Club, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Fed out of a 39 members entry of 1,693 birds, with all thirteen youngsters being timed within the space of 50 seconds. The birds were at Wetherby (2) a week later when eleven of Billy's entries were on the clock to chalk up a notable 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Club, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 19th Fed, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 17th and 30th Section. Onto Worksop (1) where five birds were timed to notch up 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 5th, 6th, 9th, 14th and 17th Fed, 19th, 20th and 25th Section. Billy returned to the winners' enclosure in fantastic style from Worksop (2) when four birds were timed in the space of five seconds to win an outstanding 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fed from a 39 members muster of 1,586 birds, 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th Section from a massive convoy of 5,390 birds. Three more youngsters were clocked to notch up 13th, 14th and 20th Fed to round off a brilliant days racing. Four babies were on the clock at Oakham to lift a notable 2nd and 3rd Club, 3rd, 4th, 11th and 20th Fed, 17th, 19th, and 46th Section.
Another great team performance was racked up out of Huntingdon when no less than five birds were timed to lift a cracking 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th Club, 3rd, 6th, 8th, 12th and 15th Fed, 4th, 20th, 29th and 45th Section. The birds were at Chelmsford from a distance of 229 miles when Billy timed another five of his inform youngsters to win a top-drawer 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 1st, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th Fed from a 34 members entry of 1,160 birds, with the well out in front chequer hen who topped the Federation charts by an impressive 4 minutes going onto score a belting 5th Section when there was 3,406 birds away. The following week when the birds were at the Maidstone National a couple of birds were timed to pocket 4th and 6th Club, with the yellow card scoring blue hen going onto notch up 8th Fed, 27th Section and 111th UNC. The curtain came down on Billy's brilliant season from the back-over race Bubwith from a distance of 76 miles when the very hard to beat and top performing Billy got back to his winning ways after timing three of his inform youngsters to win a fantastic 1st, 3rd and 4th Club, 1st and 13th Fed out of a 23 members muster of 618 birds with the pole position winning blue cock going onto score an impressive 4th Section when there was 1,559 birds competing, while the green card potting blue hen netted 30th Section and the yellow card lifter taking 42nd Section to put the finishing touches to a season to be very proud of.
The partnership of Foster & Dixon who were the third highest Federation Channel point scorers with 127pts got off to a winning start of the 2018 racing season after timing a yearling from old bird Bubwith to win a nice 1st Club, 20th Fed, and then 3rd Club, 8th Fed, 23rd Section, 86th UNC was netted at Burbure (1). This was followed up by winning 1st Club, 11th Fed, 15th Section and 80th UNC Burbure 2 (sub Roye). The duo were in the channel points for the third water race running out of Bourges when they timed a trio of birds to win a brilliant 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fed out of 79 birds, 6th, 8th and 15th Section when there were 250 birds away, 12th, 16th and 52nd UNC from a convoy of 1,360 birds which was a fantastic performance from the distance of 567 miles. The partnership achieved a second top-notch team performance from the fourth French race Reims from a distance of 454 miles when they timed three early birds to win an outstanding 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club, 8th, 9th and 10th Fed, 9th, 11th and 14th Section, 35th, 49th and 28th UNC in the space of 12 minutes. A couple of other birds were timed to lift 4th and 5th Club, 42nd and 43rd Section, 202nd and 203rd Combine to round off another top performance.
Onto Oakham (5) where a 2017 bred blue cock was timed to lift 3rd Club, 18th Fed. The curtain came down on the partnership outstanding channel season at the Belgian race point Ypres when the lads recorded their fourth water race win from five starts to win a belting 1st Club, 7th Fed, 12th Section and 43rd Combine. The pole position winning yearling blue cock won 1st Club, 20th Fed Bubwith on the opening day of the 2018 racing season, and he also netted 3rd Club, 18th Fed Oakham (5) the week before the Ypres race. Believe me when I say that we are going to hear a lot more of this loft in the future from over the channel for this is a out and out distance winning loft. Moving onto the young birds where a blue hen and a dark hen were timed within one second of each other at Worksop (1) to pocket 13th and 15th Fed. A very good performance was achieved from the Maidstone National when a trio of youngsters were timed to score a cracking 2nd, 3rd and 5th Club, 5th, 7th and 14th Fed, 22nd, 25th and 43rd Section, 72nd, 95th and 162nd Combine.
J Wilton hit the winners' enclosure from the second old bird race Newark when his red card winning 2y went onto score a top-notch 3rd Fed, 10th Section. Ferguson & Tyler were in the frame out of old bird Newark where they timed a yearling to net 3rd Club, 20th Fed; and then they netted 2nd Club, 16th Fed from the Maidstone National. Onto Ypres where a yearling blue cock was timed to lift a nice 3rd Club, 26th Fed and 218th UNC, and then a blue hen was on the clock out of young bird Chelmsford to notch up 6th Club, 26th Fed. The loft of H Alderson & Son hit winning form from Burbure (1) after timing a couple of their channel entries to win a cracking 1st and 5th Club, 3rd and 18th Fed with the pole position winner going onto score a fantastic 5th Section and 13th UNC. The partnership of Mr & Mrs Collinson & Son were the winners of a cracking 1st Club, 7th Fed old bird Oakham (1), and then they timed a couple of 2y at Burbure (1) to chalk up a very nice 2nd and 4th Club, 6th and 10th Fed, 13th and 32nd Section, 43rd and 122nd Combine. A single bird was on the clock out of Oakham (5) to notch up a useful 2nd Club, 11th Fed.
S Potts & Sons had a 2y on the clock out of old bird Chelmsford (2) to notch up 5th Club, 8th Fed and 41st Section. The partnership had no fewer than five of their young bird Wetherby (2) entries on the clock to win a cracking 1st Club, 2nd, 11th, 15th, 16th and 17th Fed from a 42 members entry of 1,969 birds. With the pole position winning blue cock going onto score a brilliant 3rd Section from a convoy of 5,737 birds which was a fantastic achievement, and the other four youngster notched up 29th, 39th, 41st and 43rd Section. Onto Worksop (2) where a blue cock claimed 15th Fed. M Little timed a red cock out of young bird Wetherby (1) to score a well-earned and notable 3rd Club, 3rd Fed and then a chequer cock was clocked at Worksop (1) to chalk up 5th Club, 11th Fed, 50th Section. A chequer hen was in the clock out of Oakham to claim 6th Club, 10th Fed, 44th Section. The lad was out of the Club points at Huntingdon but still took 17th Fed with a chequer hen and then timed a second chequer hen four seconds later to net 19th Fed which he will have been happy with.
The partnership of Greenhow & Storey had a chequer cock on the clock at young bird Wetherby (1) to net 11th Fed; and then timed a blue and white hen and a blue hen four seconds apart from Wetherby (2) to claim 20th and 21st Fed. The lads were in the frame again from Oakham where a blue cock potted 5th Club, 9th Fed, 41st Section. The loft of Gareth Hall timed a blue cock from Wetherby (1) to pocket 12th Fed; the cock was on the clock again the following week to score a notable 2nd Club, 3rd Fed and 4th Section Wetherby (2). Ex Paratrooper Gareth hit the heights out of Huntingdon when he won a most impressive 1st Club, 1st Fed from a 34 members entry of 1,324 birds, with the pole position Federation winning blue hen going onto score a top-drawer 2nd Section from a convoy of 4,203 which was a brilliant achievement. The blue hen was Gareth's fancy bird out of the Maidstone National from a distance of 267 miles two week later where she came up trumps again when she won an awesome 1st Club, 4th Fed out of a 35 members entry of 1,094 birds, 18th Section when there was 2,783 birds competing and 53rd Up North Combine from a convoy of 10,914 birds, which again was a brilliant performance from the blue hen.
The loft of D Corner & Son were sixth highest Federation Young Bird points scorers with a total of 90pts, they timed a Gateshead Federation rung blue cock out of young bird Wetherby (2) to chalk up 10th Fed, 18th Section. The partnership hit the winners' enclosure the following week when the birds were at Worksop (1) with their chart-topping blue cock going onto score a brilliant 4th Fed from a 43 members entry of 1,935 birds and 18th Section when there was a massive 5,984 birds competing. The birds were at Worksop (2) for the fourth young bird race when the duo clocked the blue cock that netted 10th Fed, 18th Section Wetherby (2) to pot a useful 5th Club, 9th Fed this time around. The Gateshead Federation rung blue cock was proving his worth for he was on the clock for the third time out of the fifth race Oakham from a distance of 155 miles where he won a most impressive 1st Club, 1st Fed out of a 40 members entry of 1,534 birds to recorded the partnerships second young bird win of the season. With the pole position winning cock going onto score an awesome 7th Section when there was 4,937 birds away, a second blue cock was timed to lift a nice 4th Club, 8th Fed, 37th Section. A couple of babies were in the mix from Huntingdon to notch up 5th and 8th Club, 10th and 16th Fed, with the first youngster on the clock going onto pocket 35th Section.
The Plains Farm partnership of Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson & Moon were the winners of the Federation Channel Average with a whacking 327pts, winners of the Federation Old Bird Combined Average with a total of 385pts. The lads were also third highest Federation points scorers with the young birds netting 157pts and Runners-Up Federation Combined Average with a total of 543pts. They were also in the money in the Breeder/Buyer Event for they won 1st Breeder pocketing £475.00 and 1st Buyer banking another £475.00. The partnership were also the winners of the Section Channel Average with 855pts and seventh in the Section Old Bird Combined Points with a total of 944pts.
The lads first old bird points of the season were notched up out of the third race Chelmsford (1) when a trio of birds were timed to win a cracking 1st, 3rd and 6th Club, 2nd, 7th and 17th Fed, 2nd, 17th and 45th Section. A couple of yearlings were on the clock out of the Eastbourne National to claim 11th and 12th Fed. Like so many times before the boys hit the winners' enclosure from over the pond when they timed no fewer than five of their channel team out of Burbure (1) to win a top-notch 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Club, 2nd, 5th, 11th, 12th and 19th Fed, 3rd, 10th, 42th and 43rd Section, 9th, 29th, 185th and 200th UNC. The following week when the birds were at Huntingdon the partnership netted 2nd Club, 19th Fed. The boys were back in Town in a big way from the second channel race when the the birds were scheduled to race from Roye but due to the very poor weather in France and a hold-over the birds were brought back closer to home and liberated from Burbure (2). Which saw the partnership's birds go into over-drive winning a fantastic 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Club, 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 19th and 20th Fed, 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 31st, 33rd and 35th Section winning £174.59 for winning Section 4, with the ten timers going onto score a top-drawer 11th, 29th, 30th, 38th, 52nd, 54th, 55th, 149th, 153rd and 160th Combine. Onto Channel race number three which was from the long-one Bourges where a single bird was timed to lift a well-earned 2nd Club, 5th Fed, 17th Section and 57th UNC.
Back over the water to the fourth French race point Reims and what a top-class performance the lads birds put up after an incredible nine birds were timed to win a earth-shattering 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th Club, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 18th and 20th Fed, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 30th, 39th, 41st and 44th Section, 5th, 9th, 12th, 34th, 63rd, 73rd, 94th, 131st, 183rd, 199th and 205th UNC winning the UNC “Lowcocks Trophy” for the best two-bird performance, a Trophy the lads have won before which again is a fantastic achievement. The Federation Channel Average winners were in the the frame for the fifth consecutive water race out of the Belgian race point Ypres where they timed no fewer than seven of their inform channel team to chalk up a very nice 2nd and 3rd Club, 4th, 6th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd and 24th Fed, 9th, 11th, 28th, 39th, 42nd, 49th and 50th Section, 40th, 42nd, 90th, 153rd, 164th, 188th and 189th Combine to end a brilliant channel season where their birds put in some incredible team performances. The partnership were in the points from the first young bird race Wetherby (1) after timing a chequer hen to lift 3rd Club and 20th Fed; and the lads clocked the same hen the following week out of Wetherby (2) to net 2nd Club and 22nd Fed. Onto young bird race number three Worksop (1) where a chequer cock was timed to pot a cracking 2nd Club, 2nd Fed and 10th Section, and then the boys clocked a chequer hen to claim 18th Fed. The lads hit the winners' enclosure the following week when the birds were at Worksop (2) when their chart-topping blue cock went onto score 6th Fed and 37th Section. The lads were in the clock out of Huntingdon when a young blue cock was timed to notch up 4th Club and that was followed up a week later by timing a chequer cock to lift a notable 2nd Club, 3rd Fed and 50th Section from Chelmsford, a later blue cock was clocked to notch up 5th Club, 8th Fed.
The partnership recorded their second young bird win of the season out of the Maidstone National when they timed a trio of youngsters to win a top-notch 1st, 3rd and 4th Club, 3rd, 9th and 10th Fed, with the red card winning blue cock who took 5th Club, 8th Fed the previous race, going onto score 17th Section and 51st UNC. While the green card scoring blue hen and the yellow card potting chequer that were timed four seconds apart went onto chalk up 28th and 29th Section, 117th and 118th Combine. The ninth and final young bird race of 2018 saw the lads time no fewer than seven of their Bubwith entries to lift a nice 5th Club, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 18th, 19th and 20th Fed, 18th, 28th, 29th, 31st, 37th, 38th and 40th Section to round of a fantastic season.
The up and coming partnership of the “Young Guns”, Kristain Dawson, Kyle Peacock & Steve Smith were another loft that enjoyed a cracking season with their birds achieving some top-drawer performances. The lads were Runners-Up Federation Channel Average with 151pts and Runners-Up Federation Young Bird Average on 181pts, the boys amassed a total of 503pts to be the Federations third highest prizewinners. The three lads were Runners-Up Section Channel Average with 461pts and ninth highest Section Old Bird Combined points winners with a total of 702pts, the trio were also the winners of the Ford 2-Bird Club Average with a total of 17pts to round off a very successful season. Kristain & Kyle who flew as Dawson & Peacock in 2017 where they won 5 x 1st Federations added Steve to the partnership for the 2018 racing season and what a introduction it turned out to be. The new-formed partnership of Kristain, Kyle & Steve got off to a dream start after timing no fewer than five of their old bird Bubwith entries on the opening day of the new season to win a brilliant 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club, 1st, 5th, 12th, 16th and 19th Fed, 1st, 11th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Section. The blue card scorer was in the clock again out of Chelmsford (1) to notch up 19th Fed and 49th Section. The following week an impressive clocking day was put up out of the Eastbourne National when four of their squad were timed to lift 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Club, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th Fed, with the blue card scoring 2 year-old going onto chalk up 19th Section and 82nd UNC while the green card potting 2y netted 38th Section and 159th Combine. Onto the first channel race where Kristain, Kyle & Steve timed four birds to take 3rd, 6th, 7th and 9th Club, 7th, 16th, 17th and 20th Fed, 16th, 49th and 50th Section, 57th, 209th and 233rd Combine. The following week the birds were back on English soil at Huntingdon and this proved a winning return to their home Country after timing a yearling to win 1st Club, 9th Fed. The lads strutted their stuff again a week later when their birds churned out a most impressive performance from Oakham (2) by winning a top-notch 1st, 3rd and 5th Club, 1st, 14th and 19th Fed, when their pole position Federation winning yearling went onto score a very nice 11th Section. Kristain, Kyle & Steve's birds racked up another cracking performance out of Burbure 2 (sub Roye) where no less than four of their yearling team were on the clock to chalk up a notable 2nd and 3rd Club, 2nd, 3rd, 14th and 17th Fed, with the blue and green card scorers that were timed one second apart going onto net a awesome 4th and 5th Section, 27th and 28th UNC. The third and fourth timers pocketed 21st and 26th Section, 93rd and 124th UNC; a couple of later birds were timed to claim 34th and 46th Section, 159th and 226th Combine to see off a very good team performance. Kristain, Kyle & Steve enjoyed a dream race out of the longest race Bourges from a distance of 567 miles when they timed their 2y on the day to win a star-studded 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section winning £154.41 in prize money and an incredible 2nd Up North Combine winning a Combine Silver Medal from a convoy of 1,360 birds, also winning the “McSween & Sexton Lanarkshire Social Circle Cup Of Friendship” for the best 2- bird performance from Roye & Bourges which was a fantastic achievement. On the same weekend of the lads most impressive Bourges performance they took 4th Club, 17th Fed out of Oakham (3), and another single bird was on the clock a week later when the birds were at the Maidstone National to pocket 6th Club, 20th Fed.
Back over the pond to Reims where the boys timed a couple of yearlings and then a 2y to pot 12th, 16th and 17th Fed with their first timer netting 17th Section and 68th UNC which was enough to win the UNC “W B Napper Memorial Trophy” for the best 2-bird performance from Bourges and Reims. The second bird on the clock took 25th Section and 95th UNC while the partnerships third timer went onto notch up 112th Combine. Kristain, Kyle & Steve continued their cracking channel performances at Ypres when they had five of their water team in the clock to lift a belting 2nd, 5th and 6th Club, 2nd, 10th, 11th, 21st and 22nd Fed, 6th, 17th, 18th, 47th and 48th Section, 22nd, 49th, 50th, 185th and 187th Combine.
Onto the first of the nine young bird race programme starting at Wetherby (1) where the lads hit winning form in fantastic style after timing four babies in the space of fourteen seconds to win a top-drawer 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Club with the red card winning Belgian rung blue cock and the blue card scoring chequer hen that were clocked three seconds apart going onto chalk up 16th and 17th Fed. The yellow card potting blue hen who touched down the same time as the lads fourth timing blue cock went onto claim 24th and 25th Fed. Kristain, Kyle & Steve recorded their second young bird win in three starts out of Worksop (1) when they had three youngsters on the clock to win an awesome 1st, 3rd and 6th Club, 1st, 3rd and 16th Fed, 9th and 17th Section. A week later when the birds were at Worksop (2) a Hartlepool rung blue hen was clocked to lift a useful 2nd Club, 8th Fed and 50th Section. A chequer cock and a mealy cock touched down together out of Huntingdon to score 2nd and 3rd Club, 23rd and 24th Fed. Kristain, Kyle & Steve returned to their winning ways from the 229 miles race Chelmsford where they timed three of their squad to win a top-notch 1st, 3rd and 6th Club, 2nd, 4th and 13th Fed, with the trio's pole position winning chequer hen going onto chalk up 41st Section and their green card potter being the Hartlepool rung blue hen who netted 2nd Club, 8th Fed and 50th Section out of Worksop (2). The birds were at the Maidstone National the following week which saw the inform partnership time three of their 267 miles entries to lift 2nd, 6th and 7th Club, 6th, 16th and 20th Fed with the blue card scorer being the Hartlepool rung blue hen that potted 2nd Club, 8th Fed and 50th Section Worksop (2) and 3rd Club, 4th Fed Chelmsford when beaten by her red card winning loftmate, this time the well-fancied third time scoring hen went onto pocket 24th Section, 86th UNC and 6th NECC banking £84.18. Kristain, Kyle & Steve racked up their fourth young bird win from Bubwith the final race of the season, when they timed four birds to win 1st, 6th and 7th Club, 2nd, 8th, 9th and 15th Fed. With the chart-topping young blue cock going onto score 5th Section while their second timer was a Hartlepool rung blue cock that was 20th Fed from the Maidstone National who takes 22nd Section this time, and one second later came the inform Hartlepool rung blue cock who is scoring for the fourth time who went onto net 24th Section, and fourth on the clock was a blue hen claiming 32nd Section, a fifth baby was timed to notch up 24th Fed and 48th Section to round off a very impressive season for Kristain, Kyle & Steve.
John Bell's very impressive season did not go unnoticed with John's notching up a number of top performances along the way. John was the Federations fourth highest Old Bird Inland points scorer with 270pts and also fourth highest Young Bird points lifter with 129pts, John was sixth highest Federation Combined Average points scorer with a total of 368pts. John did not waste much time in racking up his first old bird win because that was achieved from the second race Newark where his red card winning yearling went onto score 19th Fed. Another yearling was on the clock out of Chelmsford (1) a week later to net 4th Club, 8th Fed and 20th Section. Onto race number four which was from the Eastbourne National and turned out to be a winning day for John after timing three of his entries to win a cracking 1st Club, 2nd, 15th and 17th Fed; with his pole position winner going onto chalk up a very nice 14th Section and 53rd UNC. John pocketed 2nd Club out of Oakham (1) when his blue card scoring yearling went onto net 9th Fed. And then out of Oakham (2) a couple of John's entries were on the clock to lift 2nd and 4th Club, 11th and 16th Fed; and that was quickly followed up by claiming 10th Fed from Burbure 2 (sub Roye).
John got back to his winning ways from Oakham (3) after clocking two birds to win a belting 1st and 3rd Club, 2nd and 13th Fed; with the out in front chart-topping yearling going onto chalk up a useful 16th Section. John enjoyed a very good clocking day from the Maidstone National when he timed no fewer than three of his yearling entries to lift a notable 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 5th, 10th and 12th Fed. It was not long before John achieved his fourth inland win of the season with that coming at Oakham (4) when he won 1st Club, 2nd Fed and 30th Section with the same yearling that won 1st Club, 2nd Fed and 16th Section out of Oakham (3). John had a brilliant race from Oakham (5) when the “Oakham Specialist” timed no less than six of his squad to win a most impressive 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th Club, 1st, 8th, 16th, 17th, 25th and 27th Fed, with the red and blue card winners going onto pick up 7th and 35th Section. John zoomed in to top the Club and Federation charts for the second consecutive race at Ypres when he had three of his channel team on the clock to win 1st Club, 1st, 12th and 20th Fed; with the pole position Federation winning yearling chequer cock going onto score a top-drawer 5th Section and 20th UNC which was an awesome achievement. John's second timer a 2017 bred blue cock pocketed 25th Section and 77th UNC while third on the clock was a 1y chequer cock that notched up 46th Section and 185th Combine. It was from the second race Wetherby (2) when John won his first young bird race of 2018 after timing no less than three of his entries to win an awesome 1st, 3rd and 4th Club with the red card winning blue cock that topped the Club charts by 20ypm going onto win an exceptional 1st Fed. While the green card scoring blue cock pocketed 28th Fed and the yellow card potting blue hen that was timed one second after the green card lifter going onto claim 32nd Fed. The lad was in the frame again a week later out of the third race Worksop (1) when a mealy hen was timed to pick up 5th Club, 10th Fed, 35th Section, and this was followed up a week later by taking 3rd Club, 23rd Fed from Worksop (2). Onto Oakham from a distance of 153 miles which saw John return to top the Club charts with a well out in front young blue cock that went onto score a very impressive 2nd Fed and 14th Section. John chalked up his second young bird win on the belt and his third win in six races from Huntingdon which is very good flying indeed, with the inform John's pole position winning chequer hen netting a notable 7th Fed, 28th Section from a distance of 181 miles. John was out of the Club points at Chelmsford but did time a blue cock to take 17th Fed and then clocked a blue cock and a mealy hen in the space of two seconds to collect 21st and 22nd Fed. A chequer hen was on the clock at the Maidstone National to pot 5th Club, 11th Fed. 30th Section and 119th Combine. John's youngsters racked up a notable performance out of Bubwith to net a cracking 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club with the blue card potting blue cock lifting a belting 3rd Fed, 12th Section. While the green card scoring blue hen that was timed three seconds after the blue card lifter went onto pocket 4th Fed, 14th Section, and the yellow card claiming blue hen who was clocked four seconds after the green card potter went onto net 6th Fed and 17th Section to round off a very notable performance and young bird campaign.
The partnership of Prest, Snowdon & Prest were in the points out of old bird Chelmsford (1) when they timed a 2y to lift a notable 2nd Club, 4th Fed, 5th Section and then clocked a yearling to pocket 5th Club, 11th Fed and 25th Section. Another couple of birds were on the clock a week later from the Eastbourne National to pot 3rd Club, 4th and 20th Fed with the green card lifting yearling also taking 34th Section and 149th Combine. The partnership hit the winners' enclosure from Oakham (1) when their red card winning 2y scored a very nice 5th Fed; and their next chalks came at Burbure 2 (sub Roye) when two yearlings were on the clock to claim 13th and 15th Fed, 19th and 23rd Section, 88th and 118th UNC. The lads got back to their winning ways a week later when the birds were at Chelmsford (2) when their chart-topping yearling netted 15th Fed; and that was very quickly followed up by taking a useful 2nd Club, 9th Fed, 42nd Section from Oakham (3).
The boys were on a roll for they recorded their third old bird inland win of the season the following week when the birds were at the Maidstone National after timing a couple of yearlings to win a notable 1st and 5th Club, 3rd and 17th Fed; with the pole position winner going onto score 43rd Section and 179th UNC. Onto the fourth channel race Reims where a single bird was on the cock after 10 hours 55 minutes on the wing to lift an creditable 4th Club, 4th Fed, 5th Section and 18th Combine from a distance of 454 miles. The partnership were still plugging away at Oakham (5) when they pocketed 3rd Club, 13th Fed. The lads old bird season came to a close at Ypres when they clocked a 2017 bred blue hen to notch up 14th Fed, 27th Section and 87th Combine. Now onto the young birds were a blue hen was timed out of Worksop (1) to lift 4th Club, 7th Fed and 21st Section, two more birds a mealy cock and a dark hen were clocked within nine seconds of each other to pocket 19th and 27th Fed. And then a blue cock was in the frame out of Chelmsford to chalk up a nice 4th Club, 5th Fed.
The Castletown partnership of George Chipp & Davy Kibble was the Federations fifth highest Young Bird points scorers with 97pts. George & Davy recorded their first win of the season in fantastic style from the second old bird race Newark when their out in front 3y won a brilliant 1st Club, 1st Fed when there was 1,602 birds competing and 3rd Section from a massive entry of 6,197 birds which was a awesome performance. The two lads achieved their second win on the belt from Chelmsford (1) with their red card winner being the same bird that won the previous week, only this week the pole position winner netted 9th Fed and 21st Section. The duo had a 3y on the clock out of Huntingdon to lift 2nd Club, 11th Fed; and then timed a yearling at Oakham (3) to pot 2nd Club, 15th Fed. George & Davy got back to their winning ways a week later from the Maidstone National when they won 1st Club, 7th Fed with a yearling; and then the lads won again with another yearling at Oakham (4) when the chart-topper went onto claim 4th Fed, 42nd Section. Moving onto the young birds where George & Davy won 1st Club at Worksop (1) with the red card winning chequer cock going onto score 20th Fed. And then a chequer hen and a chequer cock were timed 15 seconds apart from Oakham to net 3rd and 6th Club, 14th and 24th Fed. The lads returned to their winning ways the following week when the birds were at Huntingdon after no fewer than three youngsters were on the clock to win a cracking 1st, 3rd and 4th Club with the chart-topping blue cock scoring an impressive 3rd Fed and 11th Section. The duo's green card potting Gateshead Federation rung chequer hen claimed 13th Fed and 46th Section, while the yellow card lifting red pied hen went onto net 21st Fed to see off a very good day for George & Davy. Another three babies were in the frame a week later from Chelmsford when a chequer cock was timed to lift 3rd Club, 15th Fed and he was followed by a blue cock who potted 5th Club, 23rd Section, then one second later came the previous scoring Gateshead rung chequer hen that collects 6th Club, 24th Federation. Things came up trumps the following week from the Maidstone National from the distance of 270 miles when George & Davy who have enjoyed great success in their long time together, timed no fewer than four of their team to win a top-notch 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th Club. With their red card winning chequer cock going onto win a brilliant 1st Fed out of 1,094 birds, 4th Section when there were 2,783 birds competing and 7th UNC from a convoy of 10,914 birds which was a top-drawer achievement. The green card was awarded to a blue cock who chalked up 12th Fed, 40th Section and 152nd UNC; while the yellow card potting chequer cock who was timed 16 seconds after his green card scoring loftmate went onto pocket 13th Fed, 42nd Section and 154th Combine. The lads fourth timer was a chequer hen that notched up 18th Fed and 193rd UNC to round off a very impressive team performance. The final race of George & Davy's outstanding season resulted in another win after they won 1st Club, 5th Fed and 15th Section with a chequer hen from Bubwith.
The loft of Billy Rush & Partners Jeff Leighton, Matty Kilty & Ronnie Davison the previous winners of 1st Club, 1st Fed and 2nd Up North Combine Bourges in 2016 from a convoy of 1,306 birds, got stuck straight into the points at old bird Bubwith after clocking a yearling to chalk up a useful 2nd Club, 13th Fed and 27th Section. A week later when the birds were at Newark the lads who won 1st Club, 1st Fed and 12th UNC Bourges in 2017 from a convoy of 1,795 birds, timed a couple of 2y to net a notable 3rd and 6th Club, 4th and 11th Fed; with the blue card potter going onto lift 24th Section. The boys were in the frame again out of Chelmsford (2) when they clocked a yearling to pot 3rd Club, 14th Fed. Billy, Jeff, Matty & Ronnie racked up a win the following week when the birds were at Oakham (3) after they timed the 2y that took 3rd Club, 4th Fed out of Newark with the pole position winner who topped the Club charts by six minutes going onto win an outstanding 1st Fed out of 714 birds and 7th Section out of an entry of 2,635 birds.
Moving onto young bird Worksop (2) where the boys clocked a blue pied cock to chalk up 2nd Club, 12th Fed and then timed a blue pied hen to pocket 5th Club, 25th Federation. The blue pied hen who took 5th Club, 25th Fed Worksop (2) was in the frame for the second time out of Chelmsford when she netted 4th Club, 20th Federation. Onto the Maidstone National where a blue cock claimed 23rd Federation.
The partnership of Summers Bros & Rose had a couple of birds on the clock from old bird Newark to lift a nice 2nd and 5th Club with the blue card potting yearling going onto chalk up an impressive 2nd Fed and 8th Section, while their second timer was a 2y who netted 9th Fed. The following week a yearling was timed at Chelmsford (1) to pot 3rd Club, 15th Fed and 36th Section. The lads who won 1st Club, 1st Fed old bird Rivenhall in 2017 out of 606 birds, hit the winners' enclosure at Huntingdon when their well out in front red card winning yearling went onto score a very nice 4th Fed and 23rd Section. The lads struck again a week later at the French race point Burbure 2 (sub Roye) when they clocked a out in front yearling to win a very nice 1st Club, 12th Fed, 16th Section and 81st UNC. Moving onto Chelmsford (2) where a 2y and a yearling were timed in the space of 30 seconds to pocket 2nd and 4th Club, 12th and 17th Fed. Two more birds were in the frame out of the Maidstone National with the first one on the clock being a yearling that took 3rd Club, 11th Fed; and then nine seconds later a 2y was timed to lift 4th Club, 14th Fed. A yearling blue bird hen was on the clock from Oakham (5) to pocket 2nd Club, 24th Federation.
A blue hen was timed out of young bird Worksop (2) to net 3rd Club, 16th Fed, and then another blue hen was on the clock a week later at Oakham to pocket 5th Club, 19th Fed. The following week when the birds were at Huntingdon from the distance of 185 miles a chequer cock and a mealy cock were timed one second apart to pocket 5th and 6th Club, 26th and 27th Federation. The lads were in the frame for the fourth consecutive race from Chelmsford from a distance of 231 miles when a couple of youngsters were timed to win a belting 1st and 2nd Club with the red card winning blue hen that topped the Club charts by just under four minutes going onto score a notable 6th Federation. The partnerships blue card potter was a chequer cock who netted 14th Fed to round off a very impressive performance for the lads who have flown a very good Pigeon for a number of years now. Three birds were in the clock from the Maidstone National with a blue hen scoring a cracking 2nd Club, 2nd Fed, 6th Section, 2nd North Of England Championship Club banking £69.85 and 18th UNC. Second on the clock was a chequer hen that took 5th Club, 15th Fed, 49th Section and 187th Combine, while the lads third timer was a red hen who claimed 21st Fed. Two chequer cocks were timed one second apart from Bubwith to chalk up 2nd and 3rd Club, 22nd and 23rd Fed, 45th and 46th Section.
The loft of Proctor Brothers got off to a winning start after timing a 2y out of old bird Bubwith to win a welcomed 1st Club, 8th Fed and 17th Section. They were in the frame for the second race running out of Newark when a yearling was timed to lift 4th Club, 6th Fed and 49th Section. The lads were in the points for the third consecutive race at Chelmsford (1) when they pocketed 2nd Club, 14th Fed and 35th Section with a yearling. Moving onto Huntingdon where a couple of yearlings were timed to chalk up 3rd and 4th Club, 17th and 20th Fed. The lads returned to their winning ways from Oakham (5) when their pole position winning 2y chequer hen scored 19th Federation. A chequer hen and a blue cock were timed eight seconds apart out of young bird Oakham to chalk up 2nd and 4th Club, 12th and 18th Fed. The lads were in the frame for the second race running from Huntingdon after clocking a mealy hen to lift a useful 2nd Club, 9th Fed and 34th Section.
Watson Brothers & Son timed a 3y at old bird Newark to claim 17th Fed; the lads hit winning form in great style from Oakham (1) when they timed no fewer than three of their squad to win a top-notch 1st, 3rd and 4th Club with their pole position winning 3y going onto score 12th Fed; while the green card potting 2y netted 15th Fed and 21 second later came the yellow card scoring 3y who claimed 20th Fed to round off a very good days racing for the boys. With the birds being at Burbure 2 (sub Roye) the partnership timed a 3y to lift 2nd Club, 23rd Fed, 36th Section, 178th UNC; and then clocked a 2y to net 3rd Club, 27th Fed, 44th Section and 205th Combine. Onto the fourth young bird race Worksop (2) where a couple of babies were timed to win a cracking 1st and 4th Club, with the red card winning blue cock netting a very nice 7th Fed, 41st Section, while the yellow card scoring blue cock that was timed 39 seconds after the lads chart-topper potted 18th Federation. A blue hen and a chequer hen were on the clock from the Maidstone National to notch up 19th and 24th Fed.
W Pattinson had a 2y on the clock out of old bird Newark to notch up 16th Fed; and followed that up a week later at Chelmsford (1) by netting 4th Club, 16th Fed and 43rd Section with the same Pigeon. Onto the first of five channel races where a 2y was on the clock at Burbure (1) to win a well-deserved 1st Club, 15th Fed, 47th Section and 205th UNC. Another win was clocked up out of Chelmsford (2) when the chart-topping yearling went onto score a nice 11th Fed; and then a 2y was in the points at the Maidstone National to chalk up 2nd Club, 8th Fed.
The loft of C Eden will have being overjoyed with his 1st Club young bird Oakham win with his pole position winning blue cock going onto score a very impressive 5th Fed out of 1,534 birds and going even further to chalk up 22nd Section from a convoy of 4,937 birds.
The loft of J R Ellis & Son of the West Side 7 Bird Club timed two birds within five seconds of each other at old bird Newark to win a cracking 1st and 2nd Club with the red card winning 3y going onto score a well-earned 5th Fed and 45th Section, while the blue card was awarded to a yearling who went onto take a very nice 7th Fed. The lads were in the frame again at Oakham (1) when a yearling was timed to pocket 2nd Club, 13th Fed; and then it was a return to the winners' enclosure at Huntingdon when the 3y that won 1st Club, 5th Fed, 45th Section Newark, won for the second time to go onto net 7th Fed. And then 1st Club, 10th Fed was won by a 2y from Chelmsford (2). Another win came the partnerships way from Oakham (3) when they won 1st Club, 14th Fed with a yearling who was 2nd Club, 13th Fed Oakham (1). The inform partnership were enjoying a very good season and the impressive winning performances continued at the Maidstone National when 1st Club, 6th Fed was won by a yearling.
The new-formed partnership of Dunn & Dykes timed a yearling at old bird Newark to pocket 4th Club, 18th Fed; and then a yearling was on the clock from Oakham (1) to win a very nice 1st Club. 6th Fed. The lads racked up another win at Oakham (2) after they timed two yearlings in the space of two seconds to win a a belting 1st and 2nd Club, 3rd and 4th Fed, 32nd and 34th Section. And then 2nd Club, 19th Fed was notched up by a yearling at Oakham (3). Now for the young birds where two youngsters were on the clock from Huntingdon to win a cracking 1st and 2nd Club with the red card winning blue pied hen scoring 11th Fed and 42nd Section; while the blue card was chalked up by a blue hen who went onto net 22nd Federation.
Gibson, Snowdon & Son the winners of 1st Club, 1st Fed old bird Bubwith in 2017, hit the winners' enclosure out of old bird Chelmsford with their red card winning yearling also netting 18th Fed and 46th Section. Win number two on the belt was recorded from the Eastbourne National with their chart-topping 3y GB rung chart-topper scoring a useful 6th Fed, 43rd Section and 178th UNC. A 2y and a yearling were in the frame from the Maidstone National to lift 2nd and 3rd Club, 13th and 19th Federation. Onto the young birds where a chequer hen was timed at Worksop (2) to win 1st Club, 24th Fed; and then a blue hen was on the clock from the Maidstone National to pocket 3rd Club, 26th Federation.
T Carr & Son took 3rd Club, 12th Fed out of old bird Newark with a 2y; the partnership enjoyed a very good day from Burbure (1) when they timed a couple of their channel entries to win a top-notch 1st and 2nd Club with the red card being won by a 3y who chalked up a nice 9th Fed, 27th Section and 105th UNC, while the blue card was netted by a 2y who potted 14th Fed, 46th Section and 205th Combine. And then a chequer hen was clocked out of the young bird Maidstone National to lift 2nd Club, 22nd Federation.
D Atkinson was in the frame from the Eastbourne National when a 2y was timed to lift 2nd Club, 13th Fed; and then 3rd Club, 14th Fed was potted by a yearling from Oakham (1). It must have being a very enjoyable moment when a blue cock was timed at the Maidstone National to win a very nice 1st Club, 17th Fed and 191st Combine.
I would like to thank John Potts for inviting Hayden, Tyler and myself along and to be part of another great night, and I wish the members a Happy New Year and an enjoyable 2019 racing season. Thanks also go out to Simon Cassidy for emailing me the Section results which were very helpful in putting this report together. Unfortunately I don't have all the Club results on hand so I could only go off the Federation results. With that I will sign off until next time.
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Loftus Saltburn
Cleveland TS13 4JN.
Tel: 01287 643624
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