Welsh National Flying Club
Maidstone National
sponsored by
AND
Derby Arona Tenerife One Loft Race
After weeks of uncertainty over domestic racing brought on by the unsettled weather the Welsh National Flying Club kicked off it’s 2018 campaign from Maidstone in Kent on Sat 12th May, an approx. distance of 155 miles to lofts East of the Welsh boundary from the Seven Bridge increasing as we make our way into Wales, we are pleased that throughout the closed season we can welcome some additional sponsors for our 2018 races as local outlets have joined us for this season to mark our ten year anniversary season, also on board again for 2018, are the Derby Arona Tenerife one loft race who have kindly donated 5 sponsored entries worth over thousand pound into their 208/19 race series and will be allocated to each of the first five national race winners to form a WNFC winners syndicate
with all the previous years members having the advantage of a reduced rate in membership fees for 2018 to mark the Welsh National celebrating their ten year anniversary and with a few new members joining us in the weeks and months leading up to the first of our nine races, we saw a vast and pleasing increase in entries for this race compared to previous years as marking stations worked endlessly to meet the demand and successfully complete the task of marking all the 1,500 pigeons, and with the final baskets loaded the lorries departed the yard around midnight on their Eastward journey along the M4 and M25 to the race point arriving on site.
Over the past weeks the WNR Federation committee and race advisors have made a few new contacts with various federations and as a result we were able to arrange in partnership with the Durham Federation for access on the site at Monks Lake liberation site to be available at 5am, some two hours earlier than in previous years which allowed additional time for the pigeons to settle and take on water after their journey once the morning broke.
IAN BROMLEY OF THE MR AND MRS BROMLEY PARTNERSHIP
After consulting with many federations along the line of flight in the hope of try and avoid any clashing, the strings were cut nice and early at 06.45 and the 3,000 pigeons were airborne in clear blue skies, and reported by the convoying duo of David and Karl to have cleared the site well and soon seen heading in an Easterly direction on their journey home in a light Westerly wind with pigeons being expected on Welsh soil on or around 3 to 3 1/2 hours
Taking the top honours and 1st open is the husband and wife partnership of Mr & Mrs Ian and Tracey Bromley from Pontypool timing in at 09.54 to record a velocity of 1447.9, the winning pigeon is a yearling dark Cheq hen flown on the roundabout system and is bred through pigeons obtained from the successful local partnership of Scammell and Peploe and based around the famous nearly cock that has become a prolific breeder in retirement of many winners at all levels not only here in Wales but around the UK in general. The partnership also recorded a second arrival a few yards behind on 1434.8 taking 4th open, another yearling which is of Vandenabeele cross van Reet and although being just a yearling has provided the partnership with several minor club positions therefore they kept their faith in him pooling through to £5 open
KEITH AND SAM BERESFORD Newport
Taking 2nd and 5th place we head to Newport to the family partnership of Mr and Mrs K Beresford and Son timing two of their entries flown on roundabout on velocities of 1438 and 1434, their first arrival a 2yr old blue cock comes down from the vandenbelle based pigeons from Ron Walsall from the midlands, a loft that has been providing both club and federation winners for the Beresford Family for many years, for their second arrival this is another 2yr old this time a Cheq pied staf van reet cock which was obtained from Ian Reagan,
splitting these two lofts we go to the Welsh Wizard, Derek and Clive Flowers of Pontypool who maintain their high ranking positions within National events in 3rd timing in his fanciered and heavily pooled entry a two year old blue cock based around Derek and Clive’s own Giessen Family which has been blended from pigeons from the well-known, Wall Lunt and Green partnership cross de-klak this cock isn’t this pigeons first high ranking performance as its previously scored in previous national races obtaining both 2nd and the positions
Derek and Clive Flowers
So, after weeks of uncertainty due to the weather were finally on our way, with the first race successfully out of the way, and to the delight of the transporting organisation most of the entrants were pleased with the final outcome of the race, as only a few here and there reported the odd bird away at clock checking that afternoon.
Next week we head back along the M4 corridor to Folkestone this will be the final inland race of the 2018 WNFC old bird season as we head out from there with the Solent Federation taking the remains throughout our overseas programme to Fougeres, Messac and Poitiers in the coming weeks which hopefully will provide continuous success
1 10 Mr & Mrs Bromley, 1447.965 3:11:28 157,917 GB17X23642 £200.00
2 7 Mr & Mrs K Beresford & Son,.1438.509 3:9:5 154,958 NW16B1340 £150.00
3 31 D Flowers,1437.538 3:12:8 156,1639 W15T02050 ABCDEF£156.25 £256.25
4 10 Mr & Mrs Bromley,.1434.850 3:13:13 157,917 NW17T2081 ABCDEF £143.25
5 7 Mr & Mrs K Beresford & Son,.1434.463 3:9:37 154,958 GB16X95947 abC £76.25
6 47 M & J Hughes, 1434.005 3:26:1 167,1509 NW1XX7754 £45.00 £45.00
7 90 Theophilus & Richards,.1429.706 3:25:10 166,1168 W16K00221 £40.00 £40.00
8 102 Williams Bros Son & Burgh,1425.488 3:25:13 166,389 NW16S6119 AB £61.25
9 31 D Flowers,.1423.829 3:13:59 156,1639 W17S03288 £30.00 £30.00
10 156 Mr Mrs J Beresford & Son, 1422.856 3:11:12 154,1010 NW17D1218 £25.00
Tom Harris