<pre><pre>President: Nigel Rigiani Chairman: Mike Shepherd Patron: Mark Gilbert Messac National 1 st &amp; 2 nd OPEN 1 st &amp; 2 nd SECTION D Mark Gilbert from Winkfield For the BBC’s second race the weather was again not kind to us on the Saturday and the birds were held over until the Sunday morning when Nigel released the 1,563 pigeons in to blue skies and no wind at the liberation site. Our congratulations go to our Messac winner and Club Patron Mark Gilbert of Winkfield 1 st &amp; 2 nd OPEN 1 st &amp; 2 nd SECTION D WITH ANOTHER 2 PIGEONS ALSO IN THE TOP 10. The first two pigeons was from the same Father. He is GB10N1280 2 nd OPEN NFC SAINTES WHEN dropping with the winner. In his first 5 races he was not out of the top 9 of the BBO Fed 3,000 birds. His father was bred by Syndicate lofts from Dutch Master and his mother was from M.D Evans from Goldern Gaby when paired to a daughter of Bliskim. The first pigeon is a hen being my all pooler and single nom and has been 4 th and 10 th NFC National, plus many more high National results. Her mother was bred by Syndicate lofts and is from Dutch Master and Gerrie. The second pigeon is a cock, once again from GB10N1280 when paired to a daughter of Drappa&#039;s Champion Champ. My third pigeon provisionally 6 th OPEN IS A COCK FROM A GRANDSON OF JAN HOYMANS HARRY WHEN paired to a daughter of Starlight and Melissa 1 st and 2 nd International. My Fourth Pigeon provisionally 7 th OPEN IS FROM A DIRECT GEORGE CATUESS COCK AND A DAUGHTER OF Southfield Supreme 1 st International Dax. 3 rd &amp; 4 th OPEN WE HAVE ANOTHER GREAT FANCIER PETE WELLS FROM DUNSTABLE WHO ALSO LOOKS TO BE 8 th OPEN AS WELL. I had two birds arrive together. The first to clock was a well fancied bird and the sire was bred by Simon Schofield. The second bird was a yearling cock, the sire was also bred from Simon Schofield crossed with a daughter of &quot;The 11 Hen&#039;. My third bird which came 8 th OPEN WAS A BLUE COCK, BRED FROM A PAIR FROM DEREK HUMAN CATTRYSE. Once again all of the birds arrived home in excellent condition. Pete Wells Tom Powers Tom Powers from Whitehill takes 5 th OPEN 1 st SECTION A 34382 IS A YEARLING CHEQUER WIDOWHOOD cock bird on his third race this year. I feed my team on Gem Super Widowhood mix with a little extra added as the race day approaches. The birds are not broken down. His sire is a bird imported from 6 times Dutch National winner Dennis Veugelers. He is very inbred to his &#039;Champion Superman&#039;. The dam is a daughter of &#039;Peggys Boy&#039;, my winner of the CSCFC Cholet race. She is a Huybreght. 1 st , 2 nd &amp; 3 rd SECTION B 9 th , 10 th &amp; 11 th OPEN IS LAWRENCE AND MARG COWLEY FROM GRIMSTONE, Dorchester who were winners of this section in last seasons Messac race and then went on to win the BBC Niort National. Marg &amp; Lawrence clocked 3 hens at 11:48:32, 11:48:44 and 11:49:04. First in the T3 was GB13N85034, a Chequer Willy Everaet Soontjens x M J Stone &amp; Son Soontjen – both purchased at Blackpool. Next was a Blue Hen GB14N46959, a Mike Staddon FVJ Vandeheede x Andre Roodhooft x Vandenabeele. This hen is also a full sister to the 2014 BBC Niort Open winner. 3 rd into the clock was the nest mate to the 2014 BBC Messac Section winner, a Pearson &amp; Dransfield Busschaert x Soontjen, paired to a Mike Staddon hen, Nelson x Ganus hen. The hens are on widowhood trapping in their own section. Marg lets them out at about 3 p.m. every day and Lawrence gets them in at about 5.30 p.m. They are fed on natural corn. They only see the bowls before basketing. Marg does the hens and feeds and darkens the young birds so is a full working partner. Once again many thanks to Dave and Tony for taking the birds to the marking station every week. Marg Cowley Next to Lawrence and Marg Cowley in Section B is John Halstead from Kington Magna Provisionally 4 th SECTION B 12 th OPEN IS JOHN HALSTEAD OF KINGTON MAGNA IN DORSET, TIMING A THREE year old chequer cock flown on the Widowhood system. This cock named Nyland Javelin is a son of the legendary Dorset Dart a fantastic racer (winner of 8 firsts including 2 x 1 st Federation) and an even better breeder. This Busschaert cock with ‘Little Black’ and ‘Mosboro Productive Gent’ in his pedigree sadly passed away at the age of 15 in Dec 2014 but not before producing four different SECTION WINNERS IN NATIONAL RACING. TO BREED JAVELIN DART WAS CROSSED WITH A GABY VANDENABEELE hen from the Fontwell wizards Crammond and Langstaff out of a son of M&amp;D Evans’ Shadow. Last season Nyland Javelin was 1 st SECTION 193 rd OPEN NFC CHOLET (7006 BIRDS), AND A FORTNIGHT AGO HE was 4 th SECTION 45 th OPEN (2,132BIRDS) IN THE BBC CARENTAN RACE. JOHN ENTERED 8 BIRDS AND ALL WERE home by noon on Monday. John Halstead Nyland Javelin 1 st &amp; 4 th SECTION C IS STEVE SLADE FROM CALNE MY 1 st pigeon is a Janssen hen who has been consistent, this is her second channel race of the year. The 2 nd pigeon is a previous section winner from Guernsey, she is a Janssen Aarden, who is on her third channel race of the year. Also section winner in the National. I would like to congratulate Nigel for a good race and condition of the birds on arrival and I would also like to congratulate Mark Gilbert. Steve Slade Paul, Brian &amp; Wendy Hyatt from Ripple near Tewkesbury are the Runners up in Section C Paul would like to congratulate Mark Gilbert. There bird is a Mark &amp; Dick Evans Myrtle Lofts pigeon called On his Own as he topped the Severn Valley Fed by a big margin. The sire is Jester 320 and the dam is Lady Bliksem. Benson times shadow. Paul Hyatt 1 st &amp; 2 nd SECTION G IS MICK &amp; LYN CHAPLIN FROM WESTEND, WOKING THE WINNING PIGEON IS A yearling dark chequer pied cock raced on widowhood and was having his fourth race of the season and first across the water. He is a pure Jan Aarden whose grandsire is Champion Padfields Invincible, both parents being purchased as youngsters from the House of Aarden. All 8 pigeons sent returned in good time and were in excellent condition. The cocks are not always shown the hens depending on the races but always have their hens waiting on their return. Only 18 widowhood cocks and their hens are kept and only the cocks are normally raced during the old bird season and 35 youngsters have been bred this year mainly from the widowhood cocks and the small stock loft which contains 6 pairs. Mick &amp; Lyn Chaplin Richie Thomas from Portsmouth 2 nd SECTION A FIRST OF ALL I&#039;D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE MARK GILBERT FOR winning the race and to the BBC team for looking after the pigeons very well. They came back in excellent condition. The pigeon I timed in was one of twenty five bred by Kenny and Jimmy Wearn in 2013. The breed of the pigeon was Jan Aarden X Jeff Copper X Brian Denny. His last race was with the Central southern Classic Guernsey where he was 12 th SECTION. I sent sixteen to this race, had fifteen by 4 o&#039;clock and had my last one the next day. It must have been bridesmaid weekend for me, because the day before I was second Club, second Fed flying from Yelverton with the Solent Fed and now second Section from Messac. I would like to thank my wife Jayne as she does all the training and Courtney for keeping her company. This is Richie Thomas keepin&#039; it real living in the golden mile. Richie Thomas WINNER OF SECTION H IS WILLIE HEALY FROM ST HELIER, JERSEY THIS IS MY SECOND SECTION WIN WITH my five year old chequer cock called snow flake. He is a Jan Arden cross late Joe Lewchio of Alloa. He was sent feeding a 14 day old youngster. Good luck to all the forth coming BBC National races. A big thanks to Clare Norman for the collecting our birds when they arrived in Poole. Willie Healy 1st &amp; 2 nd SECTION E IS TOPPED BY THE LOVELY FAMILY OF CHRISTINE, PAUL &amp; COLIN BECKETT FROM Dunston (flying as Mr &amp; Mrs Beckett &amp; Sons) winners of this race in 2014. GB13Z18247 is of mixed breeding with a Delbar base, flying natural sent sitting on 4 day eggs. She was our third pigeon from Carentan achieving 96 th OPEN, 31 st SECTION E. GB14Z20554 is a grand daughter of &#039; Christine&#039;s dream&#039; winner of this race last year also flying natural sent sitting on 4 day eggs, she was our first pigeon from Carentan achieving 12 th OPEN, 8 th SECTION E. Christine and Paul Beckett Mark Bulled from Harlow 1 st SECTION J MY WIFE HANA HAS BEEN EXERCISING THE HENS FOR ME THIS season, and without this assistance I wouldn&#039;t have the time to race my hens. My section winner is one of these hens and is in fact my best hen named &quot;Bump&quot;. This race was the first time I saw her come, like a rocket from the South West, although as per normal she took some time to trap. I always trap her in a different section to where she lives - and this section is used to motivate her as the season progresses. Bump is a widowhood hen and is a previous winner of 2 nd BBC Bordeaux, 29 th BBC Bordeaux, 18 th BICC Alencon and 73 rd NFC Cholet etc etc. She is bred from the best of my old family when paired to a son of Mick Carrick&#039;s 1 st BBC Bordeaux. Her program will now probably be Tours and then prepared for NFC Saintes. If she is still here and her moult holds she may then have another crack at Bordeaux. I sent 8 to Messac and got 7 on the day, a good hen still missing. They were all home in very good condition. Congratulations to the two ace flyers in the top spots, namely Mark Gilbert and Peter Wells. Mark &amp; Hana Bulled Next in line in Section E is Kev &amp; Julie Kingston &amp; Family from Cottingham, East Yorkshire Our furthest flying members on the day at almost 417 miles. First of all congratulations to Mark Gilbert for topping the National and to all the section winners on a testing day. My first pigeon is a broken off bird from a fancier who retired from the sport two years ago. It has been a consistent pigeon winning four races at club level. He flies naturally and was sent sitting 18 day eggs. I would like to thank my father in law Bill Foster for all the training and taking the birds to the marking station, with out him it would not be possible. Kev and Julie Kingston 2 nd SECTION J ARE ROB AND ANDREW WILTON FLYING AS D WILTON &amp; SON FROM CHADWELL ST MARY. Sadly, Rob’s father Dave passed away last year. Dave was very much a big part of this three generation partnership and it’s nice to see his name still flying the flag. The pigeon we timed was a hen raced on the widowhood system. The sire bred by Mark Bulled and is a son of “Legacy” 1 st OPEN TARBES GRAND NATIONAL 2012. SHE HAD ALREADY FLOWN FALAISE WITH THE BICC the previous week and came home in very good condition. This hen has already been 14 th OPEN IN THE BRITISH BARCELONA CLUB FOUGERES YOUNG BIRD NATIONAL 2014. Dave, Rob and Andrew Wilton 2 nd SECTION H PAUL DAVIES FROM ST CLEMENT, JERSEY I TIMED A 5 YEAR OLD CHEQUER COCK FLOWN widowhood, as a youngster he was lost for a year from St Malo. He returned as a yearling and won 1 st CLUB MESSAC, AS A TWO YEAR OLD HE WON 1 st CLUB SAINTES. THEN IN 2013 WON 14 th OPEN BBC NIORT in a hard race with 15 birds on the day. 2014 he won 2 nd SECTION BBC FOUGERES AND 5 th SECTION NIORT BBC. I would like to congratulate my friend Willie Healy on his 1 st SECTION. Paul Davies Next in Section G Ian Crammond &amp; Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell. Third Section G is the successful partnership of Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff, the lofts are situated at Fontwell just off the A27 and house one of the best collections of pigeons in the south east. Their timer on this occasion was a 4 year old blue widowhood cock having his second channel race with the BBC this year, having previously flown Carentan two weeks ago. He was shown his hen for 20 minutes before being basketed and has been a consistent pigeon having previously been in the clock twice from Carentan with the BBC and Saintes and Carentan with the NFC but this is the first time he has come to the fore to win a section prize. His sire was bred by Mark Gilbert and is a Grandson of Dutch Master and Gerrie on the dam’s side and James Bond on the sire’s side. His dam is a Syndicate Lofts Gaby Vandenabeele being a direct daughter of Golden Gaby when paired to Angie. So once again an example of how Ian and Nigel&#039;s dedication to quality stock has paid off in the big races. Ian Crammond &amp; Nigel Langstaff Convoyers Report With the 1563 birds loaded we made our way to the docks where the birds were fed and watered ready for the channel crossing arriving at Caen docks at 05:30. After the three hour journey to Messac all the birds were watered and left to settle, all the birds were then fed and re watered by 4 pm in time to ring our weather advisor at 5 pm, the forecast given was not promising with rain and thick cloud in the channel stretching right across the north of France which was the case when we got up the next morning. After another call to Steve Appleby the information was that it would not clear until early to mid-afternoon, I made the decision to hold out as long as possible hoping that it would clear earlier than predicted by it was not to be and with 11 o’clock as my cut off time I made the decision to hold with a far better day predicted for Sunday. Sunday dawned clear and warm but a lot of low lying mist but as the sun got up it began to burn off, after a call to Steve he predicted a very good flying day with the cannel clear and a light north westerly en-route. Having topped up the drinkers we began to prepare for a seven o&#039;clock liberation but the mist did not burn off as quickly as I had hoped but by seven fifteen things were looking good and the strings were cut ready for a seven thirty lib. The birds all cleared to the north in one big batch not leaving any behind, the way that they cleared gave me indications that it would be a good race. My thanks to all the Ic’s, markers, Steve Appleby and Bill our driver for all there help and last but not least Clare our secretary for bringing it all together and making it work so well. Nigel Rigiani Weather Report Sunday presented the BBC convoy at Messac with a perfect flying day. The skies over northern France and England were of broken cloud and sunshine. The channel was clear with endless visibility. Winds were generally light over England from the west, and over the channel the Greenwich Lightship recorded wind speeds at about 15 mph from the west north west. Over France winds were also light as Nigel at Messac reported the distant wind turbines were almost stationary. As the day progressed winds did generate over the channel and southern England benefitting the pigeons racing into the east of the country. Later in the day winds changed to south westerly over southern England. Steve Appleby PALAMOS MARKING Palamos is our next race on Friday 19 th June. Marking will take place on Monday 15 th June ONLY at SOUTH NEWTON VILLAGE HALL, WARMINSTER ROAD, STOFORD, SALISBURY, SP2 0QW between 10am and 12pm. Guernsey Marking Station. The new marking station for Guernsey is: The Guernsey Homing Society Headquarters, Victoria Avenue. Clare Norman. Tel: 023 8057 3919 Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. </pre></pre>
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