MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB

MIKE LAKIN

Young Bird Carentan - September 2014

It’s Gold for Steve & Barbara Goulding

The final race of the 2014 calendar was flown on Saturday the 13th September with a release of 4,059 birds into a cloudless sky and a no wind situation. This though soon changed with a North Easterly breeze coming into play as the birds got closer to the English Channel. This factor after all the other theories have been aired really explains why the race turned out to be such a tough one.

For a variety of reasons on my part it’s taken a while to get this report together. I do apologise for this delay.

Right let’s get down to business and 1st Open was claimed by the Liverpool loft of Steve & Barbara Goulding as the headline explains. The bird recorded a velocity of 1230, an excellent speed on such a tough day. Looking at the loft’s ‘pedigree’ explains how the partners are well capable of winning National races. Over the last three years their birds have won just about everything possible in domestic racing in their region such as 2012 and 2013 Young Bird of the year in the Liverpool Amal and in 2013 in particular the wins were amazing winning the Old Bird of the Year in the North West Combine with a daughter of ‘Mr Reliable’ a bird we will hear more of later. Also the Young Bird of the year was won as was the North West Combine’ Old Bird and Young Bird Averages. Plus three times Liverpool Amal champion. Fabulous flying I’m sure readers will agree.

Turning now to the National winner a Blue hen now named ‘Shameless Scouser’ and she is bred down from some excellent racing pigeons. Her sire is a son of the afore mentioned ‘Mr Reliable when he was paired to a Hereman Cuesters hen. Mr Reliable has been a wonderful pigeon for the partners not only as a racer where he has won 1st prizes right through to Niort but his breeding quality is second to none being sire and grandsire of birds that have won club,fed, amal,Gold ring and breeder buyer races. Now you can add a national winner to his C V! On the National winner’s dam’s side she is bred from a daughter of a bird called ‘Frank Gallagher’ who is a son of the Goulding’s base hen ‘Income Support’ who was a marvellous racer and breeder for the partners, when she was coupled to ‘Hibbsey’ an RPRA Award winner and Gold medal winner after he won the Liverpool Amal and North West Combine two weeks in succession. It should be noted that ‘Income Support’ is grandmother to both ‘Mr Reliable’ and the National winner. The grand dam on the mother’s side is a sister to ‘Rowley’s Grizzle’ which has bred some good birds in the past for Steve & Barbara. The Goulding breeding philosophy is very simple ‘Breed Best to Best’. The partners would like to mention and thank their good friend Stephen Millner who despite causing much stress, apprehension and fear has been a real asset to the ‘team’.

Steve & Barbara Goulding the National winners

2nd Open and 1st North west section goes to one of our further flyers in the form of Rochdale’s Henry Gray who timed a young Chequer cock which also wins 1st prize in the Gold Ring race which in total drags in a combined total of over £1700 . So that will pay for a few bags of corn during the winter. Henry’s bird records 1225. It’s good when one of our longer flyers wins a top prize which proves that when the conditions dictate any area can win in the MNFC. Henry races from an allotment at the end of the street where he lives. This has been a super year for Henry with a total of 13 1st prizes including 6 federation wins. The bird that did the damage on this occasion was a January reared baby which was from a Dave Bickerton cock and a Terry Leary hen. Henry in fact bought all of Terry’s birds when he gave up racing and the bird’s mother is a daughter of the Leary base bird ‘The old Slatey Cock’. The Gold ring winner was a darkness youngster flying to his perch. The last few weeks have been extremely profitable as besides his great National result. The Gray team also took 2nd, 3rd & 4th  in the Cheadle Gold Ring race winning £1245 and 3rd,4th & 5th in the Stockport Open. So while the other allotment holders have been digging for potatoes and other vegetables, Henry has struck Gold on ‘that there allotment’. Very well done and my thanks to Ray Bullen for getting me the info.

Henry Gray with his 2nd Open winning bird which won the Gold Ring race

In 3rd Open and 2nd West section is the loft of Terry Kirman who welcomed home a well fancied Blue Hen to clock a speed of 1219 and bag nearly £500 in prize and pool money for her 292 miles flight .

4th Open and winning the South West section is Droitwich fancier Liam Ward. Liam informs me that his hen which is a darkness baby is a cross Leo Van Rijn x his pals Kidderminster fanciers Cooper Brothers. She has flown very consistently winning several prizes in the club. Her velocity was 1211.

Liam Ward's 1st SW section 4th Open winning Blue hen

In 5th Open and 2nd North West section is the Cheadle partnership of Prince Brothers who timed Chequer hen on 1206. The brothers are no strangers to the winner’s enclosure and this is yet another good result to add to their impressive CV.

Prince Brothers 2nd NW section 5th Open

One of the MNFC stalwart lofts fills 6th Open and 2nd South West section to Arnie and Sylvie Tonks of Wednesbury who clocked their Dark hen on 1201 and also take 2nd place in the Gold Ring race and a nice pick up of £1060. Well done to a grand family.

Neil Bowker a keen young man from Doncaster leads the way in the North section and takes a very creditable 7th Open prize. The bird a Blue hen clocked up 1193 and I’m informed that the bird is a granddaughter of Neil’s ‘77’ hen which won an RPRA award and the Guy Barrett trophy in 2010. The bird’s mother is a hen purchased from Keith Thompson of Finghall Lofts. The bird proved her form the week previously when she won 1st prize in the Derbyshire Federation Championship race. Neil tells me that he is ‘over the moon’ with the result as it is only the second time he has entered in a Midlands National race. I bet it won’t be long before he competes with us again. Neil has asked me to thank both his dad and family for all their help while he is away working as an apprentice Fabrication engineer.

Neil Bowker with his dad after winning the North section and 7th Open

8th Open and 3rd West section is Lee Davison & Son with a velocity of 1187 is a Jos Thone Grizzle hen that was flying to the perch. The bird which has progressed over the season is bred in the purple and is a grandchild of four fine Thone based birds bred and raced by Armstrong & Wheatley these birds being ‘Red Emperor’, ‘Mini M’, ‘Dynasy Express’ and the fine Thone based breeder ‘Tia’. Lee tells me that over the last two weeks leading up to the race the birds were on ‘open hole’ and received just on 30 miles toss.

Lee Davison with his 8th Open winner

Another successful Doncaster fancier takes 2nd section and 9th Open on 1186 with a Silver Hen. For several years Rob Fenwick flew with great success alongside his Son in Law Chris Howard and now that he is flying solo and continuing to still fly in style.

John White of Kingsley Holt takes 3rd North West section and 10th Open. The bird is a Blue Cock bred from a pair of direct Karel Boeckx pigeons which were acquired from a friend in West Bromwich. I have been to Karel and Daniel Boeckx and believe me their birds are total class. Never have I seen so many Golden Duif trophies as at the Boeckx’s home. The bird was previously 2nd club 6th section and 7th Open Staffs Moorlands Fed.

John White 3rd NW section & 10th Open

Laying claim to the 4th NW section position and 11th Open slot was Mitchell Denson & Son who also win the 2Bird Nominated Race and a 3rd in the Gold Ring race and his Mealy hen’s reward is a handsome cheque for £688.

Denson & Son 4th NW section

Trotting around the sections now and taking 4th and 5th West section is Derrick Jones with two Gold Ring pigeons which arrived together. The first one timed on 1162 is a son off  his Tours National winner ‘666’ this cock is turning out to be a goldmine at stock. The mother is a Heesters Brothers pigeon and the second bird recording 1160 is bred from a pair of Heesters pigeons. An interesting feature is the fact that the two birds had only flown from Monmouth and Yeovil respectively. This quashes the theories held by many about the need to have them down to the coast prior to going across the channel.

Derrick Jones winning again. This time 4th W section.

Back to the SW section and 3rd slot is filled by the Rugeley aces C Leadbeater & Sons who timed a chequer hen on 1175. In 4th section is Brian Tipton of Wednesfield 1125 who timed his Blue cock which is off Robert Rome Houfflijn stock after a 6 hour 1 minute flight. I must admit this is a family that I know nothing about but the bird is well pooled and will give Brian a nice pick up of £442 so Brian must certainly rate them.

Brian Tipton 4th SW section

3rd North section is won by Mr & Mrs Rob Pashley who also took 13th Open position with a bird bred by Simon Parkinson which is a Vandenabeele x Luc Van Mechelen with a velocity of 1172.

Mandy Pashley with the 3rd N section winning bird

4th section is filled by D & J Hawkins & Evans who timed a Blue cock on 1128. Once again this team has enjoyed a good season.

The Hawkins & Evans partnership 4th N section

Up in the North North West  we see a very good pigeon win the section to the Bispham loft of Ron & Shirley Mott whose bird was flying 322 miles and his velocity of 1172.8 was good enough to finish in 14th Open a great effort from a game cock. The sire is of Koopman breeding off Stuart Innit of Birmingham when crossed with a hen from Davy Hunt of Dagenham. The Mott team also gain 4th section with a hen on 1002.

R & S Mott the 1st NNW section winners

2nd NNW section goes to the almost ever present Mr & Mrs Brian Fisher of Todmorden on 1145.

Mr & Mrs Fisher 2nd NNW section on this occasion

In 3rd section are P & B Taylor of Barnoldswick have a very profitable day with their Blue Hen hitting the Jackpot with a bird that was heavily pooled and entered in both the 2 bird Nominated and the Young Bird Derby races. The total winnings amount up to £664. The bird was brought at a Breeder Buyer which she duly won and after winning minor cards in the club and federation she flexed her muscles by winning 1st Federation from Mangotsfield in her final warm up race before Carentan. The bird is of Vandenabeele x De Rauw- Sablon blood and was bred by Booth &Bowers. I’m told that their second timer a Zwolls x Soontjen is a Gold Ring bird so a great day. I was impressed to hear that the partners had 6 of their 7 bird entry home.

P & B Taylor 3rd NNW section

Henton & Wheatley a new partnership are already making their mark with 1st South Centre section and 15th Open with a Jimmy Green bred Lambrecht x a Moeskop originating from the old Armstrong & Wheatley partnership which was so successful a couple of years ago. The pair have bred many good ones including 5 x 1st federation winners. Their timer had previously won 1st Nuneaton Progressive Club and 2nd Tamworth fed. The hen is part of a ‘love triangle’ with her nestmate a cock that won 4th section 16th Open from Portland a couple of weeks earlier and another hen. It’s a fact that jealousy can be a very powerful motivation.

Henton & Wheatley 1st SC section

2nd SC section and 19th Open was won by Dalby Brothers on 1146. 3rd section  is taken by a Blue Cock belonging to L & J Haywood of Dordon. The bird was bred from a Brian Denney cock when paired to a Wildemeersche hen that contains the blood of birds from his dad the late John Haywood who was a grand chap and brother in law clive Yates who needs no intros from me. In 4th section is B Collins and Son of Swadlincote who clocked a Blue cock on 1106 just 2 yards behind the Haywood pigeon.

Moving into the North East section we see a loft that is flying very well in the guise of Brian & Sue Stone who timed a Peter van de Merwe x a L P & J Roziers hen which was paired to a Rietvink Jupiter Janssen cock. TheVan De Merwe sire named ‘Replay’ is closely related to the partners 2 x 1st section winner with the BBC being related to ‘Shinji Queen’ the top daughter of ‘Queen’. The partners had a fine day winning all of the 4 clubs that they flew in that day which included taking the first 5 places in the North Derbyshire Fed. The partners say that ‘the icing on the cake’ was the 1st NE section win and Sue especially was ‘over the moon’ I am told.

Brian & Sue Stone the winners of the NE section

2nd in the NE section is the man who won the corresponding race last year. On this occasion Rich Turner has to settle for 2nd spot recording 1085. Richard tells me that his Blue cock is a ½ brother to the winner of the 5th Open from 2012 out of the number 1 stock cock Vick when paired to a hen off stock from Jan & Joke Kaman which have served Richard so well. Right behind on 1084 is another good team in the form of Dinnington’s Hall & Hibbert. Monty Buxton & co from Denby village takes the 4th placing on 1074.

Richard Turner with his Son after winning 2nd NE section from Carentan

Down in the South East the team of Mr & Mrs Eric Corkett & Sons are victorious. Their bird a Dark Chequer Wildemeersche hen is a granddaughter of a bird called the ‘Good Cock’ and ever likely with no less than 16 x 1st prizes including 6 x 1st Federation to his credit. On her other side she is a Great Grand daughter of their good Blue pied cock a winner of no less than 28th x 1st prizes which includes 10 x 1st federation wins. The hen was sent to Portland being the loft’s first timer on 8th Se section then when sitting 12 days she came up ‘trumps’ with 1st section.

The Corkett Family once again winning the SE section

Just 1 yard behind we see D Sturgess Son & Grandson of Desborough time another Dark Chequer hen for 2nd section. Then on 1050 the same loft times in their second bird to take 3rd section as well. Excellent flying from an entry of just 4 birds. 4th section goes to the ‘Quiet men’ Robert & Peter Montila of Everton near Sandy in Bedfordshire. Their bird is a Blue cock recording 1050.1 just .5 behind the Sturgess team’s second timer.

 Winning the East section is Paul & Helen Johnson who had a great day because as well as topping their section they also took the first four places in their club from Sleaford. In fact it was Helen who timed in their John Rawson x Hughie Jackson & Son Janssen because Paul was at the Patrington Haven club printing off the clock times. Im told that on arrival the bird looked fresh as a daisy after her 311 mile flight into a North East wind to record a vel of 985. The partners tell me that they employ the darkness system with their Young birds, feed Versele Laga corn and take advantage of the sliding door for motivation.

Paul & Helen Johnson 1st East section

2nd section was taken by fellow Hull fancier W. Carr & Son who recorded a velocity of 961 with their Chequer pied hen for a very creditable performance. This also applies to the 3rd and 4th placed birds. When the wind is against the birds it pretty much guarantees those that conquer on the day turn out to be good ones.

Bill Carr & Son 2nd East section

The 3rd placed bird belongs to Westville fancier T Bennett who clocked his Dark hen on 933.

T Bennett 3rd East section

The 4th bird raced by Dave Barrett was bred by Ken Cliff from Congleton and was a swap between the Midlands and Lancashire Social Circles. The bird is a crossing of the Cliffs German Stoffel family and a bird from the Stoke on Trent sprint ace Tom Shaw.

Dave Barratt 4th in the East

In the East South East section we see Terry Roughton and Les Papp taking the top four places. Terry takes 1st &4th slots. The winner is a Blue E. De Voss and like it’s loft mate that was timed 20 minutes later is yet another darkness young bird. In fact 95% of the successful birds in these longer end of season races are prepared on this system. So if you want to succeed you know what to do next year.

Terry Roughton the ESE section winner

Les Papp takes 2nd & 3rd places  with two birds on 930 and 927 respectively.

Les Papp who had a good race in the ESE

 

I also have the details of the next two birds with Alan Maille the organiser of a One Loft Race and competing with the MNFC. The first timer named ‘Wee Doris’ was bred by Colin Asher of Kent and is a Verkerk x a Grandson of WL & G ‘Merlin Pair’. Doris was sent sitting 14 day old eggs and will win her breeder over £1500.

Alan Maille with Colin Asher and the winner of his One Loft race and 5th ESE section

Finally a mention to Mr & Mrs Ron Auker who are great supporters of the MNFC.. Their timer is a Jan Aarden x John Halstead. Their pied hen was well prepared for the race with several races up to 160 miles before the MNFC Portland race being their 4th arrival that day. Ron & Angie tell me that they have enjoyed a good season and have topped their Federation twice over the last few weeks. They are hard task masters whose motto with young birds is ‘In the Sky or in the loft’. Wise words.

Mr & Mrs Ron Auker once again up with the leaders in the ESE

 

Before I sign off I will inform you of a couple of snippets of information.

1 The race dates for 2015 are the corresponding dates with 2014 with the first race on the 23rd May.

2 To encourage further growth in the North North West section the guaranteed prize money has been raised to £1 per member for the section winners. So come on you far North West fanciers we are doing our best to encourage your support.

3 Don’t forget to order your tickets for the 2014 Presentation at Doncaster on the 22nd November ASAP as tickets and rooms need booking early to guarantee availability. The full list of Average and Ace pigeon winners are on the MNFC website. These will appear in your favourite paper over the next two weeks also for those who don’t use the internet.

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