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Arbroath14

 

 

NORTH ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB

by George Wheatman

Arbroath sections 2014

 

The North Road Championship Club’s third race of the season was another tough one, from Arbroath on June 7th, and was won by Mr and Mrs Dave Evans, of Alford, whose well merited success has been highlighted in a previous article.

This report puts the spotlight on the outstanding performances of the section winners although, unfortunately, it has been delayed by the football World Cup, the Tour de France, Wimbledon, Test cricket and the Commonwealth Games, to name just a few distractions and excuses, in addition to heat and aged-induced lethargy, and a forlorn attempt to cajole my own pigeons to compete with a little respectability alongside the stars of the NRCC.

As usual, this is an article written with not a little envy . . .

 

SECTION ONE MICK WILSON, BRINSLEY

 

Behind the success of Mick Wilson winning Section One NRCC Arbroath is a story of extreme generosity which reflects great credit on the sport and he is keen to put the spotlight on a man, previously a stranger to him, who helped him towards success in this very competitive section.

Darren Barton is that man, no stranger to NRCC members but, sadly no longer competing with the club in which he was frequently a section winner himself and, as part of the Barton and Elston partnership, won the young bird national in 2005 with Top Dollar.

It was thanks to a stray youngster that the two fanciers came into contact in 2007 when Mick had re-started in the sport after a long absence.

The young bird which went into his loft belonged to Darren who was all set to collect it when he had car trouble and was unable to make the trip from his Hykeham (Lincoln) home.

He asked Mick if he wanted to keep it and added “Give me some rings and I will breed you half a dozen youngsters.”

Mick visited Darren who gave him ten pigeons and “loads of eggs”, and loaned him a red pied cock bird which, unbeknown to Mick at the time, turned out to be Pancake, a star of the Barton loft. It wasn’t until Mick returned the pigeon that another visitor told him what it was.

“It was the best pigeon in his loft,” said Mick. “Pretty well every pigeon that bird has bred has won. I can still hardly believe the man’s generosity. Even when I insisted on paying for youngsters I asked for on another occasion, he charged only a few pounds.”

On his re-start in the sport, Mick said he tried to obtain top north road pigeons, and another NRCC ace, Dennis Taylor, was a big help in breeding him youngsters, along with other good local fanciers.

He did fly from the south, with reasonable success, but never really enjoyed it, when the Selston club turned south, but now he flies north with the highly competitive Eastwood club where he is the shortest flyer and had not won a race all this season until this Arbroath success.

Mick feels that his best chance of success is often with the NRCC and so it proved when the four-year-old red pied cock appeared, bang on line, at 12-23, and had his usual fantastic trap. He was flying on widowhood, and this was his first major success.

Not a bad day on which to shine, especially as he was also second open. In a strong, less-than-favourable, west wind.

It was a welcome boost, too, for 54-year-old cabinet maker, Mick, as he had not won a prize up to that stage of the season. “I am the shortest flyer in our club and the birds tend to go over,” he said. “My best chance appears to be in the NRCC.

This year he has raced with 11 widowhood cock birds and six natural hens.

After the two hard races from Berwick and Perth, he had not intended to send to Arbroath and, in fact, put the birds on barley for three days before getting the urge to send and entering six birds. He missed the section winner’s arrival because he was doing the family shopping.

His best previous NRCC performance was 4th section, 44th open from Perth, but he enjoys north road racing with this famous old club.

His birds enjoy an early start to the day as they are let out for exercise at 5-30am to fit in with Mick’s working schedule.

He sent six to Arbroath and got them all home, putting another one in the clock.

Early positions in Section One from Arbroath: 1 M Wilson, Brinsley 1140, 2 G Bell Calverton 1130, 3 W Bearder and Son, Nottingham 1115, 4 Walton Bros, Ollerton 1114, 5 F and T Salt Bros and Son, Kimberley 1110, 6 G Bell, Calverton 1095, 7 M Wilson and Dtr, Calverton 1091, 8 W Poll and Son, New Ollerton 1088, 9 K Lawson, Ollerton 1079, 10 J Parker, Eastwood 1075.5972, 11 Riggott and Richardson, Newark 1075.0823, 12 M Wilson and Dtr 1067, 13 Nuttall and Son, Nottingham 1065, 14 H Taylor and Sons, Eastwood 1063, 15 L Lawson 1055, 16 Riggott and Richardson 1054.6019, 17 W Bearder and Sons 1054.4016, 18 M Wilson 1044, 19 Mr and Mrs J Kirkpatrick, Nottingham 1040, 20 MA Rickett, Weston 1036.

Mick Wilson

 

SECTION TWO Mr and Mrs DAVE EVANS, ALFORD

 

Winners of Section Two and open were the husband and wife partnership of Dave and Pat Evans, of Alford, Lincolnshire, on a velocity of 1146 yards per minute, thanks to a four-year-old blue roundabout hen bred by their Belgium friend Guy Eveart.

It was no fluke for this pigeon to be at the front as she has had plenty of success in the past, including topping the Peterborough and District Federation twice.

“She is a good pigeon,” said Dave. “She is never out of the first four or five pigeons to the loft.”

Dave, a retired 69-year-old engineer, and Pat share their hobby. “I could not do it without her,” said Dave. And they have made many friends from their social involvement in the sport.

Their introduction to the Guy Geveart pigeons came on the trips to Belgium organised by the man who helped, and inspired them so much, the late Frank Tasker.

They have since become friends with Guy and now have six pigeons from him every year, invariably with a successful outcome.

Dave first had pigeons as a boy and, after a break while he was an apprentice, he re-started in 1983 and he and Pat are enjoying them more than ever now that they are retired.

Dave finds that the roundabout system works well for them, and utilises the hens to full advantage. They don’t train after the first race, and he says the hens, in particular, exercise well, flying at least an hour each morning and evening.

Section Two first 20: 1 Mr and Mrs D Evans, Alford 1146, 2 D Perry, Alford 1124, 3 R Mamwell, Louth 1111, 4 T Bennett, Boston 1109, 5 Wright and Newbold, Louth 1105, 6 LR Manning, Boston 1104, 7 Mr and Mrs Kingswood and Hannah, Alford 1103, 8 Mr and Mrs P Newbold, Friskney 1094, 9 Turner and Watson, Louth 1088, 10 Mr and Mrs Evans 1086.759, 11 Wright and Newbold 1086.6785, 12 R Mamwell 1079, 13 Mr and Mrs B Garnham, Boston 1071.8428, 14 R Mamwell 1079, 15 A and J Pinner, Wainfleet 1066, 16 Mr and Mrs D Evans 1065, 17 R Mamwell 1055, 18 Mr and Mrs K Wagstaff, Louth 1048, 19 A and J Pinner 1041, 20 Upsall and Frost, Boston.

Dave and Pat Evans

 

SECTION THREE Mr and Mrs B GUILFORD, LONG EATON

 

Last year we asked: Has it been done before? Is it a record?

We were talking about Brian and Christine Guilford’s success in two successive Fraserburgh races. In 2012 they were winners of Section Three and second open, and last year, again, they were winners of Section Three and second open!! But the amazing thing is that the pigeons were full brothers bred in the same year one in the first nest, and the other in the second nest.

This year the Guilfords were first and second section again and it could have been a Fraserburgh hat-trick but, instead, it was from Arbroath because the committee decided to have a change of racepoint after some difficult experiences from Fraserburgh. This time round they took 22nd and 25th open.

Section winner from Arbroath was a three-year-old chequer cock, Wildermeersch x Janssen, which had never won before but which had picked up plenty of second and third cards.

Two minutes adrift, and second section, was a Janssen which is brother to the two birds which were second open in the previous two years from Fraserburgh.

What would you give for a family of that quality in your loft? “There are loads of them in the shed,” said Brian.

The birds were flown on widowhood, and Brian says that they have not raced hens for the past 20 years.

The parents are still in the loft, being a Janssen hen obtained in a swap from David Oakes of Eastwood, and one of their own Janssen cock birds.

The Guilfords have been a name to look out for in NRCC racing in recent years and, for a long time, have been outstanding competitors at club, federation and amalgamation level.

They were denied an open win from the testing Fraserburgh race last year, by three yards a minute, by Ernie Gregory, of Eastwood.

There is a long history to Brian’s link with pigeon racing because both his father and grandfather were fanciers.

Always looking to maintain high standards, Brian quips “There is an inquest if we are not in the first four. There has been some good competition in this area. Once the NRCC season starts the birds go every fortnight. I think you need a cleverer pigeon for NRCC racing where there are some good fanciers and the birds are spread over a wide area. We have been members of the NRCC for a long time, but it is only during the past five years that we have sent regularly, and now we enjoy this competition.

“We only fly widowhood cocks because that is the easiest for us. They always come back to the hens, even for every training toss. We feed a mixture of widowhood mixes. We also feed some seeds.”

Brian has held various offices over the years, particularly as a clocksetter in the old days, but he has now welcomed ETS which he feels is a Godsend.

Loyal supporters of the NRCC, who have never flown from the south, the Guilfords compete in all the races except from Lerwick, and have been consistently prominent in the results.

On the same day that they took 1-2 section from Arbroath, they were also 1-3-7 with the Coalville Federation.

Brian says, however, that they have lost some good pigeon in NRCC races this year which has been far from easy.

Section Three first 20: 1 and 2 Mr and Mrs Guilford, Long Eaton 1088 and 1083, 3 J Bellerby, Spalding 1081, 4 D Parker and Son, Grantham 1064, 5 K Hurworth and Son, Cotgrave 1060, 6 Mr and Mrs L Gilbert, Grantham 1029, 7 A Smith, Spalding 1008, 8 D Bird and Dtr, Chesterton 1001, 9 DG Cardall, Bourne 1000, 10 PJ Palmer, Stamford 996, 11 and 12 F Bristow, Sleaford 990 and 989, 13 J Bellerby 988, 14 A Bennett, Peterborough 985, 15 R Carlton and Sons, Bourne 984.7424, 16 D Parker and Son 984.6616, 17 AF Parkinson, Spalding 983, 18 Mr and Mrs Guilford 981, 19 Mr and Mrs Gilbert 978, 20 F Bristow 976.

Brian and Christine Guilford

 

SECTION FOUR M HALL, NORWICH

 

Michael Hall recorded what he describes as the best performance of his pigeon racing career when he beat the many outstanding fanciers who were his rivals to win the strong Section Four. A glance through the top 20 in this section from Arbroath will highlight the quality of the fanciers he beat on the day.

No wonder he declared himself “chuffed”.

The pigeon that brought this much-appreciated success to a modest, not always successful fancier, who has kept trying whatever the results, is a Frans Zwol blue yearling hen which, Mick says, is “very, very small.” She was timed after 8 hours 13 minutes on the wing. She was racing on the natural system.

Mick bought the Frans Zwols from Stuart Wilcocks in an internet sale and he is hoping they will bring him further success.

“It is a hard job to win in Norwich, but you have to keep trying,” he said.

Now aged 65, and retired from his job in a Bernard Matthews factory, Mick has been building a new loft this summer to replace the one that had seen better days after 40 years’ service, and this success comes despite the fear that he may have upset his pigeons while doing the work.

He hopes the team of Frans Zwol young birds will appreciate their new home.

“I think this hen bird has shown what a good pigeon she is,” he said. “The pigeons are friendly and tame with me and my dogs.”

Top 20 in Section Four: 1 M Hall, Norwich 1109, 2 RP Hicks, Norwich 1106, 3 Mr and Mrs O King and Sons, Norwich 1103, 4 T Winterton, Holbeach 1090, 5 Mr and Mrs O King and Sons 1075, 6 HM The Queen, Kings Lynn 1020, 7 T Roughton, Wisbech 1018, 8 GT Symonds, Norwich 1013, 9 Mr and Mrs R Piggin, Norwich 1011.5382, 10 T Roughton 1011.5117, 11 L Hall and E Seabourne, Norwich 1010.9760, 12 Robinson and Gosling, Norwich 1010.8433, 13 Hall and Seabourne 1010.8206, 14 JW Lensen, Long Sutton 1009, 15 D Hicks, Norwich 1006, 16 and 17 N Browne, Norwich 1005 and 1004, 18 G Cockaday and Son, Norwich 1001.8184, 19 Becker and Catchpole, Norwich 1001.0919, 20 Mr and Mrs R Piggin 995.

Mick Hall

 

SECTION FIVE Miss M JUDD, RAMSEY

 

While many of his erstwhile rivals in this section have changed their racing allegiance, Gary Wilkes racing as Miss M Judd of Ramsey, continues to support the NRCC and impress with his results. He now dominates Section Five but this is also the outlet for him to score well in the open result.  Sixty-two-year-old Gary has been a formidable competitor since 1966.

While he could not repeat his sixth open position from Perth, he was 124th and 265th open with his first two birds from Arbroath, emphasising that Section Five was not the best place to be for this race.

Gary believes in breeding best to best regardless of origin, and this policy has kept him consistently at the top over the years. Many will remember the name of Miss M Taylor appearing in the NRCC results. Those wins were also as a result of the work of Gary.

First six in Section Five from Arbroath all went his way on velocities of 991, 928, 924.9181, 924.1653, 863 and 854.

 

SECTION SIX B BROOKS, CARLTON RODE

 

Brian Brooks describes his Section Six winner, a two-year-old natural cock bird, as “a Brooks blend of Van Reet and Busschaerts bred from a love match out of the race loft.”

When you say “natural”, Brian, of Carlton Rode, means just that open loft, young birds stay with the old birds all the time, pigeons are sent to races in any breeding condition, sitting, rearing small or big babies, or driving, and the same food mixture is in front of the birds all the time. The only and vitally important criteria is that they have a sparkle in their eye and a sheen on their feathers.

“I don’t make anything of the nest condition,” he said. “It makes no difference whether they are sitting or driving as long as they are in form. It is not quite as complicated as some people make out.”

For the record, the section winner, which has been a consistent bird, was sent sitting. “He has been a consistent bird one you always look for,” said Brian, aged 66, and now semi-retired after earning his living from meat processing and property development.

He has been a pigeon fancier since 1985, and is a past section winner from Lerwick even though the bird sat out on the roof for 20 minutes.

He said his loft had been in good form prior to the Arbroath race, having won seven firsts in the South Norfolk club.

He has never really been interested in widowhood flying, and wife Christine loves to see the birds clapping round the loft all day, although sparrow hawks can be a bit of a problem.

The Brooks also have ten horses on their property, Arabs, retired now, but which used to be trained at Newmarket and competed in endurance races.

Brian is a fan of ETS. “It is marvellous,” he said. “There are 15 members of our club and only one has not got ETS.”

First 20 in Section Six: 1 B Brooks, Carlton Rode 1033, 2 CH Bird, Wymondham 1031, 3 E Aldred and Sons, Lowestoft 1018, 4 H Fraser, Cambridge 1014.3897, 5, 6, 7 and 8 E Aldred and Sons 1014.3094, 1008, 1007, 1003.8384, 9 I and S Rich, Isleham 1003.8205, 10 Mr and Mrs D Adams, Eye 1002, 11 JFS Aldred, Lowestoft 998, 12 and 13 I and S Rich 994 and 989, 14 RJ Harding, Cambridge 985, 15 I and S Rich 984, 16 B Mower, Cambridge, 17 and 18 I and S Rich 968 and 967.8914, 19 Buckle and Carter, Stowmarket 967.5146, 20 B Brooks 962.7533.

 

SECTION SEVEN B WOODHOUSE and SON, WANSTEAD

 

And so we come to Section Seven where London fanciers who love distance racing are always prepared to battle against the odds, not only in terms of extra miles but also frequent weather changes, to compete, often with distinction, in NRCC races.

Section winner was Brian Woodhouse, a man who contributes a lot to the sport, not only with the results-gathering help of his wife through his regular column highlighting the sport in London, but also in many other ways.

He has shared his experiences, knowledge and systems with the fancy at large by making a DVD, with David Coward-Talbot, called The Woodhouse Way, and now he has proved his way really does work.

His winner is a three-year-old blue chequer hen now named Arbroath Princess.

She is a granddaughter of Brian’s London North Road Combine winner from Berwick, a Herman Beverdam, when paired to a top stock hen purchased from W Taylor.

Two of Arbroath Princess’s young birds scored in the North London Federation last year.

She had been raced on roundabout all year, and then allowed eggs for this Arbroath race.

The velocities show this to have been a hard race into London.

First 18 in Section Seven: 1 B Woodhouse and Son, Wanstead 996, 2 and 3 A Stockwell and Son, London 975 and 956, 4 B and R Chapman, Hoddesden 955, 5 P and E Kellett, Romford 953, 6 F Dawkins and Son, London 923, 7 GW Chalkley and Son, London 918, 8 L Jenkins, Dagenham 901, 9 GW Chalkley and Son 890, 10 P O’Sullivan, Enfield 884, 11, 12 and 13 JK Hore, Hoddesden 876, 875 and 857, 14 P and E Kellett 854, 15 L Niedzwiecki, Enfield 852, 16 B and R Chapman 848, 17 B Cowan, Enfield 845, 18 B Bennett, Dagenham 701.

Brian Woodhouse

 

SECTION EIGHT J and T IVATT, IPSWICH

 

Terry Ivatt is no stranger to winning this section, and his winner this time is a two-year-old blue cock given a new life in his loft after failing to impress on widowhood for Terry’s neighbour, George Gibson.

He obviously prefers the natural system employed in the Ivatt loft, although he had a far from easy week in the build-up to the Arbroath race.

He spent a lot of the time fighting another cock bird who ousted him from his nest box and took over his hen. In another life such actions would lead to the divorce courts, but in pigeon racing the situation is there to be exploited, and so the bird went to Arbroath seething with jealousy.

His winning return saw him re-established in his own box with that fickle female.

He was also Terry’s first pigeon home from NRCC Berwick but landed on his old loft at George Gibson’s, but still managed to take fourth place in Ipswich and District club.

Sixty-four-year-old Terry is a building groundworker and has been working 60 miles away from home which has provided him with the opportunity of giving his naturals plenty of training. The rest of the time they enjoy an open loft.

First 20 in Section Eight: 1 J and T Ivatt, Ipswich 1020, 2 and 3 SP Crawford, Ipswich 1017 and 990, 4 R Tate, Fobbing 975, 5 T Gunn, Romford 971.8885, 6 RG Bemrose, Manningtree 971.3684, 7 SP Crawford 968, 8 W Hall, Felixstowe 959, 9 R Olive, Wickford 955, 10 J and T Ivatt 947, 11 SP Crawford, 12 F White, Laindon 930, 13 J and T Ivatt 927, 14 F White 926, 15 Mr and Mrs RP Smith, Laindon 918, 16 J and T Ivatt 910, 17 T Gunn 904, 18 C Barrell and Son, Ipswich 898, 19 SP Crawford 896, 20  T Ivatt 872.

 

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