Alan Shinton Ellesmere Port
1st & 2nd Carentan Young Bird Race 2015
The Beeston Caste two Bird Club Young Bird Carentan Race hampered on Thursday 10th September for the last race of the season. With an average distance of around 270 miles to our membership, the twenty two members who sent their thirty eight competing pigeons to what was to turn into a very testing race. The entry phase complete the birds were once again transported by B and I transport to Carentan along with various other organisations ready for the planned liberation on Saturday morning.
Members at the Duddon Marking Station from left to right Ted Shaw (Club Chairman) Derek Griffiths, Ronnie Dodd, Dave Pickstock (D and J Pickstock) George Pullford abd Sid Arathoon.
Saturday 12th dawned with the news that the pigeons had been liberated iat 10.45 am into a light south westerly wind. A good steady race was anticipated with hopefully good returns. With specialist races such as this, there is no verification on the telephone or internet and as such the early times are usually distributed by word of mouth. Also the Beeston Two Bird Club would share this day with the Midland National Flying Club. The MNFC were to hold back (stating waiting for weather conditions en route to improve). They were to liberate their convoy of some four thousand five hndred pigeons at 11.30 into a lessening strength south westerly wind.
As the day progreessed it was becoming clear that the race would not be as straight forward as hoped In the Ellesmere Port area having a number of liberations at the same point with the MNFC liberating we were hoping that in line with the liberations pigeons would arrive on time which proved not to be the case. Expecting the intial front runners to be timing in on or around the five and half hour mark into our area turned into hope more than anything else.
The MNFC race on the eastern side of the country were timing in with the leaders motoring at over 1600ypm. If that was to be the case then surely birds into our area would achieve 1300ypm plus (it was thought but again we were wrong).
The MNFC West section pigeons started to arrive onto the leader boards but they werent arriving in any huge numbers with the west section leader achieving over 1300 ypm it was going to be a struggle for our small convoy and so it proved.
Checking the internet there were still no news of any Beeston two birds arriving. However the first pigeon in the area was timed in at the loft of Alan Shinton in Ellesmere Port at 18.17 this game blue cock would record a winning velocity of 1100 ypm for the 283 mile trip into Ellesmere Port. The internet would then reveal a second pigeon being timed in at the loft of John and Ben Oakley of Whitchurch at 18.47 recording a velocity 954 ypm for the 261 mile journey. Other than these two pigeons all other avenues of information were extremely quiet as the day drew to a close.
Alan Shinton would time his second pigeon in at 19.04 but not find the pigeon until after 19.30. Here is the story: Having timed the first pigeon in and thinking “where was my national pigeons” I entered my stock loft just after seven oclock to feed the stock pigeons, I heard the ets clock go off on the young bird loft and came from the stock loft to look in the trap, on my trap was a stray blue pied hen and on checking my ETS clock (the Bricon system) the notice unknown pigeon had appeared appeared on the clock face. It was not until some twenty minutes or so later that I noticed my blue hen in the avairy and again went to the clock. It still read “1904 unknown pigeon” and so I pressed the scroll down button to reveal the next pigeon (which was also timed in at 19.04) this was my other Beeston pigeon. It was a very pleasant shock to say the least.
The stike would be at the Hooton HS club in Little Sutton at eight oclock and on approaching the club premises at seven fifty five it was obvious that with the club house in darkness there wasn’t many if anyone about. Brian Jones (Jones, Lamb and Daughter partnership the clock Station IC) was waiting and on approching asked firstly had I clocked and secondly what time. On hearing that there I had both my entries in the clock took him back somewhat, I cant find any birds other than these was Brians reply.
Alan Foster (Jones and Foster) was to arrive next at the clock station and again he could only find one pigeon he informed me that the ultra consistent Whitchurch partnership of John and Ben Oakley had timed in at 18.47 but that was the only bird he could find.
Having completed my clock print off (with only one clock at the clock station to print off), Brian then rang Jeff Churchill (the club secretary) at the Duddon marking statuion to see what they had. It would transpire that John and Ben Oakley had timed in at 18.47 but there was to be one more couageous pigeon to get home on the day and that was at the loft of Derek Griffths, Chester who had clocked at 19.27. We would have to wait for officail confirmation but it was starting look as though Alan Shinton would take the first two positions.
The protocol at The Beeston Castle Two Bird Club is that the secretary informs the President of the overall result and the president then informs the first five of their positions personally by telephone, congratulates the parties concerned and arranges verification of the pigeons. So wait we did until the president Mr. Norman Welch informed Mr Alan Shinton of Ellesmere Port that he had indeed won the Beeston Castle Two Bird Carentan Young Bird race but had also finished in second place. Congratulations were then exhaulted by the president on behalf of the membership to Alan.
The winning pigeon (now named Caled Hard in Welsh) is a blue cock bred by Chris Dacosta Smith who races his pigeons in Scunthorpe. The cock was procured as part of the annual purchase from Chris Smith’s stock loft. Alan found Chris after researching what he considered the best fanceiers flying a similar distance and route. Finding Chris was to prove extremely fruiticious as Chris has bred three federation winners for Alan including Finchy who was Alan’s very first federation winner in only his second ever race.
Alan Shinton with his youngest daughter Tieghan pictured holding their Beeston Castle Two Bird Winner.
Caled (Hard in Welsh) winner of first Carentan Beeston Two Bird Club
Chris is predominently a M & D Evans (Gabi Vandebeele) fan and has a stock loft full of top breedersa from Myrtle lofts, however Alan contacted Chris before this particular race to find out wherther or not (in his opinion) he should send this cock across across the channel. The response was a full reassurance that the bloodlines of this cock were indicating channel racing is where his futrure lay. Being a great grand son of national winners Legacy and Islas Rainy Day Boy on the sires side, with the dam being a daughter of Chris’s number one stock hen (This number one stock hen is also the dam of Alan’s federation winner Finchy) the blood lines are already proven at this loft and were to go on and prove effective once again.
Alan’s second pigeon is proving to be one gamne pigeon. A blue hen purchased at the Thornton Hough Breeder Buyer sale in march she was bred ny Jeff Greenaway (Dromore NI) who again is no stranger to the lofts of Alan Shinton. Jeff is another fancier that Alan procures youngsters from annually to race. These birds again have excellend themsleves especially locally at fed level as jeff is responsible for the “82” cock who topped the West Cheshire federation for Alan from Monmouth (2013) the 12 hen who topped the fed from Monmouth (2014) Shocker who won the Saltney Club and was the fastest bird in the NWW and WW Fed in 2015 but also the 95 cock and the 89 hen both to score in the MNFC from Carentan, Chale, and Portland nationals taking fifith and sixth section ace pigeon in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
This blue hen was prepared for the Thornton Hough breeder buyer from Carentan the previous week to the Beeston race, this game hen took second place in the breeder buyer race (beaten by a loft mate) beaten by twelve minutes winning £500 for the breeder (Jeff Greenaway) and £500 for Alan Shinton. She was already pairerd to Caled and on returning from carentan the previous week she was left to sit he eggs until the Tuesday evening when a youngster (a week or so old) was placed under then hen. Both the cock and hen took to the baby with the plan to send the cock as the poolded entry into the MNFC Carentan race.
On arriving at the loft early on the Thursday morning to basket for the MNFC both the cock and hen were trying to both sit the youngster together at the same time. Seeing this the descision was taken to leave them home and send a different pigeon to the MNFC and send both this pair to The Beeston race. This proved to be an ingenius stroke of fortune as both birds performed to take first and second positions in an extremely hard and testing race.
Alan holding “Ruby” second Beeston Carentan Ruby Second Beeston Castle Two Bird Specialist Club
The third game pigeon timed in was at the lofts of John and Ben Oakley of Whitchurch. This father and son partnership score regularly in what ever competition they partake against, they are previous Beeston Two Bird Club winners and are noted for the double win in 2013 which was the first occasion one loft won two of the three races avaialbe to be won. They are regularly appear at the front of the verification of the West Section MNFC result and are consistantly peppering the results within their own club.
The piogeon that timed in on the day from Carenat to take THIRD Beeston was a dark cheq hen, this hen was no starnger to being first to this loft and indeed crossing the channel. This game from John and Bens Vandebeele strain was Fitrst Club Hereford and then wet on to win the Market Drayton Two Bird Club race from carentan the week prior to the Beeston race. This hen is an abasalute dream to own and will surely score again come the 22016 season.
Ben Oakley (John & Ben Oakley) pictured with his dark cheque hen
The fourth position and final day bird was timed in at the lofts of Derek Griffiths of Chester. This pigeon which is desrcibed by Derek as “one of my own, down from my original dordins and buschearts”. It quite a humbling experience speaking wioth Derek as he talks of his hobby. “To be honest” he states “I cant say as the day went on I was confident of getting one home as it can be a long way for young birds to race. But to my good fortune aI was lucky enough to get this game pigeon to arrive just on dusk”. “Its not the end of the world if you don’t get one” states Derek “after all, its only a hobby”.
Derek Griffiths pictured at basketing for the Carntan Young Bird Race
These words from a aman who first won the Beeston two Bird Specialist club in 1996 winning the the young bird race and then in 1997 taking first and second in the then Nantes Classic race, “that put me on the front of the RP and the BHW” Derek recalls. Derek has since gone on to win the yearling race so has accumulated wins in all the races available in this prestigeous club.
Beeston Castle Two Bird Specialist Club Carentan Young Bird Full Result (22/38)
1st: ALAN SHINTON £378.00. 2nd ALAN SHINTON £259.70. 3rd J & B OAKLEY £164.40. 4th D GRIFFITHS £87.00. second Day Pigeons 5th FLETCHER & GOBIN £25.00. 6th G PULFORD £20.00. 7th R DODDD & SON £15.00. 8th W WALKER & SONS £10.00. 9th R HAYES. 10th W WALKER & SONS £ 8.80. 11TH D & J PICKSTOCK.
RPRA Western Region Meritorious Awards 2015: Beeston Catstle Two Bird Club get two pigeons in the first three of the RPRA meritorious awards. The award for second in the Category D. (Best performance or performances in any two bird specialist races). Went to Dave and Joey Pickstock of Runcorn with their good yearling cock who scored in both the yearling Carenatn race (taking fifth position) and third in the Messac Classic race taking third position. Third position in the RPRA Category D went to Alan Shinton with his Carentan Young Bord winner. The President and committee wish to congratulate all the prize winners and are extremely grateful for all those who participated in a very hard race.