The winners in the richest pigeon race of the season for West Cumbrian fanciers have been presented with their cheques.
A total of £6,250 was paid out in prize money, with a further £350 handed out from the nomination for the popular event, billed as the A ring race.
It’s been organised by Danny Rodgers of Cleator Moor for the last six years and is one of the most prestigious young bird races of it’s type in the country.
The Covid pandemic presented problems and this was the first time that there had not been an auction of birds to boost the prize money.
Danny explained: “This one was an open race where fanciers bought rings and bred their own youngsters due to covid logistics and my own health issues in the early part of the year.
“It meant the auction sales were unable to take place so we called this an A ring open race rather than a breeder buyer.
“Hopefully things will be back to normal for 2022 if the interest is still there from the fanciers.”
The last breeder-buyer race in 2020 saw Alan and Stan Bromley of Flimby win £6000 with their entry which they had also bred.
This year’s winners were Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman, members of the Workington Victoria Club.
The chequer hen that won is off their 2019 Young Bird Cumbria Combine winner when paired to a yearling out of the stock loft which is a Leach brothers x Thone.
She was flying to the perch and had shown nothing during the season but was in excellent condition. Richard chose her as the nom hoping she would emulate her mother and come good at the end of the year which she did.
Coincidentally her mother had been put into the stock loft that very afternoon.
The Egremont loft of John Wilson and Neil Buchanan were second with one of their successful Frans Zwols breed, a blue white flight cock.
The sire was bred for stock off the number one stock cock Bert’s Boy when paired to an in-bred daughter of the King of Rekkem. The dam is a daughter of Tipper, who himself is ason of Tip Top Junior.
Ian and Denise Wood of Harrington Central are former winners and they picked-up third this time with a blue hen bred by good friend Paul Fisher out of his stock birds .It is a Kees Bosua x Jan Hooyman. The sire is Blue Ora and the dam Harriet 087.
The hen went to every race this year apart from the first Flookburgh and was flying to the perch. She was consistent without scoring.
She made her first miss at Cheltenham but was waiting first thing next morning and Ian had every confidence in her going to the big one. A full sister had won Marlborough YB last.
Organiser Danny Rodgers has a good record in the competition, and is a former winner with his race partners Ken and Wes Benn.
They got fourth this time with a blue cock which was bred from a bird they call Oliver who was 38th in the Tenerife One Loft Race final of 2019. Oliver was paired to a Stefaan Lambrecht hen bred by Ian Stafford.
The previous week the young cock had been sixth Cleator Moor cliub, 12th West Cumbria Federation from Cheltenham and had flown very consistently throughout the season.
A cock bred the same way had won two races last year and early this season had a second.
Kevin Evans from Workington Victoria was fifth with a blue Van den Bulk whose sire and dam are stock birds bought from Steve Foster of Leyland.
The race winners, Martindale and Lawman also picked-up sixth with a blue cock bred from their stock birds.
The full result: 1, Martindale and Lawman (£2,500) 1454; ; 2, Wilson and Buchanan (£1,250) 1447; 3, I. and D. Wood (£1,000) 1397; 4, Rodgers and Benn (£750) 1352; 5, Evans and Abraham (£500) 1333; 6,Martindale and Lawman (£250) 1328.
The Nomination: 1, Martindale and Lawman £200; 2, I. and D. Wood £100; 3, Rodgers and Benn £50.
