It’s been an eye-catching end to the season for the top Workington Victoria loft of Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman.
Not only did they complete the 2022 programme by winning three successive Derwent Valley Federation races, but capped it at the weekend by topping the Cumbria Combine and the West Cumbria Amalgamation.
In seven years the partnership – complete with loft manager David Fitzwilliam – has won 26 Federations, 21 Amalgamations and five Combines.
The final race of the young bird programme was from Cheltenham, a liberation point which has proved tricky in the past, and this latest one was no exception with a number of lofts experiencing poor returns.
But, as so often happens, other lofts did well and the Martindale/Lawman loft had 34 back from their 36 entries.
The birds had been liberated at 9.02am in a light north west wind with the winning pigeon being clocked at 1.40pm after flying 197 miles at a speed of 42mph.
Latest loft winner is a blue hen, now known as Lillibet for obvious reasons. She was actually one of three youngsters the partners bought at the A ring auction at the start of the season.
This one was bred by veteran fancier Maurice McCartney of Carnforth, whose birds have often done well when acquired by West Cumbrian lofts.
She has been paired to the loft fantail and was sent sitting on overdue eggs, which certainly made her extra keen to get home.
The West Cumberland Federation winner was David Harrison, taking 8th Amalgamation and ninth Cumbria Combine.
David, who has had a strong finish to the season in the Egremont Rangers club and the Federation/Amalgamation got 11 of his 16 entries, one returning despite being badly hawked.
“Some of the batches going over Egremont were as high as I’ve ever seen and not what you would expect in a head wind,” he said.
His latest winner is a blue Ceuster cross cock bred in the stock loft from birds he acquired from Mark Bainbridge and Willie Brennan from the north east.
This cock’s nest mate has had a first and second this year and there were two winners from the same nest last year.
The dam has won the Fed twice as an old bird from Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and the Amal from Tewkesbury before being retired to stock in 2020. She has bred at least four winners for David and other prize winners for friends.
The sire is a son of Willie’s 811 which is bred out of two of his Up North Combine winners Jimmy’s Boy and Hayley who won from Folkestone and Claremont respectively.
The loft’s second pigeon, a mealy cock through birds off his very good friend Malcolm Scott of Gateshead, was 2nd club, 3rd Fed, 10th Amalagmation and 11th Combine.
Racing is over for the Amalgamation but there is still the big money race at the week-end from Yeovil for the Cleator Moor A Ring prizes.
CUMBRIA COMBINE (1,201 birds): 1, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1251, 1245; 2, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons (Harrington Central) 1250.8; 3, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1250.4; 4, 5, Williams and Hadfield (Workington Social Limit) 1250.1, 1249.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (951 birds): 1, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1251, 1245; 2, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons (Harrington Central) 1250.8; 3, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1250.4; 4, 5, Williams and Hadfield (Workington Social Limit) 1250.1, 1249.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (616 birds): 1, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1251, 1245; 2, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons (Harrington Central) 1250.8; 3, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1250.4; 4, 5, Williams and Hadfield (Workington Social Limit) 1250.1, 1249.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (335 birds): 1, 3, D. Harrison and son (Egremont Rangers) 1243.4, 1243.1; 2, Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1243.3; 4, Holliday and Dixon (Lowca) 1243.02; 5, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont Rangers) 1242,5; 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1242.06.
LOWCA (5 sent 79): 1, 6, Holliday and Dixon 1243, 1153; 2, Tomlinson and Banks 1226; 3, 4, D. Lofthouse 1174, 1168; 5, Waddington and Taylor 1166.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (7 sent 163): 1, Graham and co 1244; 2, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1243.7; 3, 4, 5, Rodgers and Benn 1243.3, 1243.2, 1243.2; 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1241.
EGREMONT RANGERS (46 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1243.4, 1243.1, 1224, 1148, 1068; 3, Wilson and Buchanan 1242.
SANDWITH (4 sent 62): 1, 2, 4, 6, Cottier and Patrickson; 3, 5, Pears and Henderson.
FLIMBY HS (5 sent 184): 1,, 2, 3, 4, A. Bromley and co 1240, 1235, 1213, 1189; 5, 6, Rushforth and Hunter 1178, 1162.
FLIMBY WEST COAST (Open race, 180 entries): 1, Martindale and Lawman 1245 (£256 and £24 nom); 2, D, Harrison and son 1243 (£192); 3, Wilson and Buchanan 1242 (£128); 4, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1241 (£64); 5, Bromley and co 1240; 6, Graham and co 1239.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (8 sent 138): 1, Mr and Mrs W. Carter and sons 1250.8; 2, 3, N. and G. Wordsworth 1250.4, 1244; 4, 5, I. and D. Wood 1240.1, 1240.04; 6, N. Semple 1239.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 131): 1, 2, Williams and Hadfield 1250, 1249; 3, 5, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1240, 1223; 4, G. Best 1239; 6, M. and L. Cape 1220.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (7 sent 169): 1, 2, Williams and Hadfield 1254.7, 1254,5; 3, 4, 5, Martindale and Lawman 1254.4, 1248, 1245; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1244.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (16 sent 32): 1, Martindale and Lawman 1196; 2, Williams and Hadfield 1130; 3, Varty, son and grandson 1116; 4, R. Hodgson 1098; 5, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1093; 6, I. and D. Wood 1083. Quuens Jubilee Race – 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1149; 2, R. Hodgson 1054; 3, R. McAvoy and son 1024.
DEARHAM (2 sent 98): 1, 2, Todhunter and Grisedale 1241.3, 1241.3; 3, 4, 5, 6, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Watson 1199.7, 1199.6, 1182, 1158.
