Pigeon racing into West Cumbria has been suspended on Saturday after a disastrous race from Yeovil at the weekend.
The Cumbria Combine instructed their four Federations – West Cumberland, Derwent Valley, East Cumberland and Furness – to vote on whether they wished to race this weekend from Homesley.
The decision was then taken after the responses had been received and the general consensus was that racing should be cancelled on Saturday.
It is the intention that racing will resume next week from Guernsey while follow-up races from Salisbury and Guernsey again would complete the old bird programme.
The Yeovil birds were liberated at 5.50am in a light east north east wind to beat the heat of the day.
But although the leading birds were home before noon returns were extremely poor with several lofts getting none home by nightfall.
One experienced fancier said: “That’s the worst race I have ever flown in 40 years.”
It was estimated that only about a third of the Cumbrian birds homed in race time, although a good number have since been reported – mainly in Wales, but also in Northern Ireland.
The Derwent Valley Federation winner, and West Cumbria Amalgamation winner, was a two-year-old blue cock racing to the Harrington Central loft of John Devlin.
He’s a Van Hee x Van den Bulke whose sire was a blue pied cock which flew very well for John, including 2nd Cumbria Combine.
The grandsire, a chequer cock, was a double Fed winner.
John has enjoyed a particularly good season in the Derwent Valley with several successes in the competitive Harrington Central club but like everyone else the win was tempered by the losses.
He had 16 at the race and only got five of them back.
John says that when his bird homed he had company. This one flew round once and then went on, presumably to the Workington loft of Morris and Wayne McLuckie.
They won both Workington clubs and will be 2nd Amal and Fed, with a gift bird from their good friend in the north east Alfie Hawthorne.
Before winning on Saturday she had been fifth Fed, fifth club, 7th Amal, 25the Combine from Marlborough – beaten by four loft mates.
“She’s a lovely hen which we call Geodie Lass because Alfie bred her and gave her to us.
“In all her races she’s always been in the first batch back to the race so has been really consistent.
“She’s off a son of champion Rachel and the dam is Rik Heremans, so we have sent a big thank-you to Alfie who is a great bloke,” said Morris.
Another loft who have been putting together some good recent results is that of Andrew Berwick and Kenneth Watson in Aspatria.
They won Dearham and Flimby with a nice-looking blue white flight hen who had previously won Weymouth as a yearling when she was 12th Fed.
She’s bred for the distance from an Ian Stafford cock paired to a Marshall and sons hen bought at the Doncaster sales.
She will be going back to Guernsey as the loft had one of the best percentage returns with 23 out of 39.
David Harrison won the West Cumberland Federation with a two-year-old mealy cock who won the club from Marlborough last year and was 7th Fed, 23rd Amal and 34th Combine.
He’s of mainly Heremans Ceuster bloodlines through North East fanciers Malcolm Scott and Gray brothers.
David believes the poor race could have been avoided – simply by not going to Yeovil.
“As a member since 1967 the sport has tried to keep away from the Welsh borders as the outcome is never a positive one.
“Racepoints like Hereford were dumped and replaced with racepoints further east to try and help with the loss of birds as once in Wales they stay in Wales.
“So why we decided to liberate in Somerset below the Welsh mountains is beyond me, and I have voiced my opinion to many people in the sport who seem to agree.
“Take a straight line from Yeovil to St Bees and the birds route of 250 miles is measured over the Welsh mountains before hitting the coast at Rhyl and then 83 miles of water.
“If they take that route it’s a disaster and if they don’t we have a big dog’s leg east which is only going to give us a false velocity. So how does this race-point benefit the sport we all love?”
The Cleator Moor club winners, and second in the Federation, were Graham and co. Their bird is bred from a cock direct from top Dutch marathon flyers Verwej-de-haan when he was paired to a daughter of Mark Bulled’s ‘Paddy’, a National Flying Club certificate of merit winner.
Loft partner Paul Byers said: “Obviously it’s a very hollow victory given the disastrous returns from this race and has really knocked us back in our quest to have a team of pigeons to compete at the extreme distance.
“It’s made a massive dent in our plans for building a team to go to Tarbes in the coming seasons.”
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (234 birds): 1, 6, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1290, 1067; 2, 4, Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1201, 1179; 3, Cottier and Patrickson (Sandwith) 1198; 5, A. and T. Kenmare (Cleator Moor) 1107.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (8 sent 127): 1, 2, 4, 6, Graham and co 1205, 1182, 1064, 961; 3, A. and T. Kenmare 1110; 5, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1014.
EGREMONT RANGERS (48 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, D. Harrison and son 1290, 1067, 1057, 694, 489.
DERWENT VALLEY
FEDERATION (638 birds): 1, J. Devlin (Harrington Central) 1304; 2, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1303; 3, Berwick, Watson and co (Dearham) 1224; 4, A. Bromley and co (Flimby) 1183; 5, N. Semple (Harrington Central) 1155; 6, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham) 1148.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (5 sent 73): 1, 5, McLuckie bros 1302, 857; 2, 4, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1067, 886; 3, 6, G. Best 967, 714.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (9 sent 156): 1, McLuckie bros 1304; 2, 6, Evans and Abraham 1131, 863; 3, 5, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1069, 887; 4, Martindale and Lawman 1068.
SEATON RBL (26 birds): 1, 2, F. Scott 855, 782; 3, A. Parker and son 587.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (18 sent 36): 1, Berwick, Watson and co 964; 2, 3, I. and D. Wood 808, 545; 4, Ostle and McNichol 505.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 146): 1, J. Devlin 1304; 2, N. Semple 1155; 3, 4, 6, I. and D. Wood 976, 885, 808.
FLIMBY HS (8 sent 200): 1, 6, Berwick, Watson and co 1248, 1102; 2, A. Bromley and co 1197; 3, Nelson and Crellin 1125; 4, 5, R. Hodgson 1123, 1116.
