Topping the West Cumbria Amalgamation on Saturday was the long established Flimby loft of Jimmy, James and Matthew Varty – a grandfather, son and grandson partnership which is better known for achievements over the Channel.
But this emphatic performance has given the Vartys their first ever Cumbria Combine win – the second week in a row that the honour has come to West Cumbria. Barry Irving of Sandwith had the first three last week.
The Vartys clocked their yearling chequer hen at 12.34pm after the near-237 miles fly from Marlborough, which was close on 57mph. It wasn’t the best of races, however.
The hen was bred by a friend of Matthew’s in the North East and has been flying on total widowhood.
In a nod to the shock win at Wembley, Matthew has christened the hen Miss Alejandro!
Winning the Workington Social Limit club, taking second in the Workington Victoria club as well as second in the Fed, Amal and Combine was a two-year-old blue hen of John and Liz Walters.
Flying on the roundabout system she’s bred off stock pigeons the loft have got from David ‘Sugar’ Wilson from Egremont and have proved successful for them over the years.
On Saturday she arrived but landed on top of the loft and they lost time before she decided to drop down and in. It was only then they discovered a young bird on the top of the loft which had clearly distracted her.
Harrington Centra went to John Devlin with a yearling blue cock – a Leo Heremans – bred through stock birds purchased off Alan Devlin. He had been third club, 19th Fed the previous week from Stratford.
Seaton RBL was won by Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer with a three-year-old chequer-pied pied cock from their Busschaert family. He’s been a very consistent pigeon and flew the North West Grand National from the coast as a young bird on the day, in a very tough race.
The Dearham club fly on breaking-up point which is how Andrew Berwick and Kenneth Watson (Aspatria) beat the Vartys (Flimby) but not in the Fed etc.
Their winner is a red yearling cock bred by a pal Steve Allen who now lives in Gretna and which the partners bought in the Derwent Valley Federation transporters ale. He’s from Steve’s direct Steve Fenech birds through the Red Alert lines.
He won as a young bird and has taken well to widowhood racing, being first bird to the loft on a regular basis.
The Cleator Moor loft of Danny Rodgers, Wes and Ken Benn landed a rather unique double this weekend.
They topped the West Cumberland Federation from Marlborough, and also the Copeland NW from Cheltenham – and both the winners were bred out of the same hen.
The Federation, part of the West Cumbria Amalgamation, had a particularly tough test from Marlborough while the Cheltenham race was a really good one.
From Marlborough the Amalgamation birds were liberated at 8.25am in a light south east wind. After a fly of nearly 227 miles, the Federation winner was clocked at just before 12.30pm, covering the distance at over 55mph.
The winner, a yearling chequer hen was from the loft’s JPS Stefaan Lambrecht family, crossed with a cock bird from top local fancier Steve Chambers. These birds are proving a good cross for the loft this season.
This winning hen has already had tickets as a young bird in both the Cleator Moor Central club and the West Cumberland Federation.
The Copeland NW winner was 100% Stefaan Lambrecht, the sire being from JPS top stock cock Vooruitvilieger, paired to a hen from Boadicea.
But the hen, which produced both winners over the weekend, is the same bird.
The Copeland NW winner was also 2nd Red Rose Federation, beaten on a decimal but flying 37 miles further, which is a splendid effort.
In Lowca it was Holliday and Dixon who took the red card with a two-year-old blue pied cock who was 2nd Fed, 2nd Amal from Cannock as a yearling ion 2023.
David Harrison and son led the way at Egremont with a blue hen that was 5th club last week. She was bred by good friend of over 40 years in John Todd from Easington.
She’s been consistent to the loft this season and David was praising her to John a fortnight ago on the phone. She’s bred through the lines of a pigeon called “Lucky Luke” which was a big hitter in the North East.
Sandra Wood of Harrington Central has also been winning with the same bloodlines so it’s credit to John for providing the Egremont loft with good stock.
Barry Irving won in Sandwith again, taking four of the six tickets, with the winner 2nd Fed, 18th Amalgamation and 18th Combine.
The winner, a chequer yearling hen scored from Cannock and Appleton as a young bird and is bred through a cock from Steve Chambers and a hen of the McGimpsey brothers from Northern Ireland.
As far as the West Cumbria Amalgamation is concerned, however, the result sheet was dominated by Derwent Valley Federation members and Rodgers and Benn were only 16th – with only ten West Cumberland Fed pigeons in the top 40.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (1,343 birds): 1, Varty, son and grandson (Flimby HS) 1670; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Social) 1666; 3, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham) 1643; 4, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1638; 5, J. Devlin (Harrington Central) 1636.3; 6, McLuckie bros (Workington Social) 1636.2.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (521 birds): 1, Rodgers and Benn (Cleator Moor) 1630; 2, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1629; 3, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1627; 4, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1626; 5, 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon (Cleator Moor) 1624.6, 1624.
SANDWITH: 1, 3, 4, 6, B. Irving 1629, 1622.8, 1622.7, 1608; 2, 5, W. McGrady and son 1626, 1620.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (9 sent 244): 1, Rodgers and Benn 1632; 2, 3, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1625, 1624.96; 4, 5, 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1624.901, 1624.901, 1624.1.
LOWCA (3 sent 66): 1, 4, Holliday and Dion 1612, 1589; 2, 3, D. Lofthouse 1602.6, 1602.3.
EGREMONT (90 birds): 1, 2, 3, 6, D. Harrison and son 1627, 1622, 1620, 1583; 4, 5, Wilson and Buchanan 1606, 1585.
RED ROSE FED (51 sent 708): 1, L. Young (Lancaster City) 1658.7; 2, Rodgers and Benn (Copeland) 1658.1; 3, A. Grieve (Millom) 1654; 4, G. Bradley (Millom) 1653.7; 5, J. Fitzsimmons and son (Copeland) 1653.4; 6. I. McGarr (Copeland) 1651.
COPELAND NW (7 sent 83): 1, 5. Rodgers and Benn 1658, 1638.3; 2, J. Fitzsimmons and son 1653; 3, I. McGarr 1651; 4, Cottier and Patrickson 1641; 6, G. Best 1638.2.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (822 birds): 1, J. Varty, son and grandson (Flimby HS) 1670; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Social) 1666; 3, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham) 1643; 4, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1638; 5, J. Devlin (Harrington Central) 1636.3; 6, McLuckie bros (Workington Social) 1636.2.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL (6 sent 119): 1, 5, 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1666, 1626, 1620; 2, 3, McLuckie bros 1636, 1635; 4, M. and L. Cape 1633.
FLIMBY HS (8 set 255): 1, J. Varty, son and grandson 1670; 2, Nelson and Crellin 1633; 3, A. Bromley and co 1629; 4, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1627; 5, 6, Rushforth and Hunter 1624, 1622.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (22 sent 44): 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1624; 2 McLuckie bros 1603; 3, N. Semple 1601; 4, A. Graham and co 1589; 5, R, McAvoy and son 1574; 6, R. Hodgson 1573.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 253): 1, Varty, son and grandson 1682; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1672; 3, Evans and Abraham 1643; 4, 5, McLuckie bros 1641, 1640; 6, Martindale and Lawman 1639. (Show race – 10 sent 53): 1, £60 – Martindale and Lawman 1635; 2, £40 – D. Harrison and son 1622; 3, £20 – Hodgson and Saldert 1614; 4, £20 – McLuckie bros 1603; 5, A. Bromley and co 1572; 6, Evans and Abraham 1523.
DEARHAM (5 sent 171): 1, 5, 6, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1675, 1627, 1626; 2, Varty, son and grandson 1674; 3, 4, Dempsey, son and Reay 1652, 1632.
SEATON RBL (3 sent 28): 1, Dobie and Palmer 1595; 2, 3, 4, F. Scott 1526, 1468, 1463; 5, A. Parker and son 1464.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 173): 1, 5, J. Devlin 1636, 1614; 2, 4, 6, I. and D. Wood 1632, 1619, 1608; 3, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1624.
