Cumbrian pigeons will race on Friday after a poor weekend weather forecast prompted a rethink for the planned test from Marlborough.
The Derwent Valley birds will be marked at two ringing stations on Thursday night – Flimby HS and Workington Victoria – with the West Cumberland Federation using their own headquarters in Whitehaven.
Last Saturday, the West Cumbrian birds had a testing race from Stratford-upon-Avon and there was a popular winner of the Derwent Valley Federation.
Sandra Wood of Lowca flies with husband David in the Harrington Central club and she is having to end a 40-year association with the sport at the end of the season because of health issues.
They did not send to the first two races because they weren’t ready so Saturday’s win was a nice boost and well received by other local fanciers.
They have only been racing hens, flying home to a lesser number of cocks, and the motivational system certainly worked at the week-end.
The winner was a yearling dark white flight, who was off a gift from a good friend Zac Wightman of Colwyn Bay and which was Pitbull/Lambrecht on the dam’s side also with Danny Dixon’s Heartbreak lines.
The sire was a dark white flight cock they got in 2023 in the Harrington club exchange and was bred by Micky Walker.
The bird which was fourth club for them was from stock gifted by John Todd, of Easington Colliery, and locally from Alan Devlin
The race proved to be a triumph for an Egremont fancier. Not only did David Harrison win the West Cumberland Federation but he topped the West Cumbria Amalgamation, along with the ultimate honour of winning the Cumbria Combine.
Even better, he was first and second in all three with the nest sister of last week’s winner trapping together to make it a day to remember.
Both hens won last year as youngsters and have continued to excel as yearlings. Both parents were bred for David by Malcolm Scott of Gateshead from winning bloodlines from his own breeding mix of winner to winner regardless of origins.
David said: “Malcolm always says ‘that’s how Busschaert did it, so that’s good enough for me’. Never a truer word was spoken.”
The birds had a bit of a sit, not being released until 2.15pm in a north east wind and the winner was clocked at Egremont just after 5.48pm, flying the 175 miles at just over 49 miles an hour. The second bird was clocked just a second behind.
There’s still no stopping Wayne McLuckie in Workington Social Limit, winning again in a tight finish with Williams and Hadfield, but he took the next four tickets as well.
The winner is becoming quite a local celebrity – Geordie Lass who was won and scored multiple times in club, Fed, Amal and Combine. She’s on roundabout and was bred by the brothers’ good friend Alfie Hawthorn.
In Workington Victoria Richard Martindale and ‘Pal Lawman’ were in imperious form taking all but one of the six tickets.
The winner is another granddaughter of Wonder Red paired to an in-bred granddaughter of Sagan. She has had a number of tickets in the Fed but this was her first win.
Jimmy Nelson and Fleck Crellin won the very competitive Flimby club with a yearling blue white flight hen, one of many that they have prepared over the years by just training and not racing as a young bird.
She has scored twice previously this season and was bred in the stock loft with her sire being from Micky Chappel after the Bussey and Chappel clearance sale while the dam is one of the loft’s best Karl Boeckx stock hens.
CUMBRIA COMBINE (2267 birds): 1, 2, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1447.7, 1447.6; 3, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son (Harrington Central) 1433; 4, 5, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1431, 1430, 1428.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (1419 birds): 1, 2, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1447.7, 1447.6; 3, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son (Harrington Central) 1433; 4, 5, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1431, 1430, 1428.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (940 birds): 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood (Harrington Central) 1433; 2, 3, 4, 6 Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1431, 1430, 1428, 1407.87; 5, I. and D. Wood (Harrington Central) 1407.80.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (479 birds): 1, 2, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1447.7, 1447.6; 3, W. McGrady and son (Lowca) 1420; 4, Tomlinson and Banks (Cleator Moor) 1417; 5, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon (Cleator Moor) 1415; 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1412.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (8 sent181): 1, 4, Mrs and Mrs D. Wood 1433, 1402; 2, I, and D. Wood 1407; 3, 6, J. Devlin 1405, 1392; 5, N, and G, Wordsworth 1393,
ELLENBOROUGH : 1, 2,Barker and Charlton 1315m 1290; 3, 4, Barlow and Doyle 1243, 1169.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (7 sent 178); 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1397.9, 1390, 1388, 1386, 1385; 2, Williams and Hadfield 1387.8.
SEATON RBL (2 sent 28): 1, F. Scott 1325; 2, 3, 4, Dobie and Palmer 1270, 1262, 1248.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 300): 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, Martindale and Lawman 1433, 1432, 1430, 1409, 1402; 5, Evans and Abraham 1407.
FLIMBY (10 sent 149): 1, 3, 4, Nelson and Crellin 1384, 1374, 1371; 2, Hodgson and Saldert 1376; 5, Berwick, Watson and co 1367; 6, I. McGarr 1359.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (20 sent 40): 1, I. and D. Wood 1405.8; 2, J. Devlin 1405.7; 3, Martindale and Lawman 1401; 4, McLuckie bros 1397; 5, Mr and Mrs Carter and son 1381.7; 6, N. Semple 1381.5.
DEARHAM UTD (3 sent 143): 1, D. Todhunter; 2, 3, 4, Varty, son and grandson; 5, 6, Dempsey, son and Reay,.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (9 sent 244): 1, Tomlinson and Banks 1418; 2, 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1417, 1402; 3, 4, 5, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1415, 1414, 1409.
LOWCA (7 sent 166): 1, 4, 5, W. McGrady and son 1420, 1395.7, 1395.6; 2, 3, Tomlinson and Banks 1417, 1400; 6, D. Lofthouse 1386.
EGREMONT HS (104 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1447.7, 1447.6, 1411, 1409. 1406.3, 1406.3.
