ESSEX & KENT AMALGAMATION
E. J. SAINS
Ripon - Liberated 8.00 am Saturday June 29th 2013
The last Essex & Kent Amalgamation old bird race of the season still managed to attract 3342 birds, even though many of the birds, over the last month, had been twice into Scotland. We started off the season with five and a half thousand birds and managed to maintain a high number throughout the four races. The wind once again favoured the eastern side of the amalgamation blowing a light north westerly at the race point, then became a little stronger as the race was in progress. Nevertheless the birds once again made excellent time right across the amalgamation radius, with open winner Mr Bob Wija timing on the east side to make 1827 ypm and Mr Bob Dunmore timing in some 40 to 50 miles across the amalgamation to the west to record 1st County of Essex Federation 6th open Essex & Kent Amalgamation Ripon on 1802 ypm.
B Wija 1st Open Essex & Kent Amalgamation 1st Essex Central Federation Ripon velocity 1827 ypm 3342 birds
Bob has recently joined the Maldon & District pigeon club, in fact he raced the first half of the old bird season with the Myland club, in which he won three firsts. Since joining Maldon he has competed in four races winning three firsts and a second clocking up 6x1st so far this season. But of course the icing on the cake for Bob is winning the Essex & Kent Amalgamation - for any north road fancier living in the Essex and Kent radius this is the race to win.
Bob raced in New Zealand for 20 years competing in races from 100 to 500 miles. With 12 widowhood cocks Bob raced from Auckland in North Island down to Christchurch in South Island. The races were usually flown with the birds making from 1100 to 1200 ypm and although the races were fairly stiff, the birds adapted and were raced every week right through the programme.
In 2005 Bob came to England and started racing pigeons again in 2006. His preferred choice was a family of Roland Janssens, which he said has done all he has asked of them.
The fist bird home and winner of the Essex & Kent Amalgamation is a two year old white grizzle widowhood cock, flown from a team of 16 widowers.
Bob Wija
M & D Hughes 2nd open Essex & Kent Amalgamation 1st Stour Valley Federation velocity 1818 ypm
M & D Hughes is a father and son partnership. Michael and his dad Jim fly a team of around 20 widowhood cocks which form a family of Busschaerts bred down from a son of Eddie Supreme owned by Louella Pigeon World. The late champion cock Eddie Supreme was a winner of 19 firsts flying up to 150 miles. The original son of Eddie Supreme was called the Unlucky Cock by the partnership as he won 7x2nd in the club and twice 2nd federation two weeks on the trot. At that time when the Unlucky Cock was racing the partnership was being troubled with a persistent fox which had made this cock hesitant to trap.
The first bird bred down from the Unlucky Cock is a two year old blue pied widowhood cock, which was lightly raced with just a couple of races as a young bird and a couple of races as a yearling.
Michael & Jim Hughes
Mr P Reynolds 3rd 4th & 5th open Essex & Kent Amalgamation 2nd 3rd & 4th Stour Valley Federation velocities 1815.2, 1815 & 1814
Paul is without doubt an extremely successful fancier whose birds seem to excel on big day races. Although Paul has cultivated the Gaby Vandenabeeles, he is not slow in making a cross in order to strengthen and enhance the abilities of the birds.
The first three pigeons were extremely high, dropping out of the sky like stones. One minute Paul saw them the next minute they were in the loft. Paul said the first three birds were really racing each other whereas the next birds arrived home and clapped around without a care in the world. The first bird to be clocked, a two year old blue pied widower, is the nestmate to Paul’s 2011 y/b amalgamation winner. This pigeon has already won 27th amal 2012 and 31st amal this year. His breeding is a cross Vadenabeele Staf VanReet. The second bird, a two year old blue widowhood cock, is another cross this time a Gaby cross De Klak, the De Klak being of the Village Lad lines. The third bird, another two year old blue cock, is the same way bred as the second bird. Both these birds are also great grandsons of Paul’s number one pair of Vadenabeele.
Paul Reynolds with his 3rd open
W Dunmore 1st County of Essex Federation 6th open Essex & Kent Amalgamation velocity 1802 ypm
Bill Dunmore’s pigeon without doubt put in one of the best performances on the day as this pigeon was racing to a loft position 40 to 50 miles inland from the east coast dropping within minutes of the winner. To put in a performance like this the bird has to be keen to the extreme, so the first thing I asked Bill was what the bird was flying to. Bill told me that he has eight widowhood cocks that fly out morning and night, but his yearling cocks are not flown on widowhood; they fly celibate at the beginning of the season then towards the end of the season they fly to their first nest. Once the widowers have had their morning fly the yearlings are given an open hole all day and got in before the widowers take their second fly of the day.
The first bird home and winner of 1st federation 6th open Essex & Kent Amalgamation Ripon was a blue pied yearling cock with a first round baby and driving his hen.
Mr L Reynolds 1st West Essex Federation velocity 1784 ypm
Les had two birds drop together winning his federation; he also took the first four in his club. His first bird is a three year old chequer pied widowhood cock and his second bird is a dark chequer yearling cock bred by Malcolm Bains. Les usually races around 20 widowhood cocks and around 25 young birds. The young birds only get about three races as Les prefers old bird racing.
Les Reynolds
Mr R Scott 1st Havering North Road Federation velocity 1783 ypm
Pat and Bob Scott top the Havering North Road Federation with a two year old blue pied cock that has with this race now managed to mark up 5x1st. Sire of this cock is a grandson of Brian Long’s Lucas, when paired to a daughter of Sumo. Also the sister of this good cock is a very useful pigeon winning 1st federation 2nd open London North Road Combine from Arbroath earlier on. Pat and Bob so far this season have topped the Havering Federation three times.
Mr & Mrs Bob Scott
Mr M Bacon 1st South of the Thames Federation velocity 1777 ypm
It’s good to see Mick feeling well again after his heart problem last year. He told me that his youngsters had to take a back seat last year due to him being unwell; leaving Mick with yearlings that had not had a lot of experience. So the yearlings after being trained finally got to race a couple of weeks ago. The federation winner, a slatey yearling cock, was one of these birds; he had only had three races but has won two of them.
Mick said that this good yearling cock was bred from a very good Willy Thas cock that had won 6x1st in the club plus a 12th 31st and a 42nd open in the amal. The dam of the Ripon federation winner contains Martin Greetham bloodlines.
Mr & Mrs Gordon Thorpe 1st East London Federation velocity 1775 ypm
Gordon’s first bird is a dark chequer pied yearling widowhood cock. His bloodline is half Mr & Mrs Thorpe established line and half Gaby Vandenbeele. This young cock has already this year scored a 6th & 15th in the federation. The partnership races around 16 widowhood cocks and 30 to 35 young birds.
Mr & Mrs Thorpe's federation winner
Provisional top 20 Essex & Kent Amalgamation Ripon.
Ripon 29th June. Lib 08.00. Light North West wind.
Approx 3342 birds.
1 B WIJA EC 1827
2 M & D HUGHES SV 1818
3 P REYNOLDS SV 1815.2
4 P REYNOLDS 1815.0
5 P REYNOLDS 1814
6 W DUNMORE COE 1802
7 KILPIN & HOLLAND EC 1799
8 C MANN EC 1798
9 A ROYCE EC 1797.6
10 I & M HAYES EC 1797.2
11 M/M A HILLS EC 1793
12 M/M A HILLS 1791
13 M/M ASHENDEN EC 1790.4
14 M/M T HITCHINS EC 1790.28
15 SPEARPOINT & STAGG EC 1790.22
16 SPEARPOINT & STAGG 1788.8
17 D B FREEMAN EC 1788.5
18 M/M A HILLS 1788.3
19 J GILBERT EC 1786
20 J RICHARDS EC 1784
Other Fed winners
L REYNOLDS WE 1784
R SCOTT HNR 1783
M BACON SOT 1777
M/M THORPE EL 1775
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