ESSEX & KENT AMALGAMATION
E. J. SAINS
Essex & Kent Combine Berwick flown on June 1st 2013
Because of the size of the Essex & Kent Combine radius, in order to pick up the convoy of birds, marking has to take place on a Thursday evening, leaving enough time then to travel to Berwick, an approximate 300 mile race, in time for an early Saturday liberation. The birds had been fed and watered on Friday the 31st of May hoping for an early liberation Saturday morning. But the weather at Berwick did not come up to liberation standard until 12.30pm. After a lot of deliberation about the journey time the birds would take to arrive home, with the fact of a tail wind it was thought that a liberation would be in the best interest of the pigeons. Once again the convoyer and race advisor’s decision saw early birds arriving after a six hour fly with the majority of fanciers having good returns. The few birds that were missing duly turned up Sunday morning.
Mr & Mrs Steve Oddy First open Essex & Kent Combine 1st Essex Central Federation Berwick Velocity 1544 ypm 2084 birds
Steve’s birds have been leading the pack in the last couple of weeks. It is extremely difficult to top the large Rayleigh club that Steve and his wife belong two weeks in succession, but when it comes to winning the Essex Central Fed two weeks in succession plus topping the combine then you know the loft is in super condition.
The pigeons that Steve races are a blend of the Van Dyke Kannibal lines with his first pigeon a two year old blue chequer widowhood cock carrying the bloodlines of Rambo the sire of the Kannibal. Rambo being the grandsire on one side and the great grandsire on the other side. These birds were brought in to Steve’s loft in 1997 with the originals coming from Beaverdam’s stock loft. The cock that topped the combine was 4th Essex Central Federation the week previous; he was just two minutes behind Steve’s first bird that topped the federation. Incidentally this bird was also 2nd federation at the first race of the season.
Steve remarked that the partnership had won the federation numerous times in his time in pigeon racing, but that he and his wife had never won the combine until now and that he had to admit it was a very nice feeling.
Steve Oddy with his first open Essex & Kent Combine Berwick winner
Mr Jim Ashenden Second open Essex & Kent Combine 2nd Essex Central Federation Berwick velocity 1542ypm
Jim races the Denis Sapin Soontjens on the traditional roundabout system, where the cocks have their nest boxes but are moved along to the hens’ section while the hens are flying. When the hens have finished their fly they are trapped into the cocks’ section. The cocks are let out and the hens are moved back along to their section.
The first bird, a four year old blue cock, was bred from an original Denis Sapin pair; the hen he is paired to was the second bird. This method of flying both hens and cocks helps in selecting the best hens to breed from as Jim pointed out if you fly the traditional widowhood method you never really know how good your hens are.
Jim said he is grateful to his dad for teaching him all he knows. But what he would really like to know is all his dad knows about the sport.
Young Daniel Ashenden, Jim Ashenden junior with his 2nd open Essex & Kent Combine Berwick, Mr Jim Ashenden senior and young James Ashenden.
Mr & Mrs Allan Hills 3rd open Essex & Kent Combine 3rd Essex Central Federation Berwick velocity 1538
Once again Allan’s birds are among the leading Essex & Kent Combine positions. His first bird, a two year old blue cock, was bred from a good breeding cock bred by his friend Fred Harnnet. When Fred checked this cock as a baby in the nest it had slipped its ring. Allan, knowing the value of Fred’s pigeons, was very pleased to place it in his stock loft and now has been duly rewarded for his patience.
Last week Allan’s birds won 3rd & 5th in the Essex Central Federation race from Market Rasen, the first bird being last year’s first open Essex & Kent Combine Scotch Corner winner and his 5th federation winner being the same bird that was second combine Scotch Corner, this one again a Cooreman bred by Fed Harnnet.
Allan Hills with his 3rd open Essex & Kent Combine Berwick and grandson George admiring their winner
Mr A P Neal 4th open Essex & Kent Combine 1st Stour Valley Federation Berwick velocity 1531
Tony is certainly not a new kid on the block when it comes to outstanding wins in the Essex & Kent combines and amalgamations with already having won first, second and third open Essex & Kent Amal Ripon y/b 2007, first open Essex & Kent Combine Berwick 2010 and first open Essex & Kent Ripon y/b 2011.
On this occasion Andy’s first bird, a two year old blue chequer widowhood cock, one of his good Janssen x Busschaerts, tops the Stour Valley Federation taking 4th open in the Essex & Kent Combine. Tony usually houses 12 widowhood cocks that are bred down and around an outstanding Busschaert belonging to Martin Ali known as The Fed Cock.
Tony Neal with his fourth open Essex & Kent Combine winner
Ashley & Ron Tubey 5th open Essex & Kent Combine 1st County of Essex Federation Berwick velocity 1530 ypm
Ron and Ashley Tubey are continuing were they left off last year with another good Essex & Kent performance wining their federation and taking 5th open in the combine.
Their winning pigeon was one of their good Cooreman widowhood cocks, bred down from Bob Fenech stock. This two year old blue chequer widowhood cock has now clocked up three firsts, plus making this the fourth win this season for Ron and Ashley as well as taking numerous good federation positions.
Ashley & Ron Tubey
Barry Hall 6th & 9th open Essex & Kent Combine 4th & 5th Essex Central Federation Berwick 1528.4 1514 ypm
Barry’s flown a good pigeon for as long as most of us can remember. His clocking time has always been one to beat if you want to be among the winning pigeons. This Berwick combine is no exception as he is the only fancier with two pigeons in the first ten.
Pigeons from the most winning up to date families have been constantly sought after over the years and have kept Barry’s name at the top. He tells me that he is very impressed with two families that are flying well for him at the moment, those of Jos Thone and the Louis Cooremans. He remarked that whatever Cooreman lines he had acquired that they had won for him almost straight away. The Jos Thone pigeons he has found fly well both long and short races.
Barry’s first and second birds were both Cooreman yearlings, his first bird being a blue roundabout hen and his second bird a blue widowhood cock.
Mr Andy Davey 7th open Essex & Kent Combine 1st South of the Thames Federation velocity 1528.3 ypm
Andy Davey tops the South of the Thames Federation with a two year old light chequer widowhood Janssen cock also taking 7th in the combine. Andy remarked that he was pleased with how his birds had been flying winning 1st & 2nd in his club on the last Essex & Kent Combine race from Ripon with a 7th in the federation and 19th in the Essex & Kent open event. Only a small team of twelve widowhood cocks are flown that Andy has cultivated from a Janssen base for the last 15 years.
Andy Davey with his 7th open Essex & Kent Combine
Provisional top 20 Essex & Kent combine Berwick flown on the first of June 2013
Approx 2084 birds.
Lib 12.30. Nth Nth East wind.
1 M/M S ODDY EC 1544
2 J ASHENDEN EC 1542
3 M/M A HILLS EC 1538
4 A P NEAL SV 1531
5 A & R TUBEY COE 1530
6 B HALL EC 1528.4
7 A DAVEY SOT 1528.3
8 J DEBONO SV 1520
9 B HALL 1514
10 I BARHAM SV 1508
11 J RICHARDS EC 1506
12 D HILLS BROS SV 1502
13 S SMITH SOT 1500
14 J FENN COE 1494
15 K SHOVE EC 1493
16 D HILLS BROS 1492
17 G SMITH COE 1489
18 K SHOVE 1487
19 D BURNS COE 1486
20 P REYNOLDS SV 1484
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