ESSEX & KENT AMALGAMATION
E. J. SAINS
WETHERBY
The first of the Essex & Kent Amalgamation races took place on May 5th 2012 from Wetherby. The birds were liberated at 7-45am into a good sky with a helping North, North East wind. This combination proved to be very successful with birds arriving home in excellent condition and velocities of more than a mile a minute.
Due to several of the federations that make up the Essex & Kent Amalgamation experiencing extreme weather conditions leading up to the first amalgamation race and having to bring their birds back to shorter distances, three of the federations were forced to pull out of the Wetherby event. Nevertheless the three remaining feds mustered 2792 birds and the race finished with many of the fed’s remaining top flyers featuring in the final top twenty. The provisional result can be viewed elsewhere in the Essex & Kent Amalgamation section here on Elimar but here are some details of the winners.
Mr & Mrs Steve Fenech, winners of 1st County of Essex Federation and 1st, 2nd & 6th open Essex & Kent Amalgamation
Steve and Joe.
The Pigeon (origin)
Steve’s first bird, a dark chequer yearling widowhood cock, has already prior to this race proved himself a force to be reckoned with. As a young bird he won 2x1st clubs, 2x1st fed, 2x2nd club and 2nd & 6th fed. Now as a yearling he has topped it all off with 1st open Essex & Kent Amalgamation 2792 birds. He has most certainly earned the right to be called a champion. Steven has named this most outstanding pigeon Messi after his Barcelona soccer idol. Champion Messi is off Steve’s Denis Sapin bloodlines. His pedigree shows that he is a half brother to Champion Bolt, a phenomenal pigeon with 13x1st clubs, 3x1st fed & 1st Essex & Kent Combine Scotch Corner, also popping up eight times in the first forty of amalgamations & combines.
Pigeon racing is a fantastic hobby that can be enjoyed by the whole family
Steve tells me that his family all enjoy racing the pigeons, particularly his son Joe who is a very keen fancier and puts a lot into the birds. Steve feels sure he will be one of the young fanciers of the future.
Mr Tony Buckfield, winner of the Essex Central Federation
Tony Buckfield. 1st Rayleigh R.P.S., 1st Essex Central Federation, 8th Open Essex & Kent Amalgamation 2792 birds.
Tony Buckfield and his father John have been very successful pigeon fanciers for many years, particularly in the sprint-to-middle distance events, so much so that if they are not winning the fed then they are usually knocking on the door. Once again they have proved their ability living in the east of the radius, flying in a N.N.E. wind and still being able to time in just three minutes short of winning the Amal. Some performance whichever way you look at it.
The Pigeon (origin)
Tony’s winning pigeon is a blue pied yearling hen, one of his Soontjen widowhood hens. These hens have selective training and feeding. The feeding is controlled according to the work that they are undergoing and of course the build up to the race.
The Method
Although the lofts are huge in comparison to many lofts (see picture), the theme is not the keeping of multitudes of pigeons. When entering the loft, the first thing you will notice is that it is airy but not cold. There are many compartments and each contains a team of birds that have or will have a particular job to do at a particular time. For instance there are yearling widowhood hens, yearling widowhood cocks, older hens, older cocks, young birds and so on. Tony said that in his experience certain birds fly better at certain times of the year, for instance yearling hens fly much better in the early season whereas yearling cocks fly much better towards mid-to-late June and so on. He also made a point, as did his dad John, that yearlings are the ones that give the most when you ask them whereas experienced older pigeons know the game and tend to pace themselves far more. With yearlings you can work them very hard and they will reward you for your hard work.
