WELSH SOUTH ROAD NATIONAL
by Dixey
TARBES 2012
The recent Welsh South Road National from Tarbes was a hard but good race with many fanciers recording arrivals on the second day after a 13.45 liberation with the National Flying Club. When going through the leaders it is evident once again that there are some very good pigeons that had scored previously from these longer distance races.
Derek & Jeanette Thomas, winners of the Welsh SRNFC Tarbes.
The winners were M & L Thomas of Newport in the county of Gwent. Their winner, a sole entry, is a three years old blue pied hen of the Jan Theelan x Van Der Wegan bloodlines doing a winning velocity of 951 ypm. This game hen has been a very consistent pigeon for the partnership as Derek Thomas was telling me that she has scored previously by taking 2nd from Savern 500 miles as a yearling on the east to west route. Also as a two years old she was 6th from Lillers. Then switched to the direct south route, she won 16th sect from Tarbes, and this year 1st open Welsh S.R.N.F.C. Tarbes. Derek said she has only flown the channel four times. She was sent sitting twelve day eggs. Derek and Jeanette have been married for 54 years and I should imagine this win has made them both extremely happy. Derek said that he has kept the name of the partnership after his late father and on behalf of us all many congratulations to you both on an excellent performance.
The National winner of M L Thomas.
Taking 2nd, 3rd and 5th National are Padfield Family from Nr Abertillery. This loft of course needs no introduction being a household name within the fancy for outstanding wins over the longer distances. Their first timer is a two years old cheq pied hen that had two overseas races this year. Her sire is a cheq 2008 cock that has won 69th open from BICC Poitiers 9th sect, and 9th sect 61st open from Tarbes winning £1.398, also 2nd open 2nd sect WSRN Tarbes and 1st single bird Nat 2010 wining £1,723. His breeding being Wim Muller from the Adonis lines, the sire of Albert, fantastic breeder and racer when paired to Padfields Perfection, red cock 1st, 3rd, 23rd and 39th WSRN Pau. The dam of the 2nd open winner is another of the Wim Muller lines who has scored 16th open, 1st west sect Pau BICC International, 1st WGDCC £400.00 etc. The probable 3rd open winner is another of their famous winners, a 2008 bred cheq cock “Jack”. His previous performances include 443rd 26th sect BICC Poitiers in 2010. Then 56th open 8th sect NFC Tarbes winning £721.00. Then 1st open 1st sect Tarbes WSRNFC wining £670.00. In 2011 he won 15th open 9th sect WSRNFC Tarbes also 337th open 54th sect NFC Tarbes. Some pigeon indeed. His sire was also a fantastic breeder winning a host of prizes through to Barcelona being bred down from the Wim Muller lines. With this year’s performance he will have been 1st, 15th and 3rd WSRNFC Tarbes in the last three years. The Padfield family will be eligible to apply for the Welsh SRNFC special award for a pigeon that finishes three times in the first 20 of the longest old bird race. To our knowledge this has not been won before and they came close with their red cock Padfields Perfection - 1st, 3rd, 23rd and 39th WSRN Pau. The three years blue w/f cock probably taking 5th National, previously won as a two years old in 2011 76th open CSCFC Tarbes and also a month later Agen with the BICC 4th open 1st west section in a very strong west wind. His sire is Brian Leadbeater's No 1 cock The Favourite, when paired back to a daughter of the immortal 48, five times in the first ten of the Midlands National. The dam of this 5th National winner is a 2002 always stock, a full sister to “Vince” - 1st Pau WSRN 2000 Gold cup winner. Her sire 8th WSRN Pau and dam responsible for 4th WSRN Pau. I should also state that they also timed another two on the winning day and all three should figure in the first ten of the Welsh South Road National result.
Dave Padfield holding the 2nd open.
Blue/wf hen - 2nd open for Padfield Family.
The 3rd open winner for Padfield Family.
Taking 1st north sect is Mr J E Headley of Newtown mid Wales. His timer is a three year old dark cheq cock raced on natural. His breeding comes down from stock via Graham Baker of Shifnal x Frank Perry of Pontypridd. Graham's NFC Certificate of Merit winner Meritman, a winner of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 10th section NFC Pau 636 miles, features prominently in the breeding, and the winner is himself a great grandson of of Frank's Llanover Lady, 1st and 6th open Palamos BBC; she contained Vernal Hansenne lines. This cock has been a very consistent racer. Joe rarely has his clock set for club racing due to the fact that his local club is 17 miles away and therefore he concentrates on the longer races.
Taking 1st centre sect is another National winner, Haydon Radford & Son. Sadly Haydon passed away last year and Phil his son was away on holiday so I was therefore unable to collate any details of this winner other than he is a three years old red cock. But the person looking after them and who was there to make sure everything went off OK was his mate and ex-fancier Phillip, so well done to him.
Taking 1st west section is the partnership of Morgan & Austin of Ystradgunlias in the Swansea valley. This very good cheq w/f hen took 11th open from Tarbes last year and has flown consistently for the partnership. As a yearling she flew Savern 550 miles and now this game performance. She was sent sitting 13 day old eggs. This loft must be really on song because they also topped this section from Falaise two weeks previously, that time with a two year old blue hen that in her career has also won 4th from Carentan. A very good double performance in the space of two weeks. The bloodlines in these being Terry Tregonning of Glyneath. Terry now lives in Ireland. A lot of these bloodlines of Terry's contain the old Ned Rees Vernal Hansennes and when I was looking earlier in the year in some of Ned’s old loft books going back fifty years, I noticed a couple of pigeons sold to Terry in them; one was a red cock and I’m still trying to find out the bloodlines of it.
Alan Morgan holding his two west section winners from Falaise and Tarbes.
My thanks to these excellent fanciers for their valuable contributions.
