NRCC Lerwick 2011
By George Wheatman
Modestly, Tony Richardson said: “You won’t know me.” Well, that was last week. Now the whole pigeon racing fraternity knows he has joined the greats of north road racing by winning the prestigious North Road Championship Club’s Blue Riband race from Lerwick.
It was an impressive win, too, for the Mr and Mrs Richardson partnership, from Newark, the first fanciers from that town to lift the coveted King’s Cup since 1931 when Captain Quibell Graves was the winner.
In fact they used to say that you could not win NRCC races in Newark but Mick Farrant and Hugh Walker blew away that myth in 2007 when they won from Thurso and Fraserburgh respectively.
Now the big one has come to the Nottinghamshire town thanks to a four-year-old blue cock now called Beacon Hill Kai.
This massive win could not have come at a better time for Tony and his supportive wife, Elizabeth. It was just the tonic needed as a pick-me-up for Tony who has been plagued by serious health problems which brought him to the verge of quitting the sport which he has enjoyed since 1959.
“I can hardly believe it,” said Tony, a few days after the race. “It is almost unbelievable. I have never won anything like this before, but I do enjoy my pigeon racing, and this is a real boost.”
Sixty-three-year-old Tony, who competes with the Newark and District Club, has health battles that are also aggravated by Pigeon Fancier’s Lung, and was advised to get rid of the pigeons.
Initially he heeded that advice and began to dispose of some birds, but then had a change of mind and decided to enjoy them the best he could, even if that meant being an also ran some times.
As the pictures will show the lofts and garden are neatly maintained, and Tony acknowledges the help he receives from Elizabeth, particularly with his bigger than normal young bird team this summer.
Beacon Hill Kai had never won a race before his Lerwick triumph, but had picked up a number of minor cards. This year he was Tony’s only bird on the day from the tough Fraserburgh race, and was left alone before being entered for Lerwick.
He was bred for the job, however, his grandfather being a double gold medal winner, and his mother being a gold medal winner.
“He is a nice handling pigeon, being threequarters Soontjen and a quarter Wildermeersch,” said Tony. “He is a pigeon that will always try, and usually gives you a good race.
“He had most races up to Fraserburgh, and after that he seemed to come on well. I wondered whether to send him to Thurso or Lerwick, but he felt and looked well so I decided on Lerwick.
“I only sent two, and got the second at 12-30 on Wednesday.
“I don’t think I will race him again.”
In fact, Tony nearly did not have him to race at all because he was missing all one winter after going astray from a race when a young bird.
“Normally I would not have kept a pigeon that returned after being out all winter, and returning in the Spring,” said Tony. “But there was something about him that I liked. He had been living rough, and his feathers were not good.”
That faith in his judgement has now paid off massively.
“He was not on line, but he came hurtling down,” said Tony. “I get a thrill out of pigeon racing, and Lerwick is something special.
Beacon Hill Kai was prepared for the Lerwick race on a basic widowhood mixture, plus a few peanuts and multi-vitamin.
Tony is not a big team man, having started the season with 18 pigeons to race.
He has introduced some new lines to his young bird team this year.
“I never thought I would have the honour of winning a race like this,”added Tony. “Basically I just set out to enjoy my pigeon racing, and this is a real bonus. I can still hardly believe it.”
He recalls that there could, in fact, have been another Newark winner of the King’s Cup many years ago when a fancier called James Dawes timed in two good pigeons from the NRCC Lerwick race, but was out of time when he was reminded that he had to verify them. He could have taken first and fourth in that race.
This year, however, Mr and Mrs Tony Richardson made no such mistake, and no-one can begrudge a man, who has valiantly fought adversity, his moment of glory. These are the very people who are the backbone of the sport.
Having seen, in the main, the NRCC races bypass them this year, Section One members took the first three places on the verification list but will, in fact, take the first four because another Newark fancier, retired miner 73-year-old Brian Taylor, who races with Grantham Social Club in the Peterborough Central Federation, timed birds at 3-28 and 3-31.
A five-year-old blue pied cock, sent sitting 21 days, was the first one, and a four-year-old dark pied hen, sitting roughly the same time, was the second one.
She has had only minor cards in the past, and homed from Lerwick on the fifth day of last year’s tough race, but the cock bird has won from Berwick and Perth and homed from Lerwick last year at 10-30am on the third day.
From Perth, Brian was 20th section this year, and won the yearling national, and is no stranger to success, having had three club wins and six seconds this year. Over the past ten years he has had no fewer than 70 club wins.
A fancier of 43 years experience, he sent six to Lerwick and got five home. He also had nine out of 10 in that difficult Fraserburgh race.
He is another fancier who has had serious health problems, with prostate cancer and a triple heart by-pass coinciding.
Both he and Tony have sampled racing from both north and south, but both said how much they enjoyed racing with the NRCC.
Third on the verification list, but likely to be fourth open, are Walton Bros, alias Rob Walton, of Ollerton, who won the King’s Cup from Lerwick in 2009.
One interesting observation to emerge from a scan of the verification list (by the way, 247 members sent 1110 birds, and 200 verified) is that last year’s winner, Ray Farrington, of GT Abington, timed in at the late time of 10-20pm on the day.
He said it was dark, and he could hardly see the bird. With the aid of a torch, and light in the loft, it took him ten minutes to entice the bird in.
“I had given up hope for the night,” said Ray. “It had not been a very good day, and there had been plenty of rain, and the light had gone early, but my wife said she had seen a movement. I thought it would be a bat, or something like that, but it was a pigeon.
“It was a dark cock, an 09 pigeon, having its first trip to Lerwick. It was on natural, sitting ten days, paired for this race.”
Ironically, Ray said he timed this pigeon’s grandmother from Lerwick at 10 minutes past 10 a few years ago.
Convoyer Stephen Spinks must have done something wicked in life to offend the Weather Gods for, seeing his patience rewarded with a good liberation on Tuesday, and then seeing the birds make good velocities for nearly 500 miles, they were hit by bad weather, that was not forecast,t on the last stretch.
Nevertheless returns were good on the second day, and again there were excellent performances by some of the longer flyers which, hopefully, will receive their due credit when a report is compiled on the section winners.
NRCC Lerwick 2011
By George Wheatman
Modestly, Tony Richardson said: “You won’t know me.” Well, that was last week. Now the whole pigeon racing fraternity knows he has joined the greats of north road racing by winning the prestigious North Road Championship Club’s Blue Riband race from Lerwick.
It was an impressive win, too, for the Mr and Mrs Richardson partnership, from Newark, the first fanciers from that town to lift the coveted King’s Cup since 1931 when Captain Quibell Graves was the winner.
In fact they used to say that you could not win NRCC races in Newark but Mick Farrant and Hugh Walker blew away that myth in 2007 when they won from Thurso and Fraserburgh respectively.
Now the big one has come to the Nottinghamshire town thanks to a four-year-old blue cock now called Beacon Hill Kai.
This massive win could not have come at a better time for Tony and his supportive wife, Elizabeth. It was just the tonic needed as a pick-me-up for Tony who has been plagued by serious health problems which brought him to the verge of quitting the sport which he has enjoyed since 1959.
“I can hardly believe it,” said Tony, a few days after the race. “It is almost unbelievable. I have never won anything like this before, but I do enjoy my pigeon racing, and this is a real boost.”
Sixty-three-year-old Tony, who competes with the Newark and District Club, has health battles that are also aggravated by Pigeon Fancier’s Lung, and was advised to get rid of the pigeons.
Initially he heeded that advice and began to dispose of some birds, but then had a change of mind and decided to enjoy them the best he could, even if that meant being an also ran some times.
As the pictures will show the lofts and garden are neatly maintained, and Tony acknowledges the help he receives from Elizabeth, particularly with his bigger than normal young bird team this summer.
Beacon Hill Kai had never won a race before his Lerwick triumph, but had picked up a number of minor cards. This year he was Tony’s only bird on the day from the tough Fraserburgh race, and was left alone before being entered for Lerwick.
He was bred for the job, however, his grandfather being a double gold medal winner, and his mother being a gold medal winner.
“He is a nice handling pigeon, being threequarters Soontjen and a quarter Wildermeersch,” said Tony. “He is a pigeon that will always try, and usually gives you a good race.
“He had most races up to Fraserburgh, and after that he seemed to come on well. I wondered whether to send him to Thurso or Lerwick, but he felt and looked well so I decided on Lerwick.
“I only sent two, and got the second at 12-30 on Wednesday.
“I don’t think I will race him again.”
In fact, Tony nearly did not have him to race at all because he was missing all one winter after going astray from a race when a young bird.
“Normally I would not have kept a pigeon that returned after being out all winter, and returning in the Spring,” said Tony. “But there was something about him that I liked. He had been living rough, and his feathers were not good.”
That faith in his judgement has now paid off massively.
“He was not on line, but he came hurtling down,” said Tony. “I get a thrill out of pigeon racing, and Lerwick is something special.
Beacon Hill Kai was prepared for the Lerwick race on a basic widowhood mixture, plus a few peanuts and multi-vitamin.
Tony is not a big team man, having started the season with 18 pigeons to race.
He has introduced some new lines to his young bird team this year.
“I never thought I would have the honour of winning a race like this,”added Tony. “Basically I just set out to enjoy my pigeon racing, and this is a real bonus. I can still hardly believe it.”
He recalls that there could, in fact, have been another Newark winner of the King’s Cup many years ago when a fancier called James Dawes timed in two good pigeons from the NRCC Lerwick race, but was out of time when he was reminded that he had to verify them. He could have taken first and fourth in that race.
This year, however, Mr and Mrs Tony Richardson made no such mistake, and no-one can begrudge a man, who has valiantly fought adversity, his moment of glory. These are the very people who are the backbone of the sport.
Having seen, in the main, the NRCC races bypass them this year, Section One members took the first three places on the verification list but will, in fact, take the first four because another Newark fancier, retired miner 73-year-old Brian Taylor, who races with Grantham Social Club in the Peterborough Central Federation, timed birds at 3-28 and 3-31.
A five-year-old blue pied cock, sent sitting 21 days, was the first one, and a four-year-old dark pied hen, sitting roughly the same time, was the second one.
She has had only minor cards in the past, and homed from Lerwick on the fifth day of last year’s tough race, but the cock bird has won from Berwick and Perth and homed from Lerwick last year at 10-30am on the third day.
From Perth, Brian was 20th section this year, and won the yearling national, and is no stranger to success, having had three club wins and six seconds this year. Over the past ten years he has had no fewer than 70 club wins.
A fancier of 43 years experience, he sent six to Lerwick and got five home. He also had nine out of 10 in that difficult Fraserburgh race.
He is another fancier who has had serious health problems, with prostate cancer and a triple heart by-pass coinciding.
Both he and Tony have sampled racing from both north and south, but both said how much they enjoyed racing with the NRCC.
Third on the verification list, but likely to be fourth open, are Walton Bros, alias Rob Walton, of Ollerton, who won the King’s Cup from Lerwick in 2009.
One interesting observation to emerge from a scan of the verification list (by the way, 247 members sent 1110 birds, and 200 verified) is that last year’s winner, Ray Farrington, of GT Abington, timed in at the late time of 10-20pm on the day.
He said it was dark, and he could hardly see the bird. With the aid of a torch, and light in the loft, it took him ten minutes to entice the bird in.
“I had given up hope for the night,” said Ray. “It had not been a very good day, and there had been plenty of rain, and the light had gone early, but my wife said she had seen a movement. I thought it would be a bat, or something like that, but it was a pigeon.
“It was a dark cock, an 09 pigeon, having its first trip to Lerwick. It was on natural, sitting ten days, paired for this race.”
Ironically, Ray said he timed this pigeon’s grandmother from Lerwick at 10 minutes past 10 a few years ago.
Convoyer Stephen Spinks must have done something wicked in life to offend the Weather Gods for, seeing his patience rewarded with a good liberation on Tuesday, and then seeing the birds make good velocities for nearly 500 miles, they were hit by bad weather, that was not forecast,t on the last stretch.
Nevertheless returns were good on the second day, and again there were excellent performances by some of the longer flyers which, hopefully, will receive their due credit when a report is compiled on the section winners.