NRCC Perth 2011

By George Wheatman

If pigeon races were judged by a photo finish, they would still be working out who won the North Road Championship Club’s race from Perth on Saturday.

As it was, after 250 miles, the winners were declared as the Burtons and Collins partnership, beating near neighbours Dales and Sayers by a margin that is usually reserved for athletics or swimming. The winning velocity was 1466.75 yards per minute. A finger-nail width behind was the runner-up on 1466.18ypm.

Burtons and Collins fly 252 miles 971 yards from Perth; Dales and Sayers 252-1022. Both verified as timing in at 11-58am. It was the seconds not revealed at verification time that was the difference.

Both lofts are situated in Little Lane, Louth, and you certainly don’t want to be of a nervous disposition if you are a pigeon fancier in this area for, just a few yards away, is another ace fancier, Richard Mamwell, who, perhaps, had the best team performance of the trio as he timed in at 12-03, and then had four more in quick succession which will figure prominently when race secretary Ian Bellamy produces the consolidated result.

Just to add insult to injury for Tim Dales and Albert Sayers was the fact that the Burtons and Collins’ second bird scraped in marginally in front of their second bird.

It was the second time that Tim had been denied a NRCC open championship by the closest of margins for, in 2008, when flying on his own, he had been pipped on decimals to the Blue Riband race from Lerwick, won that year by Frank Bristow, of Horbling.

But he was philosophical on this occasion, and said: “It is just one of those things.”

Luckily, despite intense rivalry on race days, all fanciers involved are good friends, and all have enjoyed their moments of glory with national wins.

In fact, it was a field day for Louth fanciers in general, with Alan Wright, and Mr and Mrs Ray Johnson (all previous national winners) figuring prominently in the provisional results.

One of their former members, and winner of the NRCC Dunbar race three weeks ago,Bob Kellett, of Mablethorpe,  also had three smart timings, which included the Dunbar champion, while the successful Alford husband and wife partnership, Mr and Mrs Dave Evans (who were just beaten in the young bird race last year), Martin Sharpe, of Hogsthorpe, and five-times national winners Bridget and Geoff Clare are all East Lincolnshire fanciers in the provisional top ten.

Gatecrashing the party on a day dominated by a strong west wind, which sometimes veered to the south, was the Lincoln partnership of Bond, Dtr and Chapman, who, in the conditions, could easily make a case for their’s being one  of the best performances of the day.

As the race evolved, however, and showers were brought along by the strong, gusty wind, there were section winners whose performances stand alongside the best.

There was an entry of 3, 754 birds from 368 members.

The Burtons and Collins partnership, which won both the Perth,  and young bird national from Berwick, in 1999, is made up of 51-year-old Mark, his brother Clive, who is a year younger, and their father Frank, plus Ron Collins, the uncle of Mark’s wife, who used to race on his own.

With Frank and Ron now in their seventies, most of the work in running the loft rests with Mark and Clive and, despite the 12-year gap in the NRCC wins, they have usually been knocking at the door in these highly competitive open races.

With the Dales and Sayers partnership in such sparkling form in club racing, this was the first win of the season for Burtons and Collins, although they had never been out of the first four, and had three second places to their credit. So strong is the competition in Louth that, if you win Louth and District club on the appropriate day, you are also likely to win the NRCC.

Of the ten members competing nowadays, eight have NRCC open wins to their credit. And there have been other winners no longer in the sport.

“You have certainly got to be on your toes,” said Mark.

The bird that swooped for first prize from Perth was a dark chequer yearling cock whose mother was second open young bird race , beaten by Richard Mamwell, in 2008. She was put to stock after being injured by a hawk.

The father was bought at a sale at The Doncaster Dome, and was bred by Lee Bottlefield, from the north-east, a breeder of top-class pigeons, so much so that , a year after Mark’s purchase, they attracted the attention of Albert Sayers, who also bought a hen bird that bred the winner from Fraserburgh last year.

The new national champion did not race as a young bird because he went missing from his first training toss, being reported by Roly Ruskin, of Grimsby.

Nor did he cover himself in glory when he started this year’s programme. For a start he was missing for three days off the loft, when Mark feared that he was another victim of the hawk, but he was probably over-excited at being introduced to the widowhood system.

In preparation for Perth, he was sent to Whitley Bay, Alnwick and Berwick, before having his first introduction to NRCC racing which, insists Mark, is an entirely different ball game to club racing. This was in the Dunbar race, and he promptly had a night out.

Obviously he had learned from his mistake by the time Perth came around. This is an example of how the partnership are prepared to be patient with pigeons, if they have the right breeding, until they are two years old. Then the patience ceases if the results are not good.

The partnership sent 22 birds, and all were home by 5pm on race day.

They don’t usually train once racing starts, the birds having had six tosses from Cleethorpes pre-season. The birds are raced every week prior to the commencement of the NRCC programme after which they are more likely to go every fortnight.

While they expect to have an entry of 15 or 16 for the next NRCC race from Fraserburgh, the Perth winner will not be among them, because the partners prefer to send their yearlings no further than Perth. He could have one or two club races this summer, however.

In the past they have paired up on Boxing Day but, because Mark was busy gritting the icy roads, as part of his job with the contractors who provide road maintenance for Lincolnshire County Council, he was not able to pair until after the Blackpool annual show in January, and he feels that this has been better for the pigeons. Needless to say, he will be sticking to this date next year.

In the partnership’s loft are Cooremens, Van Reets (originating from Tony Mardon), and Van de Reye, from Louella Pigeon World. All have played their part in the loft’s success over the years, and mean that they have pigeons to cover every distance they fly.

Along with the rest of the fancy, Mark was saddened by the death last year of Bert Mamwell. The Mamwell brothers had been outstanding competitors with the NRCC, and Mark says that, from his teenage days, he was helped enormously by Bert in gathering pigeon racing knowledge.

What of the pigeon that was squeezed into second place and competing for the Dales and Sayers team? This was a two-year-old light chequer hen bird, racing on the roundabout system, which had won in the club as a yearling. It was from Jack Andrews and bought in by Albert.

This was the only one of the Little Lane triumvirate who was also club racing on Saturday, and they had eight drop together from Berwick. Among the chaos, they believe their NRCC bird might have been among them.

Just another point for discussion at their regular, early Sunday morning chats over coffee, or tea, at Tim Dales’ house on a Sunday morning.

The Mr and Mrs Bob Kellett partnership will be prominent again in the result, and takes positions 2,3 and 4 in the Alford club – behind winners Mr and Mrs Dave Evans – and their third timer was the cock bird that won the NRCC race from Dunbar. His sister, a red chequer hen, was Bob’s second pigeon, and a four-year-old blue chequer from his original bloodlines obtained from Morgan and Welton, of Warsop, was his first pigeon.

Bob said it was throwing it down with rain when his birds arrived, and there is no doubt that heavy storms and the gusty wind played a major role in the outcome of the race.

But, again, there were praiseworthy performances throughout the club’s wide radius, and more of these will be highlighted with reports on the section winners, hopefully, next week.

In the meantime, members will be preparing for the next NRCC race, which is from Fraserburgh on June 11^th. Last date for entries is June 7^th, and marking is on June 9^th.

NRCC Perth 2011

By George Wheatman

If pigeon races were judged by a photo finish, they would still be working out who won the North Road Championship Club’s race from Perth on Saturday.

As it was, after 250 miles, the winners were declared as the Burtons and Collins partnership, beating near neighbours Dales and Sayers by a margin that is usually reserved for athletics or swimming. The winning velocity was 1466.75 yards per minute. A finger-nail width behind was the runner-up on 1466.18ypm.

Burtons and Collins fly 252 miles 971 yards from Perth; Dales and Sayers 252-1022. Both verified as timing in at 11-58am. It was the seconds not revealed at verification time that was the difference.

Both lofts are situated in Little Lane, Louth, and you certainly don’t want to be of a nervous disposition if you are a pigeon fancier in this area for, just a few yards away, is another ace fancier, Richard Mamwell, who, perhaps, had the best team performance of the trio as he timed in at 12-03, and then had four more in quick succession which will figure prominently when race secretary Ian Bellamy produces the consolidated result.

Just to add insult to injury for Tim Dales and Albert Sayers was the fact that the Burtons and Collins’ second bird scraped in marginally in front of their second bird.

It was the second time that Tim had been denied a NRCC open championship by the closest of margins for, in 2008, when flying on his own, he had been pipped on decimals to the Blue Riband race from Lerwick, won that year by Frank Bristow, of Horbling.

But he was philosophical on this occasion, and said: “It is just one of those things.”

Luckily, despite intense rivalry on race days, all fanciers involved are good friends, and all have enjoyed their moments of glory with national wins.

In fact, it was a field day for Louth fanciers in general, with Alan Wright, and Mr and Mrs Ray Johnson (all previous national winners) figuring prominently in the provisional results.

One of their former members, and winner of the NRCC Dunbar race three weeks ago,Bob Kellett, of Mablethorpe,  also had three smart timings, which included the Dunbar champion, while the successful Alford husband and wife partnership, Mr and Mrs Dave Evans (who were just beaten in the young bird race last year), Martin Sharpe, of Hogsthorpe, and five-times national winners Bridget and Geoff Clare are all East Lincolnshire fanciers in the provisional top ten.

Gatecrashing the party on a day dominated by a strong west wind, which sometimes veered to the south, was the Lincoln partnership of Bond, Dtr and Chapman, who, in the conditions, could easily make a case for their’s being one  of the best performances of the day.

As the race evolved, however, and showers were brought along by the strong, gusty wind, there were section winners whose performances stand alongside the best.

There was an entry of 3, 754 birds from 368 members.

The Burtons and Collins partnership, which won both the Perth,  and young bird national from Berwick, in 1999, is made up of 51-year-old Mark, his brother Clive, who is a year younger, and their father Frank, plus Ron Collins, the uncle of Mark’s wife, who used to race on his own.

With Frank and Ron now in their seventies, most of the work in running the loft rests with Mark and Clive and, despite the 12-year gap in the NRCC wins, they have usually been knocking at the door in these highly competitive open races.

With the Dales and Sayers partnership in such sparkling form in club racing, this was the first win of the season for Burtons and Collins, although they had never been out of the first four, and had three second places to their credit. So strong is the competition in Louth that, if you win Louth and District club on the appropriate day, you are also likely to win the NRCC.

Of the ten members competing nowadays, eight have NRCC open wins to their credit. And there have been other winners no longer in the sport.

“You have certainly got to be on your toes,” said Mark.

The bird that swooped for first prize from Perth was a dark chequer yearling cock whose mother was second open young bird race , beaten by Richard Mamwell, in 2008. She was put to stock after being injured by a hawk.

The father was bought at a sale at The Doncaster Dome, and was bred by Lee Bottlefield, from the north-east, a breeder of top-class pigeons, so much so that , a year after Mark’s purchase, they attracted the attention of Albert Sayers, who also bought a hen bird that bred the winner from Fraserburgh last year.

The new national champion did not race as a young bird because he went missing from his first training toss, being reported by Roly Ruskin, of Grimsby.

Nor did he cover himself in glory when he started this year’s programme. For a start he was missing for three days off the loft, when Mark feared that he was another victim of the hawk, but he was probably over-excited at being introduced to the widowhood system.

In preparation for Perth, he was sent to Whitley Bay, Alnwick and Berwick, before having his first introduction to NRCC racing which, insists Mark, is an entirely different ball game to club racing. This was in the Dunbar race, and he promptly had a night out.

Obviously he had learned from his mistake by the time Perth came around. This is an example of how the partnership are prepared to be patient with pigeons, if they have the right breeding, until they are two years old. Then the patience ceases if the results are not good.

The partnership sent 22 birds, and all were home by 5pm on race day.

They don’t usually train once racing starts, the birds having had six tosses from Cleethorpes pre-season. The birds are raced every week prior to the commencement of the NRCC programme after which they are more likely to go every fortnight.

While they expect to have an entry of 15 or 16 for the next NRCC race from Fraserburgh, the Perth winner will not be among them, because the partners prefer to send their yearlings no further than Perth. He could have one or two club races this summer, however.

In the past they have paired up on Boxing Day but, because Mark was busy gritting the icy roads, as part of his job with the contractors who provide road maintenance for Lincolnshire County Council, he was not able to pair until after the Blackpool annual show in January, and he feels that this has been better for the pigeons. Needless to say, he will be sticking to this date next year.

In the partnership’s loft are Cooremens, Van Reets (originating from Tony Mardon), and Van de Reye, from Louella Pigeon World. All have played their part in the loft’s success over the years, and mean that they have pigeons to cover every distance they fly.

Along with the rest of the fancy, Mark was saddened by the death last year of Bert Mamwell. The Mamwell brothers had been outstanding competitors with the NRCC, and Mark says that, from his teenage days, he was helped enormously by Bert in gathering pigeon racing knowledge.

What of the pigeon that was squeezed into second place and competing for the Dales and Sayers team? This was a two-year-old light chequer hen bird, racing on the roundabout system, which had won in the club as a yearling. It was from Jack Andrews and bought in by Albert.

This was the only one of the Little Lane triumvirate who was also club racing on Saturday, and they had eight drop together from Berwick. Among the chaos, they believe their NRCC bird might have been among them.

Just another point for discussion at their regular, early Sunday morning chats over coffee, or tea, at Tim Dales’ house on a Sunday morning.

The Mr and Mrs Bob Kellett partnership will be prominent again in the result, and takes positions 2,3 and 4 in the Alford club – behind winners Mr and Mrs Dave Evans – and their third timer was the cock bird that won the NRCC race from Dunbar. His sister, a red chequer hen, was Bob’s second pigeon, and a four-year-old blue chequer from his original bloodlines obtained from Morgan and Welton, of Warsop, was his first pigeon.

Bob said it was throwing it down with rain when his birds arrived, and there is no doubt that heavy storms and the gusty wind played a major role in the outcome of the race.

But, again, there were praiseworthy performances throughout the club’s wide radius, and more of these will be highlighted with reports on the section winners, hopefully, next week.

In the meantime, members will be preparing for the next NRCC race, which is from Fraserburgh on June 11^th. Last date for entries is June 7^th, and marking is on June 9^th.