Farming Life - Wednesday 09/10/13

[willie reynolds]

The Irish National Flying Club Young Bird National was held on Wednesday 4th September with the birds liberated in Penzance at 8.45am in fresh South Easterly wind. The race was sponsored by Frazers Animal Feeds and Veterinary Services for Birds. 466 members from across Ireland entered 2,652 birds and were racing for total pools and prize-money of £19,620.

The south easterly wind was certainly a great help to the birds and we had possibly the best returns ever from this race with many fanciers reporting full returns. First reports of pigeons timed were in Dungarvan where pigeons were timed at 11.45am and this set the target for the day. It was to be early afternoon before there were any pigeons in the north but the northern birds were to take the top 35 positions in the Open result with Hector Cordner from Annaghmore turning out to be the clear winner, timing at 2.07pm.

1st North Section, & 1st Open INFC Hector Cordner Annaghmore, Vel 1648, Flying 301 miles, winning £913 and the J.M.K McGugan Perpetual Cup, and the Harkers Trophy for best average Yearling National and Young Bird National Penzance.

The clear winner of the Young Bird National this year is Hector Cordner, Annaghmore. Hector started to race pigeons when he was 9 years old but was out of them for 18 years, only starting back in 1998, but this year alone has seen Hector gain some considerable results. In the Yearling National he was 17th North section, 27th Open, in a race where he had five birds in the result winning £929. Then from Penzance with the NIPA he was 10th Open and 5th Open in the Classic race, but this win here is definitely the icing on the cake. Hector is also the winner of the Harkers Trophy for best average Sennen Cove Yearling National and Penzance YB National.

The winning pigeon now named “Wee Muriel” after his wife, is a Blue hen that had been sitting on eggs but Hector removed them four days before basketing and she was sent chasing again. As Hector lives some four and a half miles away from the loft he finds it difficult to get the timings right for the darkness system and as such this hen had dropped four nest flights before going to the race. The young birds had 12 tosses before their first race and after that they were flown morning and evening at home for 45 minutes to an hour. Her last race was Fermoy ten days before the National. Hector would be seen as a relatively small team man and started the season with 58 young birds. He clocked 3 in this race out of an entry of 6 birds.

The sire is Busschaert x Janssen that he bred himself and one from the same pair was 3rd Open Roscarberry last year with NIPA. The dam is from Robert Telford and is from Henry McLaughlin’s Harthog x Lefebre-Dhaenens lines. Feeding is Frazers Supreme and Beattie’s BasePlus through Robert Telford.

RPRA (Irish Region) Meeting –
A Meeting of the RPRA (Irish Region) Appeals Committee will be held in the Clarion Hotel Carrickfergus this Saturday 12th October at 1.30pm. The Agenda will include (1) Minutes of the last meeting, (2) Any other correspondence, (3) Appeals and (4) Committee to judge awards for 2013.

Two appeals are listed for discussion. H Hamilton v Springvale HPS and G Parker & Son v Hillsborough & Maze HPS. Any queries contact Secretary Robert Reid.

Prize Nights –
Bookings are now being taken for tickets to the Annual NIPA Ladies Night to be held at the Templeton Hotel in Templepatrick on Friday 8th November. Secretary Fred Russell has requested all cups and trophies are returned ASAP and in a clean condition. Could all the INFC 2012 trophy winners please return them to Ronnie Johnston or Trevor Topping. The annual dinner will be held in the Stormont Hetel in Belfast on Friday 29th November.

NCC Sale Season -
The Coleraine based One Loft Race North Coast Classic are having a series of sales for the birds that returned from the Rosscarbery Grand Final. SALE 3 Friday 11th October, SALE 4 Thursday 17th October. Both in the Chimney Corner Football Club, Randalstown Road in Antrim at 8.00pm, birds on view at 7.00pm.

Crumlin Lofts to the fore –

The awards for the 2013 racing season have just been published and two lofts in Crumlin & District have secured the major awards in the NIPA Section B, Fleming Bros won the Old Bird Fancier of the Year and McConville Bros the Young Bird Fancier of the Year. Ian & Jimmy Fleming are having a great run and have won the overall Fancier of the Year in Section B for the last three seasons, in 2011 with 689 Points, 2012 with 654 Points and 2013 with 620 Points. For the last two seasons the OB & YB Champions have been listed separate and the Overall Champion is OB & YB together. This has been a great success and a big test to win all three categories in the same year.

I have looked at the racing results and listed the best for the lofts starting with Fleming Bros in the NIPA old birds. Tullamore - 3rd Club vel 1921. Roscrea - 1st Club vel 1334, 2nd & 4th Sect B and 44th Open 21,083b. Clonmel - 1st Club vel 1744, 1st Sect B 157/3852. Fermoy - 1st Club vel 1504, 1st Sect B 152/3734. Rosscarbery Nat - 1st, 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1201, 1st, 3rd & 4th Sect B 90/757 and 88th, 92nd & 98th Open 6,212b. Clonmel - 2nd Club vel 1765, 20th Sect B & 110th Open 23,494b. Talbenny (1) - 1st Club vel 1198, 5th Sect B & 99th Open 13,771b. Talbenny (2) - 1st Club vel 1306, 8th Sect B & 83rd Open 10,137b. Yearling Hen Nat - 10th Sect B & 82nd Open 1,341b vel 1237. Rosscarbery - 1st Club vel 1641, 1st Sect B 111/1389. Fermoy 5 Bird - 1st & 2nd Club vel 1976, 1st & 3rd Sect B 59/250 and 50th & 56th Open 1,789b. Penzance - 5th Club vel 1249, 13th Sect B & 138th Open 9,235b. Penzance Classic - 8th Sect B & 82nd Open 3,147b.

Although only the first bird counts the McConville Bros scored a host of places in the young bird NIPA season. Tullamore - 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1891, 15th, 18th, 22nd, 25th & 26th Sect B 130/3238. Roscrea - 1st, 3nd & 3rd Club vel 1723, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 17th, 24th & 25th Sect B 143/3623 and 22nd, 153rd, 154th & 155th Open 24,557b. Clonmel - 1st & 2nd Club vel 1585, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th & 21st Sect B 130/3125 and 40th, 42nd, 68th & 72nd Open 21,269b. Fermoy - 1st, 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1544, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th & 19th Sect B 127/2835 and 31st, 32nd, 35th, 37th, 38th, 40th & 43rd Open 19,390b. Talbenny Nat - 1st Club vel 1155, 4th Sect B 86/534 & 65th Open 3,585b. Tullamore - 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1584, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th & 14th Sect B 88/1690. Mallow - 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1193, 2nd, 6th, 13th, 36th & 37th Sect B 87/1253 and 64th & 140th Open 10,659b. Mallow 5 Bird - 2nd Club vel 1154, 3rd Sect B 55/255 & 68th Open 1,364b. Rosscarbery Nat - 1st, 2nd & 3rd Club vel 1350, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th & 12th Sect B 57/411 and 16th, 18th, 33rd, 94th & 154th Open 3,655b.

Kells & District HPS – Have a meeting arranged for this Thursday at 8.00pm to discuss the Social & Prize night to be held in the Dunsilly Hotel on Friday 1st November. Details of the Show Season are to be put in place and members should return all cups and trophies won last year.


Photo Caption

Hector Cordner of Annaghmore holding "Wee Muriel" winner of the YB Nat Penzance.

The Bullet – Sire of 1st Open NCC 2013.

Beauty Queen – Dam of 1st Open NCC 2013.