Last Saturday see my last race of the season. As most people know it has been a very difficult year for my family and myself. During the week it appears our luck may at last be changing, fingers crossed. We shall find out for sure this week. with what we hope is some positive family news. Then on Saturday the pigeons come with a bang. All things considered I was amazed with there performance. Having the first 2 Young birds into Essex being provisionally 4th and 5th open National. Only sending 11 Young birds. I also sent 3 yearling hens in the old hens race. These hens were surplus for the old bird loft last year so I just left them in the yb loft and they were treated the same as my ybs. Only difference being they had one Wednesday race the ybs did not have.
On the Friday I was thinking about the pigeons I had sent and looking at the training and racing they have had and I realised this race was only the 22nd time these ybs had been in a basket. This included the first 2 tosses from 5 miles.
I would normally like my ybs to have around 20-25 training tosses before there first club race from under 80 miles.
There was nothing I could do now. The birds were in there way and liberated from St Malo 237 miles to me. After 3 hours and 53 minutes. I see 4 pigeons bang on what I call my club line. It is far from ideal but is the way the pigeons come to me on the land races. Which means they have dog legged. I kicked myself as the normal training I do from Brighton normally stops this for the channel races and straightens them up a bit. But I only managed to get 1 trainer in from there this year. Never mind 4 together and bang on the time I expected them was good news. I was a little surprised that all 4 were actually for me but They did a turn and a half and hit the traps a little stunned. One hesitated a few seconds before trapping and recording but not to much as all 4 clocked in 11 seconds I had a yb on the clock first followed by a yearling hen then another yb and then another yearling hen. Just 6 minutes later the final yearling hit the trap. This was followed 5 minutes later by another yb and then a further 10 minutes passed to get another yb. 7 back in 20 minutes in a national open to the country and on a day with heavy showers about I was very pleased.
I looked on the National website and see my young birds would be sitting in 4th spot and at that point my old hens would be winning the National. However this was short lived as my partner in Zwols pigeons John Cowlin called to inform me he had beat me in the old bens race but not in the yb race he knew this as he had looked on Benzing live and see my time and what I had clocked.
On the provisional results. I am 4th open YB and I suspect I will be 5th as well as there was just 4 seconds between the 2 young birds. Both of these are Goemaere José & Gustave – Colombophile crossed with our Frans Zwols. I sent 4 young birds with Goemaere blood in them. 3 made it home being 1st, 2nd and 4th back home. A cracking start for our new pigeons. With John Cowlin first 3 Young birds also being crosses of Zwols and Goemaere pigeons. Including his 2nd and 3rd ones being actual grandchildren of Gustave XIV.
On the old bird I am provisionally 2nd open with the other one just 8 seconds behind and only one other fancier clocking before my 3rd hen. I think I should have all 3 of my hens in the top 12 ish of the open result. John Cowlin will equal the prevous record of taking the first 4 in a National flying club race a record that stood to 2020 when John Cowlin set the bar very high by taking the first 8 positions in the yb national that day. I believe he now has the record of the first 8 and also joint second with the first 4 in the Bational flying club. Wonderful records to hold and both times he knocked me down as I was second member both times 
. Just shows how our pigeons love and excel in national racing. With another 4 nationals/classics won in 2025 with our bloodlines.