Total payouts for the series will be $24,750.00. Payouts will be distributed by drop and then by clocking order if there is no drop. As a reminder we do not keep back any percentage of the prize money for ourselves so this will be a 100% payout to the breeders. Good luck!

Payouts have now been posted on wincompanion to those who won money on the 305 mile race. Wow, that race ended up being a tough one! First off, I want to congratulate all the breeders who had day birds and recognize Dave Harrett of Washington who had the 1st place bird at 991 ypm, coming in all alone ahead of the others. Nice job, Dave. 

The birds were released yesterday morning into head winds for the first 150 miles about (2 to 3 mph) and then it shifted to 5-10 west winds. When you couple that with all the mountain ranges and the fact that the birds are flying upward in elevation continually on this course it can create very difficult circumstances. These conditions truly test birds to their limit. The birds that have arrived home are certainly all very tough birds that flew their hearts out. You should be very proud of those birds as they showed real grit! 

As of this morning "Day 2" birds continue to trickle in and we expect more to arrive throughout the day.  

Kendal

 

The 300 mile race from Bristol Wells is upon us! Good luck to all! We would have liked to get the birds down the road a bit more but have had lots of rain for the past several days. The birds have had a 20 mile and 77 mile toss since the 250 mile race, and have been loft flown frequently. We wish we could have controlled the weather to have held the race this past weekend, but that is beyond our control. We prefer to race when the weather projects a few consecutive days of good weather give all the birds the best chance at returning. Last weekend was just not favorable weather for racing birds. 

 

Total payouts for tomorrow’s race will be $5,000 to the top 10% by drop and then clocking order if there is no drop. 

 

I will post the full payouts tomorrow for the rest of the series so you can see the break down.

 

Kendal

Weather forecast is not great for this weekend. We will hold the 300 mile race early next week as weather permits. Looking forward to the next race! We took the birds 77 miles yesterday to keep them in shape and ready to go for the 300 mile race. Stay tuned.

Thanks,

Kendal

Birds were let out yesterday to loft fly. Training will resume today through the rest of the week. The weather this weekend is calling for rain. We will keep an eye on the forecast and move the race into next week if we have to. We will keep you posted. 

Thanks,

Kendal

Kendal

Birds were taken to the 20 mile spot again this morning. Several are still out loft flying. They are all here just some out having fun still. I moved the birds back to the 20 mile spot this week to avoid training the birds of prey at the 40 mile spot. It seemed that they were starting to figure out my training schedule. I would prefer to train from 40 but pulling them back to 20 and doing extra loft flying this week seemed to be the correct decision based on the falcon attacks last week at 40 miles. We'll resume trainers at the 40 mile spot next week. 20 mile tosses this week at least gets the air sacs open and we loft fly in the evenings so the birds are still putting in work. 

The plan is to hold the 250 miles race this Saturday as long as weather holds up. I will also update entry information for activation fees on wincompanion prior to the next race. All birds have been activated and I'll get you the payout information prior to the next race. 

Kendal

As I write this morning we are sitting at 83% returns for Race 2. What appeared to be a great day early on quickly turned into a tough day with slow returns. First things first: Congrats to all the breeders who had birds on the first drop (15 total) and to Big MileStones for the 1st bird through the trap! Each fancier with a bird on the drop earns a free perch fee for next year. (Drop was the first 15 birds) 

After much thought I feel that perhaps doing more small group tosses on trainers might have helped. If you look at our trainers and early races the birds have consistently come in great, most always in a large group. Saturday they were broken up. We will definitely break the birds down into smaller groups during trainers in the series next year and learn from this. Additionally, I think some of the birds may have been spooked from the falcon attacks on Wednesdays trainer. We had 2 birds return that day with severe injuries from falcons. We normally don't see many falcon attacks here but this week we did. 

The weather was great on Saturday. 3 mph south winds at release and 2 mph southeast winds at the loft upon return. We have been presented many theories by fanciers about what occurred. Health and nutrition have been great on the birds. You don't get day 2 birds if health and nutrition isn't in check. Releasing the birds one hour later than initially intended did not appear to play a role either based upon the returns for our club race which were great overall. Club birds were released before and after the one loft birds so we have 3 sample races to review. (We always release club birds before and after the OLR  and it allows us to get a better read on what happens out there on the course). 

Thanks,

Kendal 

 

We trained from 43 miles this morning. Still waiting on several birds to return. One bird that returned has clearly been hit by a falcon/hawk as it has a massive gash ripped open on it. 31007 AA (owner has been notified)....Our best guess according to the evidence is this attack scattered the birds. We also heard from club members that had difficult tosses from the same direction this morning. Hopefully the birds will continue to trickle in. This is one of the frustrating parts of pigeon racing for any of you that have flown your own birds in club. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Kendal

 

 

 

Race 1 was successful with 97% returns. The birds did a fantastic job and it is fun to see them perform! Congratulations to High Desert Yearling Classic for having the first bird through the trap on a 16 bird drop, also a congrats to all who had birds on the first drop. Job well done. 

 

From this point on it is about balancing training with the proper amount of rest to keep the birds fresh and ready to go each week. We will look to hold the 200 mile race this upcoming Saturday. Birds will continue to be trained this week as they prepare for the 200 mile race. 

 

This is a wonderful time of year with lots of pigeon races, football season and the harvest. We sure love this time of year.

 

Additionally, today is 9/11. We are proud to live in the USA and are grateful for all the service men and women in our country. If you are one of them please know we are grateful for your service to this great country!

Until next week, take care!

 

Kendal