We are at the point now where we can somewhat breathe again! Most of the breeders have paid, some still have checks in the mail and we are taking their word for it however their birds will not be marked paid in the Pd column on Wincompanion until we process their checks/money orders.
In the future, never ever send your checks in regular mail. If sending through the mail send immediately after the Activation Race like we requested and send it Priority, Overnight if you drag your feet.
FOR SALE BIRDS
Click on the Activation Race and click on the Select Breeder drop down tab and click FOR SALE. This will show you all of the birds available for sale. If you want one, or two, or three or however many you want, send me a text at 254-247-9504 with your LOFT NAME and the birds you are interested in. When I text you back I will confirm those birds are still available that you are interested in and then you immediately need to pay for them via PayPal. Just go to our Home Page, click on the PAYMENTS TAB on the left, then select BRONZE tab and put the bird's band numbers in the comments section. I am headed out for a few hours and will respond to texts in the order received so first come first serve.
We are ONLY accepting PayPal for FOR SALE birds.
Our plan was to get the birds trained a few times after the Activation Race. We always wait at least 7 days after the Activation Race to resume training, however over the weekend it was extremely cloudy with wind and mist. Monday and yesterday it rained, very overcast with no sun, some wind. Today it was cloudy this AM and now it is noon and it is extremely windy. Point being, even if we wanted to train we would not of been able to.
Plan was to train today, wind never died down so we just released them off the trailer in the yard. We will try to train tomorrow but of course this is all weather dependent.
So if you know of any of the breeders above please reach out to them for us please, also if you want some more birds to put on your team, or want to get in the race and did not send this year, please read the directions above.
Everyone have a great day!
Rick & Olga
We have just 12 breeders I have not heard from, I will make every effort to contact these breeders tomorrow before their birds are put up for sale and we resume training. In the 8 years we have conducted this race we have only had to sell breeder's birds a few times after making every effort to contact them before doing so. Most of you are paid up and several have said they have checks in the mail and many put the checks in the mail a week ago, they simply have not arrived and we all know the USPS has got slower the last few years. We are ready to move forward and we know all of you are too.
The birds have been loft flown daily, they are flying high, far off, and long. We do not believe in only loft flying before racing, we believe in road training and setting the birds up properly through training and proper feeding for young birds. So don't be concerned, the birds will be road trained before we have the first race which is only 15 miles farther than the Activation Race.
Game plan is to hit the road again Thursday, weather permitting.
This is a update to this message that I sent last night. We have identified 42 breeders who we have not spoken to reference the status of their payments. If you are one of the 42 breeders below please send me a text letting me know if you have sent a check and it is on it's way. If you have not sent a check then use our PayPal on our site under the Payments Tab. If you do not plan on activating your birds please let me know that too.
We are currently at 91.7% paid, this does not include those who have said they sent checks and we have not received yet.
Thanks for your assistance the last 24 hours. We went from 115 breeders we have questions on to the 42 breeders listed below. If you know one or more of those listed below please direct them here so we can keep narrowing this list down until we get 100% of the birds paid for.
There are curretly 26 birds available that are for sale. Go to the activation race results and type in FOR SALE under the -Select Breeder- tab on the left to see view birds. I will not take payments for these birds until I return home Tuesday evening, by all means text me your wish list, first come first serve.
Hopefully we can start training again starting Wednesday and have the first race Sunday or Monday, weather depending.
The message below was sent last night, the list has been revised many times. Those below we do not know what their status is insofar as the status of their birds being paid for.
We currently have 88% of the birds paid for, however we still have nearly 115 breeders whose payment we have not processed yet to get us to 100% which we have done every year. We need your help in reaching out to your friends on the list directing them here to read the following and to follow the instructions below. If you see someone on the list you know, or if you are the breeder yourself, then please send us a text letting us know if you sent your payment or not.
I will be out of town until next Tuesday evening so there is not need to call. Just send a text with your Loft Name included so I know who you are. When I get back Tuesday evening I will go through every text and narrow this list down to just the few who I need to call before their pigeons are sold. Your help is much appreciated, we just do not have time to call everyone especially pigeon people because it turns in to a minimum 30 minute conversation every time. This is simply the fastest and most efficient means to get the word out quickly that we are ramping down to accepting payments because we need to get back to training and eventually racing!
Before we get started, this is in no way calling out anyone on the list or trying to embarass anyone. Many of you have texted or called us, it is impossible to remember every conversation. We understand that many of you sent your payments out early in the week, if you do not have a check mark next to your birds then we have not received your payment yet. We posted a list like this last year and it took less than 24 hours to go from over a 100 unpaid breeders to just a handfull. Again, we do not have time to call each breeder.
Instructions:
If you are not going to activate your pigeons, send me a text at 254-247-9504 stating your Apple Cup Loft Name and that you will not be activating your pigeons this year.
It is too late to send checks through the mail, UNLESS you overnight it on Monday so Olga can pick them Tuesday before I get home. Go to our PAYMENTS TAB on this site located under the HOME page, it is very easy to use. All birds MUST be entered in the Bronze category, this is the main race, the Silver and Gold are purely optional. Go to the Activation Race results, lots of breeders entering these two optional categories which have a green dot next to the birds nominated.
Below are the breeders whose payment has not been received via PayPal (Preferred payment method) or through the mail. If you sent a check just text us letting us know the date, if you have not go to PayPal and get it done please.
When we are contacted with your status we will remove your loft name from this list.
Again, phone number to text is 254-247-9504, make sure you include your Loft Name that you are using in this race.
11 Pluma Darwin Loft
3s Loft
1776 Loft
4 EverBossWings
Adams Loft of Yousif
ABBA Loft
Bottoms Up Loft
Blue Megan Loft
Bossmates
Cespedes Loft
CM Loft
D Sauler Loft Syndicate
Don's Loft 2
Doug Family Loft
El Potro Loft
Freedom Loft
First Flight Loft
Guerrero Loft
Goldstar Lofts of Illinois
Huttelmayer Racing Strains
Joe and Maria Salpietro
Looper Loft
Los Gordos Loft
Mt Olympus Loft
Missiles Castro
M Aquino Loft
Medina Loft FL
Monsters of the Midway Loft House of Dragons
Ortega Loft
Pieper Legacy Loft
Stonesthrow
Sparks Trio Syndicate
Soriano Family Loft
ThunderWingRacingLoft
Tony & Diego Loft
Tavares/Fortune
Team Lost Mulaticos
Vier Freunde
Van Den Bossche Hillside Loft
Wilmer Pinera
Wicked Dreams Loft
Winona Loft
Thank you so much for your assistance in helping us get everyone paid up so we can start training again so we get to racing!
This list was updated at 11 PM on 9-23, it will be updated as we hear from more breeders.
We currently have 77% of the birds paid for and a lot of checks we are being told are on the way. Tomorrow I will process the checks that arrive along with PayPal payments that we receive between now and then. We will post a list of those who have not paid yet tomorrow, we do this annually and it usually gets everyone else paid up quickly. We post this list not to call anyone out, we simply do not have time to try to contact 150-200 breeders who are not paid up.
Please pay your fees now, if you see a friend's name on the list tell them to do the same.
It is not too late to enter the Silver and Gold, lots of breeders are paying via our PayPal link under our PAYMENTS TAB selecting a bird or two to enter in those two optional categories. Make sure you click on the right tab and enter the bird's band number to be nominated.
We have a little over 1/3 of the birds paid for, we expect a lot of checks Thursday and Friday.
Activation fees are due Friday. If paying via PayPal just click on our home page and go to the Payments Tab. Click on the Bronze tab to pay for all of your birds that returned from the Activation Race. If entering the Silver or Gold categories then use these two separate tabs to pay for those categories and include the bird's band numbers please.
If paying with a check make sure you put your Loft Name in the bottom left hand corner of the check. If entering the optional Silver and Gold categories print the Entry Form under the Entry Form tab and send it with the check. If you can't print this out then include a note with the bird's band numbers you want entered in the Silver and Gold categories.
There are currently about 100 birds entered in the optional categories and about 1/3 of the birds are paid for. We suspect we will have about 300 birds entered in the Silver and Gold categories.
If you have not already sent a check and are unwilling to use our PayPal link then send your payment express or overnight mail. If paying via PayPal then please do it by Friday at midnight.
IF YOU DO NOT PLAN TO ACTIVATE YOUR BIRDS PLEASE SEND US A TEXT WITH YOUR LOFT NAME SO I CAN FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL.
If you have a question please send us a text and identify yourself by Loft Name.
254-247-9504
Thanks everyone!
If you have questions about how to pay your entry fees please read this and the previous update posted yesterday, I will also put in this update a few things that I should of in the last after the Activation Race.
Please put your LOFT NAME on the check, money order, or cashier's check so when it arrives we know where to give credit.
It would be highly advisable that if paying through the mail to get a tracking number.
All races end 48 hours after release, this means that the activation race will be completed at 0745 tomorrow morning. If you are still missing birds then please wait until tomorrow morning to see if they return. If you have birds return after 0745 and want to activate them then by all means do so, however if you do have birds clock after 0745 then it is your choice to activate or not to activate and we can talk about this.
There is a ton of interest in the SILVER and GOLD, many are entering and many entering across the board meaning they are entering their birds in each category. If you want to be part of these optional categories then read yesterday's update which is right below this one, just scroll down, to see the instructions.
Currently we have less than 100 pigeons that did not make it back from the Activation Race, we hope to get 52 more which will put us at 2,200 entered in the race.
If you are in a partnership please just have one person pay for the fees, it gets confusing dealing with several individuals under the same Loft Name. Now if you absolutely can not do that then when you send in your fees make sure that your loft name is listed on the check and list the band numbers of the birds you are paying for under that Loft Name.
If you have someone other than yourself sending fees for you make sure the loft name is included, somewhere. If you do not do this then we often times have a very difficult time figuring out who someone is when the name on the check is not associated with anyone entered in our race, please make things a little less complicated.
Birds poured in this morning, hoping for 52 more but if you get just a few we will be happy.
It is going to be a exciting race breeders, we are excited and hope you are too!
Remember to scroll down and read our updates before texting or calling asking the same questions which are covered in these updates. I am not good at time management when pigeon people call so it is always best to text. Ha Ha
Make checks out to the Apple Cup, nothing else.
Have a great Sunday!
Congratulations to everyone who have birds already in the clock. We are still out less than 200 birds, hopefully they return this evening once it starts to cool off and the sun starts to go down. We also expect some birds in the AM, this happens every year and I am sure many of you have noticed the same having most likely flown pigeons yourself at one time or another. We did have at least one bird come home with no tail telling us that they did get hit today, probably a falcon when they were crossing the Columbia River about 70 miles south of the house. When they are hit by a falcon many will hide out until right before dark and then try to make it home, some will on the day and some will make it the next morning.
As per our rules, all races are 48 hours so if you are still out some pigeons please give it until 0745 on Sunday to figure out what you need to send to activate your pigeons. Remember, it is all or nothing when it comes to activation of your pigeons no picking and choosing.
I must of answered 20 calls and texts this morning reference the Silver and Gold, there is A LOT of interest in those two optional categories and we are very excited to see this. Here is the nuts and bolts to how those races work.
BRONZE, this is mandatory and all birds must be entered. It is $250 per bird, we take out our $100 perch and 15% of the capital.
The SILVER & GOLD are optional, you can enter either or, or both. They are $250 per bird, we take 15% of the capital which means most goes toward the prizes. Since we do not take the perch fee from these two races but only the BRONZE and only keep 15%, there could be a huge prize pool in these two races. Like I said, there is a lot of interest in these two optional races so if you have a gut feeling on some of your pigeone then please give it a try.
BRONZE covers first 10 positions on the 250 and 300, pays out the top 10 positions in AVG Speed, and pays the top 10% of the pigeons shipped to the final 350 mile race. The SILVER and GOLD pay out only on the final race to the top 10% of the pigeons shipped in those categories. If you enter a pigeon across the board, meaning it is entered in all three categories, BRONZE, SILVER, and GOLD and it does great on the final then you can afford to buy that new car or truck you been dreaming of! Ha Ha
If paying by way of check, money order, or cashier's check and you want to enter the SILVER or GOLD or both please print the form on our site on the HOME page and fill it out and send it with your payment. If you can not print it then just write who your nominated pigeons are on a piece of paper listing your LOFT NAME, then the bird's band numbers you want to enter in those two optional categories.
If paying online go to our PAYMENTS tab and you can pay for your BRONZE, SILVER, and GOLD entries there. If entering the SILVER or GOLD, or both, it will require the band numbers of the birds nominated.
I am beat, went to bed at 2300 and woke up at 0300, time to take a nap!
If you have questions it is always best to text, please identify yourself by Loft Name. 254-247-9504, please do not email.
Studying the weather all day it seems that tomorrow is our best day to have the Activation Race in about a week. Starting Sunday we will have strong head winds and it increases up to next Wednesday, also some of those days it is supposed to be very cloudy. Saturday an area club is racing and on Sunday the same. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny with a ever so slight tail wind at the start which turns in to a slight head wind at the middle on to home. Olga and I decided to shoot for tomorrow because we just do not see a better opportunity for about a week.
Good luck to everyone tomorrow!
As predicted, most of the birds crossed the Columbia River for the first time with no problems, however a minority obviously did as they do every year. We currently have about 86% of the birds in the loft and expect a bunch in the morning.
I wish I knew why some birds cross the river with ease and why some struggle with it, but this I do know. Once they have crossed it once they are good the rest of the series, they become hard to loose and are tough as nails. I predict that however many birds we ship to the activation race will make it back from the activation race, this happens every year. As I have mentioned several times this year and sound like a broken record I know, these birds have to cross several ridgelines to make it home and crossing the Columbia River is their final test. As my good friend Rex likes to say, this aint no cupcake course!
We will not have the activation race Friday, just would not be fair to the birds that returned late today and will tomorrow morning. We will study the weather and look for a good day probably as early as Sunday, however most likely Monday or Tuesday next week.....stay tuned!
Everyone have a good evening!
As you probably already know, we moved the 80 miler a day due to forecasted overcast and headwinds. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and calm, hopefully the birds have no problem crossing the river for the first time. We always want a clear calm day the first time across the river, once they have crossed it once they will cross it in any type of weather just look at our results under the RESULTS tab and under this click on ARCHIVES.
Providing everything goes as planned and the weather forecast looks good, we will rest Thursday and have the Activation Race Friday. My plan is to get the birds released early so if they face some adversity they will have all day to get home.
For those of you sending your perch/entry combined fee through the mail, please go to our site under the HOME page and click on the 2023 ENTRY FORM that Olga posted yesterday. Go ahead and print it out and include this in a envelope with your check or money order. If you can not print from home then just use a piece of paper and write NEATLY all of the information on the form that we have on our site. If you are entering the BRONZE only a form is not necessary, the form is for those of you who want to enter the SILVER & GOLD categories and requires the nominated bird's band numbers. Print out the form now and get your envelope prepared with a stamp on it, get it sent ASAP after the Activation Race so we do not have to make a bunch of calls which we just do not have time for.
For those of you wanting to pay via PayPal, OUR ONLY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT, Olga will have that finished today or tomorrow. You will be able to pay for all of your birds entered in the BRONZE which again is mandatory and we do not need band numbers, but for the SLIVER & GOLD you will be required to enter all of the birds you want entered in each category by band number. Go to our PAYMENTS TAB and take a look, it will definitely be done before the Activation Race. There are PayPal fees included, please do not try to send through friends and family and do not send it to Olga's email address, both of these will be returned.
Had a great time talking to Rex from the Sooner Challenge today during his daily live feed, it was impromptu and was about 20 minutes. Rex has had several guests in the morning during his live feed and has been asking me to get on there for some time. We will wait until we get at least the Activation Race out of the way before we plan a date which all of you on Facebook will be able to view. If anyone knows Rex and knows me, well just get ready for a heck of a interview is all I can say! Ha Ha
Pray for good weather tomorrow, we need all the help we can get!
