DEREK
FLOWERS Of PONTYPOOL
The Success story continues.
2010 National Results:-
Section 1st ,1st Welsh South East National FC Folkestone 2010.
1st East Section Welsh South Road NFC Vire.
1st Section 2nd Open Welsh National Metz
1st Section 2nd Open Welsh South East National Reims[beaten by a decimal]
1st east section 1st Open Welsh South East NFC Saverne 504 miles.
1st Open Welsh National Saverne.
2011 National Results:-
1st Sect 1st Open Welsh National Maidstone.
1st section 1st Open Welsh National Bonn.
1st section 1st Open Welsh SENFC Pont-a-Mousson.
1st &3rd Open Welsh SENFC Lillers Young Birds.
2012-1st and 2nd Folkestone Young bird National- 863 birds.
2013- First year racing on the South road:
1st,2nd,3rd,10th,14th 4,537birds.
1st Fed,2nd Fed,3rd Fed, plus many other top.
2014- National results:
Lydden Hill 186 Miles
1st&3rd National 2,853 birds, beating Combine total of 4,684 birds.
Kinzweiler 406 miles.
1st,2nd,3rd-7th & 16th, National 722birds beating a combination of 1005 birds.
The above results are literally just the tip of the iceberg as Derek, ably assisted by his brother Clive, has an absolute mountain of other National prizes to add to the above outright National wins.
I first wrote about this fancier in 2009 when he had only recently returned to the sport after a prolonged sabbatical. However, in the eight short years since his return he has amassed more than 80 x 1sts at club level, plus scores of other top three positions in strong club competition, Added to this club success, there are many wins in Federation races in the Welsh North Road Federation with, at one stage, up to 400 competing lofts. The National performances listed in the heading above, which can only be described as phenomenal, clearly show that Derek Flowers is a fancier of the highest calibre and proves beyond doubt, that his selection of stock at the time of his return to the sport was spot on.
Derek had pigeons with his father some years ago but left the sport for quite a time in order to concentrate on his business. In 2006, with brother Clive’s help, Derek started up again with young birds and immediately set about the opposition in the strong Torfaen S.E.F.C. winning 9 x 1sts and 6 x 2nds plus two firsts Fed Open and three section firsts. The young bird season ended with Derek’s babies winning 32 positions at club level and 15 Federation prizes.
The success story continued in 2007 with yearlings and young birds winning 11 x 1sts;9 x 2nds and a total of 49 positions at club level plus 2x 1st Fed and 2 x 1st section and a further 29 Federation prizes and 22 National and Combine prizes, to round off another excellent season’s racing. One of the highlights of the 2007 season was the winning of 1st,3rd,9th & 12th Fed Maidstone. Derek also clocked two yearlings on the day from Bonn at 450 miles, these being the only two birds on the day in the club, both birds containing the best of Scammell & Peploe’s multi National winning bloodlines.
So we move on to the 2008 season and once again the Flowers’ race team were on top form from the word go. A total of 12 x 1sts; 9 x 2nds were included in an incredible 60 club prizes. Once again the team excelled at Federation level with a total of 34 Fed cards finding their way into the Flowers portfolio. These Federation prizes included a 1st,2nd& 4th Open won in one race, and this remember, competing against many thousands of birds. Another highlight of the season was the winning of the longest race from Giessen at 540 miles with the only bird in race time. The Giessen winner proved to be a two year old blue hen of Janssen x De Klak bloodlines originating from pigeons purchased from the Lancashire partnership of Wall , Lunt & Green when Derek re started in the sport in 2006. This hen, known as the “Giessen Hen”, now has FOURTEEN top National turns to her credit including 1st National Pont – a- Mousson in 2011. Incidentally, the “Giessen Hen” also won 1st section 6th Open National Lillers in 2011 in the build up to her win from Pont-a- Moussson.
THE LOFT.
The main racing loft is a custom built 34 ft x 9ft structure containing five sections with a 3ft wide corridor fronting the internal sections. Two sections for cocks contain the very popular up and over style nest boxes with grid floors incorporated to reduce the work load. Next to these sections is a small section that houses the hens plus a further two sections to house the 50 strong young bird team. Sliding doors on the outside of the loft are covered with a fine green mesh which allows air and light into the loft but stops any rain driving into the interior. These are in place throughout daylight hours as the loft doors are only closed at night so there is no lack of ventilation here.
MANAGEMENT.
The old bird team of 25 pairs is raced on the ever popular round about system. Both cocks and hens are raced throughout the season. The racers are mated at the end of January and allowed to rear a young bird before the hens are taken away once the babies are ready for weaning. Cocks and hens are exercised twice daily for one hour on each occasion and also receive two twenty mile training tosses per week. All birds are fed communally in a hopper with a light breakdown feed on race return and in the early part of the week. A stronger racing mix containing a fair proportion of maize is then fed in the final days before basketting. Once the channel races arrive the birds are re mated and are sent to selected races in each individual pigeons’ favoured nest condition. This may be sitting eggs or on a small baby – it’s all down to the individual bird and Derek’s observations in the loft.
The twelve pairs of stock birds are also mated in the last week of January. The stock birds are housed in a converted summer house with a large aviary attached.
BLOODLINES.
The main bloodlines responsible for the Flowers’ success are a combination of Wall, Lunt and Green Janssens and De Klaks and Scammell and Peploe “Nearly Cock” bloodlines. Derek has found that the WLG Janssens excel up to 300 miles at which stage the Janssen x de Klak crosses seem to come into their own through to 550 miles.
The Scammell & Peploe birds thrive at any distance but are exceptional on dirty days when the wind is on the nose and most of the convoy is struggling. They are tough little no nonsense pigeons, which wouldn’t win in the show pen, but invariably get the red card when the race is long and the conditions hard. An excellent example of this family’s hardiness is the 2010 Saverne National winner, a blue w/f hen which turned up trumps again in 2011 by winning 1st National Bonn. That’s two National wins in two years by the same pigeon. They really are tough, no nonsense little characters.
Recent introductions have been made with the purchase at the clearance sale of the National winning stock birds of Jenkins & Newton. With an eye for the growing interest in long distance classic racing, Derek has introduced some top class and very expensive stock from Raymond Moleveld plus some selected birds from Steve and Lesley Wright at the House of Aarden. However the Moleveld pigeons are yet to be tested at the distance, but a yearling hen bred from the Moleveld Sprint/ Middle Distance introductions won the Maidstone National in fine style in 2011.
Most recently some G & S Verkerk and Heremans Ceusters pigeons have been added to the melting pot to good effect.
The Janssens and De Klaks are particularly impressive specimens, a little above medium in size, the cocks were light framed with magnificent bold heads and rich silky feathering. The hens too came into the hand well and were more apple bodied with excellent pectoral muscles.
The 2010 season turned out to be an exceptional one even by Derek’s high standards! The birds were in superb form right from the off, winning numerous club and Federation prizes including 1st section Fed from Dover. So by the time of the Folkestone [2] National race the team were really buzzing and one hen in particular was buzzing louder than any as she raced home to win the Welsh SENFC by a clear margin of 27 ypm and was also the first bird to be clocked into Wales beating more than 6,500 birds in the process. This same hen had topped the North section of the Welsh National in the previous week’s race from Dover [200 miles].She is a yearling cross bred Jan Aarden x Wall, Lunt & Green Janssen. The sire was purchased from Steve and Lesley Wright at “The House of Aarden” and is a double grand son of “Invincible Spirit” while the mother contains all the very best of the WLG Janssens going back to the “05” and “Wonderboy” lines.
The winner of 1st section National in the Vire race proved to be a two year old, bred down from local aces Scammell & Peploe’s National winning family. You would think that things couldn’t get any better but you would be wrong as on one weekend the Flowers’ team won 1st section 2nd Open National in two separate races. This was closely followed by an even better weekend’s racing, when in the Saverne race at 504 miles, Derek managed to WIN TWO Nationals on the same weekend! I don’t like quoting reams of prizes won but in this case I will detail the Flowers’ team’s terrific run of National performances during the 2010 old bird campaign.
Welsh North Road National:-
1st North Section Dover [200 miles].
4th & 7th sect 9th & 15th Open Lillers[250 miles].
2nd & 5th section 5th & 16th Open Reims[350 miles].
1st & 11th sect 2nd &41st Open Metz[450 miles].
6th sect 18th Open Folkestone.
1st,2nd & 8th sect 1st, 4th & 15th Open Saverne[504 miles].
With the Welsh SENFC [flying the south east route through to the German/French/Swiss border]:-
1st section 1st Open Folkestone, also beating every other pigeon liberated that day and homing into Wales, a total in excess of 6,500 birds.
1st East sect 3rd Open Lillers.
2nd & 14th sect 2nd & 14th Open Reims.
6th sect 26th Open Pont-a-mousson,
1st & 3rd sect 1st & 28th Open Saverne.
With the Welsh SRNFC [ flying direct south]:- 1st section Vire. Not bad for a lifetime in the sport let alone one old bird season. The young birds also raced well winning at club and Fed level before finishing off the season in fine style with 3rd National Folkestone and 1st & 2nd National Lillers. This was terrific pigeon flying of the very highest order.
The success story continued unabated into the 2011 season. Listed here are the 2011 NATIONAL race results:-
Welsh South East NFC:-
Maidstone. 2nd, 14th,21st &22nd Section. 3rd Open.
Folkestone. 1st,3rd,7th,14th,25th & 29th section;36th,39th,45th etc Open.
Folkestone 2 .3rd,4th,6th,12th,13th,15th section 21st,30th,32nd etc Open.
Lillers.1st section 30th Open.
Reims. 2nd ,5th & 14th section;5th,11th & 54th Open.
Pont-a-Mousson. [A very difficult race where many failed to time in]:- 1st,3rd,5th,6th,10th,11th & 17th section;
1st,4th,8th,10th,29th,35th & 56th Open.
Competing with the Welsh National [ flying through to Germany- no duplication]:-
Maidstone. 1st,4th,5th,7th,12th & 16th section;1st,5th,6th,24th,42nd & 56th Open.
Folkestone.1st,13th &20th section;6th,48th & 88th Open.
Lillers.1st,2nd, 4th ,5th,7th,11th 13th section;6th,12th,17th,22nd,25th,54th &65th Open.
Brussels.1st, 2nd,3rd,9th,10th section;4th,8th,13th, 46th &47th Open.
Huy.2nd,3rd,7th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th & 15th section;11th,12th,23rd,35th,43rd,48th,52nd,&58th Open.
Bonn. 1st,4th,5th &10th section;1st,8th,11th &26th Open.
I should make the point that all the above channel races, on both routes, were difficult affairs with most fanciers experiencing large gaps in their returns, and yet, as the above results clearly show, the Flowers’ team turned up “en masse” in every race and not once did they miss the National results. This is pigeon racing of the highest order.
Perhaps at this point it might be appropriate to highlight some of the individual stars of the loft during the past few seasons.
Chequer cock”50” this cock of Wall ,Lunt & Green bloodlines has won the following National prizes:-
119th Open [3,472 birds] Maidstone;1st section 36th Open Folkestone [3,056 birds];1st section 3rd Open Lillers[3,126 birds];392nd Open Reims [1,653 birds] plus 4th section 5th Open Maidstone WNR National [912 birds].
Next we have a son of the Pont a Mousson National winning hen -“The Giessen Hen”[ whose performances are outlined below] which in 2011 won as a yearling in National races:-
2nd section 3rd Open Maidstone [3,472 birds]; 7th section 45th Open Folkestone [3,056 birds]; 2nd section 5th Open Reims [1,653 birds]; 3rd section 4th Open Pontamousson [760 birds]. He is of WL&G x DeKlak bloodlines.
Finally we have “The Giessen Hen” a three year old hen in the 2011 season that in 2011 alone won in National races:-35th section, 109th Open Folkestone;12th section 42nd Open Maidstone;13th section, 48th Open Folkestone; 1st section 6th Open Lillers and to cap it all 1st section 1st Open Pontamousson! Add to these 2011 performances a further eight top National positions from 180 – 520 miles and you have a record to match any in Wales in National competition.
In the Lillers Young Bird National of 2011 Derek and Clive enjoyed yet another good race when they clocked two of their entries in this 250 mile Channel race to finish 1st & 3rd Open in the Welsh SENFC.
This season, 2014, has seen another two National wins and the following are the details of these two latest National winners at the Flowers loft.
The Lynden Hill National Winner is bred from Gem 84,a full sister of the famous Grey Gem of Wall ,Lunt & Green. She, along with the Grey Gem, was gifted to Derek and Clive by Wall-Lunt & Green. She has reared some great pigeons for the brothers, and was paired to a direct son of the Merlin pair who were also responsible for scores of winners.
This season's Kinzweiler National Winner is bred from a daughter of Gem 83 when paired to a cock from G&S Verkerk - a direct son of Olympic Sogno.
The winner of 2nd National Kinzweiler is from the recently introduced Herman Ceusters and had been a very consistent yearling hen, scoring at least five other top positions at Federation and National level..
There you have it , an up to date report on the phenomenal success story of one of the most successful fanciers in Wales at the present time.
Well done Derek and Clive.
Gareth Watkins
The Success story continues.
2010 National Results:-
Section 1st ,1st Welsh South East National FC Folkestone 2010.
1st East Section Welsh South Road NFC Vire.
1st Section 2nd Open Welsh National Metz
1st Section 2nd Open Welsh South East National Reims[beaten by a decimal]
1st east section 1st Open Welsh South East NFC Saverne 504 miles.
1st Open Welsh National Saverne.
2011 National Results:-
1st Sect 1st Open Welsh National Maidstone.
1st section 1st Open Welsh National Bonn.
1st section 1st Open Welsh SENFC Pont-a-Mousson.
1st &3rd Open Welsh SENFC Lillers Young Birds.
2012-1st and 2nd Folkestone Young bird National- 863 birds.
2013- First year racing on the South road:
1st,2nd,3rd,10th,14th 4,537birds.
1st Fed,2nd Fed,3rd Fed, plus many other top.
2014- National results:
Lydden Hill 186 Miles
1st&3rd National 2,853 birds, beating Combine total of 4,684 birds.
Kinzweiler 406 miles.
1st,2nd,3rd-7th & 16th, National 722birds beating a combination of 1005 birds.
The above results are literally just the tip of the iceberg as Derek, ably assisted by his brother Clive, has an absolute mountain of other National prizes to add to the above outright National wins.
I first wrote about this fancier in 2009 when he had only recently returned to the sport after a prolonged sabbatical. However, in the eight short years since his return he has amassed more than 80 x 1sts at club level, plus scores of other top three positions in strong club competition, Added to this club success, there are many wins in Federation races in the Welsh North Road Federation with, at one stage, up to 400 competing lofts. The National performances listed in the heading above, which can only be described as phenomenal, clearly show that Derek Flowers is a fancier of the highest calibre and proves beyond doubt, that his selection of stock at the time of his return to the sport was spot on.
Derek had pigeons with his father some years ago but left the sport for quite a time in order to concentrate on his business. In 2006, with brother Clive’s help, Derek started up again with young birds and immediately set about the opposition in the strong Torfaen S.E.F.C. winning 9 x 1sts and 6 x 2nds plus two firsts Fed Open and three section firsts. The young bird season ended with Derek’s babies winning 32 positions at club level and 15 Federation prizes.
The success story continued in 2007 with yearlings and young birds winning 11 x 1sts;9 x 2nds and a total of 49 positions at club level plus 2x 1st Fed and 2 x 1st section and a further 29 Federation prizes and 22 National and Combine prizes, to round off another excellent season’s racing. One of the highlights of the 2007 season was the winning of 1st,3rd,9th & 12th Fed Maidstone. Derek also clocked two yearlings on the day from Bonn at 450 miles, these being the only two birds on the day in the club, both birds containing the best of Scammell & Peploe’s multi National winning bloodlines.
So we move on to the 2008 season and once again the Flowers’ race team were on top form from the word go. A total of 12 x 1sts; 9 x 2nds were included in an incredible 60 club prizes. Once again the team excelled at Federation level with a total of 34 Fed cards finding their way into the Flowers portfolio. These Federation prizes included a 1st,2nd& 4th Open won in one race, and this remember, competing against many thousands of birds. Another highlight of the season was the winning of the longest race from Giessen at 540 miles with the only bird in race time. The Giessen winner proved to be a two year old blue hen of Janssen x De Klak bloodlines originating from pigeons purchased from the Lancashire partnership of Wall , Lunt & Green when Derek re started in the sport in 2006. This hen, known as the “Giessen Hen”, now has FOURTEEN top National turns to her credit including 1st National Pont – a- Mousson in 2011. Incidentally, the “Giessen Hen” also won 1st section 6th Open National Lillers in 2011 in the build up to her win from Pont-a- Moussson.
THE LOFT.
The main racing loft is a custom built 34 ft x 9ft structure containing five sections with a 3ft wide corridor fronting the internal sections. Two sections for cocks contain the very popular up and over style nest boxes with grid floors incorporated to reduce the work load. Next to these sections is a small section that houses the hens plus a further two sections to house the 50 strong young bird team. Sliding doors on the outside of the loft are covered with a fine green mesh which allows air and light into the loft but stops any rain driving into the interior. These are in place throughout daylight hours as the loft doors are only closed at night so there is no lack of ventilation here.
MANAGEMENT.
The old bird team of 25 pairs is raced on the ever popular round about system. Both cocks and hens are raced throughout the season. The racers are mated at the end of January and allowed to rear a young bird before the hens are taken away once the babies are ready for weaning. Cocks and hens are exercised twice daily for one hour on each occasion and also receive two twenty mile training tosses per week. All birds are fed communally in a hopper with a light breakdown feed on race return and in the early part of the week. A stronger racing mix containing a fair proportion of maize is then fed in the final days before basketting. Once the channel races arrive the birds are re mated and are sent to selected races in each individual pigeons’ favoured nest condition. This may be sitting eggs or on a small baby – it’s all down to the individual bird and Derek’s observations in the loft.
The twelve pairs of stock birds are also mated in the last week of January. The stock birds are housed in a converted summer house with a large aviary attached.
BLOODLINES.
The main bloodlines responsible for the Flowers’ success are a combination of Wall, Lunt and Green Janssens and De Klaks and Scammell and Peploe “Nearly Cock” bloodlines. Derek has found that the WLG Janssens excel up to 300 miles at which stage the Janssen x de Klak crosses seem to come into their own through to 550 miles.
The Scammell & Peploe birds thrive at any distance but are exceptional on dirty days when the wind is on the nose and most of the convoy is struggling. They are tough little no nonsense pigeons, which wouldn’t win in the show pen, but invariably get the red card when the race is long and the conditions hard. An excellent example of this family’s hardiness is the 2010 Saverne National winner, a blue w/f hen which turned up trumps again in 2011 by winning 1st National Bonn. That’s two National wins in two years by the same pigeon. They really are tough, no nonsense little characters.
Recent introductions have been made with the purchase at the clearance sale of the National winning stock birds of Jenkins & Newton. With an eye for the growing interest in long distance classic racing, Derek has introduced some top class and very expensive stock from Raymond Moleveld plus some selected birds from Steve and Lesley Wright at the House of Aarden. However the Moleveld pigeons are yet to be tested at the distance, but a yearling hen bred from the Moleveld Sprint/ Middle Distance introductions won the Maidstone National in fine style in 2011.
Most recently some G & S Verkerk and Heremans Ceusters pigeons have been added to the melting pot to good effect.
The Janssens and De Klaks are particularly impressive specimens, a little above medium in size, the cocks were light framed with magnificent bold heads and rich silky feathering. The hens too came into the hand well and were more apple bodied with excellent pectoral muscles.
The 2010 season turned out to be an exceptional one even by Derek’s high standards! The birds were in superb form right from the off, winning numerous club and Federation prizes including 1st section Fed from Dover. So by the time of the Folkestone [2] National race the team were really buzzing and one hen in particular was buzzing louder than any as she raced home to win the Welsh SENFC by a clear margin of 27 ypm and was also the first bird to be clocked into Wales beating more than 6,500 birds in the process. This same hen had topped the North section of the Welsh National in the previous week’s race from Dover [200 miles].She is a yearling cross bred Jan Aarden x Wall, Lunt & Green Janssen. The sire was purchased from Steve and Lesley Wright at “The House of Aarden” and is a double grand son of “Invincible Spirit” while the mother contains all the very best of the WLG Janssens going back to the “05” and “Wonderboy” lines.
The winner of 1st section National in the Vire race proved to be a two year old, bred down from local aces Scammell & Peploe’s National winning family. You would think that things couldn’t get any better but you would be wrong as on one weekend the Flowers’ team won 1st section 2nd Open National in two separate races. This was closely followed by an even better weekend’s racing, when in the Saverne race at 504 miles, Derek managed to WIN TWO Nationals on the same weekend! I don’t like quoting reams of prizes won but in this case I will detail the Flowers’ team’s terrific run of National performances during the 2010 old bird campaign.
Welsh North Road National:-
1st North Section Dover [200 miles].
4th & 7th sect 9th & 15th Open Lillers[250 miles].
2nd & 5th section 5th & 16th Open Reims[350 miles].
1st & 11th sect 2nd &41st Open Metz[450 miles].
6th sect 18th Open Folkestone.
1st,2nd & 8th sect 1st, 4th & 15th Open Saverne[504 miles].
With the Welsh SENFC [flying the south east route through to the German/French/Swiss border]:-
1st section 1st Open Folkestone, also beating every other pigeon liberated that day and homing into Wales, a total in excess of 6,500 birds.
1st East sect 3rd Open Lillers.
2nd & 14th sect 2nd & 14th Open Reims.
6th sect 26th Open Pont-a-mousson,
1st & 3rd sect 1st & 28th Open Saverne.
With the Welsh SRNFC [ flying direct south]:- 1st section Vire. Not bad for a lifetime in the sport let alone one old bird season. The young birds also raced well winning at club and Fed level before finishing off the season in fine style with 3rd National Folkestone and 1st & 2nd National Lillers. This was terrific pigeon flying of the very highest order.
The success story continued unabated into the 2011 season. Listed here are the 2011 NATIONAL race results:-
Welsh South East NFC:-
Maidstone. 2nd, 14th,21st &22nd Section. 3rd Open.
Folkestone. 1st,3rd,7th,14th,25th & 29th section;36th,39th,45th etc Open.
Folkestone 2 .3rd,4th,6th,12th,13th,15th section 21st,30th,32nd etc Open.
Lillers.1st section 30th Open.
Reims. 2nd ,5th & 14th section;5th,11th & 54th Open.
Pont-a-Mousson. [A very difficult race where many failed to time in]:- 1st,3rd,5th,6th,10th,11th & 17th section;
1st,4th,8th,10th,29th,35th & 56th Open.
Competing with the Welsh National [ flying through to Germany- no duplication]:-
Maidstone. 1st,4th,5th,7th,12th & 16th section;1st,5th,6th,24th,42nd & 56th Open.
Folkestone.1st,13th &20th section;6th,48th & 88th Open.
Lillers.1st,2nd, 4th ,5th,7th,11th 13th section;6th,12th,17th,22nd,25th,54th &65th Open.
Brussels.1st, 2nd,3rd,9th,10th section;4th,8th,13th, 46th &47th Open.
Huy.2nd,3rd,7th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th & 15th section;11th,12th,23rd,35th,43rd,48th,52nd,&58th Open.
Bonn. 1st,4th,5th &10th section;1st,8th,11th &26th Open.
I should make the point that all the above channel races, on both routes, were difficult affairs with most fanciers experiencing large gaps in their returns, and yet, as the above results clearly show, the Flowers’ team turned up “en masse” in every race and not once did they miss the National results. This is pigeon racing of the highest order.
Perhaps at this point it might be appropriate to highlight some of the individual stars of the loft during the past few seasons.
Chequer cock”50” this cock of Wall ,Lunt & Green bloodlines has won the following National prizes:-
119th Open [3,472 birds] Maidstone;1st section 36th Open Folkestone [3,056 birds];1st section 3rd Open Lillers[3,126 birds];392nd Open Reims [1,653 birds] plus 4th section 5th Open Maidstone WNR National [912 birds].
Next we have a son of the Pont a Mousson National winning hen -“The Giessen Hen”[ whose performances are outlined below] which in 2011 won as a yearling in National races:-
2nd section 3rd Open Maidstone [3,472 birds]; 7th section 45th Open Folkestone [3,056 birds]; 2nd section 5th Open Reims [1,653 birds]; 3rd section 4th Open Pontamousson [760 birds]. He is of WL&G x DeKlak bloodlines.
Finally we have “The Giessen Hen” a three year old hen in the 2011 season that in 2011 alone won in National races:-35th section, 109th Open Folkestone;12th section 42nd Open Maidstone;13th section, 48th Open Folkestone; 1st section 6th Open Lillers and to cap it all 1st section 1st Open Pontamousson! Add to these 2011 performances a further eight top National positions from 180 – 520 miles and you have a record to match any in Wales in National competition.
In the Lillers Young Bird National of 2011 Derek and Clive enjoyed yet another good race when they clocked two of their entries in this 250 mile Channel race to finish 1st & 3rd Open in the Welsh SENFC.
This season, 2014, has seen another two National wins and the following are the details of these two latest National winners at the Flowers loft.
The Lynden Hill National Winner is bred from Gem 84,a full sister of the famous Grey Gem of Wall ,Lunt & Green. She, along with the Grey Gem, was gifted to Derek and Clive by Wall-Lunt & Green. She has reared some great pigeons for the brothers, and was paired to a direct son of the Merlin pair who were also responsible for scores of winners.
This season's Kinzweiler National Winner is bred from a daughter of Gem 83 when paired to a cock from G&S Verkerk - a direct son of Olympic Sogno.
The winner of 2nd National Kinzweiler is from the recently introduced Herman Ceusters and had been a very consistent yearling hen, scoring at least five other top positions at Federation and National level..
There you have it , an up to date report on the phenomenal success story of one of the most successful fanciers in Wales at the present time.
Well done Derek and Clive.
Gareth Watkins