G W & P MACALONEY STORY PART 3. Vandenabeele Family

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Coleen Greene
6 years ago
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1 G W & P MACALONEY STORY PART 3 This last part of the Macaloney story tells of the unbelievable impact the introduction of the Mark & Dickie Evans Vandenabeele and the Merlin Pair lines from Wall; Lunt & Green had in their loft. They have already proved that they were good fanciers by the results achieved over the previous years (as shown in part 1 & 2) but these pigeons took them onto a different level. I know this next part highlights their wins but what you the reader must understand is that this is against thousands of pigeons in one of the most competitive and largest federations in Scotland if not EUROPE so please do not skip over these performances but absorb them and take note of the birdages that George Willie & Paul compete against. Many people would give their eye teeth for performances like these. Vandenabeele Family In 2007 the steady flow of team performances continued with a total blend of all the partnership s bloodlines which comes as no surprise when you consider the length the partnership had gone to in creating such a potent stock loft. In that old bird season results as: 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th and 7 th federation against 8593 birds and 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th and 8 th federation against 5198 birds along with a string of prominent positions taken in most of the races reassured them that their breeding strategy was paying off Big Time at the sharp end on the racing front. As the young bird season approached the next question for them to be answered was how would their latest Vandenabeele introduction from M & D Evans handle flying into Scotland and more importantly competing against loft mates that had already set all sorts of records at federation level. In the first young birds race from Kelso a distance of 64 miles the partners entered 40 young birds (24 from their tried and tested blood lines and 16 from their new Vandenabeele introductions) and they were all going to get a good true honest test flying into a North West wind. After 1 hour 40 minutes on the wing 6 birds arrived from the south east on a good line and recording a velocity of 1116 yard per minute and to the partners amazement when the clocks were opened these 6 birds (4 of them Vandenabeele s) where 11 minutes and 129 ypm clear of the next member in the club and also in the centre section of the federation flying against 1835 birds. When the total federation result was published these 6 birds took the first six places against a total convoy of 6815 birds and were an impressive 51yards per minute ahead of the next 2 members, W Millen with 2 birds and Willie McFall with a single bird and these birds finished 7 th 8 th and 9 th federation and they in turn were 48 ypm ahead of the 10 th bird in the whole convoy. What is also unbelievable is these 3 birds all contained G W & P Macaloney blood lines so an amazing start for their first ever race with their new Vandenabeele introductions. In the 2 nd race the partnership again had a drop of 6 birds flying into a north- west wind and recording a velocity of 1163ypm taking 1 st 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th and 7 th federation competing against 8056 birds with the Vandenabeele s again accounting for 4 of these positions. In race 3 they again in a North West wind gave the partners a great thrill when 15 birds dropped together and they timed in 8 to win 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 5 th 7 th 9 th 10 th and 14 th federation with a winning velocity of 1239 ypm flying against 7994 birds with 9 1

2 Vandenabeele bloodlines in the first drop of 15. Incidentally Joe Speirs took the 6 th open position in this race with a Vandenabeele cock bred by the Macaloney s. In the following race the partners again for the fourth week in a row entered 40 young birds and had a drop of 7 to win 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 9 th and 12 th federation against 7491 birds with a winning velocity of only 1026 ypm and Joe Speirs this time finished 7 th federation with the same Vandenabeele cock bred by G W & P Macaloney that had won the previous week. In the 5 th and final race which was also the young bird open duplication race the partners had the chance to set a record that could only ever be equalled by winning every young birds race at federation level in a single season. With their entry of 36 birds they waited with a great deal of excitement coupled with the fear of disappointment when suddenly 4 birds appeared from the south east just like all the previous races and they were timed in recording a velocity of 1034 ypm and after a couple of days it was confirmed that they had actually achieved the near impossible by winning 1 st 2 nd 3 rd and 4 th federation against 4644 birds and topping the federation in every race flying against an average of 7000 birds over the 5 race program. In this young bird season a young hen Super 07 was voted best young bird in Scotland winning a SHU award and she was a Vandenabeele bred from The Young Bandiet when paired to Shady Lady a pair that would go on to have a massive impact in the coming years for the partnership. Wider Outlook Due to the fact that they were introducing 30 pairs of new unproven stock birds they decided to put a full round out for other fanciers to race so that they could accelerate their assessment of these pigeons and the feedback was unbelievable for example: Conway & Richardson from the North West fed purchased 4 Vandenabeele s that won federation prizes in every single young bird race with the highlight being 1 st 2 nd and 3 rd federation and 1 st 2 nd and 3 rd open in the longest young bird race on a very tough day with 3 of their purchases. Les Mitchell in the Pentland Hills federation had only started back in the sport after a 15 year absence and was runner up for the federation young bird average when racing 10 Vandenabeele s purchased from George, Willie and Paul. Other fanciers; Joe Speirs of Lanarkshire federation, Pat Helliwell of Sheffield and Tuck Hilly of Midland federation all reported back with some outstanding performances. The partners finished the season by setting a new record of 7 times 1 st federation in a single season and again finished as Federation Champions. Merlin Pair In 2008 Les Green contacted the partners to inform them of an outstanding breeding pair that was having a huge impact in his loft as Les knew that George, Willie and Paul were always on the lookout for something really special and this pair ticked all the boxes. Bred by G & S Verkerk and known as The Merlin Pair they had in only 4 seasons dominated the top performances achieved by Wall, Lunt & Green and also had an 2

3 impact in other lofts that were fortunate enough to obtain their offspring. Based on Les s recommendation George, Willie and Paul ordered 2 direct children from The Merlin Pair along with 2 grandchildren the same way bred as Miss Magic their double RPRA award winners as further additions for their stock loft Racing Season On the racing front in 2008 the old bird season turned out to be a bit of a disaster for most of the federation members and for George, Willie and Paul in particular, as the federation members had voted to change the racing route from the east to the west route, therefore eliminating any education previously gained by the 2007 young birds. Most of their record braking team of 2007 young birds were lost as yearlings due to various reasons, i.e. quality of racing: change of route: the increase in hawk attacks and the fact that these birds were constantly hitting the front in races and therefore the partners birds were taking more than their fair share of hits. The racing in that old bird season got so bad that the members voted for an emergency meeting to overturn the race program in time for the 2008 young birds but for George, Willie and Paul the damage was already done as the old bird seasons losses had a huge negative impact in their loft performances over the next few seasons. The partners had to basically dispose of all their 2007 bred birds at the end of the 2008 as these birds were now mentally destroyed and had lost the confidence to go and win races. The 2008 young bird season gave the partners a new start and again they won the federation young bird average with performances like 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 6 th 7 th and 8 th federation 6474 birds, 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 7 th and 8 th federation 5122 birds and 1 st and 2 nd federation 5720 birds with the Vandenabeele s doing most of the damage when raced both pure and crossed with their existing blood lines. 2009/10 The yearlings in 2009 performed brilliantly for most of the old bird season and recorded some outstanding team performances such as: 1 st 2 nd 4 th 6 th 8 th 10 th 8944 birds, 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 10 th 16 th 7332 birds, 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th 5902 birds and 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 13 th 17 th 3536 birds, but they had to cut the old bird season short due to the lack of older birds which was all down to the losses experienced in the previous season. In the young bird season it was business as usual with performances like 1 st 2 nd 8 th 11 th 17 th 18 th 20 th 8164 birds, 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 9 th 21 st 26 th 6058 birds, 1 st 22 nd and 28 th 4394 birds and 1 st 17 th 19 th 27 th 1987 birds with their new Merlin Blood coming to the fore along with the Vandenabeele s doing most of the damage and securing the federation young bird average for the 3 rd year in a row. The feed-back from others racing their blood lines also increased, indicating that their breeding policy was also going in the right direction. 3

4 In nearly every race in 2010 they were getting their first birds arriving in multiple numbers and they won the federation on 7 occasions flying against 7306 birds, 5307 birds, 6937 birds, 2756 birds, 6890 birds, 2314 birds and 1094 birds and again the Vandenabeele s and Merlin Pair lines punched well above their weight. Supermac 11 In 2011 and 2012 the partnership again finished federation champions and won a total of 13 x 1 st federation, 16 x 1 st Centre Section and 18 x 1 st in Lanarkshire Social Circle with team performances that most people could only dream about and both years won the Scottish Homing Union Award for the best middle distance bird in the WHOLE of Scotland up to 300 miles. In 2011 their winner was a Vandenabeele cock named: Supermac II a blue cock SU 09 L 3017 winner of 1 st federation 6972 birds velocity 1155 ypm; 1 st federation 6937 birds velocity 1141 ypm: 1 st federation 5307 birds velocity 1171 ypm: 1 st federation 5174 birds velocity 1487 ypm: 1 st section 2444 birds, 1 st section 2154 birds, 1 st section 1638 birds, 1 st section 1586 birds, 1 st Lanarkshire Social Circle 1271 birds, 1 st Lanarkshire Social Circle 1141 birds, 1 st Lanarkshire Social Circle 730 birds, 1 st Lanarkshire Social Circle 659 birds, 7 th Lanarkshire Social Circle 1329 birds, 7 th Lanarkshire Social Circle 581 birds, 9 th Lanarkshire Social Circle 1242 birds: he won the Lanarkshire Social Circle Bird of the year in 2010 and was runner up in Supermac II is only the second bird ever to top the Lanarkshire federation on four different occasions equalling the record set by Supermac a Busschaert cock also raced by G W & P Macaloney in the mid 1980 s. A full sister to Supermac II won the was Scottish Homing Union Award for young bird of the year in 2007 and full brothers and sister have topped the federation in 2008, 2009 and 2011 with 4 different brothers and sisters winning the following for G W & P Macaloney: 1 st federation 4082 birds, 2 nd federation 4082 birds (arriving with federation winner), 2 nd federation 6708 birds (arriving with federation winner), 5 th federation 6370 birds (arriving with federation winner), 1 st section 1404 birds, 2 nd section 1404 birds, 2 nd section 1976 birds, 4 th section 1950 birds, 1 st Lanarkshire Social Circle 720 birds, 2 nd Lanarkshire Social Circle 720 birds, 2 nd Lanarkshire Social Circle 683 birds, 4 th Lanarkshire Social Circle 683 birds and 6 th Lanarkshire Social Circle 851 birds. A full sister to Supermac II is grand dam to Alex Blyth s Dura winner of 1 st Region 1 st West Section Scottish National Flying Club (SNFC) Eastbourne in 2011 and Dura is sire to Billy King s Countdown Cock a winner of 1 st section 1 st open Lanarkshire federation Eastbourne 2011 timing in 10 minutes before his father Dura who won 1 st West Section in the SNFC. Sire of Supermac II is the Young Bandiet bred by M & D Evans direct from De Bandiet. Dam of Supermac II is Shady Lady, a direct daughter of Shadow. This pair is responsible for winners at federation, Combine and National Level in Scotland and in England. In 2012 the partners won their 3 rd Scottish Homing Union Award in 5 seasons with their Blue Slash Cock bred from a direct son of The Dream Pair (see part 2 story) when coupled to an inbred granddaughter of Kannibaal bred by Van Dyck himself. The Blue Slash Cock won a string of federation positions in 2012 including 1 st federation 1094 birds securing for him the title of Best Bird up To 300 miles. 4

5 Influence in other Area s G W & P Macaloney have also produced many outstanding birds for other fanciers for all over the UK example: In years gone by at the distance they have had a hand in the breeding of some outstanding pigeons for example the dam of the outstanding champion Kardale Regatta a SNFC Gold Award winner (5 times a prize winner from France) she actually won 7 times in the SNFC for the late Dale Newcombe and in turn was an outstanding breeding hen. Her dam was a direct daughter of Janefield Andy winner of 1 st section 1 st open SNFC Sartilly bred and raced by G W & P Macaloney. In recent seasons after introducing all the above mentioned winning genes the Macaloney birds have had a massive influence in lofts from all over the UK as the following detailed information will confirm. At federation level their birds have topped the following organisations for other fanciers in Ayrshire federation: Ayrshire North Road federation: Ballochmyle federation: Dundee federation: Pentland Hill s federation: Central federation: Midland federation: Lanarkshire federation: South Lanarkshire federation: Scottish Borders federation: Solway federation: Midlothian federation and North West federation as well as many organisations in England and Ireland. No other loft in Scotland at this moment in time is producing more winners for other fanciers than the Macaloney partnership see below as an example Roy Seaton s Mari-Mac 1 st open SNFC (Sire bred by G W & P Macaloney) Roy Seaton s Jimmy-Mac 1 st open SNFC (Sire bred by G W & P Macaloney) Hamish Ferguson s 1 st open Scottish Central Combine (Sire bred by G W & P Macaloney) Tuck Hilly s 1 st open Scottish Central Combine (Both parents bred by G W & P Macaloney) Telfor & Beatie 1 st open Grampian Combine (Both parents bred by G W & P Macaloney) 5

6 Ian Cameron s Young-Mac 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 7 th Section in the MNFC (Dam bred by G W & P Macaloney) Ian Cameron s Alba-Mac winner of 1 st MNFC Lessey Ian Cameron s Bergerac Hen winner of 1 st open hens National (Her breeding contains 50% Macaloney blood) Ian Cameron s 2 nd open M.N.F.C. treble chance young bird winner (Sire bred by G W & P Macaloney) John McFall Little Pied dam, g-dam, g -g-dam of 1 st fed winners John McFall Hat Trick 3 x 1 st fed (Dam bred by G W & P Macaloney) Alex Blyth s Dura 1 st West Section SNFC (Dam bred by G W & P Macaloney) Alex Blyth s Jackie-Mac winner of 1 st west section SNFC (Dam bred by G W & P Macaloney) Billy King s Countdown 1 st section 1 st fed Eastbourne (Grand dam bred by G W & P Macaloney) George Mann s good hen 277 three times a winner from France in the Scottish Central Combine 3 bird club and dam and grand dam to 1 st Fed winners 6

7 Leach Brothers Macaloney Cock that is sire and grand sire of 1 st prize winners at club, fed and combine level Pat Helliwell s stock loft is founded on introductions from G W & P Macaloney and he is starting to put up team performances in the Sheffield area to mirror George, Paul and Willie s own performances. Tom Blair s champion Carrie-Anne a Fed and National prize winner from 80 miles to 540 miles and North West Fed Bird of the year The above are only an example of the winners reported to the Macaloney s on a weekly basis from lofts all over the UK winning at Club, Federation, Combine and National level. On the racing front over the last 12 seasons the Macaloney performances are condensed as follows: SEASON X 1st SECTION 73 X 1st OPEN SUMMARY OF THE ABOVE RACES IN WHICH THEY TOPPED THE FEDERATION 73 RACES TAKING 1ST FED 47 RACES TAKING 1ST & 2ND FED 35 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND & 3RD FED 27 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD & 4TH FED 18 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH & 5 TH FED 12 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH & 6TH FED 9 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH & 7 TH FED 4 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH 7TH & 8TH FED 2 RACES TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH 7TH 8TH & 9TH FED 7

8 1 RACE TAKING 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH 7TH 8TH 9TH 10TH 11TH & 12TH FED IN 34 OF THE ABOVE RACES THEY HAVE TOPPED THE FEDERATION BY 20 YPM OR MORE AHEAD OF THE NEXT FEDERATION MEMBER FED CHAMPIONS 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2004, 2012 DOWN THE WEST ROUTE AND 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011 DOWN THE EAST ROUTE (13 X FEDERATION CHAMPIONS IN A HIGHLY COMPETATIVE FEDERATION, WHERE ONLY ONE OTHER MEMBER HAS BEEN FEDERATION CHAMPION ON 3 OCCASIONS.) FEDERATION OLD BIRD AVE. WINNERS 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 FEDERATION INLAND AVE. WINNERS 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 FEDERATION FIRST 7 RACE AVE. WINNERS 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 FEDERATION YOUNG BIRD AVERAGE WINNERS 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Conclusion I hope fanciers have enjoyed reading about the best middle distance loft in SCOTLAND and I m not afraid to say that had they been racing pigeons in Europe then they would be ranked as The Greatest. They are just normal pigeon fanciers who want to win from the first race till the last and they give a 100% effort and dedication to their pigeons. Willie who stays in Stirling gets up early every morning attends to the stock pigeons then travels down to Coatbridge to help G to the racing lofts lets the widowhood cocks out then takes the youngsters off the darkness system and allows them their exercise. Then back home for a couple of hours before going back to attend to the birds again he covers over 140 miles a day attending to the birds. How many people would do this, that s easy not many and this is what makes them something very extra special their dedication to win. It has been a pleasure to spend time with Willie obtaining information on the history of the partnership for this story and I wish them well in the future. They are introducing a NEW family of birds and youngsters are already booked for 2013 and they hope that this will take them up another level on the ladder 8

9 Of success and so the Macaloney story continues Joe Murphy Compiled by Joe Murphy 9

NEWS FROM SCOTLAND. September 24 th By Joe Murphy

NEWS FROM SCOTLAND. September 24 th By Joe Murphy September 24 th 2015 By Joe Murphy I start of by congratulating the SNFC officials and race team who obviously had been watching the weather for the UK and decided to bring their young bird national a