SNFC Section A 2025

[sapper756]

Copied from Facebook 2nd October 

 

Ypres was the final channel race for the SNFC. Here are the top guys from SectA.
Many thanks to WPW.

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Billy Van Nuil from Gretna  
1st Section 42nd Open Ypres.    
The winning pigeon is 4 y.o. Blue Pied Cock ‘The Bishop’ which was previously 1st Open S.N.F.C. Upper Heyford 2023.   Sire and Dam of the Pied cock are Kavanagh Busschaerts, which Billy obtained from friend John Hillery from Consett.  The Pied Cock was put on the road as a y.b. but was lost from Lymm and was reported in Bishop Auckland.  Billy arranged to get the bird back and in 2022 he scored from Wollaston in 2022.   In 2023 it was paired in on 1st March, reared a single youngster and was thereafter split from its mate and put on widowhood it scored on several occasions through to Wollaston and was then sent to the National from Upper Heyford and won the race.   Because the pigeon was reported in Bishop Auckland as a youngster it was named ‘The Bishop’.   It was paired on 1st March 2025 and was thereafter separated from its mate and put on Widowhood.   It went to the first race from Shap and the following week went to Low Gill.   The intention was to send him through the programme but when he was being basketing for Charnock Richard the end of his tail was protruding out of the basket through the spars and Billy’s dog instinctively caught hold of it and pulled it out with only two tail flights remaining.   The bird was therefore ‘put by’ until the tail feathers regrew with his next race being from the Inland National from Reading when he was up with the leaders to be 7th Section 61st Open.   He then went to the Gold Cup race from Alencon and was 66th Open.   It then went to Ypres being basketed on 10 days eggs with his second flight half grown.    
Dennis Anderson Jnr. from Annan
2nd Section Ypres.    
Dennis is the grandson of Dennis Anderson Snr., who over the years has owned a number of superb pigeons.   In 2021 Dennis built at a small loft for his grandson and competing to that loft he was  27th Section 44th Open Alencon and the following season he was 6th Section again from the Gold Cup race.    Competing to that loft also he has on two occasions gained the Under 18 Trophy with the S.N.F.C.   Whilst he was an independent member of the Club he was never out of his grandfather’s loft and additionally assisted in the Club at race marking etc.  His interest was such that at the gateway to the current season Dennis Senior decided to transfer all the birds into his grandson’s name and he has very successfully raced the team with the highlight being winning the Section from S.N.F.C. Billericay.    The pigeon that is probable 2nd Section Ypres is a yearling Blue Chequer hen, she was originally worked celibate, then paired up for Billericay where she was 16th Section 110th Open.     She was set up to be sitting deep for Ypres and was given a small youngster on basketing.   Dam is a Blue Grizzle that was bred by Alasdair Mclean from Oban and the Sire is a Blue Pied, bred by G Turnbull of Chirnside out of his 2nd open Brighton 2022.
Scott Irving from Annan
3rd Section Ypres.  
Scott entered the hobby as a schoolboy at Brydekirk, competing in partnership with his father as Scott Irving and Son and together they won Niort National and Sartilly Nationals .   In time, Scott Junior acquired his own property in Annan and formed his own loft and has gained a host of good positions from the Classics.  in 2013, for example, he headed the Section result from four races and
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won the extreme distance event from Ancenis with the only arrival on the day of liberation and in 2017 was 1st, 2nd and 3rd Section, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Open Falaise.   The winning pigeon from Ypres is a 2 y.o. Blue hen that went to the Y.B. Nation in its maiden season and to Cheltenham as a yearling.   It was paired in March this term and reared a pair of youngsters.   It was then split from its mate and put on Roundabout; it entered the race basket at Lymm and progressed through the Federation programme, it competed from the Reading National being 8th Section 67th Open, went to Brighton and thereafter went to Billericay being 27th Section.   It was then re-paired and went to Ypres covering overdue eggs.   Her Sire was the Sire also of the bird that was 2nd Open S.N.F.C. Liege 2018, being is direct Son of George Hilson’s ‘Tyson’.  Dam is from ‘Mr. Lambrini when paired to ‘Ouija Board’.    ‘Mr.Lambrini’ was an outstanding stock cock that was bred by Stevie Ferguson from Annan direct from Stevie’s 2008 Tours winner.   ‘Ouija Board’ was three times in the first 21 in the Open in the National from the Channel and was named after the famous racehorse.

[buster151]

Congratulations all