Union has first overnight race
The hours of darkness (clocks closed) was set by the GPU at 6.22pm on Saturday night, with the clocks opening again at 6.11am on Sunday morning
RIVERPARK Pigeon Club, a member of Gauteng Pigeon Union (GPU), raced from Cradock between Middelburg and Somerset East in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.
The average distance for club members was 720km. There were two races on this weekend, the first of which was the Union Challenge, which was a combined liberation with seven other organisations and a normal old bird race which saw the GPU birds being liberated 30 minutes later.
Because of the warm weather and a lot of northerly winds, this race became an overnight race because of the low number of birds that were in the lofts at sunset.
The hours of darkness (clocks closed) was set by the GPU at 6.22pm on Saturday night, with the clocks opening again at 6.11am on Sunday morning.
Riverpark had 13 pigeons home on Saturday evening when the clocks closed for the Union Challenge race and one from the normal old bird race.
Pine Pienaar (also 26th) had the first pigeon home for the Union Challenge with a six-minute lead from Hilton Pitout (also 14th and 17th). At the time of going to press, Pine was 7th on the GPU combined results.
The rest of the results were:
Blackie Swart 3rd and 4th; Holtzhausen Hokke 5th, 7th and 16th; Albert Neilson 6th; Doves Nest Guest House 8th, 10th, 15th, 18th and 27th; Tallies Lofts 9th, 12th and 25th Nollie de Villiers 11th, 13th and 22nd Sky Lofts 19th, 21st, 23rd and 28th; Pieter van den Broeck 20th;; Reinhold Brichta 24th; and Knoesen Lofts 29th and 30th.
With the second race, Riverpark had its first “only bird on the day” for the season – Reinhold Brichta’s 2013 Blue Bar Hen with ring number TRPF 1637.
He also achieved positions 8th, 17th and 24th and was 4th in the GPU at the time of going to press.
With the clocks closing and opening times he had a 42 minute and 28 second lead from Albert Neilson (also 4th, 5th 13th 16th and 21st).
The rest of the 2nd race results were:
Doves Nest Guest House 3rd, 9th and 10th; Hilton Pitout 6th and 12th; Nollie de Villiers 7th and 19th; Holtzhausen Hokke 11th, 23rd, 26th and 27th; Blackie Swart 14th; Pieter van den Broeck 15th 18th, 20th, 25th and 28th; Knoesen Lofts 22nd; Tallies Lofts 29th and Pine Pienaar 30th.
On Saturday the birds will be liberated from Middelburg which is about 670km for club members.
Although a shorter distance than Cradock, this race was an overnight race last year with only five birds being clocked on the day. Currently the weather is again showing a lot of northerly winds and mid-20 temperatures for the liberation date.
