2024 was by far our best year in racing both at the One Loft level and club racing. And once again, it was the progeny of our foundation Macaloney cocks Claymore and Stirling Kastle who did the heavy lifting. We sent children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren from these two cocks to four OLR including the Sooner Challenge, Bama-Buckeye, High Desert and Rock Creek.
Our pairing of 858 x 1927 is proving to be very potent at OLR, having produced many winners. They are children of Claymore and Stirling and demonstrating how well crossing those two cock lines is working. Credit in part also goes to a couple of successful out-crosses including a daughter of Tyrant bred by Tim Farr who was responsible for one of my best Sooner Challenge pigeons and one of my best local racers.
Below is a list of how our birds finished. The highlight was the final race in the Sooner Challenge where we had two on the drop finishing 3rd and 4th. The other major highlight came from LKY 4 “Fantastic 4” who flew a nearly perfect series at the Bama Buckeye OLR winning the headwind final 350 mile race, Champion Bird, a first place from 125 miles and an equal 1st and 12th place in the other two races. She is a grandchild of Claymore and closely related to the two Sooner Challenge money winners and a sister to the 13th Avg Speed High Desert winner.
One Loft Race wins in 2024:
1st Avg Speed Bama Buckeye
1st 356 miles vs 82b Bama Buckeye
1st 100m 563b Sooner Challenge
1st place 202 miles 489b, High Desert
1st 125 miles vs 125b Bama Buckeye
Eq 1st (3rd) 325m 363b final race Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (4th) 325m 363b final race Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (4th) 180m vs 110b Bama Buckeye
Eq 1st (6th) 200m 471b Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (11th) 126m 497b High Desert
Eq 1st (13th) 100m 563b Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (22nd) 250m 379b Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (24th) 100m 563b Sooner Challenge
Eq 1st (29th) 100m 563b Sooner Challenge
3rd Avg Speed vs 160 originally entered Bama Buckeye
13th Avg Speed vs 649 birds originally entered High Desert
10th Avg Speed vs 788 originally entered Sooner Challenge
7th 125m 125b Bama Buckeye
12th 256m vs 102b Bama Buckeye
19th 250m 102b Bama Buckeye
20th 355m 82b Bama Buckeye
21st 200m 471b Sooner Challenge
26th 250m 102b Bama Buckeye
31st 360 miles 378b High Desert
32nd 150m 551b Sooner Challenge
35th 355m 82b Bama Buckeye
41st 180m 112b Bama Buckeye
54th 300 miles 442b High Desert
Futurity wins:
14th 355m 437b Ohio Classic Race money winner flown by Joe Rostocil
51st 350m 517b Midwest Convention race money winner flown by Steven Ly
Club racing:
My local club had a rough year with a lot of losses and sick birds. I was fortunate to maintain a healthy team which resulted in an undefeated season in 7 races. We won Average Speed, Champion Loft and 1st-23rd Champion Birds. We didn’t have many birds in the races so it was more of a training exercise for my birds, but I was able to find a few special ones including an inbred Picasso hen who earned AU Ace Pigeon status. I was especially excited by finding some excellent inbred racers including three special birds out of Den-X and his half-sister Queen of Scots. I’ll be keeping all my cocks from the team to race as celibate cocks in 2025 old birds.