Chris Sutton
The Tarbes Grand National for 2018 will be remembered as one of the toughest in recent years but as ever, top performances by class pigeons and fanciers prevailed.
Much has already been written by myself and others about Mark and indeed he is forging a route to the history books as one of the greats.
Mark Gilbert is a man on a mission, his goal is to win the Barcelona International plus any other of the six other Internationals held each season along the way.
As the race reached its climax it developed into a real nail biter, with the top three open positions all on the same velocity split on decimals. Eventually, the winner was John Crehan racing as Crehan & O’Connor, who had sent only one pigeon.
Mark Gilbert is well known in the sport; indeed, his national wins are now well into double figures (21) but this one came with bitter sweet emotion...
After suffering a hawk strike only two weeks previous, Terry Luscombe's “Jessie’s Pride” wins 1st Messac National Flying Club.
Retirement for John McClements, a new Motorhome for weekends away with his wife Gill and a change from inland sprint racing to channel racing. These were some of the ingredients for a successful race with the British International Championship Club from Cholet wining 1st 2nd 3rd 5th and 7th Open.
The first National race of the season was flown from Falaise on the 28th April, and the first three open positions were to members of the same club. So, I had to wait until clocks were checked in the evening until I could make firm arrangements to visit the lofts of Paul & Simon Daws.
A loft that has been consistently at the top of National results and amassed the phenomenal total of eight National wins along with over thirty-five section wins is husband and wife partnership Mel and Sue King.
As a boy Ray George kept pigeons but he had given them up in 1968 when he married and raised a family. He retired in 2005 and took up the sport once again. Now he wins 1st Ascension agaist almost 5000 pigeons!
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