“INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”
THE 20th SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR “PLATINUM EDITION”
WHICH WAS HELD IN LINBRO PARK, SANDTON, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA ON SATURDAY
6th FEBRUARY 2016
FINAL RACE RESULT
The UNITED KINGDOM TEAM had a fantastic result and won the following positions:-
9th, 31st, 35th, 48th, 58th, 71st, 75th, 77th, 90th, 104th, 121st, 128th, 137th, 144th,
184th, 204th, 218th, 219th, 238th, 245th, 258th, 261st, 262nd, 285th & 287th OPEN
and US$51,250 (£36,607) in Prize Money, plus also won the US$85,000 (£60,715) Brand
New Mercedes Car Nomination.
The IRISH TEAM won the following positions:- 44th, 81st, 214th, 233rd & 251st OPEN
and US$8,050 (£5,750) in Prize Money.
Firstly, let my apologise for the lateness of this International Press Release but as most of you know I also treat this race as my annual holiday and whilst I am in South Africa for the race, I also like to visit other parts of this outstanding continent. Over the past twenty years I have visited plenty of different areas and have loved them all. Anybody that is thinking of entering the race in the future or travelling out to South Africa for a holiday, I will be only too pleased to offer them some advice of where to visit.
So after months of hard training and thou-sands of miles under their belts it was time to basket the pigeons for The 20th SAMDPR, so we travelled to Linbro Park, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday 4th February 2016 to mark the pigeons for this great International Pigeon Race. Once again fanciers were greeted at the lofts and they enjoyed a braai (barbeque) prior to the basketing and for those that had never visited the lofts before it was a chance for them to view the inside and the outside area of the two lofts. Whilst this was going on the loft staff were busy basketing the
pigeons and loading the baskets onto the trans porter to take them across the road to the building where the pigeons were to be basketed. Everything was set up at Zinto Marketing, Linbro Park to start at 12 o’clock and four marking tables were ready to go, the Auditors EW Coetzee & Associates were again all present and lots of willing fanciers joined in and helped during the basketing of the pigeons. Everybody was complimenting the loft staff and race organisers the way the pigeons handled and many fanciers that have done this race marking for numerous years stated it was the best condition the pigeons had ever been in. This after a very trying and testing year in training and racing because of the lack of rain and extreme temperatures during the race series. However, as is usual with this great race, if the pigeons are basketed for this Final Race then they sure are ready for their final hurdle. After about four and a half hours the task was completed and thanks must go to all the fanciers and friends that assisted us during the race marking because without their help this massive task would have taken much longer to achieve.
A few pigeons were taken out because of injuries and these were placed in separate baskets for the Veterinary Officers Dr. Marthinus Hartman and Dr. Francis Le Grange to check them out and in total14 pigeons were withdrawn from the race as not being fit to compete. Just one pigeon was given new electronic ring and these details were then added to the database and finally at about 16.45 the Auditors finally announced that we had basketed a total of 2,161 pigeons from 35 different countries for the 20th SAMDPR.
A fabulous montage of Mike Ganus’s 1st USA, 1st OPEN winner in The 20th SAMDPR “PLATINUM EDITION”.
After this massive task we all made our way back to the SOUTHERN SUN HOTEL in MONTECASINO which was to be our new venue for the next 4/5 days. After a few beers to unwind with fanciers from many different countries, it was off to the room to get showered and changed before going out for something to eat with Gerry McCourt, Karl Donnelly, Colin Bartholemew, Jamie Gould and Tadt Truszkoski at the Meat Company in the Montecasino Complex.
Friday soon dawned and this was a day of rest for most but for those involved in making sure the race goes ahead it was work as usual as everything had to be set up in the entrance area in the Ballroom in the fantastic Montecasino Complex, so that all visitors can enjoy the race during Saturday. I wandered up and met a few friends and talked to some of the Trade Stand people. For those that arrived late on Thursday or early on Friday morning there were buses that would take them to the lofts at Linbro Park so they could see the set up before the race pigeons were liberated on Saturday. All the Race Shippers/Co-ordinators had a meeting with Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lnternationale, The Presenters of this Race) and with Michael Holt (Race Director), Pieter Saayman (Systems Administrator), Willi van Beers (Loft Manager), Marion Branford (Administration) to discuss the many aspects of the 2015/16 race series and also to discuss the forthcoming 21st SAMDPR which was due to take place on the 4th February 2017.
After this meeting we had the rest of the day to ourselves to sit in the decked area outside the hotel and talk to pigeon fanciers and friends that were arriving from all over the world. Lee Fribbins (Editor) and Carly Huggins from The Racing Pigeon and The Racing Pigeon Pictorial publications had arrived earlier and they joined our group and we enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine and a few drinks. Back to the room to shower and get ready for the Welcome Ceremony.
Then down to the reception area and bar to enjoy a couple of beers before going over to the Welcome Reception at La Toscana, Montecasino which started at 19.30. Our Master Of Ceremonies for the evening was Keith Lindsey who showed a few short videos about pigeons to get fanciers and friends in the right mood before introducing Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lnternationale) spoke about the race and conditions on Saturday and stated that she would be giving us some exciting news shortly about a new venue for the 21st SAMDPR. Sara then announced that a new loft site would be at Heron Banks Golf & River Estate right next to the Vaal river about 75km (47 miles) from Johannesburg, right across the river was the Emerald Casino and Emerald Hotel and this hotel will be privatized for the race period for our exclusive use. Activities on the Vaal river are numerous and include fishing, golf, casino, game parks, water skiing and canoeing to name just a few. What does this mean for your pigeons? Well for the pigeons a chance to be training in a unique environment with no possible distractions. A brand new state of the art luxury loft will be built which will have close on 12,000 perches. For a visitor to the race, we will no longer bus you to the race lofts, we will “boat across” a 25 metre stretch of the Vaal river. Another thing that Sara mentioned that she was looking to upgrade the whole race weekend with some new ideas which included a river cruise with live music after basketing on the Thursday evening.Also for those of you that are still fit enough the next morning we will be hosting the first edition of the Million Dollar Golf Invitational on Heron Banks Golf Course. Sara said it was going to be another massive year in 2017 and the building of the new loft should start at the end of February, so please keep an eye on our web site where we will be putting up regular progress report and photographs for all to see. Sara closed by wishing everybody the best of luck for tomorrow.
It was then the tum for Michael Holt (Race Director) also had a few words to say about the training and racing that had already taken place and congratulated everybody on their achievements prior to the Final Race. Once again he stressed it had been a tough year what with outbreaks of Avian Influenza in certain areas which delayed shipments, plus of course the record temperatures and the Jack of rain in this area. Unfortunately there is not a book written that tells you how to run a pigeon race, so we have learnt from scratch and found out what works and what is practical and what benefits all. We are always looking for ways to improve certain things and introduce new competitions and once again we are increasing the 1st Prize up to US$200,000 (£143,000) for the 21st SAMDPR. Total prize money and awards now exceeds US$2.2 million dollars (nearly £1.57 million pounds). The weather forecast looked good for tomorrow with a variable wind, with temperatures around 28c (84f) and the possibility of some rain in late afternoon around the Johannesburg area, all in all a good day for pigeon racing. He closed by wishing everybody the best of luck for tomorrow and somebody would be the proud winner of “The Platinum Edition” of the 20th SAMDPR.
Then Joan-e Holt (Public Relations) joined the others on the stage and between them they called out all the Country Race Shippers & Co-ordinators that were present and presented them all with a lovely black jacket suitable embroidered with the South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, “Platinum Edition” logo and the 1996 to 2016 dates which represented our 20th anniversary of this great international pigeon race. As each individual Country Race Shipper & Co-ordinator came to the stage to collect their award, they were all greeting with tremendous applause. The Official Race Sponsors were then called to the stage and presented with a gift for their support over the past year. They were as follows:- Peter Furstenberg from Shine Interactive, Deirdre Kallmeyer from African Olive Travels Concepts, Dr. Henk De Weerd from Belgica De Weerd Clinic, Sudhoff Veterinary, Rohnfried Products, Brother Copiers, Medpet, Turf Pet Hyper, Unikon (Deister Electronics Clocking System) and Pigeons On Line. Then HENK JURRIENS from the NETHERLANDS was called to the stage to reply on behalf of the guests he thanked all the SAMDPR staff for their sterling efforts throughout the last year and said he was looking forward to the special “21st YEAR”. He was duly applauded as he left the stage. The evening was then finished off with a superb running buffet before going back to the bar in our hotel to finish the night off with a few drinks. As per the race rules of this great International Race any UN-ACTIVATED pigeons after one week after the 5th HOT SPOT CAR RACE has taken place are listed on the SAMDPR Web Site FOR SALE at US$1,100 (£786) each and anybody in the world can purchase any of these pigeons and whatever Prize Money they win in the Final Race goes to the new owners. However, if one of the UN-ACTIVATED pigeons that has been purchased wins a position in the top ten, the TROPHY and PLATINUM MEDAL goes to the person that originally entered it, plus the originalowner gets any funds raised from the auction after the Final Race.
About 203 pigeons were NOT-ACTIVATED by their owners when the list went on the SAMDPR Web Site and a total of 152 of these were sold prior to the race, meaning that just 51 pigeons were actually not flying for Prize Money in the Final Race. As usual quite a few of these pigeons will win Prize Money for their new owners. GOOD LUCK TO ALL CONCERNED.
Saturday 6th February 2016 dawned and the weather in Montecasino, Fourways, Johannesburg was superb, the sun was shining and the forecast for the day looked promising. The pigeons were liberated at 06.15 from just outside Douglas a distance of 541km (336 miles) back to Linbro Park. Everybody was coming down for breakfast and the words “GOOD LUCK” was being said by lots of fanciers.
After a first class breakfast it was off to the Ballroom in the Montecasino Complex to meet and greet fanciers from all over the world before I departed for the race lofts to act as the International Race Co-ordinator.
I met lots of top class fanciers and also met my old friend Alan Jordaan from South Africa who would be assisting on the stage during the day festivities. Alan then took to the stage and announced that a video of the liberation was coming onto the massive screens, everybody stopped what they were doing and watched what can only be described as a spectacular liberation, with about 100 cameras showing every angle, the pigeons cleared the race point within a couple of minutes. Inspectors from the NSPCA were once again present at the liberation and one of them described it as the most amazing thing she had ever seen. One of the camera crew present was heard to say “FLIP THAT WAS FAST’ although he used more colourful language. We both thought the pigeons would take around 9 hours to complete their journey back to the lofts at Linbro Park. Throughout the day video clips of all the 5 Hot Spot Car Races would be shown on the massive screens around the Ballroom, plus regular updates on the weather on route and the progress of the pigeons. I think most fanciers present thought it was going to be a tough race because of the heat and the isolated rain and thunderstorms that might occur later in the day, which of course is a regular occurrence in South Africa. Food was available and all enjoyed a memorable meal. Now all that was left to do was sit down enjoy the food, drink and entertainment and wait for the first arrivals.
After meeting more fanciers in the Ballroom in the Montecasino Complex it was finally time for me Paul Smith (International Race Co-ordinator) to depart for the race lofts. I have always been at the race lofts on race day from the first race as I get my excitement actually watching the pigeons drop from the sky and go through the traps. Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lntemationale) drove me to the race lofts and Michael Holt (Race Director) and Pieter Saayman (Systems Administrator) followed us to the lofts as they are the guys that put everything onto the computers so that the results can be seen all over the world within a few seconds of the pigeons arriving at the lofts. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to the race lofts and we arrived at the lofts about 11.50. Everything was set up, the clock checked, the traps opened, Willie van Beers (Loft Manager), Andre van Wyk (Loft Manager) and all the loft boys were ready. The camera crew making sure that all the shots were being relayed to the Ballroom in the Montecasino Complex and of course going out on Livestream literally all over the world so that fanciers that could not make the race weekend could watch the race unfold in their own home.
The Final Race entry consisted of 2,161 pigeons from 33 different countries and was made up as follows:- Australia 46, Austria 25, Bahrain 6, Belgium 120, Bulgaria 2, Canada 30, China 1, Czech Republic 28, Denmark 37, Germany 533, Hungary 4, Iraq 6, Ireland 32, Italy 12, Kuwait 231, Malta 8, Netherlands 145, Norway 15, Poland 55, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 1, Qatar 16, Romania 36, Saudi Arabia 16, Slovakia 25, Slovenia 10, South Africa 143, Sweden 11, Switzerland 5, United Arab Emirates 6, United Kingdom 163, United States Of America 363 and Zimbabwe 3. This total was made up of 2,018 International pigeons and 143 pigeons from South Africa.
The convoy were liberated just outside Douglas on Saturday 6th February 2016 at 06.15 in fine and warm conditions with a temperature of about 21c (70f) with light head wind. The race distance was 541km (336 miles). As the day moved forward the temperature would rise to around 30c (88f) mid-morning, moderate head wind with the possibility of some rain and thunderstorms late afternoon with a temperature falling to 27c (82f) as the day progressed.
A reasonably steady race was anticipated by the loft staff and the view of most was that the winning pigeons would arrive between eight and half hours and nine hours (14.45/15.15).
LIVESTREAM was available to watch online and pigeon fanciers from literally all over the world were logging on to watch the race unfold. The figures run into thousands watching at the same time. The work and effort these guys put into doing this job professionally is remarkable, everything has to be done correctly for it to be seen by all who log on to watch what they cover. They film at all the 5 Hot Spot Car Races, at the liberation and of course the Final Race and of course this gives all the pigeon fanciers or inter ested parties the chance to view these events LIVE and as they happen. THESE GUYS DO A SUPERB JOB AND ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD.
I must also give a “SPECIAL MENTION” to “BEN (THE BLOG) WILLIAMS” who for years now has taken photographs of fanciers, friends and of course the winners on his iPad at every function and event during the race weekend. He then places everything he does on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for fanciers and friends to see what is happening from thousands of miles away. YOU DO AS STERLING JOB MY FRIEND, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Then all of a sudden at 14.56, I yelled out here is a single pigeon it did a lap of honour and hit the top of the loft 1. The pigeon finally made a move towards the trapping area and trapped and was officially clocked at 14.57.35.93 with a flying time of 8 hours 42 minutes.
CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN went to GANUS FAMILY LOFT from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named LAURA IS A BIG WINNER TODAY! bred by MIKE GANUS, which was officially clocked at 14.57.35.93 to record a winning velocity of 1130ypm (38mph), winning a PLATINUM MEDAL and US$150,000 (£107,000) Prize Money, plus the WINNERS JACKET and 1st OPEN TROPHY. Mike Ganus is a true legend around the world and has always purchased the top pigeons from literally all over the world, so this fantastic success is just reward for all his efforts. Mike’s family of pigeons have won 1st OPEN’S literally all over the world, against some of the top competition in the world today, so his latest success is no surprise to me. To win the SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE was a top priority for this great fancier and he will not be sitting back and resting on his laurels, he will be trying to win it again. This to class winner is full of top class winning Sun City and South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race winners. The sire is named SUN CITY which was the father of RUBBELLOUS 1st OPEN SUN CITY MDPR bloodlines back to Old Hofkens and Janssen Brothers bloodlines. The dam is named MARGO’S TREASURE a daughter of SAID IN SPUN SILVER 2nd OPEN SOUTH AFRICAN MDPR 2012 x UNTAMED DESERT 1st OPEN SOUTH AFRICAN MDPR 2012 both pigeons arrived together, winning over US$345,000 (£246,000) in prize money. Once again it just goes to show that blood always shows in the long run, quality bloodlines on all sides of the pedigree.
Second Open Reinhard Gebhardt from Germany with his pigeon named Second Chance, bred by Reinhard Gebhardt, which was officially clocked at 15.12.34.55, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, Trophy and US$100,000 (£66,667), 3rd Open Last Chance Syndicate from Germany with pigeon named Star Appeal, bred by Jochen Huenten winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$75,000 (£50,000), I believe this pigeon was purchased by the Lucky Chance Syndicate from the UN-ACTIVATED pigeons and the new owners walked away with a nice cash prize, this pigeon was officially clocked at 15.27.03.16, 4th Open Cool Blue Syndicate from United States Of America with his pigeon named Bendecido, bred by the Blessing Family, winning PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$50,000 (£33,334), this pigeon was officially clocked at 15.27.04.30, 5th Open Team JEK from Germany with pigeon named Blitz 6, bred by Heinz Fenten, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$50,000 (£33,334). this pigeon was officially clocked at 15.36.26.46, 6th Open Dr Mildner –
Riemekasten from Germany with pigeon named Tonys Pearl, bred by Dr Torsten Mildner, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$40,000 (£26,667), this pigeon was officially clocked at 16.12.22.75, 7th Open Team Hooymans from Netherlands with pigeon named De Afgekeurde, bred by Jan Hooymans, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$17,500 (£11,667), this pigeon was officially clocked at 16.17.30.46, 8th Open South Light Syndicate from Iraq with pigeon named Dero, bred by Jos Thone from Belgium, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL and US$15,000 (£10,000), this pigeon was officially clocked at 16.18.15.73, 9th Open Paul Smith Syndicate from United Kingdom with pigeon named Stansted Express, bred by Jimmy Richards, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$12,500 (£8,334), this pigeon was officially clocked at 16.25.27.05, 10th Open Ruediger Schoenau from Germany with pigeon named Tobias, bred by Ruediger Schoenau, winning a PLATINUM MEDAL, trophy and US$10,000 (£6,667), this pigeon was officially clocked at 16.32.36.47.
Then 11th Open Helmut Heiland from Germany with pigeon named Adam, winning US$7,500 (£5,000), 12th Open Guenter Goetz from Germany with pigeon named Fighting Spirit, winning US$7,500 (£5,000), 13th Open CL Gage from United Stares Of America with pigeon named Grafscharter, winning US$7,500 (£5,000), 14th Open Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from United States Of America with pigeon named 972Laureat-054Cahors 15, winning US$7,500 (£5,000), 15th Open Autism Speaks from United States Of America with pigeon named Cool Dude Michael, bred by Mclaughlin Lofts, winning US$7,500 (£5,000) with some of these winnings going to this specialcharity, 16th Open Alberta Boys from Canada with pigeon named RR 2, winning US$5,000 (£3,334), 17th Open Helmut Schultz from Germany with pigeon named Crazy Bird, winning US$5,000 (£3,334), 18th Open Frank Esposito from United States Of America with pigeon named Kerrie, winning US$5,000 (£3,334), 19th Open Roan and Haack from United States Of America with pigeon named Carrol, winning US$5,000 (£3,334) and 20th Open AI-Watri Lofts from Kuwait with pigeon named Watri 5, winning US$5,000 (£3,334), this pigeon was officially clocked at 18.11.28.23.For full result please log on to the official SAMDPR Web Site www.samdpr.com
Only 43 pigeons were officially clocked on the day up to 19.10.37.38 with the first pigeon being clocked at 06.10.48.67 on the Sunday morning. The top 20 pigeons had 8 different countries represented in this result and it should be mentioned that United States Of America took 7 positions in this top 20, Germany also had 7, Netherlands, Iraq, United Kingdom, Austria, Canada and Kuwait had 1 each. Also 7 other countries were represented by pigeons in the top 50 Open in this great race and these were Saudi Arabia, Poland, Belgium, South Africa, Ireland, Portugal and Denmark. Only one NON ACTIVATED pigeon in the top 50 and that would of taken 49th position.
A total of 917 pigeons were officially by Sunday evening. More pigeons started to roll in on Monday morning and a further 147 pigeons returned throughout the day to take the total by Monday evening up to 1,064 pigeons in the lofts. More pigeons of course returned over the next few days and the total home now listed on the SAMDPR Web Site shows 1,186 pigeons have made it back to the lofts in Linbro Park. Full result can be seen on www.samdpr.com
CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 9th OPEN went to PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named STANSTED EXPRESS bred by JIMMY RICHARDS from LAINDON which was officially clocked at 15.25.27.05, which won a cool US$12,500 (£8,928) for its efforts, winning the UK Section by over 2 hours 18 minutes, the sire of Stansted Express was bred from Treble 6 GB14R22666 who won 2nd 187 pigeons, 44th 1,088 pigeons, 60th 4,989 pigeons, 17th 1,075 pigeons, 50th 1,190 pigeons (being from Rons Choice 5 x 1sts, Jimmy sold this pigeon to Smith & Herrett and he won 5 x 1st for them and they gave him back to Jimmy when he was retired from racing, he has also bred a double 1st Club, 1st Fed. winner) x GB10K45388 bred by Scammel & Peploe. The dam of Stansted Express was GB13R42980 daughter of NEHU12HAR4523 x BELG08.1526171 Mickey Tokleys Soontons. 2nd UK, 31st Open Borden Lofts with pigeon named Bardon Dan and bred by Dave Matthews from Bardon, which won US$3,500 (£2,500), this pigeon also won 1st UK, 14th OPEN in the Overall Averages and Dave had confidence to pool this pigeon, see below for full details, well done Dave who by the way also purchased his winning pigeon back at the auction, 3rd UK, 35th Open Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot with pigeon named
Steventon Lass and bred by Premier
Stud from Patringham Haven, which won US$3,500 (£2,500), as mentioned above this pigeon was purchased by Eamon Kelly from Premier Stud early in the year with the intention of having it in his own racing team but at the last minute he decided to send it to the 20th SAMDPR, it is a Gaston Van De Wouwer bred from Sisboy x Mercedes both of which are full of all the top bloodlines, Sisboy being from Kaasboer Boy and Kaasboer Sister Bourges, with Mercedes being from Kaasboer Oskar x Kaasboer Kristiaan. Numerous 1st National winners in this great pedigree. This pigeon named Steventon Lass actually won the Brand New Mercedez SLK Car in the Final Race, this was a US$1,000 (£715) Nomination and this great partnership took the US$85,000 (£60,715) CASH PRIZE instead of the Brand New Mercedes SLK Car. This outstanding pigeon actually won US$94,080.55c (£67,200) in Prize Money, Car Cash Prize, Global and United Kingdom Nominations for its efforts in the Final Race. Plus this outstanding pigeon sold for ZAR45,000 (£2,250) at auction after the Final Race. WELL DONE EAMON YOU DESERVE IT MATE. Eamon had a fantastic 2015 season in the National Flying Club winning 2 x 1sts, 4th and 18th OPEN. He had also won 1st NFC a few years ago. WHAT A GREAT WAY TO START THE 2016 RACE SEASON.
Fourth UK, 48th Open Millys Loft with pigeon named Red Dundee and bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, which won US$3,000 (£2,143), this pigeon had previously won 1st UK, 2nd OPEN in HSCR5 just missing winning the Brand New Motor Car by 1.71 seconds. This Michael’s first year in the race and his pigeons have excelled in this strong competi tion, this pigeon was also well pooled, see below for total winnings, 5th UK, 58th Open another for Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot with pigeon named Mrs Kelly, which won US$2,000 (£1,429), this pigeon also picked up some nice Nomination money, see blow for full details, 6th UK, 71st Open JCT Syndicate with pigeon named Upton Star bred by Julta Brothers from Upton Park, which won US$1,250 (£834), 7th uk, 75th Open Syndicate Lofts UK with pigeon named Iron Maiden bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, which won US$1,7750 (£1,250), 8th UK, 77th Open lan Crammond and Nigel Langstaff from Fontwell with their pigeon named Fontwell Figaro, which was also bred by this great partnership, which won US$1,750 (£1,250), 9th UK, 90th Open Bartley & Tweats with their pigeon named Fingers Crossed bred by Bailey & Proctor, which won US$1,750 (£1,250), 10th UK, 104th0penGribblesChoice with pigeon named Gribbles Choice 3 bred by Phil Bond from Torquay, which won US$1,500 (£1,072).
Eleventh UK, 121st Open Nick Bradford with pigeon named Nicks Choice bred by Nick Bradford from Exmouth, which won US$1,500 (£1,072), 12th UK, 128th Open Orbital Lofts NFC Winner with pigeon named Orbital Return bred by Roger Lowe from Reading, which won US$1,500 (£1,072), 13th UK, 137th Open Dream Team Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Dream Choice bred by Terry Robinson from Gaffs Oak, which won US$1,500 (£1,072), 14th UK, 144th Open Hilamb, with pigeon named Hilamb Respect entered by Ken Ambler from Keighley and Ron Hillcoat from Sowerby Bridge and with pigeon bred by Ken Ambler from Keighley, which won US$1,500 (£1,072), 15th UK, 184th Open Scotlands Own Syndicate, with pigeon named Scottish Legend, entered by Barry Kinnear from Edinburgh and with pigeon bred by W & B. Dunsmore from Edinburgh, which won US$1,250 (£893), 16th UK, 204th Open Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon named Lightning, bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, which won US$1,100 (£786), 17th UK, 218th Open another Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Stansted Dream (nest-mate to Stansted pigeons (being from Rons Choice 5 x 1sts, by Bailey & Proctor, which won US$1,750 Wonder) bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, Jimmy sold this pigeon to Smith & Herrett and (£1,250), 10th UK, 104th0penGribblesChoice which won US$1,100 (£786), 18th UK, 219th Open Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham with their pigeon named Hailsham Mini, which won US$1,100 (£786), Jurgen has recently been in hospital so this result will hopefully make him feel much better, 19th UK, 238th Open another for Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot with pigeon named Top Notch bred by this partnership from Didcot, which won US$1,100 (£786), 20th UK, 245th Open a third for Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon named Stansted Wonder(nest-mate to Stansted Dream) bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, which won US$1,100 (£786).
Twenty first UK, 258th Open Clarke & Kittow with pigeon named Paddy C bred by this partnership from Taunton, which won US$1,100 (£786), 22nd UK, 261st Open Pet.
Shop Boys & Girls, entered by John Alderslade from Bridlington and with pigeon named Rowans Grandy which was the fourth pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from laindon who very kindly bred this pigeon for John because he did not have any other pigeons to enter, which won US$1,100 (£786), 23rd UK, 262nd Open another for Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon named Dark Flash bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, which won US$1,100 (£786), 24th UK, 285th Open another for Bartley & Tweats with pigeon named Allways bred by lddie Davies from South Wales, which won US$1,100 (£786) and 25th UK, 287th Open Smith – McAllister Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Jackpot bred by Bruce McAllister from Fumeaux Pelham, which won US$1,100 (£786).
CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 44th OPEN went to MAURICE O’DONNELL, with pigeon named LUCKY LOUISE which was officially clocked at 06.10.48.67 being the first pigeon clocked on the second day, winning US$3,000 (£2,143). Maurice O’Donnell has a remarkable record in one loft races winning 2nd & 19th Open in the French Race in 2014, 2nd Open NCC in Northern Ireland, the previous year in the same race he won the ACE Pigeon. Both these winning pigeons are from his Joss Joosen pigeons x Syndicate lofts pigeons and are the same way bred as the 5 pigeons that did well in 2012, winning 8 x 1sts, 9 x 2nds Ireland, plus 1st Country Challenge Semi Final and also the first Irish pigeon ever to win the Cascade Challenge, plus all 5 pigeons were clocked in the Final Race. This likable jolly Irishman also rode shotgun for me when we went on a safari together at Sun City, just as well nothing approached us because he would have run a mile in under 4 minutes. No all joking apart Maurice an outstanding loft performance. Maurice bred 4 pigeons all the same way bred for the 20th SAMDPR, 2 for himself and 2 for Rui Emidio who owns and runs the Algarve Race in Portugal. The father of these 4 pigeons is 133669 a full brother to Panicky Pete who won the Cascade Challenge against 4,000 plus pigeons in 2012 and was one of the magnificent 5 that set a world record in 2012 with 5 pigeons all bred from the same pairing. The mother of these 4 pigeons is 94337 and is the cock’s half sister. Once again all 4 pigeons clocked in the Final Race taking 44th, 46th (these are nest mates) and 836th and 838th Open. WHAT AN OUTSTANDING PAIR OF PIGEONS TO OWN. Then 2nd Ireland, 81st Open Philip & Mark Smith with their pigeon named Darceys Choice, which won US$1,750 (£1,250), 3rd Ireland, 214th Open a second pigeon for Philip+ Mark Smith with their pigeon named Home First, which won US$1,100 (£786), 4th Ireland, 233rd Open Safet Duran with his pigeon named Bosnian Shadow, which won US$1,100 (£786), 5th Ireland, 251st Open a third pigeon for Philip & Mark Smith with their pigeon named Irish Pride, which won US$1,100 (£786), these fanciers also have an outstanding record in SCMDPR & SAMDPR events over the past few years and 6th Ireland, 312th Open James King with his pigeon named Leigh.
GLOBAL NOMINATIONS on the FINAL RACE amounted to a staggering US$224,720.45c (£160,515) which included 101 pigeons entered at US$1,000 (£785) per pigeon entry fee with the top prize worth a cool US$85,850 (£61,322) for the Zandy Meyer Memorial Car Entry and a grand total of 732 pigeons including 70 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 7 pigeons from Ireland and a total of 3,927 Global Nominations were actually placed.
Once again the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM MEMBERS did really well with BORDON LOFTS taking 31st OPEN with pigeon named BORDON DAN bred by DAVE MATTHEWS from BORDON, this pigeon won a cool US$1,496 (£1,069). Then LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT taking 35th OPEN with pigeon named STEVENTON LASS bred by PREMIER STUD from PATRINGHAM HAVEN (full details above in the UK result), this pigeon walked away with a cool US$3,196 (£2,283), this pigeon also won the US$85,000 (£60,715) MERCEDES CAR NOMINATION, then taking 48th OPEN was MILLYS LOFT with pigeon named RED DUNDEE bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE which also walked away with a cool US$11,696 (£8,355), then LLOYD & KELLY taking 60th OPEN with pigeon named MRS KELLY bred by this partnership from DIDCOT and this pigeon walked away with a cool US$3,196 (£2,283), then last but not least BARTLEY & TWEATS won 93rd OPEN with their pigeon named FINGERS CROSSED bred by BAILEY & PROCTOR which won US$195.50c (£140) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS. IT REALLY HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING RACE SERIES FOR FANCIERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AS THEY HAVE WON MORE THAN THEIR FAIR SHARE OF GLOBAL NOMINATIONS RIGHT THROUGH THE 2015/16 RACE PROGRAMME. It was also good to see that MAURICE O’DONNELL from IRELAND took 44th OPEN with his pigeon named LUCKY LOUISE and this pigeon also walked away with a very nice US$1,717 (£1,227). WELL DONE MAURICE.
REGIONAL NOMINATIONS for the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM in the FINAL RACE amounted to US$4,272.10c (£3,052) had 4 fanciers sharing to spoils and these were as follows:- LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT took 35th OPEN with their pigeon named STEVENTON LASS which was bred by PREMIER STUD from PATRINGHAM HAVEN and walked away with a cool US$2,397 (£1,712), then another for LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT took 60th OPEN with pigeon named MRS KELLY bred by this great partnership and this walked away with a cool US$1,844.50c (£1,318), then JURGEN & CAROLINE JOSCH from HAILSHAM won 223rd OPEN with their pigeon named HAILSHAM MINI and this pigeon won US$9.35c (£7) and lastly again LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT won 243rd OPEN with their pigeon named TOP NOTCH which won US$21.25c (£15) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO THESE WINNERS.
THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 20 oficial races in the 2015/16 race series finished as follows:- 1st GERMANY, 1st OPEN and US$10,000 (£7,143) went to DR MILDNER – REIMEKASTEN from GERMANY with pigeon named TONYS PEARL bred by DR MILDNER with a total flying time of 40.31.38.48 to cover the 20 races that counted, winning this category by 2 hours 2.58 seconds, 2nd GERMANY, 2nd OPEN and US$5,000 (£3,572) went to TEAM GERMANY – GIRLS UNITED from GERMANY with their pigeon named MARIA-ANNA bred by R+MA ROLFF that took 42.31.41.06 to cover the 20 races that counted and then 3rd GERMANY, 3rd OPEN and US$2,500 (£1,786) went to HELMUT SCHULZ from GERMANY with his pigeon named CRAZY BIRD bred by HELMUT SCHULTZ that took 42.35.16.65 to cover the 20 races that counted. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 14th OPEN went to BORDON LOFTS from BORDON with their pigeon named DORDON DAN bred by DAVE MATTHEWS with a total flying time of 48.40.03.03 to cover the 20 races that counted. 1st IRELAND, 100th OPEN wen to PHILIP & MARK SMITH with their pigeon named DARCEYS CHOICE bred by this part nership with a total flying time of 58.19.02.58 in the 20 races that counted. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE FANCIERS CONCERNED, YOUR PIGEONS SURE DID YOU PROUD.
THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION and a US$25,000 (£17,858) FIRST PRIZE and the winner of this prestigious competition was TEAM GERMANY – GIRLS UNITED from GERMANY with their pigeon named MARIA ANNA bred R & MA ROLFF that actually won 37th OPEN in THE FINAL RACE. The first United Kingdom pigeon was clocked in 724th Open and belonged to PIETER OBERHOL STER from KEYSOE with pigeon named TRY AGAIN and bred by this fancier. There were no Irish pigeon left in this competition. The original entry was 2,114 pigeons from 36 different countries and this figure included 176 from the United Kingdom and 35 from Ireland. There are 5 rounds including the FINAL RACE, so to win this competition takes a pigeon of some class. Only 53 entries were still left in this competition and only 24 were officially clocked. CONGRAT ULATIONS TO THE WINNER.
THE COUNTRY CHALLENGE AVERAGES were to be won on the FINAL RACE and the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM had 92 entries and offered a nice cash prize to the winner of US$3,880 (£2,772) and this great prize was won by GUYS LOFTS ELITE with pigeon
named DARK FLASH bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON with an overall combined flying time of 58.10.56.15. WELL DONE TO GRAHAM ON THIS SPECIAL WIN.
THE CELEBRATION/AWARDS WINNERS DINNER took place in BALLROOM in the MONTECASINO COMPLEX and hundreds of fanciers and guests arrived for the 20.00 start. After everybody was seated Keith Lindsay our MC for the evening showed a few interesting images on the screens around the room, just to get people into the right mood for the rest of the evening. He then introduced Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lntemationale} and she welcomed everybody present and hoped they had enjoyed the race weekend so far. She then went on and congratulated the owners of the gallant 43 pigeons that had been clocked on the day and said she was fairly sure that many would return the following day. Sara then closed by thanking everybody for attending the race weekend and hoped she would see them all again next year at the new venue and lastly she wished everybody a safe journey home. The MC then asked if Joan-e Holt (Public Relations) and Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lntemationale}, Dianne Holt {Accountant) if they would come forward and hand out some
‘THANK YOU GIFTS” to staff and then to hand out the prizes for the top 10 pigeons in the Final Race that took place earlier today. First the “THANK YOU GIFTS” were handed out to Michael Holt (Race Director), Pieter Saayman (Systems Administrator), Willi van Beers, Andre van Wyk and Corrie Naude (The Loft Managers & Trainers), Marion Branford (Administration}, Dr. Marthinus Hartman and Dr. Francois Le Grange (Veterinary Officers), all were given much applause. The Loft Lads were also given a mention as without them the race would not take place. The MC then called for Michael Holt (Race Director) to come to the stage and he gave a detailed report on the race and congratu lated all the winners and thanked everybody for attending the race weekend and hoped to see them all again next year when it would be the M21st YEAR” of this great race. He said that quite a few “SPECIAL” competitions would take place during the race series and these would be announced when all the final details had been finalised.It was now time to for Sara and Michael with assistance from Joan-e and Kayla Reynolds to present the top 10 prizes won earlier in the day.
All the winners are mentioned above in the OPEN RESULT and the WINNERS CHEQUE for US$150,000 (£107,143), PLATINUM MEDALS which were worth about ZAR14,630, US$1,000 (£715) each and TROPHIES were presented to those that were present or their Country Shippers/Representatives were called up to collect them on their behalf. All as usual were greeted with tumultuous applause. Sara Blackshaw closed by saying enjoy the rest of your stay in South Africa and she looked forward to seeing us all again next year at the “21st YEAR” which was going to be another very “SPECIAL YEAR”. It was now time for the food and everybody thought the way it was laid out was fantastic, it tasted good and there was plenty for all and everybody enjoyed the rest of the evening. Once the dinner was over fanciers, friends and guest drifted off for a drink at the hotel bar. The fanciers from the United Kingdom were joined by the Irish, Belgian, Dutch, German, South African and American fanciers and Sara Blackshaw joined us all for a final drink before she said her goodbyes to all of us.
It was once again great to meet up and talk to such renowned fanciers as Stephen & Rhona Kearsey (Australia), Frank & Robin Mclaughlin and two children (United States Of America), Tomasz Wiczling (Poland), Willi van Beers, Alfons Klaas, Hardy Kruger, Paul-Hans Esser, Timo Wagner, Werner Waldow, Klaus Stieneker and Hans Bruhl (Germany), Thomas Gyselbrecht (Pipa), Michel Wouters, Philippe Brantegem, Norbert De Schrijver, Stan Van Beemen (Belgium), Henk Jurriens, Gerard Koopman, Kfelt Spithoven, Jan Hooymans and his son, Dr. Henk de Weerd and his daughter Nicole and Guy Van Der Auwera (Netherlands), Corrie Naude, Andre van Wyk, Martin Beneke, Alan Jordaan, Joe Gomes, Butch Einkamerer, Saville Penkin, Mark Kitchenbrand, Gaddin Brothers, Jurie Erwee and Petra Stiglingh (South Africa), Gerry McCourt & Karl Donnelly (Ireland), plus of course Lee Fribbins, Car1y Huggins, Derek & Andrea Nicholls, Les Green, John Crehan, Pieter Oberholster, Tadt Truszkowski, Colin Bartholemew, Jamie Gould, Michael Mellor, friends and daughter, Robbie Jones and family, Dave Matthews and family, plus Paul Stokes all from the United Kingdom. Plus over the race weekend I also talked to many other top International and South African fanciers.
As the International Race Co-ordinator for the 20th year Paul Smith would like to personally thank all the Country Race Shippers/Co-ordina tors, Frank Nebig from Animals To Fly, Martin Beneke the Auctioneer, the Livestream Team, Ben (The Slog) Williams) and all the staff who work for the SAMDPR, all the backroom staff who we do not see and in fact anybody that has something to do for the SAMDPR a really BIG
THANK YOU for all your help and assistance during the past year as without your help and support the race could not continue. I would also like to personally thank Sara Blackshaw (Director of Air Sport lnternationale, The Presenters of this Race) for her continued great support and taking this great race forward into the future. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERY BODY YOU ALL DO A STERLING JOB.
***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*** I am sorry that I can’t add all the information about who bred all the pigeons or where they live but Ican only publish details which I am in possession of. If there are no details besides your winning pigeon/s then please contact me on reglofts@aol.com with your details and I will include these in my later International Press Reports. I personally do like to give all the fanciers, entrants and breeders all the credit they and their pigeons deserve when they manage to get in the results so your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
***WHAT COULD BE WON DURING THIS2015/16 RACE SERIES***Prizes and awards now added up to a staggering US$2.2 Million American Dollars £1.57 Million Pounds) and these include 5 x Brand New Motor Cars, 1 for each of the 5 x Car Races, 95 x US$1,100 Hot Spot Cash Prizes (it should be noted that the Motor Car Winner does not receive a US$1,100 Cash Prize), split into 19 x US$1,100 Cash Prizes for each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, a US$5,000 Car Race Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Award for the best pigeon in these 5 races, International Country Challenge Cash Prizes on the Car Race Hot Spot 1 to 5, plus a Country Challenge Overall Average award over the whole 2015/16 race programme. A Two Bird Average Competition and a US$2,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, A Three Bird Average Competition and a US$3,000 Cash Prize in each of the 5 x Car Race Hot Spots, The South African Million Dollar Ace Pigeon Award carries US$17,500 in Prize Money, split into three cash prizes with 1st US$10,000, 2nd US$5,000 and 3rd US$2,500 Cash Prizes for the 3 pigeons with the best overall average in all the Official Training Races over 50km (31 miles) and 5 x Car Race Hot Spots and the Final Race.
There will also be a Knockout Winner Competition and US$25,000 Prize Money, which starts on the Car Race Hot Spot 2 and the winner is the first one to be clocked in the “FINAL RACE” (over the past few years there has been around 50 pigeons still left in this competition). Then in the “FINAL RACE” on the 6th February 2016 there was also 10 magnificent platinum pendants to be won worth well over US$1,000 (£732) each and now over US$1 Million American Dollars (£715,000) in Prize Money and 300 top cash prizes being on offer.
THE ZANDY MEYER MEMORIAL RACE & US$1,000 (approx. £715) ENTRY FEE NOMINA TION PER PIGEON also took place on the “FINAL RACE” and the winner of A BRAND NEW MERCEDES BENZ SLK MOTOR CAR, worth a staggering US$85,000 (approx. £60,715). (ONLY “ACTIVATED” PIGEONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE FOR ANY OF THESE SPECIAL CASH PRIZES OR AWARDS). This treasured award this year was won by LLOYD & KELLY from DIDCOT, UNITED KINGDOM with pigeon named STEVENTON LASS that won 35th OPEN and was bred by PREMIER STUD from PATRINGHAM HAVEN walked away with this coveted CASH PRIZE of US$85,000 (£60,715). This new competition is only in its third year and this year had 101 entries and there was a small second prize of US$850 (£608) which went to the pigeon that took 38th OPEN for GEORG OSWALD from GERMANY with his pigeon very appropriately named MERCEDES AMG 55. WELL DONE TO BOTH THESE GREAT FANCIERS.
THE AUCTIONS take place after the race and this year there will 24 auctions in total so far at different venues all over South Africa and all can be seen by logging onto www.samdpr.com and hitting the Auction button. So far there are 1,186 pigeons to be offered for sale.If you wish to place a “BID” you can do by filling in an “AUCTION REPORT FORM” which is on the SAMDPR Web Site for downloading. Depending if more pigeons arrive home later, then extra pigeons may be added to the auctions already listed, please keep your eyes open to see where your pigeon/s are being sold. THE AUCTION OF THE FIRST 100 PIGEONS took place on Sunday morning at Zinto Marketing,Unbro Park and as usual the loft staff had put all the pigeons out in individual pens with the Lot Number on each one. Interested fanciers had to purchase a bidding number and this saves too many people handling each pigeon, this has worked well over the past few years, so we have continued to do it this way. MARTIN BENEKE was our auctioneer for today assisted by a friend and after reading out the conditions of the auction sale was ready to proceed. As usual Paul Smith would act as spotter for the auctioneer. Martin explained to the audience that because of an export/import condi tion all the American pigeons could not be offered for sale, they would have to be exported back to their own country and sold on iPigeon Auctions at a later date. This really was a great shame because there was 18 American pigeons clocked in the top 100 including 7 in the top 20. However, this should push the prices up for the remaining 82 pigeons being auctioned today. Keep your eyes open on the SAMDPR Web Site for date of this outstanding auction which will probably go online at the end of April, beginning of May 2016. As usual the place was packed with fanciers from all over the world with many open phone lines and unfortunately Lot 1 bred by Mike Ganus from USA could not be sold because of conditions mentioned above. Lot 2 then followed and after tremendous interest in this one it finally sold for a staggering ZAR320,000 ($21,334), (£11,765), Lot 3 made ZAR95,000 ($6,334), (£4,750), Lot 4 Withdrawn, Lot 5 ZAR90,000 ($6,000), (£4,500), Lot 6 ZAR75,000 ($5,000), (£3,750), Lot 7 ZAR170,000 ($11,334), (£8,500), Lot 8 ZAR42,500 ($2,834), (£2,125), Lot 9 ZAR10,000 ($667), (£500) and Lot 10 ZAR12,500 ($834), (£625). We then came to Lot 30 bred by Gerard Koopman, this sold for ZAR60,000 {$4,000), {£3,000), Lot 35 the Car Winner then sold for ZAR45,000 ($3,000), (£2,250), Lot 37 The Knockout Winner sold for ZAR75,000 ($5,000, (£3,750). Lot 39 bred by Jan Hooymans sold for ZAR43,000 ($2,867), (£2,150). Lot 51 sold for ZAR55,000 ($3,667), (£2,750) and lastly Lot 97 another bred by Jan Hooymans sold for ZAR50,000 ($3,334), {£2,500). Please look at the OPEN RESULT on www.samdpr.com or the top 20 listed above to see who owned these pigeons in this auction. Quite a few other pigeons made between ZAR10,000 ($667), (£500) and ZAR15,000 ($1,000), (£750) each and the final total raised for these 82 pigeons minus 6 that we could not get a bid for, leaving 76 pigeons actu ally being sold on the day raised a staggering ZAR1,789,000 ($119,267), (£89,450) and average price of ZAR23,540 ($1,570), (£1,177) each.This once again just goes to show the great value that top fanciers from all over the world put on pigeons that compete in the SAMDPR. Of course a BIG THANK YOU goes to MARTIN BENEKE for his auctioneering skills, plus his friend and all the other SAMDPR staff that helped and assisted during the time it took to sell all these 82 top class pigeons.
PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATED TO THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR “FINAL RACE” IS AS FOLLOWS:- 1st US$200,000 (approx. £142,285), 2nd US$125,000 (approx. £89,286), 3rd US$75,000 (approx. £53,572), 4th US$50,000 (approx. £35,715), 5th US$35,000 (approx. £25,000), 6th US$20,000 (£14,286),7th US$17,500 (£12,500), 8th US$15,000 (£10,715), 9th US$12,500 (£8,929), 10th US$10,000 (approx. £7,143), 11th/15th US$7,000 each (approx. £5,000), 16th/20th US$5,000 each (approx. £3,572), 21st/30th US$3,500 each (approx. £2,500), 31st/40th US$3,000 each (approx. £2,143), 41st/50th US$2,500 each (approx. £1,786), 51st/75th US$2,000 each (£1,429), 76th/1Oath US$1,750 each (£1,250), 101st/125th US$1,500 each (£1,072), 126th/150th US$1,250 each (£893), 151st/200th US$1,100 each (£786), 201stl250th US$1,000 (£715) and then 251st/300th US$500 each (approx.. £358). (Subject to terms and conditions of entry). The actual cash prizes stated above represent exchange rates at the current time (approx. 1.40 to £) and may of course change at the time of each race depending what the currency exchange rate is on the actual race day.
I would also just like to notify fanciers that my weekly “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”, “NEWSLETTERS” and “UPDATES” can now also be seen on the following pigeon web sites:-www.regencylofts.com www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com www.pigeonportal.com www.pigeonglobe.co.uk www.cyberpigeon.co.uk www.pigeonbasics.com www.pigeoncare.nl www.star-pigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theloftreport.com www.hitchcock pigeons.com www.pigeoncrazy.com plus of course they will also be published in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEOW weeklies and other world pigeon publications for all to see, read and enjoy.
The race date for THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed and this will once again take place in Heron Banks Golf & River Estate, Vaal River, South Africa on Saturday 4th February 2017. If you are inter ested in participating or acting a Country Race Team Shipper, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email on reglofts@aol.com and I will give you all the information you require. My two proposed shipping dates for THE 21st SAMDPR will be TUESDAY 10th MAY 2016 so your pigeons will need to be with me by 18.000 on MONDAY 9th MAY 2016 and then the second one should be around the middle of JUNE 2016 (date to be confirmed). Of course my second shipping date will be confirmed nearer the time.
If you have any questions about any aspect of THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or by SMS or email at reglofts@aol.com and I will do my best to answer any of your questions or queries about this great race.
These “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES” do take a lot of my time to prepare and I do try to get as much information into them as possible as I know fanciers and entrants like to know what is happening in each race, unfortunately sometimes, some informa tion will not be to hand when the print deadline is reached so can’t be included in that report. I can only apologise for this if I leave something out but I can assure everybody that I do my best to get as much current information as possible to put into each of these International Press Releases.
Once again it has been an outstanding year for “HITS” on the South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site which is without doubt the most comprehensive and informative one loft Web Site in the world today and the numbers of “HITS” continues to rise on a regular basis, such is the demand that fanciers want to know what is happening with their pigeons. 25 million “HITS” for the 2009 race, 48 million “HITS” for the 2010 race, 50 million “HITS” for the 2011 race, 60 million “HITS” for the 2012 race, 70 million “HITS” for the 2013 race, close on 80 million “HITS” for the 2014 race and prob ably even more “HITS” for this latest 2015 race, as soon as figures are know it will be added to one of my InternationalPress Releases for all to see. Once again the “HITS” on the SAMDPR Web Site have been remarkable and as soon as I get confirmed figures I will report them in a later International Press Release for all to see.
If you wish to see photographs of things that happened during the 2015/16 race season, then please log onto www.samdpr.com and you can see a selection of photographs for all to see.
Every year records are broken at the SAMDPR and it was fantastic to see that the International Report that PIPA produced on the 20th SAMDPR has so far had nearly 30,000 readers. This just to show the power of this great race has literally all over the world. Many great statements over the years have been given by actual race winners but the one that stands out for me is what a past winner FILIP NORMAN from BELGIUM said “That winning the Million Dollar Pigeon Race was better than winning two Barcelona Nationals”. This just goes to show how important the SAMDPR is to the race winner.
IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR IN FACT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE MY WEEKLY “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” BY EMAIL, THEN ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME THEIR ACTUAL EMAIL ADDRESS AND I WILL PUT THEM ON MY EMAIL DATABASE AND I WILL THEN FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS.
If you are interested in entering pigeons into the 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE and would like me to forward you information on how you can do it, then please contact me immediately on my home telephone number 01279-812005, mobile number 07860-568216, SMS message to mobile number or by email at reglofts@aol.com I will be only too pleased to forward you informa tion about the race and how you can enter it.
It would be remiss of me not to thank the SOUTHERN SUN HOTEL and the MONTE CASINO COMPLEX and all the staff for the use of this fantastic venue, everything was outstanding to say the least and I know that everybody that visited the race this year really enjoyed this great place where everybody made you feel so welcome.
One thing is still for sure The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race is still the best and biggest one loft pigeon race in the world today and is the one that top fanciers all over the world want to do well in. It is run by a team of profes sionals and has paid out every dollar of its projected prize money every year for the past 20 years. One thing is for sure with this great race, that if you are lucky enough to get a top position in the Final Race, your pigeon or pigeons are really well rewarded. So why not enter some of your top class pigeons into the 21st SAMDPR or try to form a syndicate with your club, federa tion, combine top flyers. Many fanciers from all over the world have scored in this prestigious race and in the 21st SAMDPR it could be your tum to hit the jackpot.
Paul Smith. United Kingdom Race Team Co-ordinator/Shipper & International Race Co-ordinator for The 20th South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, “The Platinum Edition” (The Greatest & Biggest One Loft Pigeon Race In The World Today! and also “The Race With The Proven Track Record”), which took place in the Montecasino Complex, Fouways, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday 6th February 2016.
Regency lofts limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ England. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005 (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005). Mobile:-07860-568216
Email:- reglofts@aol.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Regency Lofts web Site Address:- www.regencylofts.com The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site
Address:- www.samdpr.com
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