ENTHUSIASTIC, eight-year-old Elizabeth Cook, from Beaworthy, was delighted to have won her first pigeon race on Saturday, August 7, beating 55 other pigeons and her father to the top prize — and her winning streak has continued, having won another race, this time beating her club record.

Elizabeth decided at the start of this year she wanted to race her own pigeons, after caring for and successfully breeding her own Capuchin Fancy Pigeons the year before.

She also liked the idea of taking on and beating her father, James, and grandfather, Derek, who both race pigeons from Tumley Lofts Stud in Beaworthy.

Elizabeth said she was ‘very proud’ to have beaten her father and when asked why she started pigeon racing she said: “It’s kind of my family tradition. I enjoy it and I think its really all about winning races and trophies but my favourite part is just having fun!”

Elizabeth joined the Royal Pigeon Racing Association (RPRA) and Bude Racing Pigeon Club as a young fancier and was gifted 20 rings. James provided Elizabeth with 15 babies from his own race team. She rung them up herself at the beginning of March with the GB19L rings she had received and as she had a few rings left she rung a couple from James’ stock loft. This gave her 20 babies that were well underway to maturing. With the idea of having about 30 the family decided to help Elizabeth gain a few more pigeons from a breeder/buyer. She was very fortunate to be given some babies from other fanciers wanting to help her out with the lack of colour in her loft. She ended up collating 36 babies in total.

A lot of work goes into caring for racing pigeons. Every morning Elizabeth feeds and waters her pigeons before going to school and lets them out for a fly — she has battled wind, rain and even hail to do so but she perseveres. At this point Elizabeth’s Capuchins were still in with her young bird team and it was decided to take these out as they were holding back the young birds from flying and with only one month until the first race she wanted to make sure he had the best possible chance.

After one week of seeing her father training his young birds Elizabeth was desperate to train hers, and by this point her babies were ranging nicely and flying up to an hour.

James said: “We discussed how she would like to train her pigeons and it was decided to train on the line of flight three miles, five and a half miles, ten miles, 14 miles and to get them to Exeter (25 miles) or Honiton (40 miles) before the first race.”

On the Friday morning, the day of basketing, she fed her pigeons in preparation for the race under the advice of her father, but unfortunately he miscalculated the amount of food and Elizabeth’s pigeons were well overfed. However, this didn’t stop Elizabeth so when it came to basketing she went through all of her pigeons and chose the eight she thought were in the best condition.

James said: “We took our pigeons down to the club for marking where Elizabeth was a great help putting pigeons through and seeing off her team.”

The big day had final come and Elizabeth’s pigeons were liberated with the rest of the liberation from Purbeck about 90 miles from home at 12.45pm in a south, south east wind. Her father advised that Elizabeth start looking from about 2.30pm just in case she had a quick pigeon. Apprehension grew as the family heard of more than 40 mile shorter distances were already in the clock. Elizabeth had said, ‘but how am I going to beat anyone, they are all grownups and I’m just a child’. Her parents reassured her that it doesn’t matter what age the fancier is, it is the pigeons that are doing the racing and she had done the best she could to get them ready — adding that the greatest satisfaction was watching them come home.

While James went up to his perch to await his pigeons, Elizabeth waited with her mother Vicky and grandfather, and sure enough, at 2.40pm two pigeons dropped out of the sky — one for James, and one for Elizabeth.

Vicky helped Elizabeth who struggles to reach the top perches and she clocked her time in a TX Junior — which had previously been donated by a kind fancier following a plea to help two young fanciers in the club.

Later that evening Elizabeth’s clock was taken down to the club for her. She was already over the moon to have beaten her father in a race but she later discovered she had not only beaten her father, but everyone else in the club winning the 1st Club Purbeck 90 miles by over 140ypm.

Elizabeth has since taken part in the Devon South Road Federation and Devon Cornwall and West Somerset Continental Flying Club race with a combined results of 30th out of 663 birds — breaking her club’s record for the year in the process with a time of 14:49:29.

James added: “Well done Elizabeth for showing us all how it’s done.”

Elizabeth is now gearing up for her next race and told the Post: “I have nine pigeons ready to go for their next race!”