Flying start as local racing pigeons take to the skies
KISHAN Chin has soared to the top of the leaderboard for the 2024 Jamaica Racing Pigeon Club (JRPC) season on the back of six victories over three weekends of races.
Flying out of his St Catherine-based Ensom876 Loft, Chin’s dominant start to the six-month-long season has catapulted him to 4,035 points.
Chin thinks re-inventing his approach to feeding is fuelling his success so far.
“What I have done differently this season is that I have been more dedicated and have made changes to the way I feed, and I am looking forward to better things as the season progresses,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chin is followed in the standings by Andrew Brown of the Spanish Town-located G-Squeeze Loft, who has 2,758 points and one win.
“I am feeling grateful for doing well so far, and my method has somewhat changed prior to last year mainly because I spend more time in the loft. Also, I try my best to keep my birds in the best of health; and the most important thing is giving the birds the right feed. Once you master feeding, you have basically mastered pigeon racing,” Brown said.
Completing the top three places is the father-and-daughter team of Sean and Teshaun Williams, operating out of the St Thomas-based Fly-Tastic Titans Loft. They have 1,817 points and one win to their names.
“We are not where we want to be as we are a work in progress…we continue to work with the birds and we are seeing that gradual progression in their form but I believe that the foundational work we did in the breeding loft and our attention to feeding methods have set the stage for us to grow,” noted Teshaun Williams.
In last Sunday’s races from Manchioneal in Portland, Chin copped the Five Young-Bird event while Andre Headlam of Headlam’s Family Loft won the Od Bird Open. The Williamses of Fly-Tastic Titans took the Young Bird Open in fine style by claiming the top eight places.
Competition continues with the PM Challenge races from Mandeville, Manchester, on July 7. These races — Young Bird Open and Young Bird Open — will take place in the afternoon instead of the traditional early morning liberations.
Meanwhile, JRPC President Patrick Roxborough is pleased with the bright start to the season.
“The race season started with a bang in that we’ve seen the fastest speeds being flown by the birds for the first race of a season in a long time.”
In the absence of last season’s champion flyer Dr Patrick Graham, Chin took the opportunity and completely dominated. Hot on the heels of Chin were Andrew Brown, Sean Williams, Lauray Kinlocke, and Andre Headlam.
“This demonstration of power flying is great for the type of competitive nature and camaraderie that will evoke within the membership, and certainly the club is now poised to welcome new members and rise to higher levels of pigeon racing in Jamaica,” said Roxborough.