Muszkieta 2021 top flier

Horsham Racing Pigeon Club’s 2021 race program is complete after a final race from Wonthaggi.

The club had 21 races, of which 10 qualified for championship points to determine a premier flier for the year.

Twenty members competed in various races on the full program, although some did not compete in all races being small team fliers.

Races occurred on three lines, north from Mildura, northwest from Pimba and southeast from Wonthaggi.

For the second year, COVID-19 influenced the season, in particular preventing races from NSW release points.

John Muszkieta won the overall club championship, winning five of the 10 championship races to accumulate 125 points and finish a clear winner. Second with 111 points was the Mcphee Family, and Leigh Arnott on 102 points was third. To accommodate for large and small teams the club also ran aggregate awards. Small race teams: 1, Mcphee Family, 188 points; 2, Bruce Rentsch, 135; 3, Dennis Smith, 122. Large race teams: 1, John Muszkieta 167; 2, John Aisbett 152; 3, Brian Watts 148.

STAR OF THE SKY: Horsham Racing Pigeon Club 2021 champion John Muszkieta is pictured with his winning pigeon from a 793-kilometre race from Pimba, South Australia. This pigeon arrived home to its loft at 9.27pm after dark, which represented a one-in-onehundred-year occurrence for pigeon racing in Horsham.