Based upon 3,000 birds activated, we are estimating $525,000 in prizes for 2024!
Final Race 375 miles, $455,000 in prizes
AVG Speed $57,000 in prizes
250 & 300 mile races pay $6,500 each for a combined total of $13,000 in prizes
Please click on our PAYOUT tab for full details for our 2024 race series!
Lets see if your birds can fly over the mountains, over the Columbia River and Columbia Gorge, over ridgelines and through the desert with rolling hills, through the forest and over Klammath Falls Lake, on a course that has a typical W to NW wind.
It takes a tough pigeon to win the Apple Cup, do you have the pigeon to do it!
We will be one of the biggest in 2024 and we are still the cheapest! Join us for our 9th year of hosting the Apple Cup for 2024, if your pigeons can fly here they can fly anywhere!
Olga and I hope all of you had a merry Christmas and that you have a Happy New Year!
Rick & Olga
Just like last year, no money due with birds!
$350 per bird due only AFTER the Activation Race!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Good afternoon Apple Cup breeders and potential Apple Cup flyers!
Only a few changes for 2024, other than the few listed below everything will pretty much be the same.
We will be charging $350 a bird due only after the Activation Race instead of $250 like we did this year. Of the $350, $150 is our perch fee. We have charged a $100 perch fee for 8 years straight and due to inflation and us taking on more employees to pay, not to mention us taking all the risk by not charging a perch fee up front which is nonrefundable like most races do, we feel this is more than fair and feedback thus far has been the same. In doing it the way we do we do not make anything unless your birds make it through activation and to the first race which will be 165 miles. If you have birds that get sick, injured, or are lost in training before the Activation Race you loose nothing because you did not pay for your perch fees up front. There will also be more prize money with the price increase.
The second biggest change is instead of having a 350 mile final it will be 375 miles. We feel this added mileage should get us closer to 8 hours on the wing which is our goal each year.
Other than a slight price increase and increasing the distance of the final from 350 miles to 375 miles, not much else to report. We will be more specific in our rules on partnerships and syndicates, shipping birds back, but other than that there is not too much we will change.
Not sure we will have optional race categories like we did this year. This created a lot of confusion for some no matter how clear we tried to be. Over the holidays we will of come to a decision as to if we want to try to tackle that again. If we do it will just be one category......just stay tuned.
All birds have been sent back with the exception of a few breeders who have extenuating circumstances like being out of the country, or in the hospital for treatment and will not be home until after the first of the year. If you still want your birds then send us a PayPal payment through our Payments Tab, no checks please. We will mail these birds out as soon as possible after 1 Jan, 2024 and then the remainder of the birds will be given to local breeders.
Our #1 rule for 2024 will be, read your Wincompanion updates before contacting us with questions that 99% of the time are covered in our Wincompanion updates. It is just too time consuming to try to respond to every text when we are in full swing, and we definitely do not have time for long telephone conversations. If you want to just "pigeon talk" then the time to do that is January and February next year because from March through about this time each year, we are either taking pigeons in, taking care of pigeons, training or racing pigeons, or mailing pigeons back to include checks. Just ask Olga how much yours truly likes to talk about pigeons, it really affects my own time management so this is why we prefer to text unless it is absolutely necessary to talk on the phone.
All checks have been mailed out with the exception of two breeders.
OscarLoft - FL
Tx Lin Loft - TX
We have been getting a lot of questions on checks being mailed out. If you read our last few Wincompanion updates then you will know that checks were sent out last week, all but the two above which we need W-9 forms on. If you know either of these breeders please pass this information on to them. We really need to get all checks sent out and cashed before 1 Jan, 2024.
If you do not hear from us again before Christmas, here is a Merry Christmas to all of you and a Happy New Year!
Things are finally winding down here at the Apple Cup for 2023. We have mailed out over 300 boxes this year and we have a few we will be mailing out Monday. If you still want your birds back then follow the directions below.
Go to our PAYMENTS TAB on our home page and follow the directions for paying for shipping, this MUST be done by tomorrow 15 December. We will not accept checks, this is your only option to pay for birds you want returned.
Text us at 254-247-9504 letting us know you paid via PayPal, identify yourself by Loft Name.
Checks are being mailed today once I hit send with this update, just putting a few stamps on the last few envelopes. There are only 4 breeders we are waiting on W-9 forms from and these are on the way.
On the way to the post office to drop off checks, everyone have a great weekend!
The crew made boxes today while yours truly created a ship list that we will use tomorrow morning to sort the birds one last time. Between checks and PayPal payments, we will have 169 boxes being divided up between Monday and Tuesday next week.
I create a packet for each breeder when we are in ship mode. First page is a print out of each breeder's birds which completed the final race, second is a copy of your check or PayPal payment for shipping, lastly your address off of Wincompanion. Once we get all of the birds mailed out we go through and attach W-9 forms to the top of the packet if we have received same.
Monday we will ship out 1 Flash Loft through King James, Tuesday will be Kwan Loft through Zion.
Seems everyone is happy with their returned birds thus far, this is good news to us!
We shipped out over 60 boxes Monday and the same Tuesday, also had about 60 pigeons picked up between some of our WA and OR breeders so 400 pigeons combined. The pigeons that were shipped out this week were ONLY to those breeders who won any amount of prize money this year, simple deduction of shipping fees from winnings and when we start sending out checks next week we will send the remainder.
Next Monday and Tuesday we will ship out all birds to those of you who who have sent checks or paid for shipping via PayPal.
As mentioned several times in the last few weeks, make 100% sure your Wincompanion address and telephone numbers are correct as this is where we retrieve information for shipping.
If you won $600 or more we will need a W-9 before we can send you a check.
After we get all of the birds mailed out next week we will work on sending out checks, then we will update our 2024 rules.
One of the main changes is we will be charging $350 per bird next year, again only after the Activation Race is when fees are due. We have charged a $100 perch fee for 8 years straight, with now having 3 employees to pay, inflation over those 8 years, higher tax bracket and us taking all the risk not collecting perch fees up front, we have finally decided it is time to make this change.
The second big change is the distance of our Activation and Final races. We are going to use our 115 mile race station as our Activation Race station instead of 15 miles shorter at 100 miles, the final race will be 375 instead of 350. Races will consist of a 115 mile Activation Race which is not part of Average Speed, then 165, 200, 250, 300, and a 375 mile final. The course will stay the same and the 375 mile station is on line with our current course, just 25 miles farther. Our goal is to spread the birds out a bit more on the final and try to get closer to 8 hours on the wing.
Other than that, no huge changes next year for the Apple Cup. We have not heard a lot of complaints and most we have talked to said they are sending again next year.
On this course your birds will traverse ridgelines, valleys, mountains, fly through the desert, over the forest, across the mightly Columbia River and the windy Columbia Gorge, lastly over Klamath Falls Lake with a typical west side wind.
It takes a very tough pigeon to win the Apple Cup, do you have the type of pigeon that can perform here!
WA/OR breeders who want to pick up your birds, this is mainly for you.
We originally put out that birds would be available for pick up Mon and Tue between 0900-1100, however after sorting the birds all day we found that we have over 80 pigeons being picked up. Usually we have far less and can stop what we are doing on shipping days which are Mondays and Tuesdays and sort through the few birds in the cages for WA/OR breeders by looking at band numbers. With the number of birds we have being picked up this year this just is not feasible because the clock will be in use scanning birds identified to be shipped on Monday and Tuesday mornings. On Wed, Thur, and Fri we will be able to scan the birds in front of you making sure you get every single bird that completed the series.
Therefore, we are changing the pick up days to Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 0900-1100 for WA and OR birds. These three days are the ONLY days to pick up birds. Mondays and Tuesdays we will be putting birds in boxes to be shipped those days at 1300, we do not keep them in the box overnight and ship the next day. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays you can come pick up your birds. Saturdays and Sundays we are sorting birds for the upcomming shipments, preparing boxes, shipping labels, just not a good time to come.
If you won any amount of money shipping will be deducted and your birds will be shipped out on Monday if your loft name starts with a number, or ends with Jones Family Loft. On Tuesday we will ship Kalanianaole Loft through Z & R Mandigma Loft.
The following week we will start shipping back to those of you who sent checks or paid via PayPal, which we have yet to go through yet but will start next week in preparation for the next week's shipments.
Once we get done shipping birds for the second week in a row we will start to mail out prize money checks, minus shipping.
Tomorrow is the last day to claim your birds, please go to our Payments Tab on our Home Page and pay for return shipping for your birds today if you want them back. This is our ONLY electronic payment option. Next year we will probably offer Zelle, however we are not yet set up for that now therefore you must use PayPal if you did not already send a check for return shipping.
We have received a lot of requests for combining birds from different breeders this year, as mentioned previously more than once it is in our rules that we do not do this.
Let me tell you a little story about combining birds, then maybe some may understand why this is not a good practice.
Last year we had a breeder ask if we could combine his "friend's" birds with his, which we did. After the birds were sent the "friend" called us upset that his bird went to someome else in another state when he did not authorize it. Turned out that one guy owed the other guy some money and could not collect it, so instead collected his debt by getting the other guy's bird sent to himself as payment unbeknownst to ourselves.
We have absolutely no way of confirming that breeders want their birds combined with other breeders. A email, text, or even a phone call can not achieve this. This is why the only way we can 100% be sure that birds go back to those who sent them is by returning birds to the address on Wincompanion that is registered as the address under the Loft Name flown.
We know some of you want to save a few bucks in shipping, but please try to see it from the OLR manager's standpoint.
When we prepare birds to be shipped we place all of the boxes in the hallway in alphabetical order. We scan the birds individually at the east end of the loft, then put them in the appropriate boxes. We have the shipping labels already taped to the top of the boxes and write the bird's band numbers on the bottom of the label and once the bird is inside we put a line through it. Once all of the birds that are to go in a specific box have a line drawn through their band number those boxes are moved down to the office at the east end, chips are removed and the boxes are zip tied. If we are to try to combine breeders this really affects this process and leaves room for error.
This Saturday and Sunday we will sort through over 800 birds. The birds being mailed out Monday will go in one section, those going out Tuesday in another section, all WA state birds in our cages and are available for pick up Monday-Wednesday 0900-1100. The birds being mailed out on Monday and Tuesday will be fed and watered at 0700 AM, we will start putting them in boxes at 1000 and will drop them off at the post office at 1300 because they take lunch for one hour 1300-1400 and this is the only time they have to accept the number of boxes we will be dropping off.
Monday and Tuesday next week, ONLY those birds whose breeder's won $400 or more will have their birds mailed back. We have 135 boxes which will be divided up and sent over these two days.
Those who sent checks and paid via PayPal who did not win any money will be mailed the following week.
We are hoping that it should only take these two weeks to get all of the birds mailed back to those who want their birds. We want to get this done before the Christmas mail volume increases and makes it more difficult on our post office to process this many birds in one day, not to mention getting the birds to you in a timely manner which is often times affected by holiday mail volume.
Once we get the birds mailed out we will start writing prize money checks if we have a completed W-9. We must get all prize money paid out by 31 December for tax purposes, this is why you can not hold prize money over for the next year.
Prize money checks are sent out separately after birds are sent back, never in the box with the birds.
So in a nutshell this is what our game plan is. Mail back birds first week to those who won any amount of money by deducting shipping from prize money, second week to those who sent checks and paid via PayPal, third week send out checks and call those who we need a W-9 from who we have yet to receive one from.
Lastly, please read Wincompanion updates, if you enter the Apple Cup we cover about 99% of all questions that we get called or texted on. If there is a question that is not already covered in our updates then by all means send us a text at 254-247-9504.
If you won money we have already printed out a list of birds that you have left that will be mailed back. We have already printed your address and phone number that is listed on Wincompanion, this is the address we will use for return shipping.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Just wanted to say that Olga has the PayPal link up and running. There is a third line for birds band numbers, I will have her remove this as it is not needed so leave it blank.
Please read the rules reference shipping. In our rules it states that the birds will be mailed back to the person whose Wincompanion account is associated with your loft name. We are getting many requests for combining birds from different breeders in the same box, this creates a lot of extra work for us and complicates the shipping process. Again it is in our rules not to do this, please try to understand from our side.
All shipping must be paid for by 1 December, not on the way. We will sort birds the 2nd and 3rd and start mailing on the 4th. If you live in WA you can pick your birds up 0900-1100 on the 4th, 5th, or 6th of December.
We will not call breeders asking if they want their birds back. It is the responsibility of all breeders to read the updates and to follow our shipping instructions, too easy.
Please read the update posted a few days before this one, it is much more detailed.
