ENGLAND, United Kingdom (Reuters) — It brings an entirely new meaning to the words ‘Chicken Run,’ but the annual World Hen Racing Championships brought some extra excitement to England’s Peak District on Saturday (August 5).
Hens have been in strict training for the past couple of months preparing for their annual World Championships. The venue for this event is a rural pub called the Barley Mow Pub in small village called Bonsall.
Every year about 30 to 40 of the world’s fastest chickens run along a track to strict international criteria – they must have both clawed feet on the starting line and no pecking allowed.
The area has a long history of hen racing, the most famous race being the Ible Hen Race. The races at the Barley Mow began 29 years ago when the then landlord Alan Webster decided it was time to revive this delightful old tradition.
The whole event – the biggest of the year for the town of Bonsall – concludes by finding out which of these fine beasts is the fastest chicken in the world.
The 2017 hen race was held on a typical English summers day, slight rain and patchy sunshine. According to locals, the course was good to firm.
There were several hundred spectators egging on their favorite competitors, some of whom, as in one eventful heat, seemed to lose interest in sight of the line while others were more interested in fighting.
The final was won by “Cooked it,” whose time was just under five seconds, second place was stablemate “Pluckedit” who was a previous winner of the event.
The winners trainer was Jack Allsop, a nine-year-old schoolboy from Ible in Derbyshire, who has a collection of racing hens.
He has previously won the event in 2013, 2015 and 2016.