BICC MERIT AWARD WINNERS 2014
by Gareth Watkins
The BICC Merit Awards {Certificates of Merit} are awarded to the pigeons that have at least three top fifteen Open positions in International races competing with the BICC. In 2014 nine pigeons achieved this difficult feat and the following article is meant to honour these great long distance racers and their terrific achievements in what must surely be the hardest of competition. In no particular order I have listed below brief details of the performances, breeding and preparation of these long distance pathfinders in the run up to their terrific performances.
First out of the hat is a five year old blue w/f cock raced by Vince and Dave Padfield of Cwmtillery in the Welsh valleys. To achieve his performances, Blue Badge 51 had to race home to one of the most westerly locations in the BICC radius. Here we go:-
He has appeared 3 times in the first 10 in the BICC international races.
2011 AGEN BICC International 4th Open 1st West Section in a very strong west wind.
2014 PAU BICC International 10th Open 3rd West Section.
2014 St Vincent International 2nd Open 1st West Section in a west wind.
The Blue Badge 31
The white flight cock is a multiple prize winner in long distance races as, in addition to the 2nd 4th and 10th Nationals in BICC internationals, he has also won the following:- As a 2 year old, 76th Open CSCFC Tarbes and as a 3 year old he was 4th Section 5th Open Welsh South Road National Tarbes and 26th section 205th Open NFC Tarbes 607 miles.
BLOODLINES
Sire GB2002J59190. Bred by Vince and Dave's good friend Brian Leadbeater as an exchange pigeon from his Super Crack bloodlines. One of the partners' best ever cocks, "Albert", was also Super Crack x Wim Muller. "190" also bred Brian a 1st section I 15th Open NFC Pau before moving to Wales. His father is Brian Leadbeater's No 1 Cock "The Favourite"; he was sire to Golden Eye Jackpot, Lady Moon & Nessy. In short this cock has been an absolute goldmine at stock. His dam was a daughter of the immortal "48" - 5 times in first ten in Midland Nationals, when paired to Lady Moon 1st sect 4th Open Saintes MNFC.
Dam GB2002N61181. Contains the best of the Padfields Wim Muller Jan Aardens x Morgan & Cook "Iron Man" bloodlines which were based on Atwell Brothers of Newport pigeons. She has always been at stock and is a sister to VINCE 1st Pau WSRN FC and Gold Cup winner plus RPRA long distance award winner in 2000. Her sire was 8th Open WSRN Pau and his g/g/sire was 2nd Welsh North Road National Lerwick. So as you can see, generation upon generation of long distance winners. The dam was responsible for 4th WSRN FC Pau and 17th WSRN FC Dax. The sire of the dam was runner up Bird of the Year WSRN FC in 1990, scoring in all four old bird Nationals that year. Incidentally, a full sister to the "Blue Badge 31" was 27th Open BICC International Barcelona.
Preparation 2014: This year the cock had a few inland races and then Carentan with the NFC followed by Tours with the BICC then into Pau International where he finished at 10th Open. He was raced on the roundabout system for most of the season but on his return from Pau this year he was allowed to run with a new hen and was basketed for St Vincent sitting newly laid eggs to finish 1st section 2nd Open.
As mentioned above, the Padfield pigeons are raced on the roundabout system in the early part of the season and then are re-mated in preparation for their target race.
When on roundabout the birds, both cocks and hens, are exercised for one hour twice daily in order to build up their fitness levels for the International long distance race programme.
Feeding is simple - a hopper of beans in each nest box with a good mixture fed ad lib at different times of the day followed by a high fat mixture in the final days prior to basketing for the long 'uns.
There you go then, the biography of a truly excellent long distance racer.
Next up we have three Merit Award winners to the same loft - that of the ultra consistent and equally successful Kevin and Lee Buddle of Dover. Just feast your eyes on these three marathon flyers.
Kevin and Buddle
The first of the Buddle's Merit Award winners is a 2008 Cock named "Mike". He has been a very reliable widowhood cock winning to date 8 Open prizes from International races. His results to date are:-
3rd BICC Marseille Int 2014 594m
4th BICC Marseille Int 2011 594m
9th BICC Marseille Int 2013 594m
13th BICC Agen Int 2014 480m
24th BICC Perpignan Int 2012 579m
37th BICC Pau Int 2011 544m
60th BICC Pau Int 2013 545m
64th BICC Pau Int 2012 545m
He was bred by Kevin and Lee's good friend Mike Mitchell also of Dover and he is of the old Jan Aarden blood via two direct Herman Van Helmond stock birds that Mike introduced in 2007. "Mike" was lightly raced as a young bird only having a couple of 100 mile inland races. As a yearling he was raced out to PoitIers 317 miles then stopped. As a 2yr old he was sent to his first ever International race which was Narbonne at 557 miles and he took 20 days to home! However, he must have learned something from this mishap as since then he hasn't missed being in the clock from any of the International races to which he has been sent.
The second of the Buddle’s three Merit Award winners is a 2007 Cock called "Pipi". This is a terrific long distance racer that seems to ooze intelligence. He has flown Barcelona International 4 times at a distance of 673 miles. His prizes are:-
5th BICC Barcelona Int 2011 673m.
9th BICC Barcelona Int 2014 673m.
10th BICC Barcelona Int 2013 673m.
Barcelona Int 2012, Verified Injured just out of race time as he had been shot through his wing yet still made it home.
"Pipi's" breeding is of the partners' own "Buddy" family as his dam was a daughter of "Buddy" the foundation hen when "Buddy" was paired to the sire of B C Willams' "Conqueror" 1st BICC Perpigan 1996. This cock was bred by Brian Denney being a direct son of "Dark Peron". On the sire’s side of "Pipi" is a good cock that flew and scored from NFC Pau & Tarbes on a couple of occasions and he is 100% Jim Biss blood via "Favori" & "Navigator".
The Buddle’s third Merit Award winner is a 2008 Cock named "Spitfire". He is a full brother to the above Merit Award winner "Pipi" and has been a very good servant for the partners. He has won 5 open positions from BICC International races. Which are:-
4th BICC Agen Int 2012 481m (on the day)
5th BICC Perpignan Int 2014 579m
15th BICC Perpignan Int 2013 579m
17th BICC Pau Int 2014 545m
38th BICC Agen Int 2013 484m
As a young bird he was raced to 127 miles. As a yearling he was sent to Tours 260 miles then stopped. At 2yrs of age he was only sent out to Saran 220 miles, then as a 3 yr old he was sent to NFC Tarbes where he was in the clock. As a 4yr old he went to BICC Agen Inernationatal where he was clocked on the day of liberation to win 4th Open BICC.
MANAGEMENT
The following is a brief outline of Lee and Kevin's management regime.
The racers are mated in February and are allowed to rear a round of youngsters and are then separated and flown on the roundabout system for the duration of the old bird programme. Kevin and Lee like to get the birds into a half a dozen or so trainers out to 20 miles before racing begins and then give the long distance candidates perhaps 2 x 100 mile inland races followed by a couple of 200 mile channel races to get them in trim for their test at the distance. The final preparation for the long distance target race is a 250 mile channel race supplemented by their twice daily home exercise. The partners rarely train the birds after their initial pre season training as they simply do not have the time. During the periods of loft exercise the birds are let out and the lofts cleaned. The morning exercise lasts for around 30 minutes and the evening stint amounts to no more than 45 minutes. The birds are never forced to fly and the hens in particular rarely fly for more than 10 15 minutes, yet they can always be relied on to put in a full shift in long distance races. The race cocks are fed individually in their boxes whilst the racing hens are fed communally in a hopper on the floor. The food is always measured but never rationed as the racers always have sufficient for their needs. In the main, the racers are fed Versele Laga Best All Round and VL Superstar Plus. Other additions to the birds’ diet in the build up to a long distance race are sunflower hearts. Garlic and honey are also used extensively in the drinking water.
The Buddle loft
Dickie and son Steve Pearmain are another partnership that seem to be able to pull team performances "out of the hat" in long distance International races. Over recent years they have produced many memorable performances and in 2014 they have produced two Merit Award winners in "Mary from Donegal" and "Marseille Mau".
Mary from Donegal has the following prizes to her credit and must rate as one of the best long distance racing hens in Europe:-
2011. 13th Open Pau; 26th Open Agen.
2012. 34th Open Pau [on the day]; 18th Open St Vincent [on the day];
2nd Open Perpignan.
2013. 21st Open Pau [on the day]; 1st Open Perpignan.
2014. 17th Open Perpignan.
"Mary" has now scored eight times in the first thirty four of the Open prizes in International races with the BICC.
"Marseille Mau" has the following performances having been selected by Mrs Pearmain as a young bird as one to watch out for.
She was 15th open BICC Marseille in 2012 and 5th open BICC Marseille in 2013 and now 10th open BICC Marseille 2014. The 2014 Marseille performance is all the more fitting as Mrs Pearmain sadly passed away in April of this year.
"Mau" is very closely related to Mary from Donegal. They both contain the bloodlines of Nico Volkens' Barbarella and Lance.
"Mau" was prepared for her third attempt at the Marseille race with one short channel race in the East England CC then trained privately and basketed for Marseille sitting 4 day old youngsters.
Dickie and Steve Pearmain
MANAGEMENT
The loft houses a maximum of 30-35 pairs of old bird racers and just 45 young birds, so there is certainly no overcrowding here. The old bird race team are not allowed young birds before racing. All young birds are bred from the stock birds which are kept at Steve's home in Ireland.
The old birds are paired in mid April with the specific aim of getting the birds to come into form later in the season at the time of the International races. Results would seem to indicate that Steve and Dickie have been consistently successful at achieving their aims in this respect! All are paired at the same time, then parted, raced and trained separated. They are then re-paired for specific races. I should point out that the birds are never treated for any ailments so there is absolutely no programme of medication here. The birds have to develop their own immunity to the common ailments.
The home exercise regime is also simplicity itself. Both cocks and hens when separated are allowed their freedom twice daily for one hour on each occasion. During this period they are locked out but not forced to fly. They can flap off or simply rest as they wish. Very little training is done but if the birds do get a livener it is on the works van with Steve and could be from any direction depending on where Steve is working that day. The birds keep themselves fit with their home exercise and racing. The old birds, as stated earlier, are then re mated to get them in their favoured nest condition for specific International races and are given plenty of rest during the run up to baskettng.
Mau
YOUNG BIRDS
The Pearmain young birds are extensively trained along the south coast, all single tossed. Needless to say the young birds are not placed on the darkness system as Steve and Dickie do not race them. They are simply trained to give them an excellent education in the year of their birth with minimum or no stress involved. As yearlings the birds get one or two short channel races and are then set aside until the two year old stage when they are brought on and hopefully peak around the time of the Agen International in late June. The three year olds and older usually go to the long distance Internationals in July and early August and may well have been entered in one of the early season Internationals such as Pau and Agen in June.
FEEDING
The old birds are hopper fed various mixtures marketed by GEM along with a certain amount of Beyers Olympic mixture, so there is always some food available to them throughout the day. Any food remaining in the evening is given to the young birds who are fed measured amounts so that they are kept under control.
Mary From Donegal
The Pearmain loft
The partnership of Geoff and son Clayton Preece of Dover also have two birds with Merit Awards in 2014 and these two cocks are indeed outstanding long distance racers, as they have both won 1st Open BICC Perpignan being the only bird into the UK on day of liberation.
The first of these is the great "Jack Jones" a German-rung pigeon bred by the Stoffel - Ophoff partnership. Jack's wins are as follows:-
In 2009 as a yearling 58th Open Perpignan.
2010 - 30th Open Pau and 1st Open Perpignan on the day being the only bird recorded on the day into the UK.
2011 8th Open Pau and 2nd Open Agen.
2012 3rd Open Pau and 82nd Open St Vincent.
2013 41st Open Pau and 3rd Open Perpignan.
Jack Jones
The second Merit Award winner is "Wiggins" who is still only four years old and this is his second BICC National win from Perpignan. Wiggins is only the second pigeon ever to have homed on the day from the Perpignan International, the other being Jack Jones mentioned above.
The breeding is 50% line bred to Bill Woodall’s Barcelona winner ‘Dragon’s Boy’, 25% Stoffel ‘270’ and ‘Marseille Star’ lines and 25% Raymond Hermes.
‘Wiggins’ has now competed in 9 International races of more than 500 miles.
In 2011 he won 10th Open BICC National Perpignan (Yearling) 581 miles
In 2012 10th Open BICC National Pau 547 miles; 39th Open BICC National St Vincent 533 miles; 1st Open BICC National Perpignan 581 miles.
In 2013 31st Open BICC National Pau; 16th Open BICC National St. Vincent; 45th Open BICC National Perpignan.
In 2014 17th open BICC National Barcelona 675 miles; 1st Open BICC National Perpignan.
Geoff & Clayton Preece
MANAGEMENT
Both Jack and Wiggins are widowhood cocks prepared specifically to gain super form at the time of the International races in late June, July and August.
To achieve this the birds, both racers and stock birds are paired in March/April according to the lunar calendar. They are fed on the very best mixtures marketed by the German firm Matador and great use is made of Backs supplements. The daily routine is two one hour exercise sessions with the first of these being at daybreak each day.
Young birds are kept on the natural system and have one or two short races plus possibly one channel race before being set aside for the yearling stage of their education.
Wiggins
Last but certainly not the least of the Merit Award winners is yet another terrific long distance racer and this one is to David Hales of Hockley in Essex. David is greatly helped with the management of his birds by good friend Duncan Goodchild.
Here are the performances of a truly outstanding long distance racer known to David and Duncan as "Tubby":-
2nd Sec E, 3rd Open BICC, 677th Open International Marseille 637 miles 11,244 birds
2nd Sec E, 9th Open BICC, 110th Open International Pau 575 miles on day 8,576 birds (no UK bird higher on the result flying further)
7th Sec E, 7th Open BICC Pau 575 miles on day (once again no UK bird higher on result flying further)
8th sec E, 8th Open BICC Marseille 637 miles
18th Sec E, 37th Open BICC Tarbes 580 miles
298th Open NFC Saintes 412 miles
With 4 times in the top 9 of BICC and twice in the top 678 of International racing, David and Duncan thought it was time to see if he could reproduce the same quality in subsequent generations, so he was retired to the stock loft as his like do not come along too often!!
David Hales and Duncan Goodchild
BLOODLINES
Sire bred by Fauche Brothers containing their best lines crossed with the Laureaat Barcelona lines.
Dam bred by Alan Parker containing lines of Warren Robertson's "Destroyer" a big money winner in the NFC and Mike White's famous "John".
PREPARATION
Trained only as a young bird out to 60 miles.
He was raced on widowhood and sometimes he reared youngsters at other times he didn't rear before racing - it made little difference to Tubby. In the later years he was paired as late as possible but David was still be able to get enough work into him in preparation for the 1st International race of the season in June.
As a yearling he went as far as Messac with the NFC, quite a testing race, and he homed on the day after 12 hours on the wing.
As a 2 year old he was sent to his 1st International Tarbes the year that the BICC and NFC sent together. Once again this wasn't an easy race but he handled it ok.
As a 3 year old he went to the Agen International and arrived very early 2nd morning according to the ETS. He somehow got missed but there were day birds and ended the season at the NFC Saintes.
As a 4 and 5 year old he did both Pau and Marseille Internationals.
Tubby
THE LOFT
This is a really imposing structure set alongside a huge lawned area. The loft must be at least 100 foot long and is divided into numerous sections with an internal walkway fronting the whole set up. Self built by David, it is light and airy with excellent ventilation and has been set up so that David can race cocks and hens on widowhood, roundabout etc and young birds on the darkness system. Although the loft is extensive I would guess that there are less than 100 pigeons housed in a loft that could comfortably house many times that number.
THE BLOODLINES
When David decided on his transition from sprint/middle distance Fed and National racing to International extreme distance racing he soon realised that he needed the birds to handle this type of racing. Two fanciers that sprung to mind were Jim Biss and David's good friend Alan Parker. These two outstanding fanciers had a habit of getting repeat performances from 700 miles. This was just what David was looking for, as he firmly believes that the pigeon's origins bred from generations of performers from the distance is of the utmost importance.
The Hales loft
MANAGEMENT
Perhaps here is a tip to all new starters trying to build a team - train young birds hard but they don’t all have to be raced. The cocks over the past 3 or 4 years have been treated a lot more lightly not being asked to work hard until they are 3 years old then they are expected to fly at least one International and two 550 miles plus races in the same season. The cocks are treated for Cocci and Canker along with Ivermectin for the lice and worms before pairing. The birds are not treated again until racing is over.
THE SYSTEM
The cocks are flown a type of widowhood celibate love of home method, allowed into one half of their boxes with the bowl left in the other side. Sometimes David will let them into the bowl and occasionally during the season they get to see their hens before the race, but always when they return from the big races.
A portrait of Tubby
FEEDING
Feeding for racing is mainly Gerry Plus with some maple peas, peanuts and Hormoform added. All food is hopper fed with food in front of the birds most of the day. A little fresh grit is given daily along with minerals as I feel they need them. Once racing finishes the birds are fed the best farm food including wheat, barley, maize, beans, peas, groats and plenty of it. The birds are at this time, late September, happily paired and on open hole. Rearing a single youngster from the season’s top performers, they will remain paired until around Christmas before being split. Once split they will go onto a lighter diet before the pairing preparation begins once again for the following season.
FOOTNOTE
The young bird that David and Duncan have presented for the BICC Epsom Auction sale is from a daughter of "Tubby". The sire of the young bird is "Tubby's" half brother "80". "80" is a winner of 1st Open BICC Perpignan over 600 miles almost 2 hours clear. His granddaughter repeated this feat for David and Duncan's good friends, the Buddles, in this year's Narbonne International. "80" was also 4th Open BICC Perpignan and 38th Open NFC Tarbes. They have 4 generations of birds from "80" scoring at BICC International and non International racing. The first 2 birds from the latest BICC Falaise race in September are both 4th generation hens from him their sire being a half brother to "80".
The above provides the reader with a brief biopic of nine top class long distance racers, bred and prepared by some of the best long distance fanciers in the UK. Congratulations all.
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Elimar - October 2014
