GWENT GREATER DISTANCE CLUB
THE GOLDEN WEEKEND OF JIM HOOPER
1st & 6th Section 10th & 70th Open BICC Pau International
1st Section 11th Open Welsh SRNFC Tarbes
by Gareth Watkins
The above two performances were achieved by Jim Hooper of Cardiff on the same weekend in late June 2008. What is even more remarkable is the fact that the birds that achieved these results at close on 600 miles were two year old late breds that had not seen the inside of a basket until the yearling stage!
.To many, Jim Hooper is the man that ran the BBC as secretary for 13 years. Before that, Jim was instrumental in resurrecting the Welsh South Road National Flying Club, of which he was also secretary for quite some time. So it’s fair to say that he has been a full time administrator with various organisations within the sport for most of the past twenty years. As a result very little racing has been undertaken during this time, although in the late 1970s Jim developed a formidable team of long distance performers, with many top class performances from Pau and Palamos to his credit.
These birds were based on the old Kirkpatrick family which Jim obtained from Ron Barrel of Abergavenny and Louella Lofts. Two pigeons stood at the base of the family, a blue pied hen – a granddaughter of Solway King via Ron Barrel, and a red chequer cock containing the bloodlines of Prince’s Replica via Louella Lofts. This pair churned out top class racers from the off and when children of these were crossed with grizzles, again of Kirkpatrick origin, obtained locally from an old Cardiff fancier, the “blue touch paper” was lit and the loft's long distance performances were sent to another level.
The 2008 long distance performers also contain the bloodlines of the old Kirkpatrick family along with recent introductions from Ken Hine and the late, great, GJW “Peter” Titmuss of Wheathampstead. Jim has also been gifted birds by the Hampshire long distance ace, and thoroughly good bloke, Tony Leggatt, although these have yet to be tested at the distance.
Jim Hooper's Champion Welsh Monarch, the progenitor of the Kirpatrick line in Jim's loft and responsible for many long distance winners including Jim's 2008 winner of 1st Sect 10th Open BICC Pau International.
The winners of 1st Section 10th Open BICC Pau International and 1st Section 11th Open Welsh National Tarbes in 2008 are both red chequer cocks bred from the same Kirkpatrick sire. The BICC section winner’s dam is a mealy hen gifted to Jim by Ken Hine and she in turn is bred from an Eddie Froggatt mealy cock when mated to a mealy hen bred down from the very best of Mr & Mrs Eric Cannon's long distance family. The Cannon pedigree shows Culmer Expected, Culmer Lad and Culmer Sam amongst the antecedents of the mealy hen. In fact the mealy hen, dam of 1st Section BICC Pau International, is a half-sister to Ken Hine’s 2008 Palamos winner, sharing the same sire, the Froggatt mealy cock. It should also be noted that the Midlands ace Eddie Froggatt also had a part to play in the breeding of Dennis Ford’s 1st Open BICC Tarbes 2008, as the granddam of the Tarbes winner on the sire’s side was a mealy hen bred by Eddie from his 3rd Open NFC Pau hen.
Both section winners were like peas in a pod – identical in looks and handling, being just on medium sized and apple bodied. Considering their ordeals from Pau and Tarbes, both were still in excellent condition, as were all the race team. They gleamed with health like polished glass bottles.
The second bird in the clock from Pau International proved to be another two year old latebred, this time a blue hen. She is bred from a pair of direct Titmuss pigeons loaned to Jim by Ken Hine. As with the two aforementioned brothers, she did not see the inside of a basket until the yearling stage and was then taken along steadily to 300 miles and then stopped for the season. This season the Pau and Tarbes birds were raced with the GGDC and BICC in the short channel races before being set up for their target races sitting 8 days on their first nest of eggs. The race team are usually mated early in the season but are not allowed to go to nest. Once the pairs are mated and thoroughly acquainted with their nest boxes they are immediately separated and raced celibate until the last few weeks before their set race. They are then set down to be sitting 8-10 day eggs on basketting.
At least twice each week, Jim takes the race team to Yeovil or some similar distance across the other side of the Bristol Channel. Sometimes he will even drive down into Hampshire, to a point overlooking the Solent and the Isle of Wight, to give the birds a hundred mile trainer. The rest of the time the separated racers are allowed as much home freedom as possible with the cocks especially, enjoying an open loft for most of the day. The hens get their liberty in the afternoons as they are housed in a section alongside the young bird section. When the young birds begin to range then the hens go out with them.
All birds, including young birds, are hopper fed beans with seed and peanuts used as a trapping incentive. They also receive a few peanuts each evening as a treat.
The loft is a 24 ft x 12 ft three sectioned structure facing south, south east. One section houses the 16 pairs of racers whilst there are two further sections for young birds and old hens when separated. The loft paraphernalia, baskets, corn bins etc are kept in a small store section between the old bird section and young bird section. A three-foot wide corridor runs the length of the loft allowing access to each section. Jim built the loft himself and it is a credit to his carpentry skills. However he did concede that the German style “up and over” nestboxes and perches were necessary purchases, as by that time he had run out of patience!
Congratulations Jim on an excellent series of long distance performances.
