Jim Emerton chats with Ben Constantine
1 Tell us all about yourself please?
My name is Ben Constantine I’ve only just got into the sport due to my grandad passing and me moving into his house and taking over his loft.
2 What attracts you to pigeons?
I have always been interested in pigeons and use to go on pigeon trips to Belgium with my grandad as a 14 yr old then once I finally moved out the house I was renting wouldn’t allow me to have a loft but now I’ve got a few pigeons 20 I’ve bred from what I have here but didn’t have enough time to ready for the yb season so I am going to race them as yearlings.
3 The origin of your birds Sir?
Well my grandad use to race north road all the way up to Lerwick but I was fortunate to be giving 6 stock pairs from a very well known fancier from Bristol which are sprint and middle distance birds.
4 What are your dreams and goals with racers?
IAs I have said above I’m a complete novice I’m not going to run before I can walk I’m going to focus my first 3 years on getting to know the sport and focus on club racing then move on to the national racing and hopefully put enough time and effort into it and win a national that is my dream and to make my grandad proud.
5 How do you condition your birds?
I just use natural things to condition the birds like watercress minerals and since I read the Alfie Baker book I take the dog for a walk in countryside and Take a little Rucksack and collect fresh mole hill red clay and place it in a galley pot in each section and the birds love it.
6 What distances will you fly?
I will be flying sprint and middle distance in my first 3 years.
7 Do you read pigeon books and watch films?
I am always reading books and watching things on YouTube as I am a novice but have bin told don’t try to do loads of different things just set a plan and stick to it for first 3 years then adjust what I think is going wrong or need improvement
8 Which clubs will you join?
I have already joined the towers pigeon club in Hartcliff Bristol but just wasn’t ready to race on time but it’s a really good club with lots of top flyers and have always bin a believer if you want to be the best you have to compete and beat the best and in couple of years join some national clubs.
9 Do you believe in good sportsmanship?
yes I believe in good sportsmanship no one likes a sore loser the better the competition the better you will become.
10 Who are heroes of the sport?
My hero’s in this sport are Nigel Templar, Geoff Cooper and my granddad.
11 Is money the root of all evil or not?
Money is only evil in a evil persons hands greed and power what money brings also make people evil.
12 Do you like pedigrees?
I don’t know about pedigrees but I know people pay a lot of money for pedigree pigeons I’m happy to learn first of what I have then see about pedigrees and stuff.
13 Any more general comments from you?
Like I’ve said before I’m still a novice and every day is a learning curve in this sport no day is the same but I like to listen and take stuff in as much as possible.
14 Are people important to pigeons?
People are important to Pigeons in the racing side of things as food training and conditioning are important just like an athlete who has personal trainers to get them right for their race but you see top condition street pigeons that eat what ever they can and still in good shape but probably wouldn’t be able to compete against a racing pigeon in a race so in racing I would say yes people are important to pigeons in racing but in another way they are a piece of nature and can look after their self just like most wild animals.
Thank you Ben for sharing your story
Jim Emerton
