KEITH MOTT
Writes about winning fanciers past and present
“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
Three Borders Federation (Exeter YB Race).
The Federation members sent 1,078 young birds to Exeter for the second to last race of the 2015 season and the Federation convoyer, Dom McCoy, liberated at 13.15hrs in to a North / North West wind. The birds cleared the race coarse liberation site well and an excellent steady race was enjoyed by all who entered. Dom has certainly left his mark on the 2015 season, producing some brilliant racing for the Federation membership. Paul and Rube Johnson of the Spelthorne club had their best race of the season by recording: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Federation. The two Johnson brothers are not only noted for their wonderful performances with their pigeons, but also for being the convoyers of the Three Borders Federation and SMT Combine for many years. Paul Johnson has recorded this season: (Old Birds) 1st club Yeovil: 1st club Exeter: 2nd Federation, 2nd SMT Combine Fougeres (1,294 birds) beaten on decimals: 21st Federation, 39th SMT Combine Truro (1,512 birds): (Young Birds) 21st Federation Blandford (1,802 birds): 12th, 13th,17th, 18th Federation Yeovil (1,606 birds): 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th Federation Kingsdown: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Federation Exeter (1,078 birds), 14th, 19th, 20th, 21st Federation, 48th SMT Combine Yelverton (1,617 birds). Paul was third for the Federation ‘Individual Points Trophy’ in the 2015 season, with 28 points. A great performance!
Rube Johnson was the convoyer of the London & South East Classic Club for several seasons and when he first took on the job, I can remember me putting my ‘roving reporter’ hat on and I drove over to Chertsey to have a meeting with our new convoyer, Rube. I must say it was a very nice hour spent in his company, talking about our experiences convoying on the Continent. Rube had never raced pigeons, but had been around them most of his life, with his brother, Paul, being a premier race for many years in the Three Borders Federation area. Paul is well known in the Surrey pigeon fraternity for being an outstanding all round pigeon racer and wins the Federation most seasons. Rube is equally well known for transporting and convoying pigeons, which he started when he was 21 years old and has been doing it on and off for well over 40 years. He was the convoyer for the Three Borders Federation and SMT Combine for many years and I thought we had never met, but when he answered his front door to me, I knew his face, so we must have crossed paths at some stage. He had never convoyed north road and was looking forward to going down to Tarbes, as Bergerac was the furthest he has convoyed south road. Like myself, Rube loves France and maintained Messac was the best site out there that he had visited up to that time. I visited Messac with the Central Southern Classic Flying Club birds in the 2010 season and was very impressed with the marina liberation site there, and I think it is fair to say it is one of the best sites in France. The pigeons have a perfect fly out on their liberation, with no obstacles to hamper them at all and on their arrival on site the convoyers are given a code number to the lock of the Shower / WC block and this facility is spotlessly clean. Ian Mead was to be ‘riding shotgun’ for Rube in the L&SECC 2011 season and he was really looking forward to that, as they had worked together many time over the years, and Rube said, ‘it’s the old firm back together again’. Paul Johnson is the premier pigeon racer and his brother, Rube, is one of our premier pigeon convoyers!
Rube Johnson Convoyer L & S.E.C.C.
Mick Tuck of Witley.
I was talking to Mick Tuck recently and he was saying what a strange racing season he had had in 2015 and that his good pied hen had won 2nd from the longest old bird race yet again. She has been clocked on the day three times at 450 miles and recorded 2nd club three times. This year she was 2nd Godalming club, 2nd South Coast Federation Bordeaux, beat this time by Ray Hammond who won the Godalming club and the Federation. In the 2014 season she was beaten by her loft mate, ‘The Cannon Cock’, who recorded 1st club, 2nd Federation Bergerac and in 2013 she was beaten from Bergerac by club mate, Brian Batchelor, and both times she was well up in the Federation result. This game hen has scored in other premier long distance events, always being sent on a three day old youngster and is a daughter of Mick’s champion racing hen, ‘Tucky’s Delight’. When I asked Mick what sort of racing he liked he replied, ‘definitely long distance! There's nothing worse than getting a phone call to say that the birds are up and predicting that they will be in the loft within 15 minutes, that’s rubbish. I like just a few birds on the day, that's my sort of racing’. Having said that, he recorded 1st club Messac, 1st club Poitiers, 7th, 8th section A. NFC Messac and 128th open BICC Poitiers with old birds in 2015, all short Channel races! Mick is most certainly not regarded as a young bird racer, but this season saw him win: 1st club, 1st Federation Salisbury, 1st club, 1st Federation Honiton, 1st club Blandford (bred by my mate, Peter Taylor) and 2nd section A. NFC Guernsey, all with young birds. Yes Micky, great pigeon racing, but for you a strange season!
Mick Tuck of Witley
Mick told me, his best all-round pigeon was the great 1999 bred blue chequer hen, ‘Tucky’s Delight’ and she was an Eric Cannon pigeon, being a daughter of ‘Pau Star’, winners of 2nd section A, 9th open NFC Pau Grand National (550 miles) and timed on a hard day of liberation. Her sire was a Cannon blue chequer cock which was always kept for stock. ‘Tucky’s Delight’ through her ring in the nest and her number is two away from her nest sister, as the ring was lost in the loft. This wonderful hen grew into a champion racer and breeder! ‘Tucky’s Delight’ won Bergerac (449 miles), the longest old birds in the very strong Godalming three times and as a yearling she recorded: 4th club, 6th Surrey Federation, 7th SMT Combine Bergerac, clocked on the day of liberation. She has won a long list of premier races including: 2003: 1st club, 5th Surrey Federation, 19th SMT Combine Bergerac, 1st club, 1st Surrey Federation, 9th SMT Combine Alencon: 2004: 1st club, 4th Surrey Federation, 9th SMT Combine Bergerac: 2005: 102nd open NFC Tarbes: 2004: 51st open L&SECC San Sebastian. ‘Tucky’s Delight’s’ nest sister is the great hen, ‘Tucky’s Choice’ and she recorded: 2004: 45th open NFC Pau (550 miles): 2005: 41st open NFC Tarbes (560 miles), clocked both times on the day of liberation. Two great hens! Mick says that ‘Tucky’s Delight’ turned out to be a ‘master’ breeder, producing many premier long distance racers over the years. In the 2005 season she bred ‘Tucky’s Supreme’, who as a yearling won 2nd SMT Combine Bergerac, beaten by a yard when club mate Ray Hammond won the Combine, with only three birds being clocked in the Combine on the day of liberation. Another great racer bred from ‘Tucky’s Delight’ was ‘Tucky’s Return’, who has some interesting history behind him! This five year old Eric Cannon blue chequer cock was lost from the NFC Fougeres race as a young bird, and returned one year later as Mick was basketing his young birds for the NFC St Malo race. Just unbelievable, but it’s true! He came back with most of the webbing gone from his flights and his perished rubber race rings intact. Mick kept him for a year and raced him unpaired to win several premier prizes in that season including 1st club Alencon (by 25 minutes) and 28th open NFC Cholet. ‘Tucky’s Return’ has never looked back and has won a long list of prizes including: 2013: 3rd club, 5th Federation Bergerac, 2nd club, 12th Federation, 13th Combine Fougeres, 2012: 4th club, 18th Federation, 18th Combine Bergerac, 2011: 4th club, 26th Federation, 26th Combine Bergerac. ‘Tucky’s Delight’ the champion racer and breeder!
Mick is very special pigeon racer and is defiantly a man with a small racing team, and big performances! Mick’s 2014 racing season nearly finished a total disaster, after a cat entered his loft and attached his pigeons, killing one and injuring several others. He is a very successful long distance enthusiast and his whole season is a build up to the NFC Tarbes Grand National and the Bergerac Combine races. Mick gives his race candidates lots of early morning training tosses off Hayling Island, on the south coast, and a couple of days before the NFC Tarbes marking he returned from training to finds the cat in the loft. Needless to say he could not send to the Grand National and lost his entry money! The Combine Bergerac race was a few weeks later and he managed to get his small team settled back on eggs, and set up for that the longest and last old bird race in the Godalming Club. His good blue cock, ‘The Cannon Cock’ lost his hen in the cat attack, but paired up to a young hen and was sent to Bergerac sitting two day old eggs. The Bergerac race in 2014 was one of the hardest for many years and Mick clocked the blue cock at 19.38hrs on the day of liberation to win 1st club, 2nd Federation (449 miles). The race really was a ‘stinker’ with only three birds clocked on the day in the Federation and only 25 in race time, with the Tuck loft getting six home and timing three of them. ‘The Cannon Cock’ is a beautiful pigeon to handle and look at, and is bred from the very best of Eric Cannon’s wonderful long distance family. His sire is the 2007 bred blue chequer cock; ‘Tucky’s Pride’ and he won a long list of premier positions in the NFC Pau and Tarbes Nationals. In spite of his cat problems, Mick had a good season winning: 1st club, 3rd Federation Nort sur Erdre, 1st Godalming club and well up in the Federation result from the Truro young bird race.
That’s our article for this week! I’m always glad to see the end of October and all those feathers in the loft. We can now look forward to the winter shows! I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)
