KEITH MOTT
Esher & District RPC
The mighty Esher club are back in their winning ways and their members have recorded a staggering 50 positions in the Three Borders Federation results in first four races of the 2014 racing season, including twice 1st Federation. The competition in the Three Borders Federation is strong and hard every year, but in the 2013 season once again the mighty Esher & District RPC came out on top, winning the ‘Federation Points’ Trophy’, with 173 points. The club has won the championship several times in recent years and are always in the first few top positions for the Federation shield. It is common knowledge that the Esher is a very strong club, sending up to 350 birds a week and in most races, short or long, members have to more or less win the Federation to win the club. New members to the Esher club in 2013, Vic and Lou Emberson of Banstead, won the Federation from the first Yeovil race and club members recorded sixteen positions in the Federation result (1,702 birds), including 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. The club’s next Federation winner was from Honiton with 1,589 birds competing and Esher members chalked up 13 positions in the result from this 130 mile event. Paul Arnold of North Cheam had his brilliant team of Staf Van Reet pigeons going well that weekend and recorded 1st, 3rd, 20th, 21st Federation. I’m writing a full report on Paul’s latest Federation winner and it will appear here shortly. It will make great reading, as Paul is famed for having one of the best and most successful teams of Van Reet pigeons in the UK today.
Bobby and Danny Carter have stated the new season in good style, by winner two of the first four races in the Esher club and chalked up: 3rd, 13th Federation Blandford (1,397 birds), 12th, 22nd Federation Yeovil (1,702 birds), 4th, 19th Federation Yeovil (1,291 birds).
Bobby, Linda and Danny Carter are three of nicest people you will ever meet in the sport of pigeon racing and they are enjoying yet another great season racing in the Three Borders Federation. Bobby says he is hard working with his pigeons, but told me recently he owes a lot of his outstanding success in recent seasons to his wife, Linda, his son, Danny and good friend, Ron Keeley, who all also are hard workers for the loft. I have only known Bob Carter a few years, with the first time I met him being when he joined my club the Esher & Dist RPC, with his good friend, Johnny Barrett, and since then they have both set the club on fire with their outstanding performances. Racing in the very strong Esher club, the Carter partnership have put brilliant performances in the Three Borders Federation every season, including several times 1st Federation, but 2008 was a very special year for them. The 2008 season saw Bob Carter, his son Danny and silent partner, Ron Keeley win the ‘Individual Point Trophy’ in the Three Borders Federation. Some the Carter’s best performances of the 2008 season were: 1st, 2nd, 10th Federation (1,771 birds) West Bay, 1st, 10th Federation (722 birds), 11th open SMT Combine Messac, 1st Federation (1,687 birds) Wincanton, 2nd, 3rd, 10th Federation (1,118 birds) Portland, 4th Federation (1,034 birds), 7th open SMT Combine Fougeres, 5th, 14th Federation (1,199 birds) Kingsdown, 6th Federation (1,493 birds) Kingsdown, 10th, 12th, 13th Federation (1,079 birds) Kingsdown, 11th, 20th Federation (801 birds) Messac, 16th, 23rd Federation (1,257 birds) Exeter. Brilliant pigeon racing!
Bob and Danny Carter race twenty cocks on the widowhood system and all the racers are mated up in December. Bob tells me the widowhood cocks exercise around the loft twice a day and during the racing season are broke down for the first half of the week on Depurative mixture, and then built up with Super Widowhood mixture in the second half of the week. Bob doesn’t show the hens on marking night and the racing cock only get their hen for a short time on their return from the race. The cock are not broke down for the longer race up to 450 miles, being fed on Super Widowhood all week and Bob likes the cocks to be holding 8 to 9 flights for these events. Bob and Danny have about 50 young birds to race each year and have raced on the darkness system for the last few seasons, with outstanding success and great losses. Bob says, in his opinion the big losses with the babies each year is because of the Federations clashing! The Carter partnership race to two lofts, a 20ft x 8ft structure with a tiles apex roof for the old birds and another 20ft x 8ft shed for the young birds. The most important feature of Bob’s lofts is that they are dry and well ventilated. Bob told me he doesn’t keep stock birds and over the last 25 years has purchased a lot of good birds off Barry Hall of Rayleigh in Essex, including pigeons to produce club, Federation and Open race winners. One of the most outstanding Barry Hall pigeons was the mealy cock, Champion ‘Rayleigh’, and he won eight firsts in the club and three firsts in the London Federation. The Carter loft has won about six other Federation races with Barry’s pigeons, including two 1st Federation winners in the 2008 season. Bob first met Barry Hall in 1984 when he sold the Carter butcher shops and when to work at Smithfield meat market in London, and says he has never looked back with his pigeon racing. He advised Bob on the widowhood system and supplied him with the birds to do the job. Another good friend who has advised the Carters with his health theory through the years is David Cook. The main families raced at the Carter’s loft are Lefebre Dhaenens, Janssen and Maurice Vereheye. In recent seasons an outstanding family of Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons have been purchased from Dighton & Lister of York and Dave Hawkins of Yorkshire and these birds have started to win premier Federation positions from the outset for Bob Carter. There you have it, the recent successes of Bob and Danny Carter of the Esher & District RPC!
Spelthorne Breeder/Buyer 2014
Terry Smart has hit the jackpot again with his Spelthorne Sale! As you can see in this journal, April is the month of the Breeder Buyer Sales. One of the most lucrative sales here in my area of Surrey and South London, is the one run by the Spelthorne South Road Flying Club in Sunbury on Thames. The 15th April saw their third event take place, after the 2012 and 2013 events seeing almost £4,500 paid out in prize money. The club has a rule that the youngsters have to be in the pens on the night and not just paper work will be excepted, and with 72 prime young birds in the pens, the 2014 event looked like being a similar success to the two previous ones. The organiser and Auctioneer, Terry Smart, had a few words to say to the assembled fanciers prior to putting the birds under the hammer. Firstly he highlighted that these birds had been donated by top class fanciers to be raced, not to be locked into a stock loft. Next was a vote of thanks to three clubs for their continued support of the event, namely the Boxmoor up there in Hertfordshire, who it was rumoured that their membership purchased 18 young birds at the sale, from the Three Borders Federation the Mitcham club again were in full attendance and the Richmond club who like Boxmoor had many members in attendance, both donating and purchasing the future Champions. Full praise must go to the Richmond fancier, Phil Halford, who stepped in at the last minute to act as cashier for the evening, due to illness to one of the Spelthorne members. Terry Smart says thanks Phil, he owes you a pint! As in the previous years, top quality birds had been donated from some of the top lofts in the UK and Ireland. Ten wonderful youngsters had been donated from premier Midlands National flyers from the Nottingham area organised by Peter ‘The Italian Stallion’ Obertelli. Six youngsters from Liverpool, five more from Southern Ireland, three from the 2013 Welsh National winning loft of Mr & Mrs Leonard of Swansea, plus birds from County Durham, Kent, Cheshire, Staffordshire and of course many of the top rated fanciers in London and the Home Counties. The birds were put under the hammer at a very fast pace, with many bargains to be had and the starting bid for all lots was £10, with the highest bid of the evening £170. Four birds exceeded the £100 mark and a pair donated by the champion Three Borders Federation young bird racers for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, namely Honey & Grandson and not forgetting Lenny Graham, their loft man, made £320 between them. Top Liverpool Amalgamation fanciers, J. & P. Weeder and Williams produced the next highest priced youngster, this being the third time in three sales that this partnership’s bird has topped the £100 mark. Top Quality! Finally a super young bird from Derek Mullen of County Louth, Southern Ireland, he sent over a dream pigeon that caused quite a stir. With an average price of close on £45 per bird the sale was once again a great success! On doing the final calculations, Terry tells me, excluding overheads incurred and taking just 15% for club funds, the Breeder Buyer will pay £2,330 in prize money for 2014. The Breeder / Buyer is to be flown in conjunction with Spelthorne South Road Flying Club young bird open race to be flown from Yeovil on 13th August. All the Breeder / Buyer pigeons receive free entry into the race and will also compete for the full open race honours As in the 2013 event there will be six prizes: 1st £500: 2nd £250: 3rd £200: 4th £100: 5th £65: 6th £50, to be paid out to both Breeder and Buyer. Full marks must go to the Spelthorne membership for their hard work in organising this annual event. Whilst the Spelthorne was one of the smallest clubs in the Three Borders Federation, I’m pleased to report that they have welcomed in six new members for the 2014 racing season. Well done to my ol’ mucker, Terry Smart, for all his good work!
Well that’s the article for this week! Next week we are going to have a full report on the Three Borders Federation Honiton race and Paul Arnold’s winning loft. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)
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