THREE BORDERS FED
Yeovil 1 2014
by Keith Mott
After a great start to the new season with a race from Blandford, the member of the Federation entered 1,702 birds to compete in the second race from Yeovil. The convoy had to negotiate a north east head wind for the 105 miles fly home, but returns were good and the leading pigeons recorded velocities well into 1300ypm. I’ve heard several excellent remarks on how good a condition the birds have returned home in, being convoyed for the second season by David Stanway, who lives 20 miles north of Cambridge. He did a brilliant job for the Federation in 2013 and he told me, his transporter holds 84 crates (2,100 birds) and the trailer carries an extra 1,000 birds in 40 crates. He has owned the transporter for eight years and never had a problem with it in all its many trips in the UK and to France. Dave has been convoying pigeons many years and started with the London North Road Federation and LNRC in 1976, and has visited Thurso and Lerwick many times.
The mighty Esher club are back in their winning ways and recorded sixteen positions in the Yeovil Federation result, including 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. The competition in the Three Borders Federation is strong and hard every year, but in the 2013 season once again the mighty Esher & Dist. 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 this Yeovil race and coming in at 2nd Federation was Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden. In the same Yeovil race last season Crook & Iddenden won the Federation with their champion Gaby Vandenabeele cock, ‘Frank’, which went on to be the Federation ‘Pigeon of the Year’ and Vic and Lou Emberson were 2nd Federation. That’s what you call ‘roundabout’! Vic and Lou’s latest Federation winner was there two years old blue Staf Van Reet cross widowhood cock, ‘200’, and Vic tells me, in spite of being a really bad trapper he was 21st Federation (1,397 birds) from Blandford the weekend previous, and the 2013 season saw him win: 2nd Federation Yeovil (1,106 birds) and 3rd Federation Honiton (1,172 birds). His sire is a Staf Van Reet and is a winner of 1st Three Borders Federation. A very useful tool!
The first ten in the Yeovil (1) Federation result were: 1) Vic & Lou Emberson 1315: 2) Crook & Iddenden 1312: 3) Malik & Khan 1311: 4) Malik & Khan 1311: 5) Frank & Sue Carson 1298: 6) Crook & Iddenden 1297: 7) D. Taylor & son 1297: 8) D. Taylor & son 1296: 9) D. Taylor & son 1296: 10) Crook & Iddenden 1294.
Vic and Lou Emberson won the Federation three times, which promoted them up to third in the Federation ‘Individual Point’ Table in the 2012 season. The former South Downs partnership had been ‘on the ball’ most weeks in the 2012 season and recorded in the Federation: 4th, 14th, 21st, 24th Federation Wincanton (1701 birds), 2nd Federation Wincanton (1748 birds), 1st, 13th, 21st Federation Honiton (820 birds), 8th, 10th Federation Alencon (736 birds), 16th Federation Yeovil (1,506 birds), 4th, 9th Federation Honiton (1,286 birds), 1st, 19th Federation Yelverton (1.086 birds), 1st, 16th Federation Yeovil (859 birds), 22nd Federation Taunton (1,272 birds). The Surrey husband and wife partnership have won many major prizes in National racing in their years in the sport and topped it off in a recent season by recording 1st open BICC Alencon National. Back in the summer of 2000, I had the honour to be asked to be assistant convoyer to Peter Wilcox for the Alliance of Specialists Clubs’ Millennium La Ferte Bernard National race. The Emberson partners won the race with their champion three year old Staf Van Reet blue cock, “Alliance Leader”. This game cock flew 220 miles to win the Millennium National and had previously won 1st club, 1st London Federation (1,925 birds) Pool, 2nd club, 7th Surrey Federation (2,195 birds) Exeter and 2nd club, 7th London Federation from Exeter. When I visited the Emberson’s loft at that time, in 2000, they had enjoyed a wonderful season, winning 25 times first, five of them being 1st open Federation, and also won four times 2nd open Federation, 2nd open Combine La Ferte Bernard and 221st open N.F.C. Nantes.
Vic had pigeons as a child, but really started racing in 1988 at the Banstead lofts. His late uncle is, Fred Emberson, who has been an outstanding channel racer in the London area for many years and he was a great help in getting Vic started in the sport. The Emberson loft has won the Federation countless times through the years and has recoded 1st open National several times, including 1st open NFC Fougeres (old hens) in 2004. Vic and Lou have won many major prizes in National racing in their years in the sport, but rated highly their performance in the 2005 season by recording 1st open BICC Alencon National. Vic’s recent account of the Alencon race was; “On the day of the BICC Alencon race the wind was strong westerly and we were expecting the winner to be in the East Section. On arrival, the cock came out of the east, confirming our belief that the winner would be in that section, but what a pleasant surprise we had when we were informed we had the leading pigeon, which is now named ‘Valiant Leader’. This cock is half-brother to our 2000: 1st open Alliance of Specialist Clubs Millennium race and car winner, ‘Alliance Leader’ and is also related to ‘Ellie’, our 2004 NFC Fougeres old hens winner”. A great pigeon partnership!
Vic Emberson races 20 cocks on the widowhood system and pairs up in mid-January with the Federation sprint races in mind. The racers are put on the widowhood system after the first round of youngsters and are broken down from Saturday until Tuesday morning during the racing season. Vic mixes his own corn and the main family kept is Staf Van Reet because he likes sprint racing. The widowhood cocks are not trained during the racing season, just exercised around the loft twice a day to keep them fit. The partners have two very smart self-built lofts and the stock birds have a nice wire flight, to get out into the weather. The race team are trapped through ETS traps and sputnik traps. Vic’s wife, Lou, and his sons, Carl and Neil, have been great workers with the pigeons through the years and he says a lot of his success years ago were down to their help, but now races on his own.
Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden are back in their normal winning ways, kicking the new season off with 2nd, 6th, 10th, 11th Federation from Yeovil. I have known and been friends with Colin and Andy for many years and in all that time we have been associated I have never visited their loft in Epsom. We recently put that to rights, when on one sunny Sunday morning in October, I made the 12 miles drive to Colin’s garden, situated in a wonderful part of Surrey near to Epsom Downs Race Course, to see the partner’s brilliant team of pigeons. I must say the loft and garden were very smart and a credit the two lads! Colin and Andy had enjoyed a brilliant race from Yeovil (1) in 2013, recorded 1st, 3rd, 24th Three Borders Federation, winning with their champion blue cock ‘Frank’, and then this brilliant cock went on to win 1st Federation Yeovil (2) at the end of the season. Colin and Andy won the Three Borders Federation ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ in the 2011 season for ‘best pigeon of the year’ and won it for the second time in 2013 with their good blue cock, ‘Frank’. This wonderful M. & D. Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele sprint cock has won 23 Federation positions including six times 1st Federation and twice 2nd Federation, being beaten twice by loft mates on the ETS. ‘Frank’ was Three Borders Federation ‘Pigeon of the Year’ in 2011 and 2013, and was bred by Frank and Susan Carson of the Mitcham club. As Andy Iddenden says, a once in a life time pigeon!
The Malik & Khan partnership of the Esher club had two birds hit the ETS together to record 3rd and 4th Federation Yeovil. Imran Malik started racing pigeons in the 2004 season with a team of young birds purchased from Louella Pigeon World and in the 2005 season Janssens were introduced from Imran’s uncles, Khan Brothers of Kingston. The 2005 young bird season saw him smash his novice status and recorded 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th Federation in that season. The partners race a small team of cocks on the widowhood system and only likes short racing, having no interest what so ever in long distance pigeon racing. The Malik & Khan partnership are two young lads who are regularly at the top of the Federation result and who 1st SMT Combine a couple years ago.
That’s my lot for this week! Well done to Vic and Lou on their latest Federation winner. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)
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