TERRY HALEY
of Abbots Langley
by Keith Mott
Every year I seem to be reporting on the fantastic racing performances put up by my good ol’ mate, Terry Haley, and the 2013 season was no exception. Terry recently retired from work and on becoming an old age pensioner the ‘Watford Wizard’ has taken his pigeon racing to an even higher level of success. In 2013, Terry won fourteen first prizes, three times 1st Federation, 1st open Combine and lifted the ‘Brooker Gold Cup’ in the London & South East Classic Club for the second year on the trot. I think it is common knowledge that Terry races North and South Road and will send the same pigeons on both roads and win with them. In July 2013 the Inter Counties SR Federation decided to postpone their Minstead young bird race because of a very bad weather forecast for the Saturday and marked the birds on Saturday evening and held the race on the Sunday. Terry sent 12 youngsters to the North Road race from Newark on the Friday night and won 1st, 2nd, 3rd Watford NRFC, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th Thames Valley NR Federation on the Saturday. He then had the same pigeons re-marked on the Saturday evening and sent them South Road to Minstead. The birds came really well and the ‘Watford Wizard’ recorded 1st Boxmoor club (247 birds), 1st Inter Counties Federation (1,216 birds). Brilliant racing by our Terry! He tells me he did the same thing a few years ago, but the opposite way around, when he sent a pigeon South Road that won 1st Boxmoor club Blandford on the Saturday and then following day was sent North Road to record 1st Watford NRFC, 1st Thames Valley NR Federation Newark. Just goes to prove that if pigeons are mentally and physically fit they will come from any direction!
Mid-season in 2013 I did a paragraph in the fancy press on this brilliant performance of winning two Federation on the same weekend, but straight after that his young bird performances climbed to ever great heights! Betty and I bred and gifted a blue Gaby Vandenabeele cock to Terry in 2013, and he finished the season by winning the Combine for the Haley loft. The blue cock now named ‘The Watford Wizard’ won as a young bird in the 2013 season: 14th Spelthorne open Yeovil (650 birds), flew the L&SECC Guernsey Young Bird Classic (a really bad race), was then clocked from the NFC Carentan (France) Young Bird National to record 415th open (3,330 birds) and seven days later was turned 205 miles North Road to Aycliffe to win 1st club (by 20 minutes), 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st open North Thames NR Combine. Another example of Terry racing a pigeon South Road, clocking it from France, then turning 205 mile north the following weekend for its first race ever on the North Road and winning the Combine! ‘The Watford Wizard’ was a darkness youngster, raced to the perch, and was bred from our Vandenabeele stock birds ‘Myrtle Olympic’ and ‘Myrtle Exile’. The key pigeon has been the blue white flight hen, ‘Myrtle Exile’ and she has produced premier winners with both our two M. & D. Evans stock cocks. Our four Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds were all bred by Mark & Dick Evans of Whitley Bridge and ‘Myrtle Exile’ is a granddaughter of the world famous Champion ‘Golden Gaby’, winner of 1st open National Orleans (12,875 birds). What a fantastic breeding hen! The Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds have really been breeding fantastic and have produced some brilliant racers, including 1st open Combine and 2nd Three Borders Federation in 2013. Brilliant results in the 2013 season with only two pairs of Mark & Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds! He finished the season in great style recording: 11th, 50th, 140th open NFC (932 old hens), sending only three old hens and clocking all three, 72nd, 415th, 436th open NFC Carentan (3,330 young birds) and 18th, 27th, 48th open L&SECC Guernsey (213 old hens). One of the star birds in Terry’s loft in 2013 was his champion mealy hen, ‘Miss Anticipation’ and she recorded: 9th open L&SECC Bergerac (450 miles), 11th open NFC Carentan (old hens), 48th open L&SECC Guernsey (old hens), 148th open L&SECC Guernsey, 85th open BBC Bordeaux (450 miles) and previously won in 2012: 2nd section D BBC Carentan and Best in Show at the Southampton Open Show. A wonderful all round hen!
Terry only usually keeps 14 pairs of pigeons, no stock birds or prisoners if possible, and races on the natural system. He has several lofts, with various trapping systems and uses sifted ballast on the floors, which is raked clean each week. He feeds on the floor amongst the sand and says he has found this satisfactory for the last 40 years. He maintains he feeds beans, peas and tares because the birds fly well on it and you don’t change a winning system. The birds are paired up on 14th February and rear one batch of youngsters and these are weaned off while the old birds are competing in their first Federation races. The pigeons are mostly raced on eggs only, thus ensuring all birds can be sent through the old bird programme, as no more youngsters are required. Terry is a retired fencer by trade and used to quite often take his birds to work with him, if he was down the road a bit, for training. Terry trains in any weather including rain and maintains he had to work in the rain so why shouldn’t the pigeons work in the rain! The cocks go almost every week and the hens are only left at home if they are due to lay. The loft is usually almost empty on Saturday morning and is cleaned out whilst the birds are away. The Haley young birds are trained well and race the programme through to 200 miles. He likes to show his birds in the winter months and has won at all the major National shows, including the B.H.W. ‘Show of the Year’ Blackpool, the ‘Old Comrades’ show and the R.P.R.A. Southern Region show. He has had pigeons in the British team for the Olympiads for many years and has won ‘best bird’ in the team. Every winter he is in demand to judge shows and has judged at all the major National events. Terry says his family take an interest in the pigeons and his son, Ryan, raced his own pigeons to his own small loft when he was younger. Terry flies in the Watford N.R.F.C. and his wife, Karen, was the Secretary for 30 years. Karen was an outstanding fancier pigeon fancier in her own right and won the Federation many times when she raced with her late father, Bryn English. A really great pigeon family!
Terry won the ‘Brooker Gold Cup’ again in the 2013 season making it two years on the trot that this coveted trophy has gone to the Hertfordshire loft. His winner was the yearling mealy cock, ‘03035’, and he was flown on the natural system. Terry has a very successful line of mealies in his loft and this cock was bred down from a long line of good channel winners. When the old London Columbarian Society disbanded a few years ago their magnificent array of trophies were donated to other clubs in 1998 and the ‘Brooker Gold Cup’ was donated to the L&SECC by the Society. This wonderful trophy is solid gold and is now insured for £5,000. I was chairman of the London Coly in the 1980s and my good friend, the late Dick Brooker of Claygate was president for a number of years at that time and there was always confusion that he had donate the ‘Gold Cup’. In fact it was a memorial trophy for the late Mr. W. J. Brooker presented to the London Coly by his wife in 1930. Terry won the ‘Brooker Gold Cup’ from the Tours Classic in 2012. His ‘Gold Cup’ winner was his yearling natural blue pied hen, ‘Gold Strike’ and she recorded 4th section, 25th open, and was the only bird on the Tours Classic result flying over 300 miles. A great performance! This game hen flew most of the young bird programme in 2011 and recorded 20th section E, 63rd open BBC Fougeres. As previously stated the Haley loft races both South and North Road, and Terry tells me his yearlings had raced really well on the North that season, winning a list of positions including 1st Newark, 1st Weatherby and 1st Newark. His good mealy hen, ‘Miss Anticipation’, had won 2nd section BBC Carentan and ‘Kerry’s Gift’, bred by Terry’s friend, Kerry Mellonby of Bridlington, recorded 3rd section E NFC Cholet.
I think I have known Terry and Karen Haley well over 30 years and all that time the ‘Watford Wizard’ has always been at the top of the game, being one of the premier North Road fanciers in the U.K. He has been a good friend of my family for many years; in fact he is my son, Mark’s godfather. His pigeons have won countless major positions through the years and have won 1st Federation from Leicester (68 miles), through to Lerwick (600 miles). He recently tried to count up his Federation wins and tells me they are about 30 firsts, but has won the Federation at least three times from Thurso (492 miles). Terry has won 1st Thames Valley Federation Champion race from Berwick, Perth, Banff, Fraserburgh and Thurso, as well as first in the young bird Federation Championship. He has won 17 R.P.R.A. awards and London Region trophies and medals, and of course 1st open Combine with his champion blue hen, ‘Misty Lady’. This wonderful hen died of old age in the autumn of 2005 and has left a dynasty of winners in the Haley loft. The 2004 season saw Terry win 1st open North Thames N.R. Combine from Arbroath, with his good blue cock, ‘The Pimpernel’ and this champion pigeon went on to record 2nd open North Thames N.R. Combine Stonehaven in 2005. He is from a brilliant winning line of pigeons; with his dam being one of Terry’s good racing hens, ‘The Ghost’. The 2013 season has seen Terry win the Federation three times with young birds and 1st open North Thames NR Combine Aycliffe (205 miles) with the Gaby Vandenabeele blue cock, ‘The Watford Wizard’.
In recent seasons he has put a lot of effort into south road racing, with outstanding success. He had a go at the Dax International, racing with the NFC in 2004, and his little dark hen, ‘34’, recorded 6th section, 26th open N.F.C. (529 miles). This game natural hen is a granddaughter of Champion ‘Misty Lady’ and previously won as a yearling: 6th open L&SECC Dax (552 miles), 10th open UBI Combine Fougeres (234 miles), 163rd open NFC Nantes (311 miles) and 275th open NFC Saintes/Pau (411 miles). A brilliant little hen! Another premier south roader at the Watford loft was the blue chequer hen, ‘The Ripple’, another granddaughter of Champion ‘Misty Lady’ and she won in 2004: 70th open NFC Dax International (529 miles), 164th open NFC Pau (576 miles) and in 2003: 59th open L&SECC Dax (552 miles). Both these class hens were in the British team for the 2005 Portugal Olympiad, keeping up the long tradition of pigeons that Terry has had in different teams over the years. In the 2009 season everyone was talking about his champion youngster, light blue chequer hen ‘Hughes 37’, and her performance was just brilliant, being sent to Blandford on south road to win 1st club, with that being backed up with a good position in the Federation result. On the Saturday evening of the Blandford race she was re-basketed and sent north road for the Newark race to be flown on the Sunday, and recorded 1st club, 1st Thames Valley NR Federation. She was sent to the races that weekend sitting a week old pair of eggs and Terry told me, that he noticed she was keen to get out of the crate at marking on the Friday night. ‘Hughes 37’ was 5th Federation Derby the week previous, beaten by two loft mates. Her nest mate, a blue chequer cock, also won a race for the Haley loft and they were a gift pair of youngsters from Tony and Simon Hughes of Rochdale. Tony and Simon have been very successful racing in the North West of England and also presented Terry with a gift egg, which produced, ‘Hughes 26’, the winner of 1st Federation (twice) plus 1st Breeder / Buyer (£400) in the 2009 season. Brilliant winning bloodlines! Terry enjoyed a wonderful 2009 season winning a long list of premier position flying north and south road, including 1st Thames Valley NR Federation four times.
Terry Haley’s pigeon career stared at the age of 11 and was greatly encouraged by some school friends who kept pigeons. This was in 1959 and Terry recalls that his first stock were from local farm buildings and anywhere else where pigeons could be caught at night. He says it was a hobby catching them as well as keeping them. In the early days he admired the performances of the late Wally Brewer and Jack Payne of Bedmond, who were winning races regularly at the time. Wally Brewer helped many Watford fanciers and he sold Terry a pair of Barker / Gits pigeons in 1966 for £3, which Terry says proved to be a real bargain. The Haley loft still houses some pigeons bred from the original farm building strays, one of which was the old blue chequer cock, ‘Nunnies’, which flew from Scotland over 30 times, including eight times Thurso (593 miles). This wonderful old cock was born in 1966, and was in the Guinness Book of Records for his record mileage in racing, winning 1st club Leicester, 2nd club, 5th Federation, 10th open Combine (3,111 birds) Perth, 2nd club Thurso, 2nd club Newark and three other major positions from Thurso. ‘Nunnies’ is more or less the sire of Terry’s loft with 1st Federation and 1st Open winners being bred from him.
Terry maintains that pedigree forms don’t win races and says his loft is based on Channing, Barker, Gits and Westcott’s mixed with his original birds to produce winners. His wonderful blue hen, Champion ‘Misty Lady’, must rate as one of the greatest long distance racing pigeons in the UK, when she was alive. The last race ‘Misty Lady’ flew was Thurso (492 miles) and she was the only bird on the day in the Federation, being clocked in darkness at 21.55hrs. Terry retired her after that race at nine years of age, although she still looked and acted like a yearling. As a yearling in 1990 she won 1st club, 1st Thames Valley Federation, 3rd open North Thames NR Combine (2,412 birds) Thurso (492 miles) velocity 980ypm. She won the Federation (740 birds) by 90 minutes in a south east head wind. In 1991 she recorded 1st club, 1st Thames Valley Federation (1,099 birds), 3rd North Thames NR Combine (3,265 birds) Banff (420 miles) velocity 980ypm. Just three weeks later she was put back to Thurso and once again won 1st club, 2nd Thames Valley Federation, 2nd open North Thames NR Combine (2,200 birds) velocity 1281ypm. In 1992 she was 29th Thames Valley Federation Banff, beaten by five loft mates, all of which figured in the first 20 of the Federation result, with 1,051 birds competing. Three weeks later she was sent back to Thurso and recorded 3rd club, 9th Thames Valley Federation, 39th open North Thames N.R. Combine (1,749 birds) velocity 620ypm, in a south east head wind. This wonderful hen was entered in to Thurso in 1993 but due to bad weather the Combine brought the convoy back to Berwick and after a five day holdover was liberated from the 288 miles race point, and she arrived home late on the day. In 1994 ‘Misty Lady’ won 1st club, 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st open North Thames NR Combine (1,914 birds) Fraserburgh (419 miles) velocity 1024ypm, in a South West wind. In 1995 she won 4th Club, 29th Thames Valley Federation, 78th North Thames Combine (1,951 birds) Fraserburgh. Then three weeks later went back again to Thurso (492 miles), to win 1st club, 2nd Thames Valley Federation, 8th North Thames Combine (1,613 birds), vel. 822ypm, in a South East head wind. This wonderful hen also won many prizes from the shorter race points, including 1st club Nottingham (91 miles) etc. In the 1996 she recorded 6th Federation, 13th Combine (1,597 birds) Thurso and in 1997, at the age of nine years old, she won in the three longest races: 35th Federation, 80th Combine (3695 birds) Berwick (289 miles), 19th Federation, 42nd Combine (1,708 birds) Stonehaven (372 miles), 1st club, 1st Thames Valley Federation (only bird on the day of liberation in the Federation), 3rd North Thames Combine, 1,832 birds (only four birds home on the day in the Combine). She won all the club and Federation major trophies on her own and also won the London Region and Osman Memorial Trophies in the past seasons. Champion ‘Misty Lady’ is a daughter of Terry’s good blue cock, ‘Gold Dust’, who won on the road: 1st club, 2nd Federation Fraserburgh, 1st club Doncaster and bred many outstanding racers including ‘The Lerwick Cock’. This brilliant cock was half-brother to ‘Misty Lady’ and won 1989: 2nd club, 3rd Federation Thurso (loft mate won the Federation), 1991: 1st club, 1st Federation, 4th open Combine Lerwick, 1992: 1st club, 2nd Federation, 3rd open Combine Lerwick. A wonderful family of long distance racers! Terry tells me ‘Misty Lady’ won in different nest conditions, but thinks she was at her best sitting 14 to 17 day old eggs. This champion hen was the dam of many outstanding winners and grand dam of many premier racers including ‘Miss Ripple’, ‘The 34 Hen’ and Terry Robinson’s of Cheshunt 2nd open London N.R. Combine Berwick in 2001.
Well that’s it for this week’s ‘ON THE ROAD’. I hope you have enjoyed this little update on the latest performances of my ol’ mate, Terry Haley. I can be contacted with any pigeon news on telephone number: 01372 463480 or my new email address:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT
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Elimar - January 2014
