“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT
Ponderosa UK Stud Weymouth (2016)
I had a day off from our holiday in 'Broadchurch' (West Bay) in September to undertake some loft visits to do filming for the You Tube channel. I visited two Dorset National winning lofts and the Ponderosa UK Stud in Weymouth. It was a sad visit as Tony Hayne and Mary Bartlett are retiring and closing the Ponderosa down over the next year. I've known Tony and Mary for 40 years, having a great association with them over that time and on my visit we had a last photo taken. This was my third visit to the Ponderosa in 2016. Previously Terry Haley and I made the 130 miles drive down to Dorset to visit the Ponderosa in Chickerell, which is sited near the wonderful south coast holiday resort of Weymouth. The stud owners, Tony and Mary, invited me to bring my pigeon photography box down to Chickerell on that occasion to photograph 40 of their premier stock birds, for a new feature on the Ponderosa Internet Website. I don’t usually take the box out of the house and I think this was only about the third time it had gone out of my front door since I built it all those years ago.
The Ponderosa UK Stud moved ‘lock stock and barrel’ into their new Chickerell facility in September 2009 and the brand new complete must be described as fantastic. The new site is just along the lane from the old Ponderosa site and the new pigeon living quarters are a carbon copy of the old lofts. The original 26 breeding sections, including automatic cleaning nest box were relocated in the new site, as was the 20 holding flights which house the birds for sale. The only new facility in the pigeon breeding quarters is the under floor cleaning, which are deep pits under a wooden slatted floor, and this is cleaned out at regular times. The ventilation in the whole Stud is brilliant and the inmates looked in ‘mint’ condition and wonderful health. The new complex has a function room, restaurant, pigeon shop and a wonderful flat, en suet bathroom, for traveling fancier to stay over. The new VIP room was very impressive, with luxury seating and wide scene plasma TV. When you enter the new centre, you first arrive in the reception area and from this, doors lead off to the really nice coffee lounge, picnic area and pigeon accessories shop. The breeding pairs are housed in the stock wings, containing short, middle and long distance strains. The whole stud is sweet and clean, with the inmates looking in first class condition. Ponderosa UK has 320 stock pairs and the stud wings are split up in sections housing 12 pairs, and the birds sun themselves in large flights at the rear of the wings. There are other wings with flights, which houses the birds for sale. On request, the loft manager, Tony Hayne, is happy to let you handle the birds you are interested in.
The strains which we house at the Ponderosa UK Stud are: (Short Distance) Janssen / Arendonk - Janssen Bertie Camphius - Luc Van Mechelen - De Klak - Hearmans - Causters - Van Loon - Brad De Joode - G & S Verkerk - Ad Schlaeckens - Van Dyke - Kannibaal
- Gaston Van de Wouwer - Meulemans Troyes - Deschacht - Denduyver - Vandenabeele Minderhoud - Desmit Mathjis Ceusters: (Long Distance) Van Wanroy - Van De Wegan Stichelbout - Muller Aarden. Telephone Tony or Mary on: 01305 776319.
Many winners are reported every season, with birds bred at the stud. Some recent Ponderosa winners are: Preece Brothers of Wales won 2nd, 5th section, 3rd, 17th open BICC International St. Vincent in 2013 with pigeons based on the Ponderosa Muller and Van Geel / Jan Aarden of Alun Maull. Dave and Vince Padfield of Wales continue their brilliant success with their long distance family based on the Wim Muller / Jan Aarden pigeons. Dave and Vincent have won at least seven Nationals and they won 1st, 2nd open Welsh SRNFC Tarbes, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th Welsh SRNFC, 27th, 33rd, 52nd, 88th open NFC Tarbes, 8th open BICC Barcelona, 3rd open BICC Tours, 30th open BICC Pau International, 1st section, 1st open BICC St. Vincent (566 miles). Tony told me that Steve and Paul Kulpa of Berkshire had won a long list of premier positions and have been customers of the Ponderosa UK Stud for many years.
The Ponderosa has a very long list top winners with their bloodlines over many years and the latest was put up by Tony Swain of Dorchester in the 2014 racing season. He recorded 1st open Central Southern Classic Flying Club Yearling Derby from Messac with his good blue hen ‘Elaine’ and she was bred at the Ponderosa UK Stud, from their Ad Schaerlaeckens bloodlines. Her dam ‘6374248’ is full sister to a cock that is responsible for 1st open BBC National Vire in 2010. A great line of Schaerlaeckens stock birds breeding National and Classic winners in the UK. As a young bird in 2013, ‘Elaine’ flew her first race from Maggotsfield on the north road and a week later flew Guernsey on the south road with Central Southern Classic Flying Club. This game little hen was one of a small batch of youngsters obtained from the Ponderosa UK Stud and she has won several prizes, with the highlights being: 1st open CSCFC Yearling Derby Messac, 10th section, 22nd open CSCFC Messac (2641 birds). I visited Tony’s loft in Dorchester and he describes his set up as ‘eco’, with the lofts being very basic and set in a very rural area of Dorset. We went out of the back door of the Swain’s farm type house and had the walk 100 yards through a field containing pigs, sheep and chickens, too reach his lofts, which were sited against the back brick wall of the village church. Tony is a long distance enthusiast and has won many prizes through the years from all the main race points including, Barcelona, Pau and Tarbes. One of Tony’s best pigeons in recent years was his good blue chequer cock, ‘Reliable’, and his wonderful performances must give him a champion status, winning: 2009: 1st Weydor SFC, 1st section, 87th open NFC Tarbes 529 miles (3,808 birds): 2010: 6th Weydor SFC, 20th section, 56th open CSCFC Tarbes (606 birds): 2011: 1st Weydor SFC, 4th section, 401st open NFC Tarbes (3,290 birds), 1st Weydor SFC, 3rd section, 18th open BBC Bordeaux 410 miles (935 birds), 1st Weydor SFC, 2nd section, 263rd open NFC Saintes 352miles (4,131 birds). I met up with Tony on my visit to the Ponderosa in September 2016 and he was in the process of moving his lofts to a new field in Dorchester. Elaine’s horse is stabled there and Tony keeps a few sheep in the field next door. He had enjoyed a good season with two widowhood cocks in particular: ‘95446’: 1st Weydor SFC, 11th section, 37th open CSCFC Pau (519 miles), 1st Weydor SFC, 3rd section, 132nd open NFC Tarbes (528 miles): ‘22383’: 1st Weydor SFC, 2nd section, 10th open BBC Coutances, 4th Weydor SFC, 28th section, 46th open BBC Messac, 3rd Weydor SFC, 31st section, 131st open CSCFC Fougeres, 2nd Weydor SFC, 13th section, 44th open NFC Messac, 4th Weydor SFC, 12th section, 337th open NFC Saintes. Wonderful pigeon racing.
Another fancier who has been very successful with the Ponderosa UK Stud bloodlines in recent seasons is Charlie Riley of Dorchester and we also met up at Ponderosa in September. He recorded 1st, 2nd section, 1st, 2nd open NFC Fougeres (7,054 birds) in 2012. Charlie’s Fougeres National winner was his champion blue cock, ‘Olympic Flame’, and he is down from the very successful De Klak / ‘Bartoli’ bloodlines, and this wonderful cock has now been retired to the stock loft. Charlie tells me he is breeding winners every season, including his daughter, ‘07217’, winner of 1st Weydor, 2nd section NFC Guernsey (YB) in 2015 and his granddaughter, ‘26726’, 1st clock station, 4th section CSCFC Coutances (YB), 1st Weydor SFC, 2nd section NFC Coutances (YB) 2016. The second bird on the ETS from Fougeres was the blue cock, ‘Maggie’s Boy’, and he was bred from Ponderosa De Klak / ‘Bartoli’ stock birds. This game cock has a won several premier positions for the Riley loft including: 2012: 2nd Weydor SFC, 2nd section, 2nd open NFC Fougeres, 3rd Weydor SFC, 9th section, 78th open NFC Cholet: 2013: 5th section, 121st open BBC Le Mans. Charlie says winning 1st and 2nd National is his biggest thrill in his 40 years in the sport of pigeon racing. Two wonderful De Klak racing cocks!
When visiting Charlie’s home in Blandford Forum I was amazed to see his old bird racing loft in his front garden and the stock and young bird lofts in the back yard. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone’s loft in their front garden! Needless to say the Riley loft set up was very smart, with the 30ft old bird loft being completely close down with Perspex windows for the widowhood system. Charlie tells me, good ventilation is paramount in good loft design and he has never used deep litter on the loft floors. He races twenty cocks on a basic widowhood system and these racers are mated up at the end of January, with National and Classic racing in mind. The cocks only get two or three 20 mile training tosses to kick the season off and they are never broken down during the racing season. Charlie told me he never shows the hens on marking night and the length of time the cocks get their mates on their return on race day, depends on the length of the race, the longer the race, the longer the hens stay in the nest boxes. The cocks race the whole of the early programme in preparation for the later races and then they race every two weeks up to 350 miles. The racers are fed on mostly Versalaga ‘Super Widowhood’ mixture and get the normal grit and minerals. Three other premier racing cocks at the Blandford loft are: the blue cock, ‘219’ who was also bred from Ponderosa UK Stud stock birds and he recorded in the 2014 racing season: 1st section, 10th open NFC Messac. The handsome blue pied cock, ‘926’, has won: 2014: 1st section, 3rd open CSCFC Messac, 3rd section, 69th open NFC Saintes: 2013: 8th section, 109th open NFC Carentan, 20th section, 247th open NFC Saintes, 19th section, 115th open BBC Niort, plus other positions and the blue cock, ‘514’, is the winner of five top prizes including: 2013: 3rd section, 10th open CSCFC Messac: 11th section, 98th open NFC Cholet.
Well that’s it for this week! I would like to finish this week’s article by wishing Tony and Mary a very happy retirement. They have done a fantastic job over many years, breeding countless winners for pigeon fanciers worldwide. Two more smashing people leaving our sport! 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)
