“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
Three Borders Federation (Blandford Race 1).
The clocks have gone forward and summer is just around the corner, and pigeon racing has started the new 2026 season. At long last the new season has kicked off and we can enjoy racing our pigeons again! What a great feeling! The Three Borders Federation held its first Blandford race in April and after a dodgy wet start to the day, Dom McCoy, the Federation convoyer, liberated the 819 birds at 11.00hrs in to a strong west / south west wind situation. The members enjoyed a good fast race and the returns were excellent. Flying 90 miles into Sutton, Stuart Emans, our hard working Federation secretary took ‘first blood’ and chalked up his first Federation win of the new campaign! The Emans loft recorded 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Federation, with Stuart’s good blue chequer pied cock, ‘Pipped At The Post’ winning the race. This game round about cock was given his name because as a yearling in the 2025 he was beaten on the ETS to win 2nd Federation Honiton by his loft mate, Stuart’s champion blue cock, ‘Harry 048’. ‘Harry 048’ has won the Federation three times from Okehampton (twice) and Honiton, plus 9th Federation Wincanton and was bred by his good friend Gary Young. He is named, ‘Harry 048’ after Stuart’s son Harry and is raced on the Widowhood system. He is a bit special! ‘Pipped At The Post’ was bred by Gerald Delany and wasn’t beaten his time, with the next four pigeons on the Federation result being four of Stuarts yearlings! Brilliant pigeon racing! On the retirement of our long time standing Federation secretary, Bryan Poulton, at the 2024 AGM, Stuart Emans took on the position and I must say is doing a brilliant job. Well done on your latest Federation win and thank for all your good work, Stuart!
The first ten in the Blandford Federation result were: 1) Stuart Emans 2143: 2) Stuart Emans 2141: 3) Stuart Emans 4121: 4) Stuart Emans 4121: 5) Stuart Emans 4121: 6) Malik & Khan 2140: 7) Jim Andrews & son 2137: 8) Frank & Sue Carson & son 2135: 9) R. & W. Morris 2130: 10) Jim Andrews & son 2128.
Stuart Emans lives in Sutton and for his profession he is a fireman. He started up in the pigeon racing sport in 2008 and has won the Federation many time through the years, the highlight was winning 1st Three Borders Federation, 2nd Combine Bergerac and winning the Federation ‘Channel Averages’. Because of family and work commitments he had to pack up his pigeons for five year and restarted up in 2023 with young birds from his good friends Gary Young and Gerald Delaney. The 2024 season had seen Stuart race those yearlings with outstanding success. He pairs up in in February and races his fourteen cocks and seven hens on the roundabout system. His smart 24ft loft is set up for ETS trapping and is made up of a section for the old cocks, another for the young birds and the roundabout hens are housed in an aviary. He is not interested in fancy pedigrees or eye sign when selecting breeding pigeons and maintains the basket is the only way to find out if a pigeon is any good or not. Stuart gives his birds about ten training tosses up to 27 miles before the first race and then they get two exercise sessions every day around the loft once racing starts. All the races are fed on Stuart’s own widowhood mixture, which he makes up himself and the racers are never broke down.
The 2025 racing season had finish and I must say, I couldn’t believe how quick that time had gone! The time had flown past! It had been a brilliant season, with Saturday team producing some great sport for the Three Borders Federation membership. And of course, as per normal it’s a big ‘thank you’ to our wonderful secretary, Stuart Emans for all his good work. The last race was flown from Okehampton in late August and turned out to be probably one of the easiest races of the season, certainly the easiest young bird race of the season. Because of a very bad weather forecast for the proposed day of this the longest young bird race, the birds were marked on Saturday for a Sunday race. The young birds had a 170 mile fly from Okehampton and Dom McCoy liberated at 07.30hrs in to a South / South West wind situation. The birds had a quick fly home in the tail wind and at the end of the race member reported excellent returns. I don’t know, but I think it might be a new record achieved in the Three Borders Federation! Our secretary, Stuart Emans who races in the Mitcham & Merton club recorded his sixth Federation winner of the 2025 season from this Okehampton and took the first 24 positions on the result sheet. Absolutely brilliant pigeon racing by our Stuart that season! Another first for me, that I can remember, is Stuart’s first two pigeon were his two natural youngsters, ‘Belgium Jess’ and ‘Henry 658’ and both were on the very same velocity, 1759.061, to be joint Federation winners. His first two pigeons clocked on the same velocity where a blue chequer cock, now named ‘Henry 658’ after Stuart’s nephew and the red chequer hen, now named ‘Belgium Jess’ after his niece. The sire of ‘Henry 658’ is a Gerald Delaney cock purchased as a young bird in 2023 and he was paired to a gifted pigeon from Kevin Pratt of Mitcham. The nest pair from this pairing have both won the Federation that season. The red chequer hen, ‘Belgium Jess’ was a purchase from Lier Market. It is a double congratulation to Stuart, who also won the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ for the second season on the trot. At the end of the 2025 racing season we must mention Stuart’s pride and joy again, ‘Harry 048’ who has won several top positions in the Federation, including: 2025: 1st Federation Okehampton. 1st Federation Honiton, 2024: 1st Federation Okehampton, 9th Federation Wincanton. What a great pigeon! Well done mate and thanks for all your good work!
Imran Malik and Atif Khan race in the Esher club and call their racing lofts, ‘Ace Lofts’ and have enjoyed some wonderful success in recent seasons. They have won the Three Borders Federation many time with the highlights being, winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Federation Blandford (1,116 birds), breaking the Federation record for the most positions won in one race and then taking the first 15 position from another Blandford race, with 1,615 birds competing and breaking their own record for the most positions clocked. They have also won the ‘Fanciers of the Year Trophy’ and the ‘Ace Pigeon of the Year Trophy’ in the Three Borders Federation! Imran and Atif enjoy National racing and have an endless list of premier performances, including: 1st, 6th open BICC Alencon (4,759 birds), 1st, 2nd, 9th, open NFC Coutances (3,246 birds), 1st open BICC Falaise, 2nd, 3rd open BICC Guernsey (1,904 birds), 3rd open BICC Alencon (4,797 birds), 4th open NFC Coutances (3,200 birds), 5th open NFC Ancenis (5,577 birds), 7th, 8th, 10th open NFC Saints (3,726 birds), 8th, 10th open BICC Guernsey and 8th, 9th, 10th open BICC Guernsey (1,871 birds). What a fantastic racing record!
The late Eric Hartshorn of Mitcham.
When I walked into the postage stamp sized back yard of the late Eric Hartshorn's home and saw the loft which houses the 1978 SMT Combine Bergerac winner, I had the shock of my life! The tiny racing loft was only 9ft long, 3ft wide and 4ft high, being 3ft off the ground and housed only 12 racing birds and 2 pairs of stock birds. The few young birds which were bred each year were weaned in the young bird loft which was an extension to the outside toilet, being 3ft 6ins long, 2ft wide and 2ft 6ins high and after old bird racing has finished the young birds were transferred over to the main racing loft. Eric was a hard worker around the loft with birds looking fantastically well and the lofts looking spotless. The birds were trapped through Open Doors and a lime-sawdust litter was used on the loft floor in the winter but was removed for the summer. Eric said dryness with plenty of air was the most important factor in loft design and over-crowding caused `fly aways.'
Eric first became involved with pigeons in 1968 when he trained Billy Sheppard's birds. Then he became a full partner with Bill in 1969 and started on his own in 1971. The partnership of Sheppard & Hartshorn won lst Combine Wadebridge, with young birds, during its short formation. Eric was a scaffolding supervisor and a scaffolder named A. Warwick bred him his first birds which were Ameels from Marsh & Bailey. Eric's first loft was a baby's cot which his daughter had out grown and his brother gave him a lot of help in the early days. Eric joined the Mitcham Common which was one of the clubs he flew in at that time.
He had a good Shepherd hen off Tommy Woodcock in the early days. He said in his novice days he used to over race young birds and yearlings which is something he was very much against. He looked up to the late Eric Cannon of Wormley and Mr. & Mrs. Venner of Street, as the 'greats' and said Joe Bradford of Sutton was one of the local fanciers he rates very highly. Eric's family were bred down from the Epsom fancier, Len Graham’s Champion red chequer cock, ‘Early to Rise’ which was sold to Louella Pigeon World. He had introduced some stock birds from Mr. & Mrs. Venner of Street, Somerset, and said these birds had potential at long and short distances.
Eric raced on the Natural System because, if for the distance, you have the good fortune to own a good hen she is most reliable. He thought this country was getting ‘widowhood’ minded and in the right hands he thought it was lethal. Eric fed the Venner mixture which he believed was given to Mr. Venner by Mons. Slabbink. A titbit of flaxseed was given in moderation for the long races and Eric used to be very keen on Eye-Sign and used to judge lots of Eye-Sign shows, but he liked showing, taking more than his fair share of the cards.
Eric's pride and joy was his six year old blue chequer hen ‘Janet’ and, of course, she was the Bergerac Combine winner. She was a real nice handful, medium appled-bodied and she was a double granddaughter of champion ‘Early to Rise’. Eric sent her to Bergerac with 3,098 birds competing in the SMT Combine sitting six day old eggs, but she was no stranger to winning as she previously won 9th club Avranches, 2nd club Niort, 1st club Bergerac in 1975. Eric said his most disappointing experience was in 1975 when next morning at 05.50hrs from Bergerac he found ‘Janet’ and her sister in the yard with several fresh droppings. He didn't know which bird he got first! He put the two rubbers in one bucket and recorded 1st and 2nd club Bergerac. Eric said he would like to see every club own its own clocks and members use a different clock each week.
He told novices that much dedication is needed to succeed and, above all, they must be good losers and modest winners. He also thought there is no substitute for cleanliness and condition. When selecting producers he liked to see a good Eye-Sign and a round, short keel bone. Eric bred a few late breds each year but said he has yet to find a good one. Eric Hartshorn, 1st open S.M.T. Combine Bergerac. It couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke!
That’s it for this week! Congratulations to Stuart Emans on his great performance. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 07535 484584 or email me on:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)
