“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
A Three Borders Federation Special Feature.
Phil Reis of Morden.
Phil Reis has led a ‘colourful’ life in his 60 years, being a percussionist in several top bands in the 1980’s and now following his present occupation as an actor. He has written lots of articles in the pigeon fancy press over his years in the sport and enjoys good success racing his birds. The 2011 season has seen him win some premier positions including: 10th open L&SECC Alencon and finished in great style by recording 1st club, 4th Three Borders Federation, 4th SMT Combine Yelverton, in the last race of the season. Phil’s Yelverton winner was his good blue chequer cock, ‘Arena’, so named as his last two numbers are ‘02’ and when I handled him the day after the race I noticed he was a ‘darkness’ youngster, just coming up on his second flight. His sire is a blue Staf Van Reet bred by Paul Arnold of North Cheam, when mated to a Van Meldrt stock hen and Phil tells me he had every race in the Three Borders Federation young bird programme, only missing the first race from Blandford. This game little cock has been paired up all season and was separated from his hen a week before the Yelverton race, only seeing his mate for five minutes before going to the marking station.
Phil Reis was born in Stockport Cheshire, and his first loft was made from old front doors rescued from the November bonfire piles the other kids had kindly stacked up near to his back yard. He still doesn’t think they were aware that it was him who nicked them. When I recently spoke to Phil and he said, ‘so, sorry lads my need was much greater than yours and the legacy has also lasted much longer than the fireworks that accompanied those roaring flames. All I had to do was hump a few doors over a couple of gardens and cover them up until the November arsonist had other things on their minds. I think a couple of those theft victims even helped me to build the box. I say box because that first loft was the same size and shape as an old Red Telephone box. Remember those? Only yesterday my mate asked if I was on the blue tooth for instant arrival news. Well I must admit, I feel that the ETS system is the best thing to happen to the sport since the discovery of the Widowhood method of motivation, but I do draw the line at being away from the loft on race days. Heaven forbid me missing a first arrival. How times have changed eh. Blue tooth if you please! The first birds to be housed in that ‘telephone box’ loft were from Tibb Street in Manchester. Back when I was nine years of age Tibb Street was the most wonderful place a young person could ever go. Imagine a street where every shop had animals for sale. Hundreds of yards of pet shops with everything you can imagine and a few species I have never seen since and in some cases frankly, I wouldn’t want to. I am glad they were all kept locked up at night, safe and secure. You felt as if you had a free pass to the best Zoo’s in the world. Today’s laws would never allow most of the tropical varieties without government intervention and all sorts of import restrictions. Pigeons bought from Tibb Street were let out after a couple of days, without being paired up and never young enough to break off to the luxury of my telephone loft. A few weeks after buying them from one shop on Tibb Street, pigeons with a remarkably similar appearance in colour and sex were for sale in another shop forty yards away from the original one’.
It was during a visit to a great aunt in Buxton that the idea of racing first came on his radar. He was invited into a racing loft painted in green and white vertical stripes and he was told the youngsters in the nest pan in front of him had a pair of Logan pigeons in it. When he moved house, it was not long before an old coal shed was used as a loft for a week or so until a new neighbour donated a real shed. Not a loft but a proper shed, with new felt on the roof, where as earlier, the Telephone box loft had only had old carpets to soak the rain up. A new shed, well that was it for twelve year old Phil and he was soon racing in the Cheadle Flying club. His first trophy won was the Junior Members Cup and Phil’s first winner was off a silver hen that was his pride and joy; one of the best violet eyes he have ever seen. He was a devout follower of S.W.E Bishop and his now tattered copy of ‘The Secret of Eye-Sign’ was a constant companion. Young Phil studied his ‘Formula of Recognition’ along with his times tables. It is probably for this reason that he still remembers the depth of colour and the ‘cracked ice’ appearance.
I asked him about his opinion on eye sign now and he said, ‘over the years people have asked me to judge eye sign shows. For what it is worth you see things in a theory or you don’t. Take it or leave it, but my guess is, the eye has a few details that can give us a clue to how best the bird might be used. For the non-believers out there I say, each to his own way. I can’t get upset about another opinion just because it is different to my own. Pigeon racing has taught me to enjoy the moment, enjoy what and how you see the sport any way you can. It’s a free world for us thank goodness.
For the fanciers that were at the Woodside Club a few years ago now, I can only report the results of my efforts on that night. I was asked to judge two groups, long distance and sprint birds. I took my time and cards were placed on the birds I would say were bred for the job. The show room slowly filled up as the happy crew of the Woodside ambled in from the bar. The atmosphere had been jovial when I was greeted in the bar hours before on my arrival. So the silence that accompanied the entry was nerve racking for a minute or so. It was Mr Jackson senior who broke the silence by asking me how I did it. The long distance hen I had given the red card too had won from over 450 miles twice; the sprint cock was a multiple winner for the Jackson family. Mr. Jackson senior was not the only one who was quietly impressed. That is good enough for me. A few beers were then in order and the night returned to the light mood that suits me fine. Enjoyment is the important factor in any chosen sport. So the eyes have it, as they say. I reckon if I had not been gifted a bird with magnificent eyes at such an early age, I might have missed out on one of the most interesting and illusive aspects of our wonderful sport’.
His first club was Cheadle Flying Club and he flew gift birds form the top flyers in that club, including birds from David Brown and Kirkpatrick pigeons from Fred Bale. In 1976 Phil took my first average trophy, winning the young bird season by six minutes with a hen from ‘Silver Queen’ scoring a fourth from the last race, which was Weymouth 200 miles. He says it was very bad race, one which was what he used to call a smash. Some of the hot lofts got a belt that day and his game little hen came in the rain with only a handful of birds making it home on the day. He thinks it was then that I decided the birds for him would have to take on any weather at any distance.
Phil moved out of the family home and got married. With the new house came new loft built by professionals and next came a trip to Howard Barnies for a kit of his KO-Nipius birds. It was all starting to fit into place, and then he sold up and moved 200 miles south. He didn’t know it then but there would be no pigeons for 16 years and the call of Rock and Roll took him all over the world and into some very sticky situations. Phil’s eldest son was looking through some old photo’s one afternoon and asked him why he didn’t race pigeons again, now he had left the flat in Wimbledon Park and he had stopped touring. Ten days later they had built a loft and joined the Hackbridge Club, as Reis and Son. He spoke to Mike Shepherd from the Racing Pigeon ‘Pictorial’ magazine about which birds were doing the sprinting, and his help brought him right up to date almost over night. After numerous phone calls, Mike asked Phil to make a note of anything he felt was worth publishing and so started his new interest as a pigeon ‘scribe’. Phil bought a pair of Staf Van Reets bred by the late Joe Grant, who was one of the best fancier in his area and always bought the best he could. The eye glass came out of mothballs and a pair was matched. The hen was known as the ‘Mealy Ace’ six wins from eight young bird races and the cock had ten club first cards, and was about in every race he had been entered in. He bought these and halved the odds by joining the Morden club thus racing in two different Federations. First race back and Phil recorded 1st and 6th in the Morden club 2nd 3rd 5th in the Hackbridge. Phil says all the fresh enthusiasm is what won those prizes, training every day and nothing left to chance. He maintains young bird racing has always been about educating the babies and hoping for the best, still is. He finished the early seasons high in the prize lists, achieving second in the averages twice and was given the title of ‘bridesmaid’ after finishing behind Mo Butt and then Bill Johnson on consecutive seasons. He has since flown in another two clubs; Wimbledon D.H.S. where he topped the Three Borders Federation from Taunton, and the South Downs Premier Sprint Club, winning races in both and getting to know the local flyers at the same time.
Phil told me, ‘at the end of the day it is the long distance races I would like to concentrate on. For the distance you need the right family of racers. Lucky for me that I had the pleasure of meeting and flying against the North Road Combine king, the late Bill Johnson, and his advice was the best. He gave me two hens and said to get hold of a pair of cocks for them from Nigel Cowood. His Lefebre-Dhaenen pigeons were the ones to fly for the distance and Bill’s hens were from LPW, bred out of an Up North Combine winner. I have it on good authority that this strain should be pronounced, LAY FABRAY DA EN NEN. The line of my present family comes down from, ‘Aztec’ and ‘Feola’, and the jewel hen ‘Lavonia’. Nigel sent me two cocks, one of which being the old man and the new father of the loft, ‘Young Luke’. He is a son of ‘Luke’, a multiple winner himself at National and Combined level. This wonderful cock is also responsible for siring many winners and is great grand sire of National and Combine winners all over the UK and Ireland. His grand sire being the ‘The Chequer Kapoen’ bred by Lefabre-Dhaenen and the sire of ‘Hat Trick’ 1st and 2nd National two years apart. The other cock for me was also out of ‘The Chequer Kapoen’ when paired to ‘Liberty’ one of the best breeding hens on record. This pair produced ‘Langstone’ a top breeder in the Cowood lofts’.
Mike Shepherd advised Phil earlier and he went as close to the source as possible in order to retain the strength of the gene pool. It should be no surprise then to tell you that ‘Double Six’ is keeping up the family tradition with his fly from Alencon recording 10th open in the first race on the London South East Classic 2011 racing calendar. ‘Red Surprise’ a red chequer cock and a grandson from the Langstone cock topped the Three Borders Federation from Taunton. He called Nigel to inform him he had a red cock out of the Langstone line and his reaction was that there are no Red ‘Lefabs’ that he had heard of. Phil had to explain that the dam was a red chequer Staf Van Reet from his old family and this cock which was bred in 2005 was then named ‘Red Surprise’. The proof of the breeding was again validated with a Channel win in 2010 with a full brother to ‘Red Surprise’ getting the red card from Falaise. ‘Red Nev’ will have a crack at the Nationals in 2012 and Phil says, ‘we will see how he gets on soon enough’. Phil maintains, ‘the patience game will pay off if you stick to you guns long enough and get a hold of the right line of pigeons. Keeping ahead of the game is an important part of breeding and building up a tried and tested stock team is another slow climb. This year I will have to cut down and be strict in selection. Eighteen pairs of stock are getting too much work when the training and racing is the main recreation of the summer. By the end of the season I will have to make some hard choices’.
He feeds the ‘plus’ mixtures from Versa Larger with a few bits and bobs to suit the weather conditions. He think pigeons are like us humans, some good days and some bad. When you want to fight off a cold you might go for a steak dinner to build up the strength, or a big plate of pasta for energy, well it could be the same for the birds before the medicine bottle comes out. As a kid with a paper round to fund the loft, there was not the money to run to the vet, or to buy the old hand products to shove down the birds neck. So good advice and common sense were the favoured currency then and it’s the same now. He has earned a few bob in the past, but his upbringing is never far away and he doesn’t like to waste money on things you just don’t need. Phil treats for all the ugliness in January, before pairing up, and then the race team get a dose for ‘Trico’ about three times in the season and says, that should be enough with pigeons that have a strong constitution. He believes that it is too easy to damage the internal organs with the wrong antibiotics. If you do read what people like Wim Peters has to say in ‘Fit to Win’ you will notice that the cases are extreme before the pills are dished out. General every day health is a year round prerequisite and the winter time after the season closes is the point when any upset will rear its head. If your birds get through the winter without too much bother with the moult, all is well. This year he has 50 youngsters to use and will not race all of them as he has found out that training on their own, with singled up youngsters are better at breaking the next year. This is for distance though because he believes that singled up birds slow down and take their own line, which is just what is needed in the big liberations from the Nationals and Classics.
Phil has won on two occasions when sending a single entry. The first was a young bird race from Guernsey, when asked his old mate, premier channel racer, Ray Duffield, if he had a big youngster he could have to put under a Staf Van Reet cock sitting tighter than a nuns shoes. He had a youngster the right age and the cock took to it straight away. He was sent away three days later and won the club, recording 12th Federation, and a £60 special. His other single entry win was with the club that Roy West and his brother founded to piggyback with our London South East Classic Club, which was called, The Sussex and Surrey 2 bird Nomination Channel Club. Phil basketed one hen who was sent sitting ten days to Bordeaux and as the race was a rough one she won early the next morning, recording 36th open out of a 2,500 strong entry.
I asked Phil if he had any strong theories about our sport and he told me, ‘I think people should always be allowed to send the whole loft if they want to. If you have the birds and you think they are ready why not. If you can’t see the wood for the trees and have to send the lot to find out which ones are right, that’s fine with me too. I enjoy the things I have achieved my way, as you should enjoy yours. If I were to start again from scratch, I would take out a mortgage and call for some stock at Bevron Lofts. Ronnie and Bev are two of the sports finest. The Van Loons they fly are good enough for middle distance any weather. But the La Fab’s are for the long races. I would choose the same again. Young fanciers should be encouraged to join in and taught the value of PATIENCE. The RSPB should take on a permanent member from our sport to oversee the criminal over breeding of birds of prey. Territory is everything to these pests and eventually they will start to kill each other in a bid to survive. It is in the way of nature that the strongest survive. Not only for them, for every living creature. History has told us that messing about with the natural order of things is a big mistake. But what do I know I’m just trying to enjoy my sport the only way I know how too. I thank my good friend and fellow scribe for asking me to put this overview together. Although when the Governor asks for an in depth interview, the shivers down the spine reminded me of being summoned to the head masters office for a quiet chat’. Who is he talking about? There you have it, the Rock n’ Rolling pigeon scribe that is Phil Reis! He is an actor by profession and has appeared in several top productions, including BBC Television’s ‘East Enders’. A man of many coats, but inside is one great guy!
Colin Crook & Andy Iddenden of Epsom.
The Three Borders Federation sent 826 birds to Truro (230 miles) for its final old bird race of the 2015 season and the convoyer, Dom McCoy, liberated with the SMT Combine ay 06.30 hrs in a westerly wind. The Crook & Iddenden partnership of the Esher club recorded a real ‘banger’, winning the Federation by nearly 130 ypm clear, plus 2nd SMT Combine! Colin and Andy’s Truro winner was the three year old blue widowhood cock, ‘The Nearly Cock’ and he had previously won 2014: 11th Federation Honiton (1,589 birds), 18th Federation Taunton (959 birds) and in 2015: 25th Federation Honiton (1,189 birds), plus his Federation win from Truro. This game cock is of the Frans Zwols of Holland strain and was bred from one, of three stock pairs purchased by the lads from Raymond Molveld, the premier Dutch fancier in 2010. Colin and Andy won the Three Borders Federation twice in the 2015 season, previously winning from Honiton (1,189 birds) with another blue widowhood cock named ‘The 59 Cock’ and he is a Staf Van Reet, bred down from their wonderful double Federation winning cock, ‘The 29 Cock’. Colin told me at that time, that the lads always sort out the number nine rings each year and ring all his descendants with them, so they can tell at a glance that they are down from this champion Staf Van Reet racer. ‘The 59 Cock’ had a list of prizes he had won in the Federation in recent seasons and also won 1st club, 4th South Coast Federation in the 2015 season. The Crook & Iddenden partnership only raced inland with the Esher club and their old bird positions won this season are: 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th Federation Exeter (1,217 birds), 1st, 2nd, 25th Federation Honiton (1,189 birds), 11th, 14th, 23rd Federation Yeovil, 1st, 22nd Federation, 2nd, 40th SMT Combine Truro (1,512 birds).
I have known and been friends with Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden for many years and in all that time we have been associated I have never visited their loft in Epsom. We put that to rights, when on one sunny Sunday morning in October 2013, 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 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. Other position won the Federation by ‘Frank’ are: 3rd, 7th, 9th, 9th, 10th, 10th, 10th, 14th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 16th, 18th and 23rd open. He has won ten times 1st club, plus 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd South Downs Premier FC and was sent to the Classic only once to win 34th open L&SECC Falaise. ‘Frank’ was Three Borders Federation ‘Pigeon of the Year’ in 2011 and 2013. As Andy Iddenden says, a once in a life time pigeon! Frank and Susan Carson bred Colin and Andy’s champion Gaby Vandenbeele blue widowhood cock, ‘Frank’. This game cock raced to Frank’s loft as a young bird and yearling and when Frank packed up for a while in 2008, the pigeon was gifted to Crook & Iddenden, too set the place alight with brilliant performances. Frank and Susan brought their Gaby Vandenbeele pigeons from Mark and Dickie Evans in 2003 and 2004, and were direct out of their champions, including the great ‘Shadow’.
Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden of the Esher club were runners up for the Three Borders Federation ‘Individual Points’ Trophy and won the Federation three times in the 2012 season. I don’t know how many times I’ve written in past seasons that these two brilliant pigeon racers have been runners up for the Federation Points, but it seems they are second up every year! In recent seasons I have written a lot about this brilliant partnership, but Colin and Andy have been one of the most consistent winning lofts in the Federation over the last half a dozen years or so. Their performance in the Three Borders Federation in the 2012 season was: 1st, 2nd, 8th Federation Wincanton (1,701 birds), 1st Federation Wincanton (1,748 birds), 22nd Federation Honiton (820 birds), 1st, 2nd, 19th, 25th Federation Yeovil (1,506), 11th Federation Honiton (1,286 birds), 4th Federation Yelverton (1,086 birds), 10th Federation Taunton (1,077 birds), 10th Federation Honiton (1,017 birds), 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th Federation Yeovil (859 birds), 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14, 15th Federation Blandford (1,286 birds), 18th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 25th Federation Newton Abbot (1,145 birds), 13th Federation, 17th SMT Combine Yelverton (1,415 birds).
Andy and Colin have 70ft of loft space at the Epsom garden, with the 12 pairs of stock birds housed in a 12ft section with a fight and the rest of the loft being for the racers. Trapping is all designed for ETS timing for the old birds and for the youngsters and the whole ‘L’ shaped structure is cleaned out every day. The old birds are raced on the widowhood cocks and celibate hens systems and the whole loft is paired up on Boxing Day, so the first round of eggs from the stock birds can be floated under the racers. The widowhood cocks start the year by rearing a pair of youngsters and their mates are taken away while sitting the second round of eggs. They are repaired five weeks before the first Federation race, then are given about six 20 mile training tosses and are put on the widowhood system two weeks before racing begins. The racers are fed on a first class widowhood mixture and are not broken down, not even for the short sprint races. The lads like to show the hens for a long time on marking night, could be as long as an hour, with the cock bird on the bowl and his mate outside the box. They are never allowed to tread. On their return from the race the cocks get their hens for two or three hours, depending how hard the race has been. Colin and Andy enjoy all Federation racing from 80 miles through to 450 miles, but have a go at the odd Classic race from time to time. Andy told me the 24 cocks stay on the widowhood system all the time and are never repaired for the longer races. The main families kept are Paul Arnold / Staf Van Reet and Mark & Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons, which have been very successful.
The Epsom partnership race about 60 young birds every season, putting the 40 first rounder’s on the ‘Darkness’ system and leave the 20 second rounder’s natural. The youngsters are put on the Darkness on weaning, being closed down from 17.00hrs until 08.00hrs every day, and are taken off the system on the longest day in mid-June. The young bird team get lots of training tosses up to 35 miles before the first Federation race then get two tosses a week once the season starts and all races the full racing programme. Colin told me; recently the partners started with 50 babies and never lost one training before the first race. They are raced to the perch, but if they want to pair up they are allowed too and nest bowls are put into the section.
The 2011 old bird season proved to be one of Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden’s best to date recording: 6th, 7th Federation Wincanton (1865 birds), 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th Federation Yeovil (2230 birds), 1st, 2nd, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th Federation Kingsdown, 15th Federation Newton Abbot (1625 birds), 23rd Federation Newton Abbot (1476 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 16th Federation Kingsdown (1321 birds), 14th, 19th, 20th Federation Kingsdown (1090 birds), 14th Federation Taunton (1080 birds), 23rd Federation Yeovil. The partner’s brilliant yearling mealy Staf Van Reet widowhood cock won the Federation two weeks on the trot in 2011 and from Kingsdown beat his loft mate on the ETS by only a second. The partnership were runners up for the Three Borders Federation Individual Points Trophy in the 2011 season and won the Three Borders Federation ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ for ‘best pigeon of the year’ with their good blue cock, ‘Frank’. He recorded to win the championship: 2nd Federation Kingsdown, 2nd Federation Yeovil (twice beaten by loft mates), 7th Federation Wincanton, 14th Federation Wincanton, 16th Federation Kingsdown, and 23rd Federation Newton Abbot.
Colin and Andy’s wonderful performances racing in the Three Borders Federation in 2010 were: (OB) 14th, 18th Federation Wincanton (1,584 birds), 1st, 2nd, 6th Federation Wincanton (1,916 birds), 25th Federation West Bay (2,163 birds), 17th Federation West Bay (2,016 birds), 14th Federation Exeter (1,135 birds), 2nd Federation (758 birds), 2nd SMT Combine Messac, 8th Federation Kingsdown (1,233 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Federation Kingsdown (1,089 birds), (YB) 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th Federation West Bay (1,292 birds), 1st Federation (923 birds), 1st SMT Combine Yelverton. Chris Slight and Trevor Taylor of the Esher club won the SMT Combine from Messac in June 2010 with their champion yearling Staf Van Reet black hen, ‘Non-Returnable’, which was bred by Crook & Iddenden. In the same race Colin and Andy were 2nd Three Borders Federation, 2nd open SMT Combine, being beaten by the black hen that they bred and gifted to the partners from Esher. The icing on the cake for Colin and Andy was to win 1st open SMT Combine from the last and longest young bird race, flown from Yelverton in mid-September and finish off a brilliant season in great style! Their Yelverton SMT Combine winner was their ‘darkness’ Staf Van Reet blue chequer hen, ‘The Combine Hen’, and she was bred from stock birds obtained from Paul Arnold of North Cheam. Her sire is their good dark pied cock, ‘Keith’, and he is a grand son of Paul’s champion breeders, ‘Santa Vos’ and ‘The Guvnor’. She was a member of Crook & Iddenden’s 50 bird strong young bid team in 2010 and had one Federation and the two L&SECC Guernsey races on her build to her Combine win. She was never paired up and flew natural to the perch. A nice twist the story is she was lost off top of the loft when very young and returned home with an orange plastic ring on her leg, just before training started. Colin says he has never taken the ring off and she still wears it today! The partners had so my star birds in the 2010 season it’s a bit hard to pick out individuals, but one must be the widowhood grizzle cock, ‘The Dove’, and he won several premier prizes in 2010 including 2nd open SMT Combine Messac. A few years ago Paul Arnold brought in some Roland / Janssens pigeons to try and bred Colin a pair of white grizzles. The hen of the nest pair is the dam of ‘The Dove’ and also the grizzle widowhood cock, ‘Dusty’, winner of 1st Three Borders Federation Wincanton and 1st South Downs Premier Honiton in 2010. These two brilliant racers have different sires, both being Paul Arnold Staf Van Reets.
Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden, both flew in partnership with their late fathers years ago, with outstanding success. The Crook’s, Colin and his dad Harold, were part the highly successful Crook, Waldron & Martin partnership, which won many premier prizes North Road racing, including 1st open Combine Thurso and 1st Federation Berwick. Colin has raced on his own in recent seasons and has won 2nd open Federation three times. Andy Iddenden has raced in the Esher club for several years, gaining major success, racing in partnership with his late father “Bunny” Iddenden, who was a well-liked and respected fancier. Whenever you competed against the Iddenden’s in racing or the show pen, they were always hard to beat and their best performance was 1st, 2nd, 3rd. open Federation. Because, Colin and Andy are very good friends and both having young families, so lack time for the pigeons, they formed the Crook & Iddenden partnership several season ago, and race in the Esher and South Downs clubs. Colin and Andy started with some outstanding success, by recording 1st and 6th open London Federation (806 birds) Blandford, their first young bird event of the 2005 season. Their Federation winner was a natural Staf Van Reet blue pied hen named “Doreen” after Colin’s mother, and she was bred by the premier Surrey fancier, Paul Arnold. “Doreen” was a second round youngster, so didn’t go on the Darkness system. She, with two other young hens were paired to a 19 year old cock, each having two hours with him every day and on the marking day for the Blandford race, all three were let in the section with the cock and left to fight over the nest bowl.
Both the partners enjoy the pigeon shows in the winter months and a few years ago, Colin, had a small team of Show Racers, and bred from pigeons obtained from Doug McClary and Jimmy Fitzpatrick. He was successful, winning firsts at several major shows, but packed them up after a couple of years, because he couldn’t stand the travelling, which it entailed to compete in the big shows. Colin says he is very anti-PMV vaccination and maintains the pigeons should only be jabbed once in their life and that is when they are young birds.
Well that’s it for this week! To view some old video footage of some of these fanciers and their birds go on to my YouTube channel. I can be contacted with any pigeon matters on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com).
