“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT - 24-09-20

“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Three Borders Federation (Wincanton 3)

The Three Borders Federation held its third Wincanton young bird race at the end of August and what a race it turned out to be! Dom McCoy, the Federation convoyer, liberated the 750 birds at 10.00hrs in to a strong northerly wind and at the home end the whole of the Federation result was swallowed by three clubs. What a good race it turned out be, considering it was a head wind over the race course all the way home! Members reported good returns on the day and that is thanks to our Dom, for all his good work.

Paul Arnold of the Esher club crowned his fantastic 2020 season by winning the Federation from Wincanton by 9ypm clear. Paul recorded 1^st section E (639 birds), 1^st open (5,097 birds) NFC Messac (255 miles) just a few weeks before his Federation win, with his champion blue cock, ‘True Faith’. On Paul’s build up to winning the NFC, he won in the Three Borders Federation: 3^rd Federation Honiton (925 birds), 13^th, 23^rd Federation Newton Abbot (846 birds), plus 1^st club Wincanton. I spoke to Paul after the Wincanton race and he said, ‘I have won the Federation many times over the years, but never in the short sprint races.

John, Darren and Josh May of Chichester have been good friends of mine for many years and my wife, Helen and I enjoy visiting them when we are in Sussex. They also live in lovey part of the world, which also make it even more pleasurable! We were at the ‘May Pigeons’ lofts early in the year and in conversation I mentioned to Darren May that I have never won the Federation in a short race. A few weeks later I had a phone call from Darren, saying I’m in London today; can I pop around to you house to see you? Later that day he arrived with twenty young birds in the boot of his car and said these are a gift for you, Paul, see how you go with these in the shorter races. My Wincanton Federation winner at 97 miles was one of those gift ‘May Pigeons’ youngsters. The winner was a ‘Pit Bull’ blue cock raced naturally and was sent to Wincanton driving a hen to nest. Thanks from me to John and Darren’. Congratulations to Paul, on his fantastic 2020 season!

The first ten in the Wincanton (3) Federation result were: 1) Paul Arnold 1386: 2) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 3) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 4) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 5) M/M Skeete & Keen 1377: 6) M/M Skeete & Keen 1377: 7) M/M Skeete & Keen 1377: 8) Terry & Sue Leonard 1376: 9) A. Stoner & son 1376: 10) A. Stoner & son 1375. This was race number eleven of the season and at this point the Ashridge club are leading for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 84 points, with the Mitcham & Morden club being R/U on 83 points.

Paul Arnold has probably one of the best lofts of all round Staf Van Reets in Europe today, winning a long list of premier positions in the Three Borders Federation in many of the recent seasons, including 1^st SMT Combine Bergerac (450 miles), with him clocking his sole entry on the day and 2^nd SMT Combine Messac. His performance from the longest old bird race Bergerac was what dreams are made of; he sent one pigeon and won the Three Borders Federation and SMT Combine by a country mile! The super Paul Arnold / Staf Van Reet pigeons are winning premier prizes for many other fanciers in the UK, including several top performers in the Epsom loft of his good friends, Colin Crook & Andy Iddenden. Colin and Andy’s 2010 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. Her sire is their good dark pied cock, ‘Keith’, and he is a grandson 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 Major Honey & Grandson partnership of Mitcham had a wonderful 2012 racing season, especially with the young birds and finished by winning 1^st SMT Combine Yelverton, with pigeon purchased at the Three Borders Federation Breeder / Buyer sale. The Combine winner was a Van Reet / Lindelauf bred by Paul Arnold and Paul told me the Staf Van Reet sire had won three firsts in the club and three top positions in the Federation result. The Combine winning pigeon, called ‘The Arnold Cock’, was also 3^rd Federation Newton Abbot (1,145 birds) the week before topping the SMT from Yelverton. Paul’s record for breeding winners for other lofts is brilliant!

The Three Borders Federation being the forward thinking organization it is, decided to allow members to send old birds and have a secondary Any Age race every week through the young bird season. What a great idea, with this giving the old birds several extra races to make up for of those they missed at the start of the season with the Covid 19 lock down. The first ten in the Wincanton Any Age Federation result were: 1) Paul Arnold 1386: 2) Terry Goodsell 1384: 3) Terry Goodsell 1384: 4) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 5) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 6) Terry & Sue Leonard 1377: 7) M/M Skeete & Keen 1377: 8) M/M Skeet & Keen 1377: 9) M/ Skeete & Keen 1377: 10) Terry & Sue Lenard 1376.

It was really great to hear the news that Dom McCoy has taken on the job of Federation convoyer again this season, after doing such an outstanding job in previous seasons. The 2019 season saw Dominic become convoyer for the National Flying Club, so he has been a busy boy! So busy in fact, he has worked so hard for the sport, his own pigeon racing has suffered in recent seasons! Dom & Claire McCoy’s ‘Gladiator Lofts’ at Ashford have great results every year with 2010 being one of their best! As the 2010 season progressed their performances got even better and better. Dom’s young birds finished the season in fantastic style by winning 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th Three Borders Federation (1,422 birds) Wincanton, 1^st Three Borders Federation (836 birds) Exeter. Brilliant pigeon racing in one of the strongest Federations in the South of England! Dom and Claire had yet another great year racing in 2011 and won eleven firsts in the very strong Shepperton club, including Falaise, Messac and Bergerac, and 4^th Federation Messac (857 birds), 2^nd Federation, 4^th SMT Combine Bergerac (450 miles), 7^th, 18^th Federation Taunton (1525 birds), 9^th Federation Newton Abbot (885 birds). There is a bit of a story behind Dom and Claire’s Bergerac win, in the fact that they had never sent to this 450 mile race point before and they only sent one pigeon to record this brilliant performance.

Dominic says his late father, Tom McCoy, was an outstanding pigeon racer in the London area for many years and his motto was no medication, plenty of training, good feeding and the best will survive and win. He says pigeon racing is a different game today and thinks the modern day sport is all about feeding, fitness, motivation and of course good pigeons. When I asked Dom how he started up in the sport, he told me, ‘My life with pigeons began in 1965 when my father, Tommy, was racing at the time in partnership with my uncle flying as, G. Olive & T. McCoy and they were very successful flying both north and south road. I began by cleaning out the lofts and waiting for birds to come back from training. I won my first race at the grand age of 13 years old from Dorchester (110 miles), flying at our local club the ‘City Arms’ in Hammersmith, which was a member club of the West Middlesex Federation. Later on when I was in my teenage years pigeons took second place too me going out and having holidays and I never raced or kept pigeons myself after 1970, until my restart in 2005. My family, including my brothers and uncles have all raced pigeons all through the years and the McCoy family are all very heavy in to pigeons. In 2005 my wife, Claire, decided that I needed a hobby and my brother, Billy, who flies in the Richmond Flying Club as T. McCoy & Son, suggested I should get restarted with the pigeons. So there it was settled, pigeons from that day have become my resurrected love’.

That’s our article for this week. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)