“SHOW RACER WORLD” – Number 4.
Eric & Nick Yule of Aberdeen.
The 2020 BHW Blackpool Show attacked a show entry of 2,000 birds and ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ over all was won by a handsome racing pigeon blue chequer cock named ‘Pole Dark’, which also won ‘Best Racer in Show’ and was owned by Eric and Nick Yule of Aberdeen in Scotland. Eric and Nick continue the Scottish dominance of the ‘Supreme Champion’ trophy at Blackpool, with McCord & Turpie winning it in 2019, and John & Alice Bell winning it in previous years.
Eric Yule has been racing and showing pigeons many years and his son, Nicky, has always taken an interest in his dad’s hobby and joined the present day partnership when he was 13 years old. Eric races 40 pairs on the roundabout system and keeps 20 pairs of stock birds. Nicky is the show man and picks out pigeons to exhibit and conditions then at his loft. Nick’s show loft is separate from the racers and it has four sections, all with deep litter on the floors. He told me that in his opinion, the loft design has no consequent as long as it is clean and dry, and there is no big secrets in winning, dedication brings you success with pigeons. The more you put in the more you get out! His first pigeons were Kirkpatrick crossed with the Ko Nipus pigeons, and in the early days the young Nicky was very influenced by the late Bob McDonald’s wonderful racing and showing performances. Nick is a tile fixer by trade and says his biggest thrill in his 31 years in the sport was winning ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2020.
The Eric and Nick Yule partnership has an excellent racing and showing record over many years, with the highlights being: 1st North Section SNFC Rennes (643 miles), three times 1st North Section SNFC Sartilly (587 miles), 1st North Section SNFC Frome (415 miles), 1st North Section SNFC Littlehampton (451 miles), ‘Best in Show’ at the NEHU Show, ‘Best in Show’ at the RP Old Comrades Show, three times ‘Best Racing Pigeon’ at the BHW Blackpool Show, three times ‘Best Racing Pigeon’ at the RP Old Comrades Show and the most recent, ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show. A wonderful all round loft performance!
The base family of pigeons at the Aberdeen loft are Bob McDonald and Dickie Greame, with new stock being added every year. Nick told me when selecting a new pigeon to bring in, it has to look good and handle well. He has brought in ten to fifteen birds from Leir Market in Belgium for the last seven years and had winners every season. The racing team have not been paired for the last three years, with the cocks racing to nest boxes and the hen to the perch. They race from the first race through to the last and are fed on a good widowhood mixture, with a pot of Barley in front of them all the time. The birds are parted in early August, to ensure they have a good moult and then get them ready for the shows. During the moulting period they are fed on a ‘moult’ mixture and are given vitamins in the drinking water. Nicky says, he has no really thoughts on inbreeding, as almost all his birds are crossed. He breeds 20 late breds every year and these are trained in the winter mouths of that year.
I have had the great pleasure of judging several times at the NEHU Show at both Peterlee and South Shields over the years, including ‘Best in Show’ a couple of times. On one occasion that I judged BIS in 2011, Eric and Nicky Yule won ‘Best Opposite Sex’ with their wonderful blue chequer cock ‘Andy Carroll’. This champion cock won many shows and was ‘Best in Show’ at the NEHU Show the year previous, in 2010. I could write all day long about the Yule’s wins at Open and National show, but two other outstand pigeons were: ‘Murphy’ winner of many firsts, including ‘Best in Show’ at the RP Old Comrades Show and ‘The Blackpool Cock’, also the winner of many firsts, including winning first two years on the trot at the BHW Blackpool Show.
I visited Eric's Aberdeen home in 1997 and was greatly impressed by the man and his wonderful team of multi-purpose pigeons, which have excelled at racing and showing. Over the years Eric has recorded many major positions in national long-distance races, with 1996 being his best season, winning 3rd North Section Sartilly (1) SNFC (587 miles); 1st North Sect Rennes SNFC (631 miles); 1st North Sect Sartilly (2) SNFC. At that time the loft had won Best Racer in Show at the BHW Blackpool Show twice and also twice at the RP Old Comrades Show. Eric had had outstanding success with his good Kirkpatrick red chequer cock which won ‘Best Racer in Show’ at both the major shows in one season. A fantastic performance! ‘The Red Cock’ had also been a good racer, winning many cards in races up to 300 miles. At that time Eric's, smart 20ft loft had four sections and the birds were trapped through drop holes. The main loft had a closed-in front to keep the inmates warm and dry and the nest boxes were also very secluded, with hardboard fronts. Eric began in the sport in 1963 with a pair in a rabbit hutch and was only really interested in long-distance racing. His 40 pairs of natural racers were paired up in early February and, after rearing a pair of squeakers, were parted again. They were trained and race the first four races apart, and then were re-paired for the rest of the season, it with the long-distance nationals in mind. The old birds got three 25-mile training tosses every week through the season. The birds were hopper fed a good mixture, with extra maize being added as the distance increased. The star bird on my visit to the Aberdeen loft was a blue chequer cock and he was a blend of several top long-distance families which run through the loft. This cock had won several cards racing, including 1st North Section, 85th open Rennes (SNFC) 631 miles, being sent feeding two big youngsters. A good type as well as good performance was preferred when selecting stock birds. Stock birds were paired up the same time as the racers so their first round of eggs could be floated in the racing loft. Since my visit to their loft in 1997, Eric and Nicky have won it all, including ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2020.
Jim McTaggart of Girvan.
The month of November 2018 saw fanciers make their annual drive up the M40 to High Wycombe for the RPRA Southern Region Show, which is one of the high lights of the show calendar in the South of England every winter. I have attended most the Southern Region Shows over the past 35 years and it has always been of my favourite winter show events, with me judging again this year, with my ol’ mate Wullie Young, stewarding for me. Jim McTaggart was one of several fanciers who made the 400 mile plus drive down from Scotland to enter birds in the RPRA Southern Region Show and was rewarded by winning ‘Best Opposite Sex’ on the day.
His winner was a handsome blue chequer cock bred from the John and Alice Bell bloodlines. This is his very first year breeding pigeons for over 34 years, since his late dad, George and he raced pigeons very successfully in the old Vale of Girvan Homing Society. Jim’s father was an outstanding pigeon racer; clocking pigeons on the day of liberation from France, flying into Scotland. Jim is totally new to the British Show Racers and only obtained his very first birds in January 2018 at BHW Blackpool Show. Jim went to John & Alice Bell and they helped him to get started. Jim told me, they have kept him right and they have let him travel with them to open shows, also explaining to him what he should do with the birds at penning. He feeds a mixture of beans, peas and tares, that John has advised him to do and has showed him how and what to mix together. Jim’s smart loft is 16ft x 6ft, with a 2ft aviary bay that has three sections. In the few short months that Jim has been showing at open shows he has won 2 x 1st, 2 x 2nd and a 4th prize card, with the highlight being, entering nine birds and winning ‘Best Opposite Sex’ at the RPRA Southern Region Show. One year later Jim came back to the Blackpool in 2019 to show his birds and won Class 1, one of the biggest classes at the show. A fantastic achievement! John told me, ‘I have been told by many that the RPRA Show win is a great achievement, especially when I have had to take on my mentors and the best show racer fanciers without a shadow of a doubt in Great Britain. May I say that I really thoroughly love the affinity, enjoyment and pleasure with the Show Racers at home. Plus all the lovely people I have met this year who give me advice and encourage me, I feel very humble’.
Jim McTaggart is big in the Canary breeding and showing world and told me, ‘I am a breeder, exhibitor and International judge of Border Canaries. I learned my stockman ship and was brought up with livestock in Bantams, racing pigeons and Border Canaries with my dad, George and my mum Jean. They were the greatest influence with me in my early years and I have showed and judged, plus won at ever top show in the UK & Ireland. I have a good friend who I took as a showing partner when my late mother past away in 2012, then showing under McTaggart & Anderson partnership. We are now the top Scottish Border Canary partnership and I have been made honouree Vice-President of many Border Canary specialist clubs over the years in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. After winning ‘Best in Show’ in Dublin at the Irish Border Fancy Canary Club in 2016, I was then asked to judge the event in 2017. I was then made a Vice-President of the club at their AGM, which was a lovely surprise earlier this year when I was notified’.
John & Alice Bell of Catrine in Scotland.
John and Alice Bell enjoyed yet another great show season in 2018 and kicked off with a ‘Best in Show’ with 641 birds entered at the NEHU Show in South Shield. The partners had a 340 mile round trip to this event and won BIS with a mosaic cock, which qualified for the ‘Supreme Champion’ class at the 2019 BHW Blackpool show. The day after the NEHU Show, John and Alice had another long drive down to the Midlands to win ‘Best in Show’ at the Black Country BSRF Show and the winner was the Mervin Hosking mosaic cock, which previously won BIS at the RPRA Southern Region Show for Nicole Bell. A brilliant weekend! John and Alice next show was the Clydesdale Open Show, where they won ‘Best in Show’ with a yearling blue chequer cock and with 532 birds entered, he also qualified for the ‘Suprema Champion’ class at the BHW Blackpool Show. This cock went on to win ‘Supreme Champion’ Show Racer at the 2019 BHW Blackpool Show. The day after the Clydesdale Show the partners made the 360 mile drive to Skipton in Yorkshire for the BSRF Open Show, to win ‘Best in Show’ with another Blue Chequer Cock. The next weekend they made the 800 mile drive to High Wycombe for the RPRA Southern Region Show and won ‘Best in Show’, with 474 birds competing. I judged the specials at the Southern Region Show that day and picked out a wonderful yearling Show Racer blue chequer to win ‘Best in Show’ and the hen, now named ‘Dottie’, was owned John and Alice Bell of Catrine in Ayrshire. ‘Dottie’ won her class at the BHW Blackpool Show in January 2018 and then went on to win, ‘Best YB in Show’, ‘Best Hen in Show’, ‘Best Opposite Sex Show Racer’ and ‘Best Opposite Sex’ over all with over 2,000 birds competing. Her dam, another beautiful blue chequer hen, won her class on the day at the RPRA Southern Region Show and was ‘Best in Show’ at the Region Show in 2017. John and Alice also won ‘Best Racer in Show’ with beautiful six year old blue chequer pied hen and she had previously won ‘Best in Show’ at the Kingdom of Fife open show (450 birds), and then won ‘Best Racer in Show’ at the Kingdom of Fife in 2017. Talking to John at the Region Show he told me, he had entered eight classes on the day and won six firsts. The following weekend they made the 150 mile round trip to Fife for the Kingdom Open Show (510 birds) and won ‘Best in Show’ with young blue chequer hen, which was a full sister to Southern Region Show winner, ‘Dottie’. John and Alice travelled the length and breadth of the country to compete with their wonderful team of Show Racers and won six times ‘Best in Show’ and had four birds qualify for the ‘Supreme Champion’ class at 2019 BHW Blackpool Show. A wonderful performance!
Thousands of fanciers made the drive up to Blackpool in mid-January 2018 for the main event of the Show Racer calendar, the 46th British Homing World ‘Show of the Year’. John and Alice Bell won ‘Supreme Champion’ at the Blackpool Show for a record sixth time. There winning pigeon was a wonderful sliver blue hen, now named ‘Mary’s Dream Supreme’ after John’s late mother, Mary and she won Best in Show at the Kingdom of Fife Show (506 birds) to qualify for her place al Blackpool. The Bell show loft has had tremendous success at the Blackpool Show over the years winning: ‘Supreme Champion’ six times, including winning it over the last three years on the trot, Reserve ‘Supreme Champion’ five times, ‘Best in Show’ twice and Reserve ‘Best in Show’ twice. ‘Mary’s Dream Supreme’ is a half-sister to ‘Bell’s Young Supreme’, the Blackpool ‘Supreme Champion’ in 2016. A fantastic achievement! I had a conversation with John after the Blackpool show and he told me that they had a bad start to the current show season, with Alice going in and out of hospital over the period of the first three major shows, but once she got back in to her roll of the pigeon management they won BIS at the RPRA Southern Region Show (six firsts), BIS at the Kingdom of Fife Show (six firsts) and BIS at the Black Country Show (two firsts). John and Alice had two class winners at the Blackpool Show, with a young blue chequer hen winning: Best Hen, Best Young Bird, Reserve ‘Best in Show’ and the loft won ‘Fancier Gaining Best Points’.
Best in Show over all at Blackpool in 2017 was won by a yearling Show Racer mealy cock owned by John and Alice Bell and when I spoke to John at the event on Saturday morning he said, that the partners were thrill to win Best in Show at Blackpool for the second time. The handsome cock named, ‘Anniversary Supreme’ is a Show Racer champion in the truest sense of the word, also going on to win ‘Supreme Champion’ of the Blackpool Show in 2017. This wonderful Scottish partnership were also runner up in the ‘Supreme Champion’ class with a full brother to their good two year old blue chequer cock, ‘Bell’s Young Supreme’, the winner of ‘Supreme Champion’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2016. The sire of these two champion cocks was ‘Bell’s Supreme’ and he was also in the ‘Supreme Champion’ class this time at eight years of age, and he won BIS (800 birds) at the SHU Show in 2016 and 2017. John tells me the partners have won ‘Supreme Champion’ at the BHW Blackpool Show five times and thinks it is a record. A fantastic achievement! John and Alice Bell always have great success where ever they compete and before their 2017 Blackpool Show success, they also had a brilliant 2016 Blackpool Show winning four first, several trophies and ‘Supreme Champion’. The Bell partnership started showing at Blackpool in 2003 and have won ‘Supreme Champion’ an amazing six times and have been runner up five times! This Blackpool success finished off a wonderful 2015/16 show season for them, when they had won several premier shows. That season’s ‘Supreme Champion’ was their good yearling blue chequer cock, ‘Bell’s Young Supreme’ and to qualify he won BIS at the RPRA Southern Region Show in November. I judged four Show Racer classes at the Region Show and John and Alice won three of them, with ‘Bell’s Young Supreme’ being one of those winners. This wonderful cock is a son of, ‘Bell’s Supreme’ the 2011 Blackpool ‘Supreme Champion’ winner and he in turn is a brother to, ‘Wild One’, the 2007 Blackpool ‘Supreme Champion’. What a fantastic family of Show Racers! The 2015/16 show season saw John and Alice enter seven open shows prior to the Blackpool show and they won six of them, including: Shildon Open Show, NEHU Open Show, Shildon BSRF Open Show, RPRA Southern Region Show, Clydesdale Open Show and SHU Open Show.
John finished with racing pigeons and concentrated solely on Show Racers in the 2006 season and won the Hurlford open show, recording his first Best in Show with his dark chequer cock, ‘Wild One’, bred from his ‘Old Silver Hen’. The following January this wonderful looking cock went to the BHW ‘Show of the Year’ at Blackpool and won ‘Supreme Champion’. Alice told me, this was the best day of their Show Racer life, to win the Supreme prize on their first attempt. It was a dream comes true! The Bell partners had three open show wins in the 2007 season, four more in 2008 and went on to win Reserve ‘Supreme Champion’ in 2009. In 2010 John and Alice had three major open show wins and so went to Blackpool with three birds in the Supreme Champion class. On entering the Winter Gardens on the Saturday morning they were amazed to see that their yearling Blue Chequer Cock had won his class and Best in Show, so was their fourth candidate in the Supreme Champion class. This cock’s nest mate won Supreme Champion and he was BIS, Reserve Supreme Champion. John told me he didn’t think this had ever been achieved before, with a nest pair winning the two premier prizes at Blackpool on the same weekend. Three of his Blackpool ‘Supreme Champions’ cocks were bred from a seven year old blue chequer cock bred by Darren Gibbons and he said, ‘it goes to prove that old pigeons can still breed champions’. John and Alice enjoyed a very successful 2011 show season, winning four open shows and qualified for the ‘Supreme Champion’ class at Blackpool in January 2012. With a lot of hard work this family of winning Show Racer has been formed from four pairs of original stock birds and the Bell partners told me it is well worth the effort when you win at the very top level with your own family of birds!
I asked John how he started up in pigeons and he told me, ‘I started with racing pigeons in 1974, at the age of nine and my first birds came from local fanciers, Eric Wilson of Mauchline who gave me two cocks and Sonny Mathieson who gave me two hens to mate to them. A year or so before that a friend of mine got some pigeons and I got hooked on them when I visited his garden. My parents agreed to allow me to keep some birds and with no experience I raced the whole young bird programme in 1975. I won my first race the following season and scored at the mighty Scottish National race from Rennes (552 miles), and I must say it was a great feeling! To breed and race birds that can race from France to Catrine, Ayrshire in the west of Scotland is a great buzz, as it is a very hard place to race pigeons too’.
John flew his birds until the 2000 season when sadly his friend and mentor, Louis Campbell, passed away. He was always keen on showing his racing pigeons and took then to events all over Scotland, where he was very successful in local and open shows. The Bell loft had four racing pigeons that had won open shows in the same year with over 500 birds competing, at that time, and qualified for the Supreme Champion of Great Britain class at Blackpool and won Reserve that year. Whenever he went to the big National shows he would spend long periods of time looking at the Show Racer and thought how great they looked. Alice used to go with John to the big shows and she also took a liking the wonderful looking show birds, so they both decided to get a few and give proper showing a go. The first Show Racers were brought in, in 2002 and quality specimens proved very difficult to obtain. He was lucky to know, Raymond Murphy of Cambuslang in Glasgow, who was a very good showman who was going out of the sport, and was having a clearance sale. John visited Raymond’s loft and purchased a five year old silver hen and her son, which was a three year old silver blue cock, both being top quality. Other birds were obtained including a young blue chequer cock from Darren Gibbons of Grimsby. In the 2002 season the ‘Old Silver Hen’ won three big open shows and her son, the silver blue cock, won two classes at open events. John and Alice went to the RP ‘Old Comrades’ where the young chequer cock won his class and went on to win the Best Young Bird at the Scottish East Region Society Show, then went forward to Blackpool to represent the Society in the BSRF class. The 2003 season saw more good success with several open show wins with racing and show birds. John told me that Alice was very instrumental in the success as she spent a lot of time with the birds and made them very tame. They responded really well to her and sit on her head and feed from her hand. John maintains making her a full pigeon partner was one of the best things he ever did, as she manages the loft when he is working, cleaning out and feeding the birds.
John told me his best show racer is his old dark chequer hen, ‘Alice’s Celtic Lass’ and she has won many premier positions including: the Hurlford Open Show, the Kingdom of Fife Open Show and the North Eastern Open Show, with over 450 birds entered. The beautiful hen has been a class winner at many open shows, even in 2014 at the age of seven, but she has been a champion in the stock section, breeding champions with different cocks each year. In the 2009 season she bread a nest pair of chequer cocks, one of them won Best in Show at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2011 and he also went on to be reserve ‘Supreme Champion’ at the same show, being beaten by his brother. The chequer cock’s nest brother won Best in Show at the North Eastern Open Show in 2010 and then won most consistent bird Scottish East Region Show Racers Society 2010 and the went to Blackpool, winning ‘Supreme Champion’ in 2011 and beating his nest mate. John said, ‘I don't think this has ever been done at Blackpool by a nest pair before. ‘Alice’s Celtic Lass’ also bread a chequer hen in 2011 and she won the Kingdom Open Show, and then went into the ‘Supreme Champion’ class at BHW Blackpool Show. The next year this hen went to Blackpool and won the Inter Society Yearly Hen Class and then went on to win reserve Best in Show. This great hen then went on to other top cards at the Blackpool Show. She bred a chequer cock in 2012 that won ‘Supreme Champion’ at the East Region Show Racer Society Show in 2013. He went on to win five firsts in the Society and was the most consistent bird award, and represented Scottish East Region in British SR Federation class at Blackpool in 2015. The champion chequer hen, ‘Alice’s Celtic Lass’, also bread a chequer cock in 2013 which won Best in Show at the North Eastern Open Show, then went into ‘Supreme Champion’ this year. As you can see she has bred champions each year with different cocks each time. Her father was a 2002 bird, with her mother being bred in 1997, so as you can see old birds can still breed champions Show Racers. ‘Alice’s Celtic Lass’ father was five years old and her mother was ten years old when I bred her and I hope she lasts as long as her mother did and still breeds champions’.
John and Alice have two 24ft x 8ft lofts, which have a nice 3ft wire flight running along the front so the birds can get out in the weather and bath, and these are cleaned out by Alice twice a day. John works long hours and says a lot of loft management is down to his partner, which includes cleaning out the lofts as many times as ten times a day on the build up to big shows. He maintains this cleaning out is very important as the birds don’t have to be lifted and pulled about to clean their feet on basketing for the shows. Alice told me that if the bird’s feet are not cleaned on basketing day they look nice and powdery and not an unnatural pink. The birds are bathed at the beginning of the week and no litter is used on the loft floors. John mixes his own corn and this has a big maple pea content, and the birds are never fed condition seed. The pigeons are never fed maize prior the going to show, as Alice maintains it makes the candidates loose and messy in the pen. The twelve pairs of birds are mated up in late February as the partners like to enter two open Society shows which are after the Blackpool show at the back end of January. No stock birds are kept as all birds are shown and about 60 young birds are bred each, which are brought down to about twelve just before the show season begins. John told me, ‘I enjoy judging and have no favourite colour, when judging or in my own loft. I just love good quality Show Racers, whatever their colour! Showing is very hard work and to get a team ready for a big National event it can take up to a month to get them right. Our best ever Show Racer is the Darren Gibbons blue chequer cock and although we don’t keep stock birds, he is our main breeder, being the sire of many winners. I’ve lost count of the many open shows he has won and he has also won several times at the RP ‘Old Comrades’ Show and the BHW Blackpool Show. I would like to finish this article by saying how important Alice’s hard work is to our good success with our Show Racers. She is a wonderful pigeon fancier’. John & Alice Bell own one of the top Show Racer lofts in the UK at this time.
John McCord & Terry Turpie of Scotland.
Thousands of fanciers made the drive up to Blackpool in mid-January 2019 for the main event of the Show Racer calendar, the British Homing World ‘Show of the Year’. Everyone anticipates and looks forward to this wonderful weekend in Blackpool, not only for their annual fill of ‘pigeon fun’, but mostly to meet up with good pigeon friends. That year’s event attacked a fantastic show entry of over 2,000 birds.
The Scottish racing partnership of John McCord and Terry Turpie won ‘Supreme Champion’ at the BHW Blackpool Show with their super blue racing cock, ‘Moerbreke Blue Boy’ and to say he is very special would be an understatement. Talking to John on the phone he told me, ‘we have called the blue cock ‘Moerbeke Blue Boy’, after our good friend Stefan van Moerbeke, who sadly lost his life in a car crash on 29th April 2017 on the out skirts of Ypres in Belgium, which was his home town. How I meet Stefan was though the Ypres race, which the Scottish National Flying Club has every season. Stefan was the man who got this race point started along with Roy Seaton and I was the convoyer with the pigeons. We struck up a good friendship with him and his family who looked after us to perfection on our trips to Ypres. ‘Moerbeke Blue Boy’ was a latebred in 2016 and stood out like a sore thumb from day one, being raced lightly in 2017 and flew the Fife Federation program in 2018. His breeding is: his sire is a grandson of the late John Ellis of Wellbank near Dundee good black pied hen paired to a daughter of ‘Andy’s Boy’, winner of 1st open London & South East Classic Club Pau for Alister Muir of Abinger Hammer in Surrey. His dam is a daughter of ‘Kingdom Spirit’ raced by George and Brian Hunter of Dunfermline Fife and she is probably one of the best 500 plus mile racing pigeons about, winning two ‘Gold Awards’ with the Scottish National Flying Club and flew ten times across the English Channel in to Scotland. There has only ever been two pigeon in history to be double ‘Gold Award’ winners’.
John McCord and Terry Turpie race and show their pigeons from both their addresses, one is in Methven near Perth and the other is in Pitlessie near Cupar in Fife. John was born in Ballymena Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland and Terry in St. Andrews in Fife. They started keeping pigeons at about the age of twelve and Terry been racing pigeons since 1968, starting in the Cerces pigeon club. John been racing since 1993 and started in Kells and district pigeon club in Northern Ireland and then moved to Scotland in 1998. They are now members of Perth and district club and Glen Rothes club. Terry works as a joiner / window fitter and John is a farmer / haulage contractor, with only a limit amount of time for pigeon racing and showing. John says some of the ‘house hold’ names in pigeon racing they look up to now are: David Black and family of Dromore, Tommy Maclean of Annaghmore, Dave Baldie of St. Andrews, Billy Bilsland, the late Dennis Dall and Gordon McCaw.
The partners say they have raced their pigeons to all sorts of homes in the past years: from a derelict house to one Tonne potato boxes, but maintain, as long as they are dry and sheltered the pigeons are happy. John and Terry’s present lofts are mainly built by Petron, one was bought second hand and had a bit added to it by them ourselves and the other was the last loft the Petron firm ever had at the Doncaster s how about eight years ago and it has now had a bit added to it. The partners say, ‘if the lofts are not right, the pigeons will never be right. Pigeons need plenty of room, with overcrowding being the worst mistake you can make and that also goes for pigeons in baskets going to the race points. No animals thrive in overcrowded conditions’. Their lofts have grilled floors and are scraped out daily, with a touch of saw dust in damp weather. They race mainly on the natural system, with the odd ‘tweak’ here and there.
The McCord & Turpie partnership have been very successful racing and showing their pigeons over the years and really enjoy both codes equally, racing and showing. One cock they owned won 21 firsts and was found in loft a few times and so lost out on a few more firsts. He came in to John and Terry’s loft as a stray from Charlie Cameron and he kept coming back to them, so they then got told to keep him. This game cock was a flying machine and was lost at Wakefield getting him ready for the National race. The partners won 2nd open Clermont in France with the Scottish National Flying Club. They have won ‘Best Racing Pigeon in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2016 and 2017 with the same pigeon, ‘Jack’s Boy’ and reserve ‘Best Racer’ in 2018. Their good young grizzle cock, ‘Grizzly Jock’ won ‘Best Racing Pigeon in Show’ at the Blackpool Show in 2019 and of course ‘Moerbeke Blue Boy’ won ‘Supreme Champion’. McCord & Turpie were ‘Fanciers of the Year’ in the Fife Federation in 2018, making it three times they have won this premier award and have also won ‘Fanciers of the Year’ for Section C in the Scottish National Flying Club.
That’s our article for this week! I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ or news on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on:
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com).
