Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present...

IAN AXE

OF OWSTON FERRY

I had the great pleasure to visit Ian Axe a few years ago and this great fancier made us very welcome. Ian's fantastic Axholme Stud is in a large brick building next to his main house, and can boast many champion breeding pigeons, including two 1st Open Scottish National winners. The stud houses ten different families including Delbars, Marcel Desmet (Stichelbaut), Gus Hofkens and Verheyen Hofkens (Janssen), Pepermans, Van Reets, Jan Aardens, Busschaerts, Emile Deweerdts, Van De Weyers, Roberts Venus 'Supercrack' family, Roland Kyndts, Van Loon Janssens and the fantastic Robert Venus Janssen family. Ian owns sons and daughters from most of Robert Venus's champions, and a full brother and sister of the great champion Hofkens cock 'De Keizer' winner of 23 times 1st prize.

The stars of Axholme Stud for me were the two 1st Scottish National winners which live there, champion 'Newington Martina' and champion 'Newington Sharlisa'. The first one we looked at was 'Martina' which was bred by Ian Axe and raced by Philip Heslop in Scotland. This wonderful seven-year-old blue pied hen won 1st Section, 1st Open SNFC Nantes (540 miles) in 1993 and won the National by 43 ypm. Ian bred this fantastic hen from Delbar and Jan Aarden pigeons and she has now returned to Axholme Stud and is breeding winners. The other National winner was the blue pied hen 'Sharlisa' and she won 1st Section; 1st Open SNFC Sartilly in 1990. This great apple-bodied hen was bred and raced by Philip Heslop from stock purchased from Ian and has proved to be a goldmine at stock, breeding many winners for fanciers all over Great Britain. Ian started the stud in 1987 and has about eight pairs of each family, which are housed in ten separate sections. The stud has grille floors, hopper feeding, automatic drinkers and nice big wire flights so the inmates can get out in the weather.

After looking at Ian’s stud we moved on to his fantastic racing lofts, which are set up in his farm fields, surrounded by the Yorkshire countryside. Ian’s father, who was a great stock man, started up in pigeon racing in 1945 and Ian has carried on from him since 1958. Ian’s racing record is outstanding being top prizewinner since 1958 and winning well over one thousand 1st. prizes. The 1994 season was one of his best ever, being highest prizewinner in the Owston Ferry R.P.C., winning Old Bird Average, Channel Average, Young Bird Average and Combine Average. He was also highest prizewinner in the Scunthorpe & District S.R. Federation, lifting the Old Bird Average, Channel Average, Young Bird Average and Combined Average, and at that time was the record holder, with 75 positions in the Federation. Ian was also highest prizewinner in the Jolly Sailor and Highfield House clubs. At that time he had been premier prizewinner in the Owston Ferry R.P.C. for the last 23 years. The Federation consisted of about 250 members sending up to 2,500 birds per week, with 13 clubs competing. The 1995 season saw Ian’s pigeons take 73 Federation positions and 40 times 1st. club, 39 times 2nd. Club and 36 times 3rd. club, plus Axholme Lofts has be premier prizewinners in the Federation many times.

Ian has a long smart racing loft, with open door trapping and races 60 widowhood cocks in three clubs. He races mainly widowhood, but when they ret over the channel he likes to enter about eight hens on natural. Ian likes to win all the races he enters from the shortest to the longest and considers his widowhood cocks are outstanding on the long distance events. On our visit we looked at several top racers, including the good Hofkens blue cock and winner of 1st. club, 1st. Federation, 1st. open Combine, plus many other top positions. This handsome cock was in the widowhood team and his parents are the ‘Golden Breeding Pairs’, at that time being the parents of  eleven 1st. Federation winners.

The racers are paired up the third week in January and are put on the widowhood system on their second round of eggs. Ian isn’t into long training tosses and the cocks get about 17 miles several times before the first race. He only breaks the cocks down when they are locked up in bad weather and feeds a standard widowhood mixture. He shows the hens on Friday night if he has the time and sometimes takes the cocks down the road two miles and lets them fly home to the hen on the nest bowl before being basketed for the race. The cocks get the hen for half an hour on return from the race, and after about five races get the hen until Sunday morning to renew the bond. The cocks fly out for an hour in the morning and one hour in the evening during the racing season. Ian breeds about 120 young birds to race in three clubs and in 1995 finished up the season with 109 left. All his youngsters have to race right through to Fareham, which is 180 miles.

There you have it, Ian Axe of Owston Ferry, one of the premier lofts in Yorkshire! I can be contacted on telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT