Keith Mott

The Champions of Yesteryear (Part 34) 

KENNY HARRISON

of Richmond

Although Kenny Harrison has never won a 1st Open Combine his great team of birds had come close many times and he had won many average trophies including the Old Bird Average and Combined Continental Average in the SMT Combine several times. For many years the Kenny Harrison & son partnership had become almost a household name as far as the SMT Combine races are concerned.

Kenny started up in the sport 50 years ago with stock from his brother Charlie and joined the Barnes and Mortlake club. When I asked Ken who encouraged him he said all the jealous, bad sportsmen in the clubs he flew in! He said they got his back up and he wanted to beat them all. One interesting fact that Ken said he has learned from his novice days was to keep horses for courses and bide his time. A blue chequer hen named 'The Combine Girl' was one of the all-time Harrison greats being a champion in the truest sense, winning major positions in the Federation and Combine, time and time again including 2nd Open Combine (4,713 birds) Nantes. Ken said one year his brother pushed him to send 'The Combine Girl' through the programme, with her being second day from the last race. The great hen was never the same after that. He says that it was one lesson he learned to his cost and he always remembers that great pigeon.

To say the Harrisons had a good season in 1990 would be an under­statement, lifting ten cups and averages in the very strong Chiswick SRFC and four in the West Middlesex Federation. As a Young Bird in 1990 Ken's good dark chequer cock ' The 76' recorded 1st Club (only bird on the day), 18th Open SMT Combine Alencon. Another Alencon winner, but the year previous to ' The 76', was the handsome pied cock ' The 80 Cock' and he chalked up 4th West Middlesex Federation. Ken's good mate was George Burgess, who recently won 1st Open Pau National, and he bred another of Ken's ace Channel birds. This was the mealy cock 'Treble O' and he has to his credit 1989, 2nd Club, 3rd West Middlesex Federation, 22nd Open SMT Combine Bergerac; 1990, 3rd Club, 9th West Middlesex Federation Niort. Kenny liked hens for the longer races and one of the best hens in the loft was the blue '747' which has won in 1989, 3rd Club, 7th West Middlesex Federation, 66th Open SMT Combine; and in 1990, 1st Club, 13th West Middlesex Federation Bergerac.

Ken's racing loft was of the Widowhood style, brick-built, pan tiled roof, roof lights, controlled ventilation and all floors and walls were lined with moisture resistant chipboard. It had one 16-nest box Natural section and one 16-bird Widowhood section, with two sections for young birds to house approximately 70 in all. Sputnik trap entry for young birds and Natural pairs and open windows for the Widowhood cocks. The stock loft had two sections 12 nest boxes and 15 box perches, with aviaries both ends.

The partners kept an average of six pairs of stock birds, so they enjoy plenty of room and fresh air in their loft. Ten pairs were kept to race semi-Widowhood and Natural. Ken tried to get the full Widowhood system going to no avail, so he phoned Peter Hookins of Morden, who races outstandingly on the Widowhood system and he put Ken right. After a few pointers from Peter the next race was Allencon when the Harrison loft recorded 1st & 2nd Club and had outstanding results through to Bergerac.

Ken had purchased basically Channel birds, such as Van Bruaene (direct), Peter van Aarden, George Burgess, but he won his fair share inland. Ken was a hard taskmaster and all had to go. All the birds were tested and no 'good lookers' are kept back. The birds' diet was always changing, for type of race and time of year. He used Homerform a lot, linseed and all oil seeds at the appropriate times, like the moult etc. Ken also used garlic oil on the corn and garlic in the water, along with TCP. The birds were trained four times a week by Ken's two good mates, Andy Hagilovka and Tony Theodorou, both good Richmond fanciers.

Kenny said most of his best racers through the years have been hens and one of the best was 'Blue Tops', winner of 1st Club, 1st West Middlesex Federation, 4th Open SMT Combine Bergerac, 458 miles. She was a good long-distance type being medium to long cast, with a wonderful eye. She was a Rigg-Barker bred by Ken's brother Charlie. Another Bergerac winner to grace the Harrison loft was the blue chequer hen 'Six In A Row'. This gem handled medium-size, long cast, with a wonderful eye and she recorded 1st Club, 1st West Middlesex Federation, 10th Open SMT Combine Bergerac, 3,094 birds, 458 miles.

The old favourite and probably the best was the red chequer hen named 'Brooke's Pride' and she was bred by Joe Brookes of Dartford, Kent. This great old hen handled large, long cast and had won many major positions including 1st Club, 2nd Federation Avranches; 2nd Club Rennes; 3rd Club, 6th Federation Nantes; 1st Club, 2nd Federation, 31st Open Combine Avranches; 1st Club, 1st Federation, 3rd Open SMT Combine Niort. A remarkable pigeon.

Ken liked to send to the longer races with them sitting seven to ten days. The only time he sent any feeding youngsters was when they have been kept dry all year and never had an egg hatch. He used deep litter granules in the stock loft and pea shingle in the aviaries. He scraped the nest boxes clean on to the floor and it turned to dust, but replaceed it with hardwood chips. As the droppings were heavier it turned the woodchips over keeping the top surface dry and free from the droppings.

Ken bred late breds but he went through them in the nest and culls the ones he didn’t not like visually. His biggest let down, he maintained, is the trapping. '747' was a very bad trapper, she had sat out ten minutes on some Channel races and still taken cards in the first three. Kenny said his best two pigeons of all time were 'The Combine Girl' and she won through to Bergerac including 2nd Open SMT Combine Nantes, 10,000 birds, and the 1979 red cock 'Joe' and he was ‘ace’ up to 200 miles.

Kenny Harrison one of the time greats of the Richmond area! My phone nuber is 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.