THREE BORDERS FED FOCUS with Keith Mott

Hersham is a small village situated between Esher and Walton-on Thames in Surrey and is the home of one of the strongest pigeon clubs in the Three Borders Federation. This week ‘Focus’ is going to feature three of it’s Federation winning lofts.

JOHNNY KEYWOOD

Now we come to our second 2004 Three Borders Federation winner, Johnny Keywood, who won from Messac (253 miles) with 1,012 birds taking part. What can you say about Johnny that hasn't been said many times before through the years?

He's been a brilliant fancier and worker for the sport over many years and has won everything in the Federation and Combine. He enjoyed a brilliant season in 2005 winning the Three Borders Federation four times and was premier prizewinner in the Hersham club, recording eight firsts. His Federation wins were from Messac (1071 birds), Fougeres (1034 birds), Kingsdown (1985 birds) and Lulworth (1553 birds), and recorded 1st. S.M.T. Combine from Messac (3267 birds) and 3rd. S.M.T. Combine Fougeres (2988 birds). A fantastic loft performance! John’s 2005 Combine winner was his good blue chequer widowhood cock, ‘Young Jupiter’, and he has won the Three Borders Federation twice. He was bred from stock obtained from ‘Oak Villa’ lofts and ‘Galaxy’ lofts, and down from the ‘Jupiter’ line. The Keywood loft won ‘the pigeon of the year’ in the Three Borders Federation in the 2005 season with the blue chequer cock, ‘Harry’s Choice’, and he has won four times 1st. club and twice 1st. Federation. He was a gift pigeon from ‘Oak Villa’ lofts and won 1st. Federation Kingsdown (1985 birds), plus 5th. and 7th. Federation in 2005. 

John won the Federation from Messac in the 2004 season and the winner, ‘The Diamond Cock’, a yearling blue chequer cock bred by his good friend, John Diamond, and was one of a batch of six gift youngsters sent to the Hersham loft. The Federation winner had every inland race on his build-up and took a week to come home from the first Combine race from Fougeres. However, he learnt by his mistake, winning the Federation from Messac the following weekend. ‘The Diamond Cock’ won 1st. Three Borders Federation again in 2005 from Fougeres. Johnny paired up late in the 2004 season, as he had a stay in hospital early in the year and only raced nine cocks on the widowhood system. He normally pairs up in early February and all the racers rear a youngster before being put on the widowhood when sitting 10 days on their second round of eggs. Most of his young birds are bred from his 32 pairs of Jan Huybregts stock birds which are from his friends, J. P. Weeder of Liverpool and Oak Villa Lofts. The cocks were given three 20-mile training tosses at the start of the season, but Johnny says they race every week in the Federation. The racers are not broken down and are given peanuts the week before the Channel races. Johnny's very smart racing loft is 24ft long with sections for the widowhood racers and the young birds. The hens are shown to the widowhood cocks from dinner time on the day of marking for Channel races and on their return from the race stay with their mate overnight on all races. The Keywood stock loft is 18ft long, with a 6ft flight and breeders are paired up the same time as the racers, so their eggs can be floated in the racing loft. The 35 young birds are put on the darkness system and race the whole programme.

When Johnny won the Federation from Messac in 2004 he also recorded 3rd Open with a 4y blue chequer white flight cock recording his fifth race win. This game cock is son of John's ‘Oak Villa Champion’, winner of 18 x lst. club and 7 x lsts. Federation. What a great loft of pigeons! Johnny Keywood is a great worker for the sport and has been the Secretary of the Hersham Club for 10 years and President of the Three Borders Federation for the last eight seasons. Well done to him on his latest Federation winners!

RAY ROBERTS

In the 2003 season the Three Borders Federation sent 780 birds to its longest old bird race from Bergerac (450 miles) and only a few birds were clocked on the day of liberation. The Federation liberated at 0600hrs and Ray Roberts of the Hersham

Club had a brilliant race, recording two day pigeons, at 1830hrs and 2002hrs, to win 1st and 2nd Club, 1st and 12th Three Borders Federation, 2nd Open SMT Combine.

Ray's Bergerac Federation winner was his good red chequer Staf Van Reet cock, the red cock which was bred by his good friend, John Allen of Chester-Ie-Street. This game cock was raced on the natural system, being sent to Bergerac sitting 10 day old eggs, and had four Channel races on his build-up to the Federation win: The second pigeon on the clock from Bergerac was his Busschaert blue cock, ‘Blue Vision’, and he was also sent to Bergerac on 10 day old eggs. Ray told me he must say a big thank you to John Allen for giving him his Bergerac winner and also to Danny Alison who helps with the training of the Roberts' pigeons.

Ray races to a two section 12ft x 6ft loft at his home in Hersham and uses sputnik trapping and a sharp sand litter on the floor. He puts his eight pairs of racers together on Boxing Day, racing on the natural system with Channel racing in mind. The main families raced are Busschaert and Staf Van Reet, with the birds being trained several times each week during the season, from Alton in Hampshire.

A pigeon fancier for 45 years, Ray started at the age of 10, winning his first race 10years later. His brother, Colin, raced igeons in the early days and they obtained their first stock from a premier local fancier named George Wicks. Ray was a very keen fisher man but pigeons and his sons now take all his spare time. He feeds a good mixture all the year round and told me he is only really interested in long-distance Channel racing, using the club inland races for training.

The Roberts loft has no stock birds and prior to winning 2nd Open SMT Combine Bergerac in 2003, his best performance was 3rd Open Combine Avranches. Ray told me he didn't like the darkness system and races his young birds natural to the perch. He rates Johnny Keywood and Trussler Brothers the best local fanciers and says they are always at the top of the Federation result sheet. Well done to Ray for his great performance from Bergerac!

LES PENYCATE

Another old friend of mine, Les Penycate of the Hersham Club, won the Three Borders Federation from Nantes (282 miles) with an unpaired Staf Van Reet yearling blue chequer hen. This game pigeon also won the Messac race in the Hersham Club and was a gift from Les's good friend, Rod Wynn. Her full performances in 2002 were outstanding, winning 1st club, 1st federation, 3rd Open SMT Combine Nantes, 2,342 birds); 1st club, 9th federation, 24th Open SMT Combine Messac, 2,205 birds - a wonderful effort by an unpaired yearling.

Les was born in Kingston in 1939 and his father kept pigeons before the Second World War, in partnership with his three brothers. In 1948, Les was given six youngsters by the premier East Molesey fancier, Joe Stediford, who flew an outstanding pigeon in National races at that time. Prior to owning his own birds, young Les was pigeon mad and fed the streeters in Kingston Market with bread. His father built a loft to house his six young birds and Les joined the Kingston &District Club, flying in the Surrey Federation. He soon added stock from the great Harry Branch of Mitcham to his Stediford youngsters and says that Joe taught him a lot about general pigeon management in the early days. The late, great, Freddie Ranaboldo of East Molesey was the premier fancier at that time, winning inland every week and he also won 1st Open Pau NFC. Les has been in the sport for nearly 55 years and says one of his earliest achievements was in 1952 when he won from Libourne with a red chequer after 14 hours on the wing and won the London Federation by a clear one hour 40 minutes.

Les mates his 20 pairs of old birds on February 25th and breeds a good racing team of about 50 young birds each season. He races on the natural system, exercising the birds around the loft twice a day, hopper feeding the old birds. He splits his birds into two teams, with the inland racers being trained from the west and the Channel birds being tossed in single-ups off the south coast. He likes to give his birds natural extras, including Epsom salts once a fortnight, garlic once a week, cod liver oil on the corn and honey in the water on race days. He is very keen on Channel racing and is a member of the National Flying Club and London & South-East Classic Club.

The main families kept are Van Riel, Barker and Janssen, with the recent introduction of Staf Van Reet. Les maintains that over the years the Van Riel pigeons have been brilliant for him, right through to Pau (556 miles). He says that he loves day birds from the long-distance races. In 1986 the Pau National was a very hard race and he recorded 19th, 35th and 315th Open with Van Riel pigeons. He likes his pigeons, old and young, to go to the longest racepoints and says that he feeds Versele-Laga because it's good, sound corn. His young birds have about 12 training tosses up to Winchester (50 miles) before going into the first federation race. For the long-distance races he has found the best nest condition for his racers to be in is a cock sent with a 14-day-old youngster, his hen having just laid and he favours hens sent sitting overdue eggs or feeding a small youngster. He considers Khan Brothers of Kingston to be the best local fanciers, as they are on a wave of success racing in the Nationals and Classics at this time. The lads are showing fantastic consistency. He maintains that long distance pigeon racing is a waiting game, with some strains reacting quicker than others, but he says that normally long distance pigeons take three years to mature and be able to do the job.

Les Penycate likes a bit of young bird racing and says that from his experience, fly aways are due to overcrowding. He gives his babies one third of their feed before they are let out of the loft, which he maintains calms them down. He gives the birds extra wheat and linseed during the moulting period and likes to breed a few latebreds each season, but says it is very important to train them in the year of their birth, or they are useless. He has never used deep litter in his loft but likes a sprinkling of sharp sand and lime on the floors after cleaning out. He likes a good type of pigeon and when bringing in new stock birds, looks for balance in the hand, with good feather and wing.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about these three premier Three Borders Federation fanciers. They are three great lads! Any Three Borders Federation news to me on 01372 463480.