Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past & present

THREE BORDERS FEDERATION FOCUS

PETER SHARMAN

OF OLD WOKING

The Three Borders Federation sent 1,212 birds to the first Combine race of the 2006 season from Yelverton and with tail winds on the day, the members enjoyed a good race with the leading pigeons recording nearly a mile a minute. Clear winner of the Federation and 2nd. open S.M.T. Combine, was a handsome blue chequer widowhood cock owned by Peter Sharman of the Guildford club. This two year old, now named the ‘The Yelverton Cock’, is bred down from the very best Janssen bloodlines obtained from Derek Squire of Addlestone. Peter’s loft was certainly on top form that day as his second pigeon on the clock from Yelverton, a yearling Van Loon widowhood cock called ‘The Dark Cock’, recorded 2nd. club, 10th. Federation, 18th. open S.M.T. Combine. A wonderful loft performance!

Peter started up in the sport at the age of nine and on getting married came out of pigeon racing for a few years, restarting at his present address in Old Woking in 1998.  His first winner was in 1972 from Seaton, when racing to his first 12ft.x 8ft. loft, which was a gift from the Woking ‘ace’, John Carrey. Peter tells me Johnny was a great help to him on starting up, along with the late John Furness of Knaphill. The Furness loft was legendry in the Surrey Federation years ago and Peter used to clean out his loft as a lad, when he was his paperboy.

Peter Sharman has several lofts, with all ‘sputnik’ trapping and races 24 cocks on the widowhood system. If the weather is good he pairs his racers up in January and the widowhood cocks are not bred from, as he finds they race better dry. On pairing up he never selects pairs in the racing sections, they are left to run together and the cocks pick their own mates, so they are happy. He lets the racers sit time on pot eggs and then puts them on the widowhood system, with them being trained three times a week right through the racing season. He never races the hens and widowhood cocks run with their mates for an hour on marking night, which Peter says, is a lot longer than the method used by most widowhood fanciers, but it works for him. The cocks are put on break down in the early part of the week and get their hens all afternoon when they return from the race. The main feed is a top quality widowhood mixture and uses only ‘multi-vits’ in the drinking water, from time to time. Peter likes all racing, with his favourites being sprint / middle distance and has recorded pigeons on the day from Bordeaux (450 miles). He has recorded many premier positions through the years, with the best being 8th, 49th. open L.& S.E.C.C. Angers, 13th. open L.& S.E.C.C. Tours, 49th. open L.& S.E.C.C. La Ferte Bernard, 2nd. Surrey Federation Honiton (3,080 birds) and now 2nd. open S.M.T. Combine Yelverton (2,241 birds).

Peter keeps 14 pairs of stock bird, which are mainly Janssen based families and Van Loon. These birds are housed in two small lofts, one with a flight and are paired up in January with the race team. They are fed on a heavy ‘breeders’ mixture and has never used deep litter in any of his lofts, preferring to scrap out on a regular basis. When I asked Peter what he looked for when selecting new stock birds, he said, ‘I used to purchase birds ‘blind’, out of adverts in the fancy press, but most times was disappointed when the pigeons arrived at my loft. Now I must see and handle new introductions and select them on my ‘gut’ feeling on the inspecting of the bird. I like the usual thing in a pigeon, good handling, silky feathering and nice rich eye’. He defiantly thinks there is different types of pigeons and maintains it’s ‘horses for courses’, a type for sprint racing and a type for long distance racing.

He races 30 young birds on the natural to the perch each season and these are put on the darkness system from weaning until the 1st. June. During the darkness period they are closed down from 6pm until 7am every day and Peter maintains the system has no adverse affect on the birds in later life. The young birds are fed twice a day on two widowhood mixture, one much lighter than the other, and are trained regularly through to Winchester (35 miles). They race the whole Federation programme, with a few fancied young cocks being stopped for the widowhood system. Peter likes racing Guernsey and the youngsters are sent over to the Channel Islands in September with the L.& S.E.C.C. He likes his yearling to race through to the 300 mile stage.

Peter has been a good worker for the sport for many years and is basket steward with my good mate, Peter Taylor, cleaning out and sealing the Guildford club race crates every week. He is not to keen on the E.T.S. and told me he is one of the old school, and likes to wait and clock his pigeons in from races. Peter has been a very good Angler all his life and still does a bit of ‘tiddler bashing’ today, when he gets the time. His biggest fish is a 33lb. Mirror Carp hooked at the Woking A.A. waters in the 1980’s and he also banked a 29lb. Common Carp, which was the second biggest in Surrey at that time. I’m hoping he is going to tell me how he does it! He likes to show his birds in the winter months and says the sire of ‘The Yelverton Cock’ has won many firsts in the show pen. His pigeons are a good type and his friend Kevin Wells of Leatherhead has a blue hen, sister to the Yelverton Federation winner and she has won every thing in the show arena. Although he is a widowhood racer, he told me he likes a natural hen sitting eggs for the long distance races over 500 miles. He maintains his good friend Derek Squire is one of the best pigeon fanciers he knows, saying, ‘Derek is a small team man, but a big winner’.

Congratulations to Peter on his wonderful performance from Yelverton. Great pigeon racing! I can be contacted with any Three Borders Federation news on 01372 463480.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (FEDERATION PRESS OFFICER)