Keith Mott writes...

ROSE WILLS

OF FRIMLEY

In last week's "ON THE ROAD" we featured the brilliant long distance partnership of John & Rose Wills, but the story doesn't end there, as Rose races a team of club pigeon in her own right, with outstanding success. The partners have won the British International Championship Club six times to their main pigeon set up, but Rose has her own 18ft. X 6ft., three section loft, to which she races her own 12 pairs on the natural system. Since their marriage, she has always been a pigeon partner with John, but decided she wanted to try racing her own birds in 2003. Rose won her first race with young birds in the 2003 season, when she recorded 1 st . club, 1 st . Berkshire Federation, 1 st . open U.B.I. Combine Guernsey , with her Champion blue cock, "Blue Streak". What a brilliant start! On starting up she obtained pigeons from Tony Hayward, Brian Long, Brian Leadbetter and Jimmy Bulger, and all have been highly successful for her.

Sarah & Rose Wills

Rose says she likes week to week racing in the Federation, but prefers the long distance racing with John in the B.I.C.C. and N.F.C. Her best racers are: "Blue Streak", bred by Tony Hayward and winner of 2003: 1 st . open U.B.I. Combine Guernsey , 2004: 1 st . club Guernsey (twice), 1 st . club Seaton, 1 st club, 7 th . open B.B.&O. Federation Messac, 2005: 1 st . club Wincanton. "Blue Streak" has bred winners including a hen which has won 1 st . club Exeter (twice) and 22 nd sect. E, 55 th. open N.F.C. St. Nazaire. "The Streak's Nestmate", bred by Tony Hayward and winner of 2 nd . sect. E, 75 th . open N.F.C. Nantes, 2 nd . club, 3 rd . Solent Federation Messac, "03242" , bred by Tony Hayward and winner of 1 st . club, 1 st . Berkshire Federation, 4 th . open U.B.I. Combine Messac, "69143", bred by Brian Long and winner of 1 st . club, 1 st . Solent Federation Messac, 1 st . club, 6 th . Berkshire Federation Tours . A wonderful kit of racers!

Rose was born in Hanworth, Middlesex and first became a pigeon fancier at the age of 24, when she met John, who had been in pigeons all his life. None of Rose's family were pigeon fanciers and her main hobbies then were horse riding and swimming. Her first loft was an 8ft. X 5ft. shed and kicked of by her self, racing in the Sandhurst club, with different families of pigeons, including Huybrects, Wildermeesch, Braakhuis, De Klaaks and Marcellis. She says her worst mistake since starting on her own was sending to the 2005 B.I.C.C. Tours race, which turned out to be very bad and she lost some of her best pigeons. Rose says she carries out most of the loft management for her self and John, because of his night work, but has a great helper in their daughter, Sarah. She says her biggest thrill so far was when she won 2 nd . sect.E, 75 th . open N.F.C. Nantes at her first time flying in the National, on her own.

The pigeons are raced on the natural system, but Rose tried the Roundabout in the 2005 season and repaired them up for the N.F.C. St. Nazaire race. The 12 pairs are well trained off the south coast before the first Federation race and are raced up to Saintes (384 miles). They are fed on widowhood mixture when racing and Beans in the winter months, and when they are rearing their youngsters. Rose has no stock birds and breeds from her race team, which are paired up in mid-February. Recent new introductions, which Rose is very pleased with, are some youngsters bred for her by Paul Gregg of Belfast . Rose told me she usually races 24 young birds, which are put on the darkness system and breeds 6 latebreds to top up the team at the end of the season. She trains the babies up to 35 miles for two weeks before the first race and they start racing in mid-August. They are fed on a good mixture and handfed with peanuts, which they are looking for all the time she is in the loft. She races to the perch, but if they want to pair up they are allowed too and in 2005 some of the young birds were housed in the old bird section, which seemed to keep them happy.

Rose told me she has a soft spot for her Champion racer, "Blue Streak", but two of her favourites are: "Ever Loyal", bred in 1995 and this wonderful blue cheq. pied hen only had eight races in her life, Pau (twice), Barcelona (twice) and Palamos, being only once off the clock. She recorded 95 th . open N.F.C. Pau, 5 th . open B.I.C.C. Barcelona and was dam of 1 st . open B.I.C.C. Biarritz in the 2004 season. The other is her sire, "The 87 Cock", bred in 1987, and this brilliant old blue cheq. cock won, 95 th , 120 th , 240 th . open N.F.C. Pau and is the sire of many premier long distance racers, including "Ever Loyal".

Rose is a life vice president and marking station I.C. for the B.I.C.C. and is also on the management committee. She told me she would like to see small clubs amalgamate, as some clubs are far to small and this would make competition keener. Rose maintains good success with racing pigeons is down to a combination of factors, starting with good birds and good management. Most of her birds are tame, including "Blue Streak" and she likes a few latebreds, which are housed with the long distance team, and these are only trained in their first year. The birds are given oil seed during the moulting period and are parted in the winter months. Rose Wills is a great worker for the sport and I must say, has now established her self as one of the premier lady racers in the U.K. in recent seasons!