Keith Mott

RPRA Southern Region Show 2010

This years Southern Region Show was a bitter sweet affair for me personally, the down side being told that my good friend of many years standing, Ron Lacey, was packing up as show secretary, and this event was his last. He told me he was now approaching 80 years of age and was having trouble coping with the vast amount of work involved in organizing this wonderful annual show, which I can well appreciate. When I say that Ron is one of the sport’s great workers, it is an under statement, he has spent a life time working for the RPRA and the sport of pigeon racing in general. He tells me will be in the ‘wings’ for a while to teach the new show secretary the working of the show. It was nice to see Mrs. Hazel Marsh, RPRA Southern Region secretary, and Mrs. Claire Mill, RPRA Southern Region President at the show. There was talk on the day that these two hard working ladies will be taking over from Ron as show secretaries and I must say that was good news, as they would do a brilliant job on our favourite show.

I have been associated with the Southern Region Show for many years and have derived great pleasure judging at this great annual event through the years. This great event is one of my favourite one day shows, which is now held at the Hazlemere Community Centre, near High Wycombe. In recent years the Community Centre has proved to be a first class venue for this major event, having two large halls for the show and charity pigeon auction. My good friend, Ron Lacey, former President of the R.P.R.A. Southern Region, has run the show in recent years and prior to that Val and Tony Viccars were the show secretaries. I have attended the show most years, since it started at Ascot Racecourse over 30 years ago and in recent seasons have booked the judges for the racing classes for Ron. Years ago I used to show and won many firsts with my racing pigeons, which I always considered a good achievement, with the ‘red hot’ competition at the Region show.  After Ascot the show moved briefly into Basingstoke and then went to Slough for ten years, being run by the late great Bob Arnold. I always remember Bob telling me that he had been in pigeons all his life, being taken tenderly into a pigeon loft at the age of ten days old, by his father, in 1920. Bob was a wonderful man and put a lot of hard work into the Southern Region Show through his many years as show secretary.

My ol’ mate, Ron Lacey, took over the job of show secretary several years ago from Val and Tony who had to step down because of ill health and I must say, Ron has done a brilliant job. Ron told me he was President of the R.P.R.A. Southern Region for 14 years until he had to pack up through ill health. He has been in the sport for 60 years and likes only long distance racing. Ron has 13 natural pairs of mainly Hartog and Vandy pigeons, which says are never parted, with the nest boxes being closed to stop them breeding in the winter months. The old bird racers are lightly trained up to 30 miles and are fed a good mixture, which includes 50% beans. He had raced north road all his life until turning south road with the club four years ago and has won 1st Federation Lerwick, with the bird on the day. Ron’s 30 youngsters are raced natural to the perch and have won the Young Bird Average several times in recent seasons. The young birds are trained up to 30 miles, the same as the old birds, and race the whole programme. Ron says he is a small team fancier and keeps no stock birds. He maintains that he would cut out all the big money in pigeon racing and the sport looks like it’s falling because there aren’t so many fanciers, but he thinks it’s as good as it’s ever been!

This year’s Region Show attracted over 700 birds, which Ron tells me was a record, but there were a few empty pens on the day, with fanciers on the east side of the UK being hit with snow blizzards and not being able to make the show. My good friends, Peter Obertelli and Kevin Henstock, came down from Mansfield in the Midlands to judge and when they left home at 07.00hrs there was a foot of snow out side there front doors. Thanks to those two lads who struggled through the bad weather and made it on the day, and did a great job of judging the Show Racers before struggling home again! Judges on the day were: (Racing Pigeons) Colin Carter, Ron McCarthy, Norman Perry, John Robilliard, (Show Racers) Tony Dann, Phil Mott, Terry Haley, Brian & Angela Goodwin, Peter Obertelli, Kevin Henstock and Keith Mott. Long distance racing legend, Mark Gilbert of Windsor, and Roger Low of Reading judged the specials and it was refreshing to see them give BIS and BOS to two racing pigeons.

Best in Show was awarded to a handsome dark pied cock who took every body’s eye in the pen as they walked around the hall and he was owned and raced by Julian and Joanne Rice of Suffolk. Julian likes the racing side of the sport and told me the BIS cock had flown the English Channel in the 2010 racing season. He has enjoyed a good racing season in 2010 winning some premier positions from Tarbes (600 miles). His teenage daughter Joanne is the show girl and has made quite a name for her self in recent years, winning many top honours at the Show Racer Society and National Shows around the country. She could not attend the Region Show this year, as she had to work, but I’m sure she had a surprise when she got home that night and saw her new BIS silver ware. She started up with show racers in 2003, with pigeon obtained from Collin Bullard and John Robilliard, and tells me she likes the yellows, creams and mosaics best. She has 20 pairs of show racers and gets a bit of help from her father, Julian, who has had pigeons since 1980. The Rice family race and show pigeons, and won best racer at the ‘Old Comrades’ Show, but say their Southern Region BIS is their best performance to date. Joanne has two lofts for her show racers and uses a sand litter on the floors, with fed being a good widowhood racing mixture. The birds are paired up the weekend after the BHW Blackpool Show and their get a bath every Monday, including the week before a show. The Society held its first show of the 2007 season at Gravesend in October and the members entered 150 young birds. Joanne Rice does a lot of her showing at the Southern Counties Show Racer Society these days and  won Best Show Racer in Show with her beautiful blue chequer hen a few seasons ago, which was a really good performance, as this was the first time she had shown in the Society. Well done to Julian and Joanne on their brilliant Southern Region success!

Class winners were: Class 1: 1st N. Perry, 2nd M/M C. Carter, 3rd N. Perry: Class 2: 1st M. Horner, 2nd C. Bullard, 3rd M/M C. Carter: Class 3: 1st L. Carter & son, 2nd Petty & Crawford, 3rd M/M R. McCarthy: Class 4: 1st M/M R. McCarthy, 2nd J. J. & B. Rice, 3rd M/M C. Carter: Class 5: 1st C. Reynolds, 2nd Petty & Crawford 3rd N. Perry: Class 6: 1st M/M C. Carter, 2nd N. Perry, 3rd M. Horner: Class 7: 1st N. Perry, 2nd J. Robilliard, 3rd M. Horner: Class 8: 1st J. J. & B. Rice, 2nd M/M C. Carter 3rd M. Horner: Class 9: 1st L. Carter & son, 2nd C. Bullard, 3rd Petty & Crawford: Class 10: 1st C. Bullard, 2nd C. Bullard 3rd C. Reynolds: Class 11: 1st M/M C. Carter, 2nd L. Carter & son, 3rd C. Reynolds: Class 12: 1st P. Tustain, 2nd M/M R. McCarthy 3rd J. Robilliard: Class 13: 1st M/M R. McCarthy 2nd N. Perry, 3rd J. Robilliard: Class 14: 1st J. Robilliard, 2nd M/M R. McCarthy, 3rd M/M R. McCarthy: Class 15: 1st G. Batten, 2nd J. J. & B. Rice, 3rd C. Bullard: Class 16: 1st Brooks, son & Turner, 2nd Brooks, son & Turner, 3rd T. Smith & son: Class 17: 1st C. Bullard, 2nd J. Smith, 3rd R. Leney: Class 18: 1st J. Twyman & son 2nd G. Batten, 3rd D. Walker: Class 19: 1st J. J. & B. Rice, 2nd Brooks, son & Turner, 3rd S. Tam: Class 20: 1st J. J. & B. Rice, 2nd J. Prentice, 3rd C. T. S. Bunting: Class 21: 1st C. T. S, Bunting, 2nd C. T. S. Bunting, 3rd Holmes & Sealey: Class 22: 1st M/M Dickenson & son, 2nd  M/M Dickenson & son, 3rd J. J. & B. Rice: Class 23: 1st L. Hamlin,  2nd T. Haley, 3rd T. Smith & son: Class 24: 1st T. Smith & son, 2nd T. Smith & son, 3rd G. Batten. Trophy winners were: Best in Show, J. J. & B. Rice: Best Opposite Sex, M/M Dickenson & Son: Best Show Racer, M/M C. Carter: Best Race Bird, J. J. & B. Rice: Best 400 miles, C. T. & S. Bunting: Best T. T. W., C. Bullard: Most Points Show Racer, M/M C. Carter: Most Points Race Bird, J. J. & B. Rice.

Wyn Morse of Haverfordwest.

I recently received this letter from a fancier in Pembrokeshire, which my Show Racer readers might find interesting:

Dear Keith,

                  Its many years since I last had Show Birds, in fact 50 years, when I was 16 years old. Back then almost every sizable town had a show racer club and many top show men did the circuit, including Edgar Griffiths, T. J. Parker ECT and locally F. Thomas, Peter Cato, a long with Mr. Dougal. The birds I had came from a Mr. Bates of Blaenavon and included a pair of mosaics. The hen had won 2nd at the People’s Show and when I put her into the Royal Welsh Show at eight years old she won first in the old hens class. Unfortunately nether the hen or the cock bred anything of note that was probably why Mr. Bates parted with them. Times have changed over the years and Show Racers of today are totally different from our birds years ago, in fact they have improved beyond recognition. I would like to say how much I enjoy your writing in the fancy press.

                                          Yours faithfully – Wyn Morse.

Well that’s it for this week! Congratulations to Julian and Joanne Rice on their great success at the RPRA Southern Region Show. I can be contacted with any pigeon matters on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!