ALAN & GARY YOUNG of Croydon

1st Open NFC Chale 2006

by Keith Mott

The old sporting saying of, ‘when it’s your day, it really is your day’, applied very strongly to Alan and Gary Young when they sent to the 2006 N.F.C. Chale young bird race and didn’t just have one pigeon come to win 1st. open, but had two come together.

The first pigeon on the clock to win 1st. open National was their little blue pied hen, Champion ‘Louisa’, and she was bred from Geoff Kirkland and Dave Hunt bloodlines. She had four club races on her build up to her National win and the L.&S.E.C.C. race from Yelverton, when she recorded 35th. open. In my opinion, ‘Louisa’ is a perfect pigeon, small, apple bodied, wonderful feathering and eye, with a brilliant racing record to finish it off! My type of racing pigeon!

The second pigeon on the clock from the Chale National was the blue chequer cock, ‘The Huntsman’, and he was a bit slow on the trap but still recorded 5th. open National. This game pigeon had previously won 54th. open L.&S.E.C.C. Exeter a couple of weekends before.

Alan flew pigeons in the 1960s and his son, Gary, became a pigeon partner about ten years ago and they race in the Surrey Valley Club (Surrey Federation). Alan and Gary have been racing from the present Croydon address for four years and their two section 24ft.x 6ft. racing loft has sputnik trapping. The partners race 20 cocks on the widowhood system and these are paired up on their return from the Blackpool Show in late January.

The racers are fed on light mixtures and Gary told me they like National and Classic channel racing best. The racers rear a pair of youngsters, with the hens being taken away with the young ones at about 17 days old and the cocks are given about six 30 mile training tosses when they are re-paired just before the racing season starts. Gary says his racers are a bit fat at the start of the season, but the first few inland races knock them into shape. Although firsts have been recorded in the Saturday club, Gary says, most of their best positions have been won in the National and Classic clubs, including 8th. open L.&S.E.C.C. Bergerac (450 miles). One of the premier racers at the Croydon loft is ‘The Mosaic Hen’ and she has an outstanding racing record, including 1st. open Federation (1,328 birds) from Lyndhurst.

The Youngs keep ten pairs of stock birds, which are housed in a 7ft x 5ft loft, with aviary and are mated the same time as the racers so the eggs can be floated. During the breeding season a wood shavings and sand litter is used on the stock loft floor. These birds are fed a first class ‘breeding’ mixture and a lot of the stock birds have come from Gary’s good friend, Dave Hunt of Dagenham, in the east end of London. The partners told me Dave has been a very good friend, giving them some first-class stock birds and excellent advice. One of the main stock birds is the blue pied cock Champion ‘Mack One’, which was bred and raced by the T.B.O. Partnership and he has sired several good winners, but Gary says his grand children are outstanding. This wonderful cock was champion young bird of Europe in 1999 and won 1st. Open Bosmolen Gold Ring Classic, 1st. open Amalgamation (by 30 ypm), four times 1st. Federation and was undefeated at Federation level. What pigeon to have in your stock loft! Other bloodlines at the Croydon loft are Geoff Kirkland and M. & D. Evans.

The Youngs breed 70 young birds for racing each season and Gary says he likes to go training with them at 4am., and sometimes they go down the road twice a day. Alan and Gary really enjoy young bird racing and start training about five weeks before the first race, working them up to Petersfield (45 miles). During the racing season the babies get a couple of 12-mile tosses each week and the hens race the programme, with a few cock being stopped after a few races and saved for the widowhood system. The young cocks and hens are kept in separate sections during the racing season and run together on the marking day.

When picking out new stock birds, Gary says he is only interested in good winning bloodlines and not type. He maintains that if a fancier lives in a club radius and is of good character, he should not be refused entry in a club, regardless if he is a good racer or not. The partners like to show their birds in the winter months, but only at club level and not at National events.

Well there you have it, the 2006 N.F.C. young bird National winners, Alan and Gary Young. Well done lads, on a brilliant performance! Fanciers can relay any comment on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.