Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present...

C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show 2010

The traditional month for the annual C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show is January, but this year it will be held on Sunday 28th November. The reason for the change is that the show had to be cancelled last January due to there being a foot of snow at the Horsham venue and no one could get within a 100 yards of the show hall. This annual event is one of my favourite winter days out and I for one was very disappointed with its cancelation, as was many other fanciers! This year’s show will have the same format, with six handling classes for racing pigeons, with additional classes for show racers and will be staged at the YMCA Football Ground, Goring Mead in Horsham. Every year a very select daft of quality pigeons are auctioned for the C.H.A.S.E. Charity and this time they have the best sale ever, with some unbelievable pigeons being donated! Top of the list must be Derick Packer and Brian Clarke’s donation. They have donated their 2009 1st open L&SECC Alencon winner, ‘Michaela’, which is a fantastic and generous gesture on their part!

The 2009 London & South East Classic Club Alencon race attracted over 2,500 birds, which were liberated at 09.35hrs in a strong south west wind and most of the early pigeons were recorded on the east side of the country. Derick Packer & Brian Clarke of Grays recorded their third L&SECC winner from Alencon and to see Derick Packer at the top of the classic result sheet again was brilliant, as he is one of the really great worker in our club, being I/C and clock setter at the South Ockendon marking station. This station is our second biggest, sometimes processing over 500 birds and he has run it since it started up about eight years ago. Derick has been on the classic committee for many years and has a hell of a journey from Essex to Leatherhead to attend meetings in the winter months. Derick and Brian’s latest classic winner was their good four year old blue chequer hen, ‘Michaela’, and she is bred from the Jan Aarden and Gerry Clements / Busschaert bloodlines. This game round about hen is no stranger to winning, previously recording 2007: 4th open L&SECC Alencon, 2008: 32nd open L&SECC Bergerac and now in 2009 1st open L&SECC Alencon. ‘Michaela’, named after Brian’s daughter, has only had about six races in her life and in the 2007 Alencon classic, the first race of her life, she came with her nest mate, which was clocked first to win 2nd open and she won 4th open. Derick recently visited my home in Claygate to get ‘Michaela’ photographed and he told me that he and Brian Clarke are half brothers, having the same mother, which is a fact never knew and I have known these two Essex lads a lot of years. The brothers like to race their birds long and short distance, and had two day pigeons from the 2008 L&SECC Tarbes (just under 600 miles) race, to record 12th and 26th open with two Demeyere pigeons. Derick and Brian’s other two wins in the L&SECC were with young birds, recording in 1995: 1st, 2nd, 3rd open Guernsey (1,381 birds) and 1996: 1st open Sartilly (1,218 birds). The pigeons raced in the mid 1990’s were Gerry Clements / Busschaerts and the day they took the first three in the L&SECC from Guernsey they also won the first eleven positions in the local open race. Brian says when it’s your day, it’s your day and when the birds are on form there is no stopping them! Derick told me he isn’t really bothered if his young birds are raced in their first year, as long as they are trained well and many of his best pigeons have come on this way, including ‘Michaela’ who had her first race from Alencon as a two year old.

The C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show staged annually by members of the Horsham R.P.C. has become one of the major winter show events in the South of England. The early shows were held at the Barnes Green Village Hall, which had always proved to be a good venue, but the facilities at the new Y.M.C.A. venue are much better. Let’s remind ourselves why the Horsham club stages this great show every year:

C.H.A.S.E. Children's Hospice Service is dedicated to the support of children who are not expected to reach their 19th birthday. For these children there is, at present, no hope of cure but they and their families still need care and support over the course of the life ahead of them. Ever since 1994 C.H.A.S.E. has been dedicated to the support of life-limited children and their families in Surrey, South-West London and parts of West Sussex. C.H.A.S.E. offers this vital service at no cost to the families 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in whatever way it is needed, emotionally or practically, at home or at Christopher's - the purpose-built children's hospice just outside Guildford. The life-limited children who C.H.A.S.E. supports suffer from a wide variety of conditions, sometimes genetic and often progressively degenerative. This means they need constant care, sometimes for many years, placing an enormous emotional, physical and financial strain on their families. C.H.A.S.E. offers respite and support that helps strengthen families and allows them to give their children the best quality of life. C.H.A.S.E. goes right to the crucial point of need - the home. Dedicated help is given in the family's own home, starting immediately after diagnosis, through bereavement and beyond. This practical and emotional support is provided by a multi­ disciplined and specially trained team of professionals. This support complements existing services from nurses, therapists, social workers and others. Christopher’s Children’s Hospice, a purpose-built hospice was designed to provide a home from home, where families can stay or take a much-needed break by allowing the C.H.A.S.E. Care Team to follow their child's routine. Christopher's also creates the opportunity for families to have fun together - that essential ingredient of any childhood. In addition to nine bedrooms, there are several play and therapeutic facilities: hobbies, multi-sensory, computer and soft-play rooms; a teenage den; hydrotherapy pool and Jacuzzi; sensory courtyard and outdoor play area. Christopher's provides families with time and space to make the most of the precious time with their life-limited child. With its atmosphere of warmth and welcome, Christopher's provides a safe place to rest and recharge.

At the 2009 C.H.A.S.E. Show Darran and Des McFadden’s birds were really on form and took most of the major honours on the day including BIS, BOS and BYB in the racing pigeon classes. Fred Hall judged the Old Cocks class and his winner, a handsome four year old red pied, won Best in Show and he had won many cards racing including twice 1st club. This was an outstanding performance as this same cock had previously won BIS at the 2008 CHASE Show, when I judged the old cocks class. The McFadden’s race their pigeons to the garden of their shop in Cranleigh and have enjoyed a brilliant 2008 season winning 1st open SMT Combine (twice) and 1st open L&SECC Tarbes. A once in a life time season!

The 2009 show saw Mike and Theresa Horner of Alton win BIS in the Show Racer classes with their champion red hen, ‘Cilla’, who had previously won BIS at the 2007 RPRA Southern Region Show and then BOS at the 2008 RPRA show. Mike tells me she had won about fifteen firsts in the show pen and both her parents were two very successful breeding reds and were obtained from Colin Carter in 2003. The day after the 2007 Southern Region Show, Mike showed at the Southern Counties SR Society show held at Gravesend and ‘Cilla’ won Best Opposite Sex, being beaten by her half brother, who won Best in Show. What a fantastic hen!

After the fantastic donation to the C.H.A.S.E. Charity Auction by Packer & Clarke I would like to take this opportunity to throw my hat in to the ring. I have donated to this auction most years and this time I’m giving a 2011 second round youngster off my Keith Arnold / Staf Van Reet ‘Golden Pair’, bred by Keith and Sue Arnold in their fantastic sprint stock loft. The sire of the donation youngster is ‘Parry’s Pencil’, son of the champion stock cock, ‘The Parry Cock’ and full brother to Champion ‘Flash’, winner of seven times 1st Federation and twice 2nd Federation. The dam of the C.H.A.S.E. youngster is ‘Whitnash Superstar’ daughter of ‘The Perfect Pair’, one of the best Staf Van Reet racing pairs in the world in the 2009 season. ‘The Perfect Pair’ are: Champion ‘Mr. Perfect’ winner of six times 1st Federation and 2009 RPRA UK Sprint Champion when mated to Champion ‘Miss Perfect’, winner of the RPRA West Midlands Region Award in 2009, by recording three times 1st Federation and once 2nd Federation in the only four young bird races she flew in. Gordon Marsh has told me he will take phone bid for these two birds or indeed any C.H.A.S.E. Charity donation birds up to the evening before the show. For more details and entry sheets for the 2010 C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show please contact Gordon Marsh telephone: 01403 732256 or Clive Turner on: 01306 711385.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.