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

DOUG McCLARY OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Doug McClary, who is formally from Exeter, is a fancier I have admired for many years for his showing, racing and wonderful writing in his regular page in the British Homing World, and several books he has had published. Doug and his wife, Ann, about five years ago, up sticks and moved, pigeons and all, to Australia, to start a new life down under with family that were already living there. I must say, he is greatly missed on the English showing scene, but in regular email that we exchange, it seems he is really working hard to get the Show Racer code going in Australia. Back in the mid-1990’s I went to Exeter, in Devon and had the good fortune to meet this great fancier for the first time and look at his 'Ace' team of pigeons and lofts. Doug had a very smart loft set up, which overlooks rolling hills and wonderful Devon country side. Doug is famous in our sport for being one of the top show men in the world, but in recent seasons had raced a small team on Widowhood with outstanding success.

The list of champion Show Racer to grace the Exeter loft would be far to many to list, but here is two of the best: "Medallion Cock” mealy cock: winner of Welsh Region RPRA showing award; Devon & Cornwall Region RPRA showing award, Supreme Champion Devon & Cornwall SRS, 1st Old Comrades Show, 1st and Best Opposite Sex at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’, four times Best In Show. 'Sparnon Queen' blue hen a great show winner, 1st Birmingham Mail, 1st GYA, 1st and B.I.S. GYA, 1st and B.I.S. at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’ (when her sister was runner up), 1st. B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’, 1st and B.I.S. Southern Region Show, 1st Welsh Open Show, a total of 13 Classic show positions. Brilliant Show Racers!

In showing he has won most of the top shows including three years running B.I.S. at the Great Yorkshire Amal, B.I.S at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’ and many other top awards. In recent years showing has tended to take second place owing to business demands and because of growing interest in racing. Through the years, pigeons have taken him to many parts of the world including several times to the USA, where he judges many of the top shows on the eastern seaboard. His most thrilling experiences in the sport have been winning the GYA three years on the trot, winning his Section in the National Flying Club, and being invited to judge so often in the USA. He first judged there at the National YB Show at Louisville, Kentucky in 1981, and after judging a huge entry of over 600 birds, he awarded BIS to a cracking blue cock owned by Jim Isslehardt. Four years later he judged at Charlotte, North Carolina and awarded BIS to the same blue cock and of course in the meantime had not seen the pigeon or the owner. That pleased Doug, greatly! Racing his pigeons, Doug has won every race point North Road to Thurso and on the south he has won Section D of NFC twice, been 3rd Section and taken several other good positions, always with a small entry of two or four birds. Top pigeons at the Exeter lofts were: 'Brian' blue chequer cock: winner of nine 1sts racing all Devon County Championship Club Nantes races, a fantastic pigeon!

Five years has now gone by since Doug and his family moved out to Australia and by what he has told me, and what he has written in his weekly article, he seems to be enjoying life ‘down under’. When I recently asked him about the Show Racer scene in Australia, he said, ‘I guess that if I knew then what I know now, I would not choose to go through the strangulated process of getting my birds into Australia again.  It was a time of considerable stress and decision making. How does one find the right selection out of a family of Show Racers which had been kept closely bound for over forty years and based upon my first powder blues? Neither was it as simple as choosing the best or most valuable, but in being able to take only birds which passed the DEFRA blood tests.

All this had to be done while other processes had to be sorted out such as the sale of the house, the shipping of the furniture, the car and the dogs. However, the day finally came when I took the birds up to Colin Surtees and was then able to dispose of the remainder and disposal of three lofts. The day also came in my first week here in Australia when I was notified that my pigeons could be released from Quarantine in Melbourne. Thanks to the late Richard Clingan who had offered to care for them, we duly presented ourselves at the Spotswood Quarantine station and when the doors were thrown open, what a wonderful sight greeted me, for there blinking in the sunshine were my lovely powder blues. Thank goodness for Richard, for at that time we had no house and certainly no loft for the birds...

No British show racers had ever been imported into Australia although amazingly many fanciers out here were well aware of them and expressed great interest in them.  I eventually took a selection into a Melbourne show and sale at the racing headquarters of one of the top Federations when clocks were being read after a holdover. I can remember now how racing fanciers strolling through the pens to the clock reading were stopped in their tracks by the show racers. Also, there was considerable interest from the fancy pigeon enthusiasts.

I found these reactions encouraging as I entered into my first breeding season in 2004 in a newly constructed loft. I was stepping into the unknown with little or no understanding of the fancy in Australia and how many would be interested in keeping a few show racers. I had decided that anything bred could go and that my own requirements were secondary to getting the birds spread about Australia. Anyone coming to see the birds were encouraged to select what they wanted and while this was heartbreaking at times, seeing birds going out that I would love to have kept for my own future, I remained faithful to that cause.

In the meantime I had negotiated with the Australian National Pigeon Association to get the British birds accepted and scheduled. Previously, classes were – and still are – scheduled for ‘racing homers – show type’ and while I felt able to go along with that arrangement could see that it could be a possible source of conflict. Therefore, my birds were deemed to be British Show Racers and classification provided for them.

So, five years later it would be fair to say that the British Show Racer has well and truly arrived. There must be thousands which have mainly been bred out of the original twelve pairs I brought in. Some additional birds have now been brought in and will have been bred from but I have yet to see what they have produced. The heartening thing was to see my birds take off in Sydney, the home of the oldest show racer club in the world. I indulged in no persuasion and in fact asked them to remain loyal to the Australian show racers and to preserve them for the future. Their birds were good pigeons, with good handling on the basis of keeping them as good looking racing pigeons. However where they fall down is in the colour and clarity of colour and chequering, factors where the British show racers excel.

We are now in the realm of having 200 British Show Racers in our largest shows and numerous fanciers are having a go at keeping and showing them. We have the British Show Racer Club of Australia with members from most States. So far it is a success story providing the breed with a second base after the quality and quantity kept in the British Isles. The Australian fancy has embraced the breed and my great hope is that this interest will continue and that in time, we will be up in numbers approaching the competitive nature of the top British shows.

It has not been easy but what an honour to have been able to bring my own carefully nurtured Kemyel family to this huge country and to have been able to see them accepted and bred in such large numbers. I have spent a lifetime working for the British Show Racer and at least towards the end of my showing career I can observe the fruit of my labour – in fact at the Australian shows I can hardly avoid seeing it!’

Well did you enjoy that, because I did! The ‘Master Craftsman’ is pushing the sport forward in Australia and he is greatly missed at all the UK National Shows. I can be contacted with any pigeon comments on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.