Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

Holiday breakaway 2007! (Part 2) 

This week we are going to feature the second of the three Devonshire lofts that I visited when on holiday in the West Country, last July. I must say a big 'thanks' to my ol' mucker, Bob Reeves, who arranged the visits. It was a great day out!

Tumley Lofts Stud of Polehayes.

On the day of the Tumley visit, it started with an hour at the National winning loft of Bob Reeves of Exeter, in the company of the ol' stager him self, and his two sons, Martin and Bob junior. I always enjoy looking at Bob's pigeons, as they are 100% natural and always handle well and look in really great condition. We were soon on the road, heading for Beaworthy, to visit Tumley Lofts Stud, owned by our old friends Derek and Joy Cook, and their pigeon racing son, Jamie. I must thank Joy who put a wonderful lunch for us! The last time I visited Tumley Lofts it was sited at the wonderful Lower Trescott Farm in Okehampton and has been at Polehayes about seven years now. The Cooks live in Powleaze Cottage and Jamie, who still races the Tumley pigeons and is married now, lives in a beautiful converted barn on the site.

Tumley Lofts Stud work on the principal of quality and not quantity, with the very best of Janssen, Leen Boers and Jan Aardens strains being housed at Polehayes. Winners are reported every year bred from the Tumley stock and Jamie tells me the stud purchased a son of Leon Boers' 'Apache' in 1981 and he is still going strong today. Derek said, in the 2007 season some excellent reports have filtered through to them, including two section winners, one into Scotland , the other in to Ireland , four 1 st . Federation winners and two 2 nd . Federation winners. A couple of seasons ago Tumley Lofts bred a Leon Boers cock, named 'Peter's Pride', that won 1 st . open B.I.C.C. Falaise for Peter Bollen of Southampton .  The main stock loft has five spacious sections, housing 15 pairs in each and has nice flight on the front so the inmates can get out in to the weather. The 24ft. two section holding loft has a massive flight on the front and this houses about 70 young birds at a time. All the lofts at Tumley have grilled floors and Jamie maintains this system is the quickest and easiest method of keeping the lofts clean, with them being cleaned twice a year.  The Cooks have their own trade stand and attend most of the national in the winter months, including the B.H.W. Blackpool Show and the Telford show. The old 'Lower Trescott Farm' stud was made up with 150 pairs, but since being moved some seven years ago it has been down sized to 100 pairs of breeders. The stock birds are paired up on Boxing Day and the widowhood racing cocks in January. The stock loft is fitted out with a lighting system for winter breeding and the partners start using this in November to bring the birds in to condition. During the winter the whole loft is fed on a 'maintenance' mixture and in the breeding season, Buxton breeder mixture, with a few chicken layers pellets added from time to time. Three rounds of youngsters are taken every pair in the Stud sections ever year. The main reason they are race the widowhood system is it's much easier and takes less time to look after widowhood pigeons than natural pairs. The origin of the present racing team are from their own stock of Janssen, Leon Boers and Jan Aarden. William Geerts were introduced at the beginning of the 1996 season to try to better the Jan Aardens at the distance.

Not much racing has taken place at the Polehayes establishment as the place is riddled with hawks, but a large team of young birds have been set up for Jamie to race this season. The best racing results were achieved at Okehampton. The partners have won the Combine and 1 st . Federation many times and two of the principal racers were: ' Tumley Supercharge' , a Janssen cock winner of four times 1 st . club, twice 1 st . Federation, 2 nd . Federation, 3 rd . Federation and 3 rd . Open Devon & Cornwall East Road Combine Tonbridge (184 miles). He was beaten by two loft mates who won the Combine from Tonbridge. 'Tumley 506' , a Janssen cock winner of seven times 1 st . club, six times 2 nd . Federation, twice 3 rd . Federation and 2 nd . Open Devon & Cornwall East Road Combine Dover (230 miles). This champion cock was retired to the stock section in 1995 and bred a bred a 5 th . Federation winner in his first year, and a 2 nd . Federation winner in his second season at stock.

James says he feeds a heavy protein mixture because the weather is so variable in Devon . They usually hit adverse weather at the home end when racing and need the extra strength, not speed, to carry them through to the clock. The old birds were raced as far as James thought they were capable and young birds got about three races up to 150 miles. The birds are trained many times from 15 miles and rarely go any further. They give all the birds Dandelion leaves, just to give them the extra iron that these leaves contain. Stock birds also have a pot of Tumley minerals in front of them, known commonly as dirt from the garden, because the race birds are allowed to pick about in the garden and find what they want.

Derek has been in pigeons over 50 years and says he first had fantails during the Second World War, when they were kept for eating and their eggs. He has had pigeons ever since, with only a short break for his national service in the army. The Cooks say if they could pass a law they would allow pigeon fanciers to keep the Hawk and Falcons down to a suitable level, as they lose many pigeons to them every year.

Cory Spedding of Cumbria .

This week I've included a photograph sent to me by a very proud grand father! The photo is of very talented 16 year old girl by the name of Cory Spedding, who of course is the granddaughter of the Show Racer 'Master' Don Spedding of Cleator Moor. Cory is a wonderful singer and recently won the final of the Manchester Print Works Talent Show. The photo shows her at the event with Rowetta of the X-Factor. Although Cory is only 16 years of age, she is becoming an 'old hand' in the music business, by performing in front of very big audiences, records her own songs and has been a finalist in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. She takes her singing very seriously and also plays piano. Congratulations to Cory on her great achievements!

Don is only part time in the sport these days, also being a busy professional singer himself, but spends as much time as he can at the Show Racer loft of his cousin, Alan, who is a very successful fancier in his own right. The last time I met up with Donald was last January, when were both judging at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show. Donald told me he had many great years showing his birds, but one of his biggest thrills was the year he bred his champion mealy hen, 'Lady Di'. She won seven Classic shows in succession as a young bird, then went on to be Best in Show (1,300 birds) at the G.Y.A. as a yearling. At the G.Y.A. she beat Bill Meader's, Champion 'Princess Asti', winner of 30 firsts and many times Best in Show. Don says his greatest thrill was showing in the 1970's and 80's when showing pigeons was at it's height in this country. He won Best in Show at the mighty G.Y.A. Show seven times! The two great fanciers, Harold Dalzell and George Greenshield, had both won it twice, so it was a wonderful thrill to win it seven times.

Well that's our 'ON THE ROAD' for this week! This time next week I will be convoying the London & South East Classic Club young birds to Exeter , for the first of two races. I wish I could say we were going to Guernsey , but for obvious reasons this can't be, but I'm still looking forward to it! My phone number is: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.