Keith Mott reports on...

IAN WEST OF KINGSTON

1st Open L&SECC Guernsey (Hens) 2007 and 2004

Ian won the L.& S.E.C.C. Guernsey (1) old hens classic in the 2007 season, when I liberated the 421 birds at 09.25hrs into a light East wind. The old hens were released with the 1,715 classic young birds and Ian’s game blue hen put the best overall velocity that day. The latest West classic winner is now named‘Princess Taia’ and was bred from the very best of the old K. & R. Besant of Kingston bloodlines, being obtained from Ian’s good friend, the late great Ken Besant. She is bred down from several of the Besants’ best racers, including Champion ‘Besant’s Bishop’s Pride’, winner of 1st. open NFC Bordeaux, 1st Federation Weymouth, ‘Showman’, winner of 13th open NFC Pau, 1st Federation Weymouth and ‘Versatile Lady’ the outstanding widowhood hen and winner of 1st Federation inland, plus 11th open NFC Pau.

On her build up to her classic win ‘Princess Taia’had two club races from 118 miles and  one from 230 miles, then had nothing for six weeks, only a short training toss from Guildford on the Monday before the Guernsey classic race. The training toss almost turned out to be a disaster, as the sky turned black and it started to rain after Ian liberated them, but the birds got through and turned up at the loft in just over the hour. She was sent paired to another hen and sitting four eggs, previously being celibate all the season, and was specially mated up for the old hens classic, three weeks before. Ian told me his hens exercise brilliantly around the loft and being kept celibate stay in excellent condition all season. Ian’s second hen on the clock was his good Staf Van Reet mealy named, ‘Natalie’s Pride’, and she has won several premier prizes including 2004: 57th. open L&SECC Guernsey (old hens), 2007: 50th. open L&SECC Guernsey (1) (old hens), 11th. open L&SECC Guernsey (2) (old hens).

Ian West is from a good pigeon racing family, with his father, Dave, being an outstanding winning fancier, in the Kingston club about 25 years ago. Ian is carrying on the West winning ways and has won the Three Borders Federation and L.& S.E.C.C. twice in recent seasons. 

The London & South East Classic Club started the 2004 young bird season by sending 2,142 youngsters and 564 old hens to Guernsey. The convoy was liberated on the Saturday morning at 10.00hrs in a north-west wind, in what seemed to be perfect racing conditions. The race turned out to be a very hard event and some members returned their clocks empty. Ian West of Kingston won the Old Hens Classic, clocking at 13.30hrs with a 2 year old blue chequer pied hen, sent paired to another hen and sitting four eggs. Ian told me this game pigeon had been only lightly raced and was bred from two gift stock birds from John Keywood of Hersham. She is now named  ‘Ladies Girl’ and is bred down from the very best Jan Huybregts bloodlines.

Although Ian flies in the Hersham Club, he lives several miles away in Kingston and won 1st and 2nd Open Three Borders Federation from Lulworth, with 2,384 birds competing. He races only 11 cocks on the widowhood system and says he would like to race hens, but his job as a postman limits his time with the pigeons, so he keeps it small and simple. He used to keep small birds and finches, and his loft is his old aviaries, which are well ventilated, converted for the pigeons. Ian pairs up his racers in February and the racers never rear a youngster, being put on the widowhood two weeks before the first race, when the hens and their eggs are taken away. The cocks get very little training and he says they had only eight 15-mile tosses in the last two seasons, being trained while sitting their eggs, prior to going on the widowhood system. Ian says he uses the first Federation races, to get the racers fit and races the old birds inland only, not being interested in long-distance Channel racing. The cocks are not broken down, being fed on a good widowhood mixture, and are exercised around the loft for an hour twice a day. Ian has 12 pairs of stock birds, which are Janssen Van Loon and Staf Van Reet, and a team of 15 young birds are bred for racing each season. They are not put on the darkness system and are raced only lightly to the perch.

Ian started up in the sport only in 2000 and tells me his friend, the late Ken Besant of New Malden, was a great help in getting him started. In the 2003 season the West loft won the Inland Average in the very strong Hersham Club and his biggest thrill was winning The Ken Besant Memorial Trophy with a pigeon that Ken had bred for Ian to start him up. The West loft’s Three Borders Federation winner was a 2 year old blue chequer Van Loon widowhood cock called ‘Wayne's Boy’ and he was bred from pigeons obtained from Steve Clacston and Frank Butler. Ian's father is the good old Kingston fancier Dave West, who flew a brilliant Channel pigeon in the 1970s and I can remember him winning the Bergerac race in the very strong Kingston Club the season after we won it. The good ol’ days! Dave won the longest old bird race with his good blue chequer hen Charter Flight, which recorded 5th Open SMT Combine. Looks like Ian is following in his father's footsteps!

 Well there you have it, Ian West of Kingston, who now joins the small unique band of fanciers who have won the mighty London & South Easy Classic Club twice. I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT

17/10/07