L&SECC YOUNG BIRD WINNERS - PART 2

by Keith Mott 

JOHN HAYNES OF SLOUGH

The 2002 season saw me finish a six year stint as Chief Convoyer for the London & South-East Classic Club and I must say, although I was out of that side of the Classic, it was still very dear to my heart and I could write a book about my time convoying the classic pigeons to the Continent.

The London & South East Classic Club sent nearly 2,800 birds to its first race of the 2002 season from La Ferte Bernard. There was a great buzz of anticipation at the Sutton marking station, with this being the club's first race from France after the previous season's foot-and-mouth ban. At the car park liberation site, I held over because of adverse weather In France, but with a clear sky on the Sunday morning I liberated at 0815hrs in a light south-west wind. The convoy cleared the site very quickly and I anticipated a good race. My Catteralls driver, Gary Haslem and I travelled back through France in brilliant flying conditions and on arrival at Caen docks we saw that the Channel was perfect.

The weekend after the race saw me make the 25 mile drive to Slough in Berkshire to visit the winning loft of John Haynes. This was the third time that I had visited his garden, as this great fancier and gentleman has won the L.& S.E.C.C. three times in recent seasons. He previously  won 1st Open Perth in 2001 with his champion blue cock ‘Stumpy’, which was my vote for the Classic's Ace Pigeon of The Season, having also recorded 4th Open Thurso (500 miles) and John won 1st Open Guernsey (young birds) in 1999. His La Ferte Bernard classic winner was a handsome 2 year old Deweerdt / Cooper dark chequer cock raced on the widowhood system. The La Ferte Bernard race was his first time in France and he had four inland training races in his build up to his Classic win.

John has been in the sport for over 30 years and is no stranger to winning big-time races, having previously recorded 1st Open SMT Combine when in partnership with the Gilbert family; 21st Open Saintes N.F.C.; 8th Open Pau L.& S.E.C.C. (with the grandsire of his Guernsey Classic winner); 8th and 15th Open Yearling Derby L.& S.E.C.C. and 3rd Open Sennen Cove L.& S.E.C.C. just three weeks prior to winning the Perth Classic in the 2001 season. He races 36 cocks on widowhood and in 1999 tried a few hens on a semi-widowhood, with outstanding success, winning 21st Open Saintes N.F.C. with a yearling blue hen. . The racers are paired up in late January and when the first-round of youngsters are 15 days old the hens are taken away before they lay their second round of eggs. The cocks finish rearing and are on widowhood when the squeakers are weaned. He has two teams of widowhood cocks, one for sprint and one for the Channel, and all get six training tosses before the first Federation race.

John's premier sprinting cock at the present time is a handsome blue Van Reet and he has recorded 14 times first in the club and 3 times 1st Federation. John told me his champion sprint cock is getting too old and is now in the stock loft. He has his own corn mixed up by a local corn chandler to the Geoff Cooper method. The three section widowhood loft is a very smart affair, with tiled roof, open door trapping and 12 nest boxes in each section. The widowhood hens and young birds are housed in another 24ft loft and this has the super traps for speed with the young birds. He keeps his young hens and cocks separated during the week, putting them together on marking day, and they fly on the darkness system. The main families kept are Geoff Cooper Van Reets, Braakhuis and Janssens. The 12 pairs of stock birds are paired up at the same time as the racers, so the stock eggs can be floated under the yearling racers. When selecting new stock birds he likes good winning lines but they must be well-balanced in the hand and of good feather quality. I think I'm right in saying that John has equalled Alasdair Muir's record of 3 times 1st Open L.& S.E.C.C. wins. A great pigeon racer!

TOM CUMMINGS OF BRIGHTON 

I'm not a great fan of young bird racing from across the English Channel, as racing from France is very hard for the youngsters and fanciers pay a very high price, with heavy losses. Several classic clubs race their young birds from Guernsey each season and in my opinion, this race is a great education for the birds for Channel racing in later life. It is not the easiest place to race from, as without warning mist and rain can cover the island in just a few minutes, but, on a good day, it is second to none for racing young birds across the Channel.

In recent seasons the London & South East Classic Club has raced it’s young birds from Guernsey and Tom Cummings of Hove near Brighton won the race in 1998, against over 2,000 birds. Tom's winner, a dark chequer cock, was bred from the very best North East of England bloodlines, in the form of a Janssen cock from Brian Slatter and a Busschaert hen from Neil Laidlaw. This game cock was flown to the perch and on his build-up to the Guernsey Classic had several club races and two training tosses from Havant. He is big in the hand, with nice silky feathering and when I saw him I noticed he had a full wing just after the race, coming well up on his eighth flight. Tom started the season with 26 young birds and says he is not really a lover of young bird racing. He normally stops the youngsters after three races, but trains them well down the coast to Portsmouth. The Cummings' loft is sited at Hove, which is on the south coast, so the young birds have to be trained west and then dog-legged south across the Channel to Guernsey. He races his youngsters natural, being left mixed in the loft with the old birds.

Tom started in the sport in 1951, but after some years out of racing started again in 1997. He likes long-distance racing and has won the Spanish Diploma with. The British Barcelona Club taking 4th, 14th and 7th open Palamos, 630 miles. He flies only a few pairs on natural and pairs up in mid-March. He feeds all his birds on Concorde Widowhood, adding maple peas for the distance events, and he gives the birds lots of training from 20 miles. The families raced are Janssens, from Brian

Slater and Busschaerts, from Neil Laidlaw, which he has crossed with outstanding results. Tom's very neat self-built loft is 14ft long, with two sections, and all the inmates are trapped into sputniks. He keeps no stock birds and when bringing in new stock has his own special type.

JOHN EDWARDS OF LUTON

John won the L.& S.E.C.C. Young Bird Guernsey race with a blue Janssen hen racing to overdue eggs. She was on her third flight for the Guernsey Classic. On her build-up for the race she had every race including the Pontorson National and took 4th open Federation from Exeter. When I visited John's Bedfordshire home he had only just moved in and his 90ft Petron loft was only half-erected, so he'd been racing his young birds to an old stable in his massive back garden. He says he had his best-ever young bird season racing to that old stable, winning several 1sts in the very strong local club and many federation prizes. The stable was dry and very dark and he says that his young birds were on the darkness system, only throwing their 3rd flights in the month of September.

John found out he had pigeon fancier's lung and nearly gave up the sport, but is now helped out by his good friend, Cliff Ginger, a retired local fancier. He says Cliff is priceless and is the main worker around the loft. John has been in the sport for 40 years, starting as an 8 year old. As a lad he won 1st, 2nd and 4th Nantes in the strong Dunstable Club on a really bad day, recording 2nd open Federation. The 1997 season saw him win 1st section Angers in the L.& S.E.C.C. Yearling Derby. He races his old birds on the widowhood and natural systems, as he likes all racing, long and short distance. The 16 widowhood cocks are paired up in January with the stock birds, and the naturals all put together in March. The main family kept are Janssen, but John has had some really outstanding birds from friends, including Peter Wells of Dunstable.

That’s the end of another “ON THE ROAD”. I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT

26/9/07