MR & MRS GRAHAM THRESHER

OF ALCOMBE

by Keith Mott

Graham Thresher has been in the sport of pigeon racing for 60 years and says he has had the great thrill of winning some good races in that time, but his biggest thrill was to win the gold medal with his blue hen at the 2007 Olympiad in Ostend, Belgium. Getting her ready for the event and then helping to win the team gold medal was a wonderful experience for him and his family. The Thresher family live near Minehead in Somerset and Graham told me, pigeons have always been in his family, with his brother, father and grandfather all being outstanding fanciers. Graham got his first pigeons when he was ten years old and won his first race from Atherstone, on the North Road, in 1983. He was a great Football fan in those days and obtained his first racing stock from his father, who was very successful. Graham flew to an 8ft.x 6ft. loft in those early days and his first club was the Minehead & District. He recalls his main mistake in his novice days was no getting birds fit enough to do the job properly.

Graham says he had some really good birds from Tommy Thomson a few years ago, but most of his stock birds today have been obtained from David Evans of Glamorgan, and he has recorded some outstanding performances with them. He races ten pairs on the natural system and says he is not a big team man, but they have to race through to Marmande (492 miles). The racers get three 15 mile training tosses every week, they are fed on ‘number two’ racing mixture and are given ‘Red Band’ once a week when they return from the race. The Thresher’s racing loft is a 16ft.x 6ft. structure, with sputnik trapping and the stock birds are housed in an 8ft. loft. Graham cleans all the lofts out every day. He is only really interested in long distance pigeon racing and told me his pet theory is and always will be, ‘look after your birds and they will look after you’. Graham’s best pigeon is a wonderful blue chequer hen and she won ten firsts, two of then being recorded over 400 miles. A real quality racer!  He has about 30 young birds each season and these are trained the same as old bird race team, from 15 miles several times a week. They are fed on a good quality young bird mixture and are raced on the natural system, to the perch, through to last race from Eastbourne (165 miles). Graham told me he is not interested in the eye sign theory in racing pigeons, but enjoys showing his birds in the winter months. He shows in all the main events in the Cornwall area and says he won ten firsts last season!

All the Thresher family are interested in the pigeons and Graham says his wife, Gwen, is a great help and is a very good worker for the local pigeon club. The Threshers are the secretaries of the Minehead & District Club and maintain there is to much arguing in the sport, and some fancier should ‘lighten up’ and enjoy their pigeons more! When I asked Graham if he thought the sport had progressed over the last 20 years he said no, as he thinks it is getting harder to operate clubs, with there being less people willing to do the work. He advices new starters in the sport to be good members in their clubs and work hard so it prospers, and in turn our wonderful sport of pigeon racing will prosper!

There you have it, Graham and Gwen Thresher of Alcombe, our ‘stars’ of the 2007 Ostend Olympiad in Belgium. A wonderful performance! I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT BY KEITH MOTT

2/1/08