Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present

PAUL STONE OF WEST DRAYTON

I recently had a phone call from Paul Stone asking me if I could photograph his latest two champions! This is getting to be a regular annual occurrence, as he did the same in November of 2007 after winning the Greater Distance Club from Barcelona that season. In the 2008 season he has gone a step further and recorded 1st open Greater Distance Club Palamos (683 miles), with his champion dark chequer hen, ‘Trio’, being the only bird in race time. Paul also won 2nd open Greater Distance Club Barcelona (707 miles), with his scotch blue chequer cock, ‘Jock’, being one of only two birds recorded in race time and he was bred by Andy Ritchie of Scotland.

The 2007 season saw him record 14th open BICC, 1st Greater Distance Club Barcelona (707 miles) with his good Shepherd dark hen ‘Barbie’ and she was sent on the round about system. Paul has named his great hen ‘Barbie’ because when she came from Barcelona he had just lit the Bar BQ and says he was lucky to get her into the loft as the garden was filled with smoke! This game little hen has been a very consistent racer and only had two races in 2007 from Lulworth and Alencon, before her Barcelona win. She is bred from a half brother, half sister mating and her grand sire won several good prizes, including 30th open NFC Pau. 

Paul Stone was born in St Giles, Buckinghamshire and none of his family were interested in pigeons. The late Eric Missey of Hayes first introduced him to the sport and gave him his first pigeons. Paul remembers his first winner was a blue cock which won his first young bird in the Hayes NRFC. More or less since he started up in the sport in 1969, Paul has been a long distance enthusiast and tells me he has never really been interested in sprint racing. He started up in earnests with old George Burgess’ white and grizzle family, which were successful from the outset, winning races at club and Federation level. After a few seasons he obtained his first long distance pigeons from Jimmy Shepherd of Chichester and this is the family he races successfully today. Paul told me Jimmy Shepherd’s dark chequers are basically bred down from the old Norman Southwell bloodlines and are brilliant at the long distance on hard days. In the early years he flew north road and put up some good performances from Lerwick (600 miles) with the NRCC, and won 1st Federation Thurso (505 miles) and 1st section NRCC Berwick young bird nation. Paul tells me he won 1st open BICC Barcelona in 1997, 1st Greater Distance Club San Sebastian in 2001 and to win Palamos with the BBC is his biggest ambition today. His biggest thrill in his many years in the sport was when he won 1st open BICC Barcelona with the only birds in the UK on the winning day and winning an RPRA London Region Award.

Paul races nine pairs on the round about system and has a smart 36ft Blake’s loft, which has six sections, drop hole trapping, and an aviary for the stock birds. He thinks deep litter is OK if it is kept dry and has used it in past seasons, but finds it messy when exiting the loft. The Stone pigeons are fed on ‘Irish’ mixture all the year around and are given regular training tosses off the south coast through out the racing season. He says that is the art of successful pigeon racing, knowing how to feed and train the birds. The race birds are paired up at the end of February and are not broke down as he gives them as much training off the south coast as possible. He shows the cocks to the hens on marking night and they are left together for about 30 minuets on their return from the race. The local club and short BICC races are used for training for the NFC Tarbes, BBC Palamos and BICC Barcelona races, which are his favourite events.  

He houses 15 pairs of Jimmy Shepherd stock birds and says he has too many breeders, but are mostly retired good racers and children of his best racers. The whole loft, racing and stock birds, are paired up at the end of February and only breeds about 18 youngsters to race each year. The babies are trained well along the south coast and some times are only give one race, just to educate them, as Paul is not interested in young bird races and wants them for long distance racing, later in their life. He has sent his youngsters over to France in their first year, but says he doesn’t any more because the losses are too great and it doesn’t prove any thing. When he bring in a new stock bird he likes to handle it and hates to obtain birds ‘blind’, with his main preferences being good type and winning lines. He maintains that you have to like a pigeon or they don’t seem to do well for you and has found racing latebreds is a complete waist of time, although they make good stock birds. Paul has sent the odd yearling to 550 miles, but this is not normal practice, with them normally going through to Nantes (300 miles) to educate them and into Pau as two year olds.

He is not great fan of the ETS and says he would like to see the NFC go back to it’s old programme of two old bird races, Nantes and Pau, and one young bird race. When I asked him who was the best fancier in his area, he replied Gary Inkley, who is outstanding from 80 miles through to 550 miles every season. Paul never shows his birds, although he thinks they are a good type and would do well, he says after doing his job as a skip driver all day he can’t be bothered to take his birds out to shows on cold winter nights. He has bred several outstanding racers for other fancier, including 2nd open BBC Palamos and the sire of 1st open BICC Barcelona for John Nicholson, pigeons to breed Federation winners for Noel Mounce and 1st club, 3rd Federation, 5th Combine Bourges (580 miles) for Ken Dodd of Durham. Paul likes to see a nice coloured eye on a pigeon but says he is not a believer in the eye sign theory and never treats his birds for worms, canker or any other disease.

Congratulation to Paul Stone on his wonderful performance from Palamos and Barcelona in the 2008 season! I can be contained on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!