Keith Mott writes...

RPRA Southern Region Show 2007

With many premier National shows being cancelled during the month of November, because of the ‘bird flu’ restrictions, we must consider our selves very lucky that the sport was given the all clear at the end of the month and the RPRA Southern Region Show took place on the 1st December. Ron Lacey, the show secretary, phoned me with good news that the ban had been lifted, a week before the Region event and we were both jubilant that our favourite one day show had been reprieved. I was booked to judge at three premier shows in November and didn’t judge at any of them! The first was The Winner Show held at the Doncaster Dome and I got ‘Gout’ in my foot and was in so much pain I couldn’t even put my shoe on, let alone drive the 230 miles up to Yorkshire and judge. Then we had the ‘bird flu’ out break in Norfolk and the Duchy Show and Devon & Cornwall Show Racer Society open show were both cancelled and I didn’t get to judge at them. Peter Taylor and I were looking forward so much to judging at these shows and it all finished up with one big disappointment. I feel so sorry for those Societies, after all their hard work and the expense of organizing these wonderful events and having to cancel it all.

After the big disappointment of having the November shows cancelled, because of the ‘bird flu’ problem, the RPRA Southern Region event held at High Wycombe turned out to be one of the best ever, with 600 plus birds entered. There was the usual auction of gift birds and the funds raised by the show and sale were donated to the C.H.A.S.E. Children’s Charity. The top priced pigeon this year, at £65, was a handsome chequer pied cock donated by Wasey & Lloyd of New Addington and he was half brother to Champion ‘Bambi’ their London & South East Classic Club Pau winner. Judges for this years show were, Show Racers: Alan Noyce, Brian Lea and Keith Mott: Racing Pigeons: Phil Mott, Gordon Marsh, Peter Coles and Geoff Clare. We don’t seem to mention Ron Lacey’s band of stewards and workers in the annual write up, who year in and year out work tirelessly to put this great show on. I don’t know their names, but we always ‘tip our hats’ when we meet up each December and it’s them same ol’ faces every year working so hard on this great event. Well done to you all! I normally judge the Show Racers and this year there were four of the best show men in the Show Racer world standing watching me handle their birds, in the form of John Robilliard, Colin Carter, Ron McCarthy and Norman Perry, winners of seven times Best in Show at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show between them. I love a challenge!

Class winners were: Class 1: 1st N. Perry, 2nd M/M Carter, 3rd M. Hyland: Class 2: 1st Petty & Crawford, 2nd N. Perry, 3rd M. Horner: Class 3: 1st N. Perry, 2nd M/M Carter, 3rd Caldwell, Hawkins & Hill: Class 4: 1st N. Perry, 2nd M/M McCarthy, 3rd Petty & Crawford: Class 5: 1st Petty & Crawford, 2nd M. Hyland, 3rd Caldwell. Hawkins & Hill: Class 6: 1st M/M McCarthy, 2nd M. Hyland, 3rd M/M Carter: Class 7: 1st M. Horner, 2nd M/M McCarthy, 3rd M/M McCarthy: Class 8: 1st M. Horner, 2nd M/M Carter, 3rd M/M McCarthy: Class 9: 1st C. Reynolds, 2nd Petty & Crawford, 3rd J. Robilliard: Class 10: 1st M/M McCarthy, 2nd Petty & Crawford, 3rd Petty & Crawford: Class 11: 1st J. Robilliard, 2nd N. Perry, 3rd M/M Carter: Class 12: 1st J. Robilliard, 2nd M. Horner, 3rd N. Perry: Class 13: 1st Caldwell, Hawkins & Hill, 2nd N. Perry, 3rd N. Perry: Class 14: 1st J. Robilliard, 2nd J. Robilliard, 3rd M. Horner: Class 15: 1st D. Ellis, 2nd D. Ellis, 3rd D. Ellis: Class 16: 1st D. Ellis, 2nd D. Ellis, 3rd D. Ellis: Class 17: 1st D. Ellis, 2nd M/M Turnham, 3rd G. R. Batten: Class 18: 1st D. Ellis, 2nd D. Ellis, 3rd M/M Dickinson & son: Class 19: 1st C. T. & S. Bunting, 2nd G. Kimpton, 3rd M/M Dickinson & son: Class 20: 1st C. T. & S. Bunting, 2nd M/M Dickinson & son, 3rd C. T. & S. Bunting: Class 21: 1st G. R. Batten, 2nd A. Hitchcock, 3rd M/M Dickinson & son: Class 22: 1st J. Prentice, 2nd M/M Dickinson & son, 3rd J. Prentice: Class 23: 1st M/M Dickinson & son, C. T. & S. Bunting, 3rd R. & R. Beard: Class 24: D. Ellis, 2nd J. Prentice, 3rd J. Prentice. Trophy winners were: Best in Show, Mike Horner: Best Opposite Sex, Petty & Crawford: Best Show Racer, Mike Horner: Best Race Bird, D. Ellis: Best 400 miles, G. R. Batten: Best Though Wires, C Reynolds: Most Points Show Racer, Norman Perry (41 points): Most Points Race Bird, D. Ellis (43 points).

The ‘Watford Wizard’ Terry Haley judged Best in Show and awarded it to a wonderful three year old Show Racer red hen owned by Mike and Theresa Horner of Alton. I spoke to a triumphant Mike Horner after the show and he was over joyed at winning Best in Show for the second year on the trot. He has named his latest winner, ‘Cilla’, and tells me she has won ten firsts in the show pen. Both her parents are two very successful breeding reds and were obtained from Colin Carter in 2003. The day after the Southern Region Show, Mike showed at the Southern Counties SR Society show held at Gravesend and ‘Cilla’ won Best Opposite Sex, being beaten by her half brother, who won Best in Show. Another outstanding performer at the Region show was Andrew Hitchcock’s wonderful 1994 bred blue cock, ‘Bill’, who won 2nd in the old cocks flown 400 miles class. This old stager was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Czaplewski and has a list of major achievements including: 1st club, 1st BB&O Federation (2186 birds) Rennes, 2nd club, 5th BB&O Federation (3986 birds) Taunton, 1st club, 23rd BB&O Federation (3074 birds) Plymouth, 5th Southern Region Show 400 mile cocks 2001, 2nd Windsor RPC old cocks 2003, B.O.S. Windsor RPC all card winners 2003 and 2nd Southern Region Show 400 mile cocks cocks 2007. A great old pigeon!     

I first met Mike Horner back November 2006, when he won Best in Show at the R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show and I was there at the High Wycombe event judging. To say he was over joyed at his performance would be an under statement. This was his best performance ever with his Show Racers and he was over the moon! His team for the Southern Region Show were exceptionally good that year and in the light of that he fancied his chances. Mike and Theresa Horner won Best in Show (645 birds) with their four year old Mosaic show racer cock, ‘Barny’, and he had plenty of previous good form, having won in the show pen twelve times. He won Class 7. (Coloured Cock or Hen) at High Wycombe and also lifted two trophies, ‘Best Show Racer’ and ‘Best in Show’.

Mike has been in pigeons, in one form or the other, all his life and is from a racing pigeon family, with his father and grandfathers being pigeon racers. He had racing pigeons up to the late 1970’s and flew in the Godalming & Dist. F.C. (Surrey Federation) with all the old greats of that time including, Stan Edgington, Paul Bridgewater, Alec Martin, Ron & Chris Cox and Eric Cannon. In those days he got lot of help from Pat McFadden, the secretary of the Godalming club at that time and raced the Channing of Wales family of pigeons. Years ago Mikes also kept a few Show Racers obtained from Bill Meader of London. The Horner racing loft had some good success, mostly from the longer channel races, as he flew on the natural system. He started up with the Show Racer properly on marring Theresa in 1980, with birds from Tony Williams, which were reds and mealies, and later some stock from Mr. & Mrs. Colin Carter of Churchdown. Mike’s latest champion, ‘Barny’, was bred from these original bloodlines.

He is a member of the Devon & Cornwall Show Racer Society, the new Southern Counties Society based at Gravesend and says he never missed a show for years at the Midland Show Racer Society, but it has now mover up to Birmingham and it’s to far to travel. His main show loft is a two section 18ft x 8ft structure, which houses his 32 bird show team and has a thick wood shavings litter on the floor. The few pairs of stock birds he owns are kept in a smaller loft and all are paired up in late January, producing about 30 young birds each season. Mike likes to split the show pairs up again in late May or early in June to get the moult going, ready for the show season the following winter. His nest boxes are removable and are taken out of the loft at the time of the birds being parted and replaced with ‘V’ perches, which the birds sit on through the show season. The birds are fed on a heavy racing mixture called ‘Cranleigh A1’, which he gets from Des McFadden’s ‘Pet’s Pantry’ at Cranleigh and Mike gives them a conditioner every Sunday morning. Grit and Minerals are in front of the birds all the time. When Mike brings in a new stock bird he looks for a good type and likes a bigger bird in the hand. The birds never fly out and are given a bath at least once a week, with bath being moved from section to section every day. Mike is a busy self employed builder and hasn’t got the time for special preparation on his birds in the week leading up to a big show, but says his system has got a regular routine, which is the same week in and week out. His present day Show Racer family are bred down from the original Tony Williams / Colin Carter pigeons and has added a few blue chequers from Les Petty. Mike and Theresa travel around a lot judging at the National and Society shows every year and he says his wife is very helpful with his hobby. His favourite colours are reds and mealies and Mike told me the competition on the Show Racer scene is getting better every season and it’s getting harder and harder to win. His birds get about 15 shows in a season and Mike maintains the Welsh boys, Ron McCarthy and Norman Perry, are the fanciers to beat in the open National shows. Mike told me the fanciers on the Show Racer scene are a smashing bunch of lads and he really enjoys their company!

Some of Mike and Theresa’s best birds are: ‘Princess’ a red hen bred in 2000 and she is the top pigeon in the Alton loft winning fourteen firsts in Society shows. Mike says this grand ol’ hen is well past showing now, but is producing some outstanding young birds. ‘Blue Boy’ is a blue cock bred in 2004 and he has eight Society firsts to his credit. ‘Freddie’ a mealy cock also bred in the 2004 season and he has won six firsts in the Show Society events.     

Congratulations to Mike and Theresa on their wonderful success at this year’s R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show! Just a little reminder that the C.H.A.S.E. Charity Show is being held at the YMCA Football Club, Horsham this Sunday. That’s it for this week. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the BHW Blackpool Show next weekend. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.                

11/1/08