Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

SPELTHORNE COMBINE WINNERS

One of the strongest clubs in the Middlesex area today is the Spelthorne club, and since it was set up in 2000, it’s members have been very successful racing in the Berkshire Federation. The 2006 season saw several Spelthorne members win the Federation, but one special performance was in the longest young bird race from Wadebridge (204 miles), when two of the members recorded 1st, 2nd. Berkshire Federation, 1st, 2nd. open UBI Combine (1,473 birds).

The Combine winning pigeon was a little Willy Thas latebred blue chequer hen, bred and raced by Don Herbert. The hen now named “Dinky”, because she is only tiny, was sent to Wadebridge sitting 12 day old eggs. Don tells me, she was so keen, she went straight on her eggs when she returned from the race and only took a drink and some food when her cock bird had also returned home. She had every training toss and race on her build up to her Combine win. Don breeds about 45 young birds each year, but gives a few away to charity auctions and feeds them the same as the old bids racers, on a Barley based mixture, with it getting heavier as the races get longer. The youngsters get lots of short training tosses to start with and are worked up to 50 miles before the first race, then get the odd toss from Lightwater (15 miles) during the racing season. Don says the young birds race the whole programme and he never misses a race!

Don is a natural racer and starts to pair up each year on his return from holiday in January. He starts with his six stock birds, then goes on to the 25 pairs of racers. When obtaining a new stock bird he is not bothered what they look like, but likes the pigeons eye and feathering to have a strong colour and not pale or wishy-washy. The main stock cock is ‘The Schoorisse Cock’ and his bloodline runs through the whole loft. This premier breeder is of the Gaevart Schoorisse of Belgium strain and won five firsts and 2nd. Federation twice before being retired to the stock loft. The main family kept are the Willy Thas pigeons obtained from Brain and Angela Goodwin of  Hanworth and Don tells me as well as winning the Combine with these birds in 2006, he has also won the Channel Average in the Berkshire Federation. He likes racing from all distances and says he prefers Channel racing, winning two or three races from France every year in the Spelthorne club. Don is great lover of Barley, with that being the base of his feeding system and corn is added according to the distance of the races. The birds don’t get much training as they get an open loft all day, but they do go down to 30 miles to get them fit before the first Federation race and then they get the odd toss from Lightwater (15 mile) when needed. An open loft is very rear to have these days with the Raptor problem and Don tells me he looses about three or four birds every year to the Hawks. He says the first thing the pigeons do when they are let out in the morning is eat all the worm casts in the garden. Don’s 25ft. two section loft was built by the Sunbury long distance fancier, Les Kid, and is built on brick pillars 30ins. off the ground. It has 25 nest boxes and an open timber slatted floor, with the birds being cleaned out off a concrete slab under the loft once every two years. He is not a great believer in keep treating a loft of pigeon regularly and said, ‘If I’ve got a pigeon that is off colour I will treat it, but not the whole loft. Don maintains you must have dry loft to be successful!     

Don started up in pigeon racing in 1950, when he joined forces with his father, Gordon Herbert, who was a very good fancier in his own right and raced in the Hounslow H.S. Gordon who was a natural flyer, liked to race from all distances and won firsts every year. Don started on his own when he got married in 1963, when he moved to Hounslow and flew just around the corner from the great George Burgess, who was a legend in the West Middlesex Federation at that time. Don won his fair share of races in the Hounslow and Isleworth clubs and his best pigeon then was an Alf Baker blue pied hen, that recorded one 2nd. and two 1st. in the longest old bird race from Bergerac (450 miles), three seasons on the trot. Don told me his great old Baker hen flew on the natural system and won her races sitting 8 to 10 day old eggs. Don was a founder member of the Isleworth club and he got the signatures of the first ten members. The Isleworth club didn’t fly in the Federation in it’s first season because it couldn’t afford the charges, but raced all inland race points through to Penzance that year and joint the West Middlesex Federation the following season, and won the Federation Shield.

The Spelthorne club’s 2nd. open UBI Combine Wadebridge winner was another blue chequer hen and she was bred and raced by Mr. & Mrs. Peter Mercer. This game hen, now named ‘Laura’, was also a Willy Thas pigeon and was bred from stock birds obtained from Brian and Angela Goodwin of Hanworth. She was raced natural to the perch and had every race on her way to winning 2nd. open Combine from Wadebridge.

Peter’s 15 pairs of old birds are raced natural and are paired up at the end of January. The main family at the Mercer loft are Willy Thas obtained from Brian Goodwin and are fed a good quality ‘Gem’ mixture. The loft is 22ft. long and the six pairs of stock birds are housed in a 5ft. section at the end. When Peter is selecting breeders he likes a good type and the candidates have to be well balanced in the hand. Peter breeds 20 young birds every season, which race the whole Federation programme and they are trained every day from 20 miles. Peter started up in the sport when he was 14 years of age and has raced north and south road. He says, he is not really bothered about winning races, being a pigeon lover and just enjoys his birds in the garden. A great attitude!

Congratulations to Don Herbert and Peter Mercer on their great performance from Wadebridge! Don likes a bit of showing too. A week or so before Christmas I judged 50 young cocks for the Spelthorne club and I gave the red card to a nice mealy cock, which belonged to Don Herbert. Well done mate! That’s our article for this week. My telephone number is: 01372 4653480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.   10/1/07