“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT

South West Show Racer Society

The month of November saw Peter Taylor and my self make the 240 mile drive down to Bodmin in Cornwall to judge the South West Show Racer Societies annual Duchy Open Show. Originally the Duchy Show was put on for many years by the Duchy Racing Pigeon Club and when it disbanded about five years ago the SWSRS took it over, and this year’s event is their fifth open show. The SWSRS has 35 members with their lofts in mostly Devon and Cornwall, with a couple of members living in South Wales. The Society holds five shows each season, three club events and two open shows, one in November and the other in December. The competition in the Society is very keen and the members do very well at all the National and Classic shows through out the UK. The Societies chairman, John Robilliard, told me, a few years ago the club out grew their old HQ at a local hospital site and managed to secure the Luxulyan Village Hall, which is a brilliant venue to stage big pigeon shows, with a nice well lit hall and good catering and parking facilities. The hard working secretaries are Jim and Liz Tallon who have their loft in Camborne and the President is Ken Hearn. The Society had some really bad luck recently when they lost a lot of their equipment in a fire, including all their tables and trestles. They are having fund raising events to raise money to replace their lost equipment, including small pigeon auctions at the club shows.

The Duchy Show is open to any fanciers in the UK and John Robilliard tells me they come from as far away as Wales, Gloucestershire and the Midlands to compete. The show’s 37 classes are for Show Racers and Racing Pigeons, and this year’s event attracted a 654 bird entry. Although Peter and I were a long way from home, it was good to see all the old familiar faces we see every year around the Show Racer scene, but one surprise at Luxulyan was seeing Surrey exile, Jimmy Carpenter. He used to live in Chessington and raced his pigeons successfully in my local Esher club, and has now retired, and lives in St. Austell. He looks really well! The judges on the day were: (Racing Pigeons) B. Brown, R. Pretty-John, A. Nolan, M. Hannaford, L. Jane, B. Smith, (Show Racers) M. Spears, Peter Taylor and Keith Mott. I was given the task of judging the specials from the 35 class winners and with the quality of the pigeon there, what a hard job that was! Tony Harry won Best Racer in Show with sweet little two year old light blue chequer hen. I awarded Best in Show to beautiful yearling mosaic hen owned by Colin and Jean Carter of the Cotswold and she was bred from a pair of John Robilliard birds. Colin said she had not been shown very much, but won several cards as a young bird. He has suffered a bit of ill health recently and gives full credit for the Duchy win to his wife, Jean, who has been looking after the management of the show team in recent weeks. The Carter loft entered 28 birds in the Duchy open show and lifted 15 cards, including five 1st and four 2nd. Well done the Carter partnership!

When walking around the National shows in the winter months, we quite often bump into Colin Carter and win or loose, he always seems cheerful. Colin and his wife, Jean, are fanciers who enjoy their pigeons, top or bottom of the result sheet, they always enjoys them selves! Being one of the premier Show Racer partnerships in the U.K., more often than not they have pigeons on the winners table, which is great achievement as theirs is a small team loft, with quality and not quantity being the criteria for their pigeon regime. Colin’s wife, Jean, is his pigeon partner and is very active in the sport, playing a big part in the management of the birds and attends all the big shows with him.

Colin Carter was born in Portchester, Hampshire in 1938 and no member of his family kept pigeons only shot them for food, along with wild rabbits, and chickens for their eggs. He became a pigeon fancier at the age of 15, when he caught a couple of strays at the local abattoir, where he worked as a slaughter man. In a short time he met up with two local fanciers, George Brister and Bill Harris senior, who set him up and got him going in the sport. His first club was the Fareham & Dist. F.C., flying both south and north road and he won his first race on the north road. At the age of 18, the young Colin had to go off and do his National Service and formed the H.T. Carter pigeon partnership with his father, Harold. The Carters were founder members of the Portchester Flying Club. Colin is a very keen fisherman and spent a lot of time out on his cousin’s boat in Portsmouth harbour. Fanciers he admired and gave him advice in the early days were Norman Southwell, Russ Dowden and Colin’s idol, Vic Robinson. Colin says he can remember Vic giving his opinion on eyesign, saying, ‘it’s eye site they need not eyesign’.

Colin’s first show birds came from Cyril Lowe of Guernsey in 1965 and at that time Bill Harris was a stoker on the boats that went on regular trips to Guernsey from Portsmouth. Bill would bring show birds over from Cyril to go to the big London shows. When Colin saw these Show Racers he was hooked and when Cyril Lowe found out he gifted Colin with several pairs. At that time Colin married his wife, Jean, and started a family. In 1970 work took the Carter family to Gloucestershire, where they set up home in Churchdown and because of lack of time all the pigeons had to be sold off. Colin restarted up in the sport in 1991 with a few race birds and joined the Newent & Dist. F.C. On visiting the Old Comrades Show at the N.E.C. Birmingham that winter, Colin bumped in to Doug McClary, who he hadn’t seen for over 20 years. One thing led to another and he soon had some of the McClary Show Racers in his back garden, replacing the racing pigeons. He joined the Monmouth Show Racer Society and more show birds were introduced, mainly from Ron McCarthy, Tony Williams and the Wheatley family in the north east of England.

Some of Colin & Jean Carter’s main achievements in recent years have been: 1995: B.I.S. Louella Fancier of the Year, Reserve Champion British S.R. Federation Show: 1996: 1st. Pairs class B.H.W. Blackpool Show (Colin’s first attempt), B.I.S. East of England Spectacular: 1997: B.I.S and B.Y.B. at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show, Best Yearling at the Old Comrades Show: 1998: Club champion of the Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society, B.O.S. and Best yearling at the Old Comrades Show: 1999: B.I.S. and B.O.S. R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show, B.I.S. and B.O.S., Best yearling at the Old Comrades Show, Club champion of the Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society, B.I.S. Pensilva Show: 2000: B.Y.B. at the Old Comrades Show, B.I.S. Pensilva Show: 2002: B.Y.B. at the Old Comrades Show, Best Show Racer National Young Bird, B.O.S. to club champion and Champion Young Bird Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society: 2003: B.I.S. and B.Y.B. at the B.H.W. Blackpool show: 2004:  B.Y.B. Plymouth Open Show, Best Show Racer R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show: 2005: B.Y.B. Royal Welsh Show, B.O.S.Y.B. South West Open Show, B.I.S. Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society Young Bird Show, B.Y.B. and Reserve Champion Young Bird in the final club show.

Some of the premier pigeons in the Gloucestershire loft are: Champion ‘Cotswold Queen’, Best in Show B.H.W. Blackpool Show 2003, 1st. National Young Bird Show, B.Y.B. and Reserve Champion Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society Show, 1st. R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show: Champion ‘Cotswold Gem’, Best in Show B.H.W. Blackpool Show 1997, Best Yearling Old Comrades Show: Champion ‘Cotswold Star’, Best in Show Old Comrades Show 1999, 1st. Thame Show, B.I.S. West Country Medley: ‘Young Ron’, Winner of the fancier of the year at Louella Show, beating all breeds in 1995. B.O.S. Thame Show, 1st. B.H.W. Blackpool Show: ‘Cotswold Lad’, B.Y.B. Old Comrades Show, B.Y.C. Royal Welsh Show, 1st. R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show: ‘Cotswold Girl’, Best in Show East of England Show 1996.

Colin told me he likes to keep his family as close bred as he can and that way, he can produce the type of bird that suits his management system, produce the type he likes. The loft has 18 nest boxes and at the final show, Blackpool, the loft is normally housing 12 pairs. The birds are paired up at the end of January and he breeds a maximum of 30 youngsters for the show pen. No stock birds are kept; all the old birds have to go to the show arena and competes in about 16 shows each season. Colin maintains that if a pigeon is six years of age or older in his loft, it is something very special and likes to breed off young pigeons, and not from old stagers. All young birds are pen trained, but are naturally quite tame and any showing wild tendencies are disposed of, as it upsets the rest of the loft. The show loft has four compartments, two for cocks and two for hens, with the birds being separated at the end of July. The young and old birds are run together and get a bath once a week. The perches are scrapped every morning, the floor three times a week and no deep litter system is used in the loft. The water fountains are topped up every day and the birds are fed on farm peas and beans, with a young bird mixture added in the summer months. T.W.P. is given before the shows.  When judging, Colin likes a bird that is well balanced, silky feathering, handsome looks and good colour. He doesn’t mind what colour, but the bird must be good in colour, not wishy washy, or one of those pretty ones you sometimes see, and of course handle fit, and not short in the keel.

Winners at the 2010 Duchy Open Show were: (Racing Pigeons) Class 1: 1st Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher, 2nd & 3rd B. Whitaker & D. Dunstan: Class 2: 1st & 2nd B. Whitaker & D. Dunstan, 3rd Trevor Jenkin: Class 3: 1st Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher, 2nd & 3rd Tony Harry: Class 4: 1st Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. F. Williams: Class 5: 1st Mr. & Mrs G. Thresher, 2nd Hearn & Prouse, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear: Class 6: 1st Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher, 2nd & 3rd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear: Class 7: 1st Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. F. Williams, 3rd David Johnson: Class 8: 1st Mr. & Mrs, G. Thresher, 2nd T. M. Neville, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear: Class 9: 1st Ron Williams, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. F. Williams, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear: Class 10: 1st David Johnson, 2nd Ron Williams, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spear: Class 11: 1st M. & Mrs. M. Spear, 2nd P. Hockridge, 3rd John Clapcott: Class 12: 1st Tony Harry, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. M. Spears, 3rd Ron Williams: Class 13: 1st David Johnson, 2nd Bob Wickes, 3rd B. Whitaker & D. Dunstan: Class 14: 1st Trevor Jenkin, 2nd & 3rd B. Whitaker & D. Dunstan: Class 15: 1st T, D. & L, Hosking, 2nd & 3rd Paul Bedler: Class 16: T, D. & L. Hosking, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. F. Williams, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. G. Thresher: Class 17: B. Whitaker & D. Dunstan, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. F. Williams, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. & Mrs. M. Spear, (Show Racers) Class 18: 1st & 2nd Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 3rd J. & D. Fisher: Class 19: 1st & 3rd Mr. & Mrs. K. Jeffery, 2nd Nigel Rescorla: Class 20: 1st J. & D. Fisher, 2nd Noel Mounce, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. P. Kendall: Class 21: 1st J. C. Robilliard, 2nd Mr. & Mrs C. Carter, 3rd N. J. Perry: Class 22: 1st N. J. Perry, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. K. Jeffery, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. B. Seward: Class 23: 1st N. J. Perry, 2nd J. & D. Fisher, 3rd RJD Lofts: Class 24: 1st Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 2nd J. & D. Fisher, 3rd J. C. Robilliard: Class 25: 1st Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 2nd N. J. Perry, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. B. Seward: Class 26: 1st J. & D. Fisher, 2nd & 3rd N. J. Perry: Class 27: 1st J. C. Robilliard: 2nd Nigel Rescorla, 3rd N. J. Perry: Class 28: 1st N. J. Perry, 2nd & 3rd Mr. Mrs. R. Howman: Class 29: 1st Mr. & Mrs. R. Howman, 2nd & 3rd J. & D, Fisher: Class 30: 1st Noel Mounce, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 3rd J. C. Robilliard: Class 31: 1st & 3rd J’ & D. Fisher, 2nd J. C. Robilliard: Class 32: 1st J. C. Robilliard, 2nd Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 3rd Mr. & Mrs. K. Jeffery: Class 33: 1st Mr. & Mrs. C. Carter, 2nd J. C. Robilliard, 3rd J. & D. Fisher: Class 34: 1st & 3rd N. J. Perry, 2nd RJD Lofts: Class 35: 1st & 3rd N. J. Perry, 2nd RJD Lofts, Class 36: 1st Mrs. & Mrs. C. Carter, 2nd Paul Bedler, 3rd J. & D. Fisher, Class 37: 1st Noel Mounce, 2nd RJD Lofts, 3rd Nigel Rescorla.

What a great day we had in Cornwall! Thanks to all the workers and a special thanks to the Society secretaries, Jim and Liz Tallon, who purposely left their birds out of the show, so they could cope with all the work they had to do on the day. I can be contacted with any pigeon banter on telephone number: 01372 463480.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.