Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

Three Borders Federation (Newton Abbot)

The Three Borders Federation has enjoyed some good racing, with excellent birdage in the 2011 season and the first Newton Abbot race was no exception, with members sending 1,625 birds to this 150 miles sprint race. Adding yet another first to their brilliant tally of 1st Federation won in recent seasons was Reg and Richard Maybey of the Hare Hill Club. Their latest Federation winner was their good four year old blue pied widowhood cock, ‘The 30182’, and although he has won at all levels of competition, including ten first, this win from Newton Abbot was his first Federation win.

The loft that has set the Surrey / Berkshire pigeon fancier alight in the recent season was that of Reg and Richard Maybey who race in partnership with their wives, Jocelyn and Silvie. The pigeon racing at the Berkshire loft is very much a family affair with Reg and Richard being a father / son partnership and another important part of the team is family member, Harold Coleman, who has been helping out with the very successful pigeon management for over 20 years. The partners won the Three Borders Federation four times in the 2009 season and also won the Berkshire Federation four times, and to top off a brilliant season won 1st open SMT Combine (3,174 birds) Messac. The Combine winner was the two year old widowhood blue chequer cock, called quite plainly ‘The Combine Cock’, and previous to his Messac win he recorded several premier positions including 1st club, 5th Federation Yeovil. On the first race of the 2009 season Reg and Richard put up a fantastic performance by recording 1st, 2nd, 3rd Three Borders Federation and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Berkshire Federation on the same day. The partners won 1st Federation eight times in the 2009 season. Brilliant pigeon racing!

The Maybey partnership races their old birds in two teams, one on pure widowhood in the Berkshire Federation and the other on the roundabout system in the Three Borders Federation. The racers are paired the same time as the stock birds in late December and the widowhood pigeons rear at least one youngster before going on the system. The racers start training three weeks before the first Federation race and are given ten tosses up to 35 miles. Richard tells me, un-like most widowhood fanciers they continue to train for the first two weeks in the season and then they just get exercise around the loft twice a day. The roundabout racers are not broken down, getting a ‘Sports’ mixture all the time, but the widowhood cocks get depurative mixture for two days after the race as a brake down and then go the ‘Sport’ mixture for the rest of the week. Both teams see their hens on marking night for about two or three minutes and on their return get their mates for about an hour, depending how tough the race has been. The partner’s present loft is Roy Bishop’s old Kidby loft which was sited at Weybridge and it was extended five years ago, making it 65ft long and ‘L’ shaped. Reg maintains a loft must be dry and they use deep litter in the stock and young bird sections, with the old bird racers getting the floor boards scraped regularly.

The Maybey family were originally based in Hounslow and Reg has been in the sport about 40 year, with Richard coming into the partnership as a six year old ‘floor scraper’. Reg recalls his first birds were six gift squeakers from his good friend, Charlie Francis of Shepperton and the only other family member to keep pigeons at that time was Uncle Arthur who lived in Wellington Road, Hounslow. Reg’s first club was the Egham North Road RPC and won his first race from Leicester. Early mistakes were over feeding. The first loft was a 16ft x 8ft structure, with 12 natural nest boxes and was purchased from a man whose divorce story appeared in the Daily Mirror and News of the World news papers at that time! Reg tells me the fanciers who were doing all the winning locally in those early days were Fred Elliot, George Worsfold and the Besant partnership of New Malden. The partners got more and more interested in the sport and bought in some Vandevelds, Delbar and Dordin pigeons which started to win straight away. A few years later a good Krauth hen was purchased from an auction at Ascot and she turned out to be a champion in the stock, producing winners every year, and then six Krauth youngsters were purchased from George Corbett to strengthen up the family. The Van Loon pigeons were introduced in 1989 when Reg’s wife, Jocelyn, purchased a pair from Clwyd Lofts at the RPRA Southern Region Show and they were called ‘the wonder couple’ as they bred many winners over the years. Reg says one of the best performances in the early days was clocking early in the morning to win 1st club, 2nd Federation, 3rd open Combine Dax (550 miles). Congratulation to Reg and Richard Maybey on their Newton Abbot Federation win!

Danny Allison of the Esher Club has started his 2011 racing campaign well and was 2nd Federation from Newton Abbot. At the end of the Three Borders Federation 2010 racing season and was delighted to write that my ol’ mucker Danny Allison has won the Federation Individual Points Trophy and was the 2010 champion! The Federation is one of the strongest in the UK and our Danny won the championship with 48 points with his South Downs club mates, Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden, being runners up on 41 points. What can I write about Danny Allison that has not been written before about his great performances over his many years in the sport! He is a great lad and a very dedicated and successful pigeon racer. He works so hard with his birds, being a relentless trainer, with early morning tosses down the line to the New Forest area. I remember back last season, I was in the car park at Winchester training my young birds and Danny pulled in behind me with his van full of pigeons, training his and his friend’s, Trussler Brothers, youngsters. With us both being Kingston lads, Danny Allison and I must go back well over 30 years to the late 1970’s when we both raced in the Kingston & District HS, which was at that time one of the strongest clubs in the mighty Surrey Federation. Danny was born in to the pigeon racing sport with dad being a fancier and they flew in partnership for many years. They were very successful and when his dad came out of the sport, Danny took over the pigeons at a very young age. He has always raced on the natural system and has won many premier positions in the Federation and Combine through the years; the best being 1st open SMT Combine Bergerac (450 miles). In recent years he has been in partnership with Dennis Sheppard and Martin Penfold, both premier fancier in the Surrey area, but three years ago he decided to go it alone again and approached Trussler Brothers of West Molesey for some stock birds. Dick and Brian gave him 15 widowhood cocks with their mates and this generous gift by the brother is the base of Danny’s very successful team today.

The Three Borders Federation President, Johnny Keywood of the Spelthorne Club, won 3rd Federation from Newton Abbot with his good widowhood blue cock, ‘Ibrahim’s Exile’ and this Vandenabeele has recorded a string of top performances. Two of John’s top racers last year were bred by Amgad Ibrahim of Fulham, who breeds a lot of good winners for other fanciers. Amgad mostly keeps the M. & D. Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons and the Keywood success birds were, ‘Amgad’, 3rd open SMT Combine Messac and ‘Ibrahim’s Exile’, which has recorded several premier positions. John Keywood only raced old birds in the 2010 season, winning several premier position including 1st Federation and in the club won 7 times 1st, 10 times 2nd, 10 times 3rd, and lifted OB Inland Average, OB Average, Channel Average, Bird of the Year Trophy and Champion Loft Trophy.

Johnny Keywood must be described as one of the all round ‘legends’ of pigeon racing in the Surrey fraternity! Since entering the sport in 1947 he has been a constant worker and winner at club, Federation and Combine level. He has raced cocks on the widowhood system for many years and in recent seasons has only had a very small team of 12 cocks, which are housed in two sections in his very smart 40ft loft. He's been a brilliant fancier and worker for the sport over many years and has won everything in the Federation and Combine. John was highest prize winner in the Three Borders Federation in seasons 2000 and 2001. One of John’s best season was in 2005 winning the Three Borders Federation four times and was premier prize winner in the Hersham club, recording eight firsts. His Federation wins were from Messac (1,071 birds), Fougeres (1,034 birds), Kingsdown (1,985 birds) and Lulworth (1,553 birds), and recorded 1st S.M.T. Combine from Messac (3,287 birds) and 3rd S.M.T. Combine Fougeres (2,988 birds). A fantastic loft performance! John’s 2005 Combine winner was his good blue chequer widowhood cock, ‘Young Jupiter’, and he has won the Three Borders Federation twice. He was bred from stock obtained from ‘Oak Villa’ lofts and ‘Galaxy’ lofts, and down from the ‘Jupiter’ line.

The first ten in the Newton Abbot Federation result were: 1) M/M R. Maybey & Son: 2) M/M D. Allison & Son: 3) Crook & Keywood: 4) Bellchambers Brothers: 5) R. Besant & Son: 6) Bellchambers Brothers: 7) Trussler Brothers: 8) Trussler Brothers: 9) M/M G. Evans: 10) Dye & Romascan.

That’s it for this week! I can be contacted with any pigeon banter on telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.