JOHN TYERMAN

of BRACKLESHAM BAY

1st OPEN CSCFC TARBES 2011

by Gareth Watkins

WINNING DESPITE ADVERSITY

This article could just as easily have been titled “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”, a fact that will become apparent as you read on.

John Tyerman, a retired police officer, has enjoyed many successful years racing pigeons to various parts of Scotland and the South East of England. However the 2011 season must have been particularly pleasing for John and his devoted wife Linda, as for many months he had to endure chemotherapy along with all the ghastly side effects that treatment entails. Nevertheless, with Linda’s help, he has come through the dark days and enjoyed great success with his pigeons in the races that mean most to him – long distance classic racing from Southern France and Spain.

The following report sets out to detail John’s beginnings in the sport, his methods and the development of his family of long distance racers.

John’s grandfather kept Exhibition show homers and from an early age allowed him to have his own tipplers, tumblers and a few racers, which were kept at his grandfather’s home in Dumfries. Once married in l968, John moved to a County Police Station at Earlston in Berwickshire, and soon obtained a racing loft with gift pigeons from John Carmichael,  Joe Newcombe, John Robertson and Andy Wilson, all household names in the Scottish National Flying Club. These four fanciers were the first major influences on John’s start in the sport and in addition John’s police colleague George Jackson and his father and uncle - brothers George and Jock Jackson were also top fanciers and beneficial early influences. The two brothers were members of the same Annan club and were contemporaries of the late great John Kirkpatrick. It would certainly be very fair to say that John’s colleague George Jackson taught him a lot about the sport in his early years at Earlston. Both John and George being very keen, it was not surprising that when in partnership they won many top National prizes to the Police Station lofts. Indeed, among their early successes was the clocking of the first Scottish pigeon to fly the NFC Pau race into Scotland. This pigeon, a blue bar hen, ring no. SU 67 SB 5353, flew the 884 miles from the south west of France to the Scottish borders, homing on the fifth day minus her rubbers. However, the then NFC Secretary Charlie Miller was given the bird`s wing code and had it verified by the local Club Secretary, and so John and George received a certificate for the longest flying pigeon in the race.

In the mid 80s John met the late Jed Jackson of Worthing and over the years kept in regular contact with both Joan and Jed. Jed being blind and winning the NFC Pau race with "Genista" was a great source of inspiration for many fanciers to have a go at the National races.  Like many others who met and knew Jed, John believed that he was a great ambassador for the sport and remembers him fondly. It was a great honour and privilege to be asked to prepare and read the eulogy for Jed’s funeral.

The Loft

John’s first loft at Earlston was a wooden structure just 16 feet long with 3 sections. The first birds were gift youngsters from John Robertson, John Carmichael, Andy Wilson and pigeons from George Kean at Annan. These birds were all predominantly Kirkpatrick based with many reds and mealies. They were fed mainly on farm beans, wheat and maize obtained from local farms. Flown on the natural system, the birds had a twice daily exercise routine and they would be expected to fly for at least one hour morning and evening and this was increased to  around 3 hours a day as the longer distance races approached.

After many moves associated with his career as a police officer, John settled at his present location in 1999 having raced pigeons with no little  success into the Dorking area between 1977-1999. At the present time there are three small timber lofts and a larger 26ft timber loft. One loft measures 12ftx6ft with the other two measuring around 8ft x6ft. All have pent roofs and contain a selection of nest boxes as in the main the birds are flown on the natural system. The birds are kept on a deep litter system of wood chips  named  `easy bed` or the new `comfy bed` as this litter is heavy enough not to blow about. Perches and nest boxes are cleaned on a daily basis during the racing season, but less frequently in the winter months. Any droppings that accumulate under perches are removed regularly so that the litter appears as a dry grey carpet. John also uses a ministry approved disinfectant and all sections and floors are sprayed each week.

At the present time John has around 100 birds, 20 of which are stock birds. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, John has suffered a severe bout of ill health over the past year and as a consequence has only bred around 22 young birds for his own use. However he was gifted some youngsters by Guy Reed and Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff and also purchased 6 Hartogs youngsters from Louella so his total team is around 40 for young bird racing in 2011.

John normally races the old birds on the natural system. However, in 2011 as he was receiving treatment over a period of months he found that it would be simpler to keep the old birds separated. As a result the race birds were put on a form of celibacy/roundabout system. John found this much easier and less work overall, as the cocks were simply `locked out` twice a day for one hour and they behaved just like widowers `clapping off` and constantly active. The hens on the other hand were `flagged` for one hour in the afternoons when the cocks were back in the lofts. Results prove that the birds certainly adapted well to the change of system!

All birds, both stock and racers, are usually mated at the same time, around mid March as it holds the moult for the longer races. This late mating also ensures that there are no young birds cluttering up the lofts before April/May! Pre season training for the old birds in 2011 took the form of several tosses along the south coast out to 30 miles plus a number of spins north from Petersfield in Hampshire. A double peregrine strike on liberation at one of these tosses cost John 8 birds with four others returning with permanent injuries to wings and eyes. In future John intends to stick to coastal training with the occasional one from France when he goes to visit John and Lou McGee at the Barcelona Lofts at Hernicourt - a toss of about 180 miles.

Under normal circumstances the old birds, when being raced on the natural system, would be force flown morning and night for the cocks and mid day for the hens - each exercise period being 60 minutes in duration. However, this season as circumstances were different the cocks seemed to enjoy their twice daily voluntary exercise on the celibacy system with the hens initially flagged for at least one hour in the afternoons but after a week these celibate hens would go off on their own and fly enthusiastically without forcing just like a kit of  young birds.  This voluntary home exercise meant that this season saw very little training of the old birds once racing began.

As the long distance National/ International races approach John likes to ensure that the long distance candidates have had enough preparatory work and flying time on the wing. He prefers distance hens sent sitting 10/14 days on eggs, and has won many good prizes with birds sent in this condition. The birds seem to shine and have good feather condition as they acquire a great bloom just resting on the nest.

Over the past few years the Tyerman young birds have had very little work, other than for a few youngsters that John may select to send to the YB National. Last year, in 2010 the young birds never saw a basket due to his illness, but this year as yearlings they raced well on both north and south routes from Wakefield to Bordeaux/Bergerac and losses were minimal. John’s Bergerac Classic timer this year winning 93rd Open from 1,216 birds went from Wakefied on the north to the Classic. In fact, 4 north road yearlings were sent to Bergerac and John got three home, so not racing them as young birds did them no harm. It certainly didn’t do this year’s CSCFC Tarbes winner any harm as she was unraced as a young bird, had a few races on the north road as a yearling and was then turned south having just two short channel races before being entered in the Tarbes race at 500+ miles to be clocked on a very dirty day to win 1st Open CSCFC.

John firmly believes that he would lose many more if they were raced as youngsters. This season (2011) however John intends to race a few yb`s if they hold their feathers, as they have been well trained to 60miles, and have had one or two scatterings, returning singly and hopefully a little wiser! Any racing undertaken by these babies will be on the natural system. Although John appreciates that to be competitive in young bird racing you have to have the babies on the darkness system.

Feeding

John normally hand feeds but will often use hoppers filled with farm beans which can be closed at any time if the need arises. If he has to go away for any length of time he usually leaves the bean hoppers open and has found that the birds only take what they want and seldom overeat. Young bird feeding during racing is rigidly controlled but the youngsters receive sufficient food and will always enter the loft when called. Stock birds have hoppers available most of the time. In addition to farm beans, various Gem mixtures from Brian Wall are incorporated into the birds’ diet. When racing, Versele Laga and Mariman`s mixes are used along with Gem Royale mix, which is favoured for Channel racing. A large percentage of farm beans are fed during the winter months and these are purchased in bulk so as to ensure the quality throughout the year as John also adds beans to the racers’ diet if he thinks they need “bulking up”.  Beans also rear good young birds. The only other additions to the birds’ diet is a small percentage of peanuts, sunflower hearts and canary seed fed in the nest boxes in the final build up to a long distance race. 

Medication

John always treats with the usual preventatives for canker, cocci worms etc before breeding and racing. During the season he treats for canker every 2nd Sunday for 24 hours. There are now some very good multi, 4/5 in one treatments on the market and he believes  that salmonella/paratyphoid is the silent killer of form in racing pigeons and is not easily detectable. As a result he now treats with a preventative and this year also vaccinated the race team using the Chevita "s"  vaccine.  Great use is also made of Gem multivits and also Gem Impact that contains B 12 and iodine. Brewer's yeast is also used, mixed to a paste and added to the corn, allowed to dry and then fed to the birds.  John has  also used “Orego Stim” and found the natural Hilton`s Herbs to be very good when used as a type of tea in the drinking water. This season Hormoform from Harkers has also been used as an addition to the birds' feeding regime. As you can see from the above management system – nothing is left to chance and the birds certainly want for nothing in their diet.

The Birds

In 1977 on his return to the UK after a spell in Hong Kong John went back to John Carmichael in Scotland and had the very best young birds from all the Carmichael champions such as Lauderdale John, Lauderdale Princess etc and also some of the old Gardiner of Lockerbie Kirkpatrick lines from Andy Wilson of Dumfries. Andy remains one of John’s best friends in the sport and although Andy no longer races he loves to breed quality pigeons for others to race. Over the intervening years the Tyerman family of birds has been blended in with very few introductions. However, John has exchanged birds regularly with another good friend, Richard Howey of Northampton. These have the same family base bloodlines as they also originate from the Carmichael pigeons as Richard was also a great friend of the late John Carmichael.  

An interesting fact emerges from this blend of Carmichael pigeons raced by John and Richard. In the 2005 Tarbes National John timed two pigeons on the day,  to be in the result, one at 21-30hrs and another at 21-50 hours,  both birds  flying  over 15 hours on the wing.  Richard also timed his good hen named `After Time` in total darkness flying 620 miles on the day. These  three Carmichael/Kirkpatrick pigeons were the only birds on the Tarbes  National  result flying after 9-30pm that night, showing the vigour of this true long distance family.

John Tyerman’s policy of pairing the best performers together has been adhered to over the years and this has paid off with some excellent performances in National, Classic and BICC Internationals achieved more often than not in difficult conditions. In 1994 through a friendship with Ron Dodd, John was given the opportunity to purchase three pairs of the very best racers as stock pigeons from the late Eric Cannon of Wormley in Surrey. More Cannon pigeons were added over the years and some of these were blended into the old reliable Carmichael family. Others were kept pure and they have given some very good results both pure and crossed. Sadly Eric Cannon died shortly after suffering a stroke but he was without doubt one of the sport's long distance legends, whose birds continue to do well for many other fanciers today.

At this point I think I’ll let John explain his breeding policy:- “I like to retain the winning lines and in recent years these include my top performance birds like "Rainbow Lady" who won many distance prizes including 1st Open Bromley Anglo French Open race from St Jean de Luz  (545 miles)  timed second morning  at 7-15 in the rain. She left me with some outstanding birds and this year her grandson won 1st Open in the "Barcelona Challenge" race flying 625 miles to the McGee/Tyerman lofts at Hernicourt in  France. In 2011 I was also 16th and 23rd open and have previously won 8th,  9th,  11th,  23rd Open  in the  625 miles  Barcelona Challenge race,  which proves to me that my old Carmichael family will more than hold its own in the stiffest of competition. All my current performance pigeons contain the well tested distance bloodlines of my old red Pau hen 7 times Pau, "Rainbow Lady", "Decimal Lady" who won 2nd Open LSECC Bordeaux beaten by a decimal for 1st Open and "Dorking Supreme" who won 21st Open NFC Pau and 22nd open LSECC Pau, prior to being retired to stock. My good "Barcelona Cock" (now at stock) won 5th BICC Barcelona International (661 miles to UK], 15th Open BICC Perpignan International and again 7th Open BICC Barcelona - he is a double grandson of both “Rainbow Lady” and “Dorking Supreme” so the winning genes have been passed on. I breed to the winning lines and this has proved successful for me over the years.”

John believes that good pigeons come in all shapes and sizes. However he prefers a well balanced bird, with good feathering and "apple bodied". He used to be a great believer in eyesign and most of his best pigeons have what he terms " good eyesign". 

I won’t bore readers with a long list of the Tyerman wins over the many years that John has been involved with the sport. Nevertheless I should point out that he has won well over 150 prizes/positions in Classic, National and BICC International races. The most recent win being 1st open CSCFC Tarbes in  2011, when only 4 gallant pigeons were clocked on the winning day. John also won the  2011 "Barcelona Challenge" one loft race at Hernicourt in France with a red Carmichael cock timed at 10-23am  on the 2nd morning flying 625 miles.  Tyerman pigeons, as mentioned above, have also been 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th and 23rd in this Barcelona event, showing that this family of pigeons will hold their own against the very best. The good hens "Rainbow Lady" 1st open Bromley Anglo French open from St Jean De Luz, "Dorking Supreme" 21st NFC Pau and 22nd open LSECC Pau  and "Decimal Lady" 2nd open LSECC Bordeaux Classic have left their winning genes in the current family.The"Barcelona Cock" has been 7th BICC Barcelona (661 miles) and then, in his final year racing was 5th BICC Barcelona  and four weeks later 15th BICC Perpignan International. He is now at stock and grandsire of the 2011 Tarbes winner. Another exceptional cock from the family is "JT`s Mealy", owned  and raced by the top partnership of  Crammond and Langstaff, and this magnificent cock has won numerous  top distance prizes for Ian and Nigel. Also, John’s good friend Douglas Owen from Dumfries won the Scottish National from Ypres, the sire being a grandson of "Dorking Supreme" mentioned above.

On a personal level, John considers himself very  fortunate  to  have  many close friends in the sport, who  in different ways have all helped  and encouraged him, particularly in recent times when he was on chemotherapy and was very ill for many months - they   know who they are and he thanks them  all for their true friendship and support.  A special mention must go to John’s wife of many years, Linda, who tended and cared for the birds over the months when John was very ill and has been a constant source of support and encouragement over many years.

There you have it – the methods of a top class fancier who has been winning in long distance classic and National races for the best part of 40 years. These wins have been achieved, in the majority of cases, with the good old tried and tested Scottish Kirkpatrick family of pigeons that have stood the test of time for the last 80 or so years and in the hands of fanciers of the calibre of John Tyerman they will no doubt continue to do so, well into the future. Congratulations John and here’s wishing yourself and Linda the very best of health and good fortune for the future.