BARRETT, WRIGHT, BARRETT

of North Humberside

by Les Parkinson

Fountainhead

You may think the above an odd title for what could easily be addressed as Fountainhead Racing and Breeding lofts. The aim of this report is to look at the three men concerned in the title, their individual lofts and of course we can not possibly miss out a few passages on the stud that has become well known for the extreme hard hitting statements that the owners make in their advertising campaign. After all, when said and done the people who make such assurances and stand by them are very few and far between. We had not really intended to visit these lofts, but due to our previous engagement being cut short we had time to look in at Balkholme.

The proprietors of the stud have gained a wealth of experience over the last forty years. One does not have to look very far back to see the excellent results that each has put up at top level. Remember 'Virgo' winning the NFC and the 1 st Open GNEFC, which is regarded as a Northern National. Such results are not gained without experience and knowledge that goes into the selection of breeding pairs both for their own use and for others who are looking for further stock birds to increase their own quality of pigeon.

We shall start at the Fountainhead Stud, where we arrived unannounced, therefore we were not sure what to expect or even if we would be allowed to handle the champions housed. The lofts are in fact a marvellous set up with hygiene being the predominant factor. The set up has a similarity to the Hillside Lofts of Jim Biss with its grill floor for the droppings to drop completely out of the way from the pigeons. What I did take note of was the amount of corn that is wasted by dropping through the grille. I suppose the one good thing with this is that the pigeons do not pick up the foul corn from the floor and feed it to healthy youngsters in the nest. Obviously the strains are kept separated with each having a good 3ft nest box so they have plenty of room for two nest bowls and there is no overcrowding. The youngsters when removed are put in compartments built into the top of the stud, which is by far the warmest place at the stud. With this little bit of extra heat the ybs will benefit whilst getting used to the idea of being on their own. Then when the team are satisfied the youngsters are eating and drinking well they are moved to outside aviaries where they have a loft with a solid back and roof whilst the entire front and floor are either grille or open wire which leaves them to the elements. There are several of these lofts in a line at the rear of the main breeding area. Next to the main breeding lofts is the new single compartment loft where the real Aces are and I must admit they are some of the best pigeons that I have ever had the privilege of handling. I shall not go on very long about them but there is no way I can pass without giving a few details on pigeons that many only ever dream of holding in their hands.

A few years ago I was rather fortunate to compile a loft report on the top winning Liverpool lofts of Pauline Ackers and on that visit I had the pleasure of handling her top winning Busschaerts. These very same top winning pigeons included the fabulous 'Golmine Pair' that were responsible for so many excellent racing and breeding pigeons. Those same pigeons are now housed at Fountainhead therefore I have had the chance of seeing them again it was these pigeons that destroyed all opposition in the Liverpool Amal which is one of the toughest organisations in the country to compete in.

These Busschaerts have been a top winning family for a good many years because they have always reproduced themselves. Who could pass by the Busschaerts without mentioning the number one of them all, 'Master McGrath', a pigeon who repaid his original owner time and time again. Denis Lyness must have been very proud to have bred and raced such a champion. This is once again one of the legendary 'Little Black' bloodlines that have caused so much chaos during recent years. This pigeon did not achieve his success against two or three thousand it was close on 29,000 birds, which is a remarkable achievement in its own right. Not only has he done the job himself against all odds, he has bred the goods to do the same job. The great McGrath comes to hand like a dream, a lovely feathered pigeon with rather wide flight to help him speed past all other opposition.

The Busschaerts have been one of the best families that we have seen raced in the British Isles over the last 20yrs yet they were never rated on the Continent. I doubt if there is any other line of pigeons anywhere in the world that has produced as many winners not only at sprint races but also at the distance, which goes to show the excellent talent the late George Busschaert had when it came to breeding top-class quality pigeons. Norman and Eddie have gone out of their way to obtain the best of the lines available and have not regretted one pound invested.

One of the more interesting pigeons that I handled was 'Peter Pied', the Matheeuws winner of 26 x 1 st , that is individual prizes and not duplicated like so many records show in this day and age of the multiple 1 st prizes that are credited to some pigeons. It is certainly refreshing to see a loft that is not falsely advertising pigeons to win something like 30x1st, when probably they have won 1 st club 1 st sec 1 st fed which has been counted as 3x1st which in reality is only 1x1st. Another from Matheeuws family is 'Blesse' with 14x1sts to its credit to go with two Ace Pigeon of West Flanders award. There are some fantastic pigeons of this line housed at Balkholme such as 'Koekock', 55 prizes; 'Arrow', 11 x 1sts, 16x2nds; 'Big Man', 23x1sts; 'Inbred Poot', 9x1sts; 'Crazy Horse', 8x1sts; 'Bullet', 12x1sts; 'Mario', 9x1sts plus many more top pigeons from the Maurice Matheeuws family of sprinters that are rated as the fastest racing pigeons in the world. Going back to 'Peter Pied', if my memory serves me right there were a few comments in the letters pages of the weekly about the claim for this pigeon's individual performances. On that subject we must give credit where credit is due, but I fail to see how you can actually compare what one pigeon does against the other. When one weighs up the pros and cons of either racing to different areas or in fact the condition of the day, even whether or not the races were held mid week or weekend, there is a lot to consider and who would stick their neck out that far as to compare one set of performances to another. 'Peter Pied's' are exceptional results but what about the incredible performances of the great 'Master McGrath' who in my opinion is one of the greatest of all.

Obviously one would not form a stud without housing a team of the fabulous Janssens that have been responsible for so many top winning families that have come from the continent, therefore these lofts are no different. The demand for the Janssens took off when the Busschaerts went out of popularity, which has always surprised me because they are probably winning as many prizes as any other family on earth. Still that's another story as the Janssens are now the most popular pigeon on the circuit and if the likes of 'De 900' are about then I am not surprised because this incredible pigeon has had the honour of being voted the Champion of a 700-member combine for 5 consecutive years. It is no wonder that he was voted Champion because this great cock won a total of sixty-nine prizes which includes nine individual 1sts in a 200-member club. He was bred and raced by the now famous Dutch race team of De Jong Van Drunen where he was also responsible for many winners, a winning line that continues for Norman and Eddie. There are several others that are also of such quality but we do not want to bore you with a report full of performances that not what the article is about.

As for the Kirkpatricks, well that is a point that we cannot argue on because they have done the job already. John Kirkpatrick certainly built up a good team of pigeons when he founded this strain that are still as good today as they were all those years ago. They are still keeping up with the continentals which is probably why so many fanciers are going back to them for the longer races. They are so reliable, no ifs or buts with them, they do the job that they are asked to do. This point came to light with the fantastic performance of 'Virgo' the near white hen who won the NFC for Norman Barrett at his own racing loft since which time she has proved to be valuable asset at Balkhome where the main line of Kirkpatricks are bred around her. This has proven to be a wise decision because Norman's first five pigeons out of the 1989 YB National were all either bred around these lines or bred down from 'Virgo'. There are many other pigeons of this strain that are just as well bred if in odd cases not better bred than 'Virgo' which just goes to show the strength Kirkpatrick's that are now housed at the stud. 'Britannia' is a pigeon that we could go on about all day because she has been such a brilliant pigeon whose racing career covers 21 channel races of which seven were over 500 miles and in fact she won 1 st sec 26 th open Dax Nat. flying 700 miles with the BICC. 'Britannia' descends from the same bloodlines as 'Virgo' which strengthens this line at Balkholme. I am only going to mention one other from this strain this being 'Lee's Faith', the winner of 1 st open combine Thurso 560 miles after flying 17 hours 26 mins on the day. This bettered his previous year's performance of 5 th open Combine from the same racepoint and to top it all he is the sire and g.sire of many winners including 1 st open Combine Banff, 501miles. I have heard of one of the local fanciers, Ron Woodward, talk about 'Lee's Faith' on many occasions because he has this same line that have raced so well for him over recent years.

I cannot leave the pigeons at the stud without a mention of 'Champ', the Krauth Cock winner 21x1st, raced by F. Birkhill & Son. I mention this pigeon because the Krauth family have been one of my favourites for many years. They are as reliable a racer as you are likely to get anywhere, with consistently second to none whether from 60 miles or 600 miles and they come especially well when the going gets tough. I could go about the stock at Balkholme all day because pigeon for pigeon these lofts house probably more real 'Champions' than any loft around.

Since our visit to North Humberside I have been trying to sum up Eddie Wright, the amiable man who actually lives at Balkholme Hall. During the near three days that we spent with him he never really had a real wrong word to say about anyone because he is a strong believer in letting the birds do all the talking. When we did get into conversation it was about the pigeons that he loves so much. I gather from the two secretaries at the stud that any visitors from outside the area certainly know that they have paid a visit to Blakholme. I believe that the nights out are good and the hospitality is first class. Eddie certainly knows his pigeons and can rhyme them off one after another. It's as if he has a computer as a brain that can go to any pigeons he wishes with all the relevant information. Eddie no longer takes an active part in racing the pigeons because his main interest is breeding for others to win and that is where he gets his satisfaction from. When someone comes on the phone and says, 'Eddie we are breeding winners with those pigeons you sent us', that to Eddie is better than winning races himself. Eddie is the stockman of the stud, the one who knows exactly what is required to breed the goods.

The other member of the team we met was Michael,who appears to be the keenest of them all when it comes to racing the pigeons. His aim is to race a team as a hobby, which is just like any working man because even though he is a vital member of the team he cannot go at any time he wishes because he works. He leaves home at 7.30am to travel the 30 miles to Balkholme where he sets about the job of looking after the pigeons with Eddie and leaves around 5pm to go home and look after his own small team of racers. There is no big team here as Michael only keeps a modest team of 12 widowhood cocks, which have brought him much success. However, one thing that Michael does have is access to the stock pigeons, which is where he has youngsters from to go into his race team. One could say he is the examiner of the pigeon's ability to race and win. Do not get this set up mixed with the range of lofts that his brother Norman has, Michael's is a small, modest affair that suits him as a working man.

Michael first raced pigeons in 1961 therefore one can appreciate the man's vast knowledge of the racing pigeon, which is probably why he has flown such a good pigeon during recent years. Since that time there has only been one break which is like so many other younger members of the sport who in there teens start to lose interest in the pigeons due to their own instinct to start driving to nest, so to speak. During that brief spell away his father took control of the lofts and steadily introduced new stock which in turn brought a considerable amount of success which included winning 3 rd open 500 miles against 2,000 plus birds, these being the only birds on the day. By this time the pigeons were based on the Keynons and Kirkpatricks plus from the S B Cooper lines that were also very successful.

Michael did not stay away from the pigeons for too long because when he eventfully tied the knot a loft was soon erected and stocked with the lines that his father had now built up. The team was strengthened with a few from his brother Norman who had a very good team based mainly on the Kirkpatricks. These birds bred Michael his best yb to win 1 st open in the mighty Yorkshire Middle Route Fed from Lillers, 250 miles on a very hard day. Michaeal's time with pigeons lengthened when he was invited to join the team at Fountainhead as a full-time employee for his brother Norman and Eddie Wright, who were in the process of putting the stud together. Within a short time he was promoted to stud manager, which has recently led him becoming a full partner. One may think that with this position Michael now has a great deal of time on his hands, but that is not so because he has a lot of responsibilities at the stud and must therefore put in as much time, if not more with the weekends, as any other working man

Even so, Michael does admit that since starting with the stud his performances have steadily improved basically because he has most of his young bird team each year from the stud and therefore has a good selection to choose from. The Busschaerts have been very successful and have helped considerably with his performances such as when he became the highest prize-winner in the Beverley Beaver Club which is reckoned to be one of the strongest clubs in the strong Middle Route Fed. This year Michael is only racing ten widowhood cocks, eight of which have won 1 st prizes.

The next paragraph I shall leave to Michael, who had this to say on his birds: 'During the past five years I have only flown the widowhood system with an average of 12 cocks. You do not need a big team to be successful at pigeon racing, only good quality stock descending from pigeons with generations of performances and above all the ability to produce their like. My birds are paired up around the 6 th December, the widowhood cocks are allowed to rear their young until 14 days of age when they and their hens are removes. The birds are re-paired later in the year; at this time the widowhood cocks are given their first training tosses 20 miles is far enough. After sitting eight days the hens are removed and the cocks are on the widowhood system. No more basket training is given, only exercise around home both one-hour morning and evening. The widowhood system is ideal for the fancier with very little time, and it is all the better if you can get your wife to help you out. My wife has put in a tremendous amount of work into my birds because as you can imagine as manager of the stud most of my time is committed to that.

'To be employed full time with racing pigeons is like a dream come true for me. With a set up like Fountainhead, I am extremely fortunate and I look forward to a very successful future with the pigeons. Incidentally one of my best pigeons during recent years is 'Wee Willy' who was bred at the stud from a full brother and sister mating, namely Red Barcelona x Model of the Willy Clerebaut lines. This cock has flown the channel on 20 occasions including 5 x 400miles and twice 500 miles, all in race time. He won 17 prizes in the top 10 from an average of 300 birds per week and he has also gained very good Fed positions. These wins include two firsts from Melum winning 10 th from 2853 birds and 58 th against 2,554 birds.'

I would like to thank all those concerned with the most enjoyable visit to Humberside and we look forward to visiting again in the very near future to see if the winning sequences continue.