FOUR PIGEONS OF EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY

by John Clements

Three or four weeks ago on Elimar I wrote about four 700 mile NFC Tarbes pigeons in the 2013 result. These four pigeons all scored in the top twelve places of the entire race giving away massive distance yet still coming out at or near the top.

The Circumstances of the Race

The performance of these four pigeons was nothing but an astonishing feat of endurance, persistence and natural talent. Not only because these four pigeons performed well in this particular race but because of the background and the circumstances behind what they did. The background of the race is a story in itself. Before the race even got under way there was a weather ‘hold over’ for three or possibly four days. The pigeons were not released until the following Tuesday so all the pigeons had been in the basket for a week. A second circumstance that affected the race was that the pigeons were finally released at 16.15 in the afternoon. They were released into a Northerly wind.

The Late Liberation

This late afternoon release meant that on the first day the pigeons would not be more than 200 miles down the course before they roosted for the night on some French rooftop. This places their first night roost at or about the town of Saintes. The next morning the best pigeons got up early possibly before 4.30. Our four pigeons to have any chance of making it home on that second day had to fly more than 500 miles either singly or in very small groups comprising one or two pigeons. Not all of the pigeons roosting overnight would rise at the same time but our group would certainly have done so to enable them to make it into Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The Magic of Homing from a Great Distance

Greater Distance homing always has and still does hold a place in the imagination of the public and most fanciers, but these days we inside the sport have, because of some mean spirited reason, chosen to ignore top distance feats. For various reasons this is mostly connected with money and selling pigeons.

Recognised Standards of Excellence

This unattractive attitude if it persists will corrupt the sport and eventually bring its downfall. The first signs are already showing. It is now difficult to fill administrative and governing posts for people just don’t want to take responsibility in a dying sport with huge problems. In every other competitive sport from athletics to yachting they not only have standards of behaviour but standards of excellence. In pigeons we have reversed recognised standards of excellence to now celebrate what is relatively common because common and popular makes money. Thus we have chosen to go overboard and applaud ordinary inland club and fed winners yet ignore long our best distance ‘National’ pigeons. We can quite easily say at least half of inland club and fed winners are relatively ordinary . This cannot be said of extreme distance 700 mile pigeons. The best 700 mile pigeons are always exceptional because they are rare and because it is impossible to fudge distance flown.

The Top 10 UK pigeons in 2013

Of course these four pigeons are special - I would go further and say that these four pigeons were among the ten best pigeons in the whole of the UK in 2013. The first pigeon of Mark Gilbert might also be in the top ten as might the first pigeon of Mr and Mrs Moody of Portsmouth and R Spiers of Hailsham but we will never know if these 500 to 600 mile pigeons would be able to fly the longer distance at the same velocity as they achieved flying shorter. Nevertheless the age of both the Moody and the Spiers pigeons indicates they were of an age where stamina tends to improve. On top of that the Moody pigeon was well pooled which also indicates this pigeon must have had previous good form. 

Most fanciers and most pigeons are never exposed to this trial by endurance for this is one part of the sport of pigeon racing that closely resembles true feats of nature such as bird migration. I hope sufficient notice is taken by official bodies for them to stop rocking the boat of pigeon history and remind themselves what pigeons such as these four achieved on that June day in 2013. I for one would like them to be displayed on the RPRA’s website as a select group of pigeons that represent some of the best Britain can produce. The best that can rival the best in the world for we can point out our pigeons have to cross the sea either alone or in a very small group and get home. That,  in my book is a UK plus, a UK advantage, a UK tour de force not found on the continent, which all goes to show there is still a bit of high ‘working class’ culture left in these islands, although now only in small quantities.

Brian Denney's pigeon. The other 3 referred to in this atricle were raced by the Brindle family, the Winters and Mr & Mrs Neil Bush.

The Brindle family

The Winter pigeon

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Elimar - March 2014