“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Three Borders Federation (Honiton Race).

The Three Borders Federation were at the Honiton  liberation site on the last Saturday in May and experienced a complete change of racing condition from recent weeks, with the convoy being liberated at 10.00hrs in a North / North East head wind. The Esher club were back at the top of the Federation result sheet, with the North Cheam ‘ace’, Paul Arnold, recording: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 10^th Federation. What a great season Paul is enjoying, with this being his third Federation win of the season, plus many other premier positions, including 3^rd open NFC Guernsey. Brilliant pigeon racing! Kevin Pratt and partners won 1^st Federation from Wadebridge the week previous with their outstanding Lambrecht mealy pied widowhood cock, the ‘Forgotten Cock’ and has now won 1^st Ashridge club, 9^th Federation from this Honiton race.

The first ten in the Honiton Federation result were: 1) Paul Arnold 1480: 2) Paul Arnold 1480: 3) Paul Arnold 1479: 4) Paul Arnold 1479: 5) Paul Arnold 1479: 6) Paul Arnold 1479: 7) Alan & John Stoner 1473: 8) Alan & John Stoner 1473: 9) M/M Holden & Pratt 1456: 10) Paul Arnold 1438. This was race number eight of the season and at this point the Esher club are leading for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 42 points, with the Ashridge and Mitcham clubs being joint R/U on 29 point.

As always I contacted our Paul for the third or fourth time this season to get some details of his winners for the article and as aways he was so helpful! This is what he had to say this time, ‘We’re all well here mate and I hope it's the same with you and your family. Firstly mate my wife Helen and I would like to congratulate you and Betty on your 50th wedding anniversary, wow mate an amazing achievement and we both wish you many more years of happiness together! Secondly mate, I always appreciate what you do for me and for the sport in that matter as you give fanciers the platform to showcase their achievements. I know it's what you like doing, but I am also aware of how long you spend on these articles. So mate if I'm lucky enough to keep winning like this and you want me to send in my details, I'll keep doing it and thank you!

Well what can I say about last Saturday, it was another fantastic day! It's like the good old days when I was really good!  During the week the birds were in excellent shape as they have been all season really, so of course come Saturday you expect a good race, but this turned out to be another fantastic day. I was thinking 2 hours 40 minutes would be good, but if I could have them at 2 hours 39 minutes that would take some beating. So at 2 hours 37 minutes I caught a glimpse of a couple of wings coming along the roofline and they were motoring, half a turn then they crashed onto the board and piled in, racing all the way. What I hadn't seen when I first saw them that there was six of them and they were all on the ETS in just a few seconds. I waited four  minutes for my next bird which is unusual and he ended up 7th club. When I worked my velocity out and saw it was 1480, I thought that surely there can't be anything any faster than that where we are in that wind. So when the club result came out I was shocked, mate! I knew they would take some beating, but my first six pigeons were 58 yards in front of the next member! When you take into consideration that out of the first seven races, my club has won the Federation six times and was 2nd in the other. It goes to show the level of competition I'm up against, these boys at the Esher club are bloody hard to beat! As I have said the birds have been well all season but the previous couple of weeks they were a touch off the pace in the Federation, but have still come unbelievably well, with either all virtually dropping together or within a few minutes, as they have all year so far. I do set my standards high and was a little disappointed to be behind, but experience has taught me that if you know your birds are well, then sometimes you have to carry on what you're doing and don't change anything and just wait for your luck to turn and this is exactly what happened last Saturday. It can be hard sometimes, but you can't win every week even though that's what we all want, sometimes you have to admit to yourself that there are days when you're simply outclassed by your competitors and you have to take it on the chin.

My first pigeon over the pad was my good blue white flight cock that won the Federation from Yeovil this season and was previously 1^st club 2^nd Federation, 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, plus he was also 12^th Federation the previous week from Wadebridge. Next pigeon on the result sheet was my good little dark hen and daughter of my National winner. She was 2^nd Federation beaten by a loft mate when I had nine on the drop from the first Honiton race this year, 3^rd Federation last year and last week was my second arrival from the NFC Guernsey race winning 7^th sect E, 25^th open provisionally. Next was my top hen "73" and she scored as a young bird and as a yearling, and as the last hen was 3^rd Federation on the first Honiton beaten by loft mates, but was my first bird last week from the NFC winning 1^st section E, 3^rd open! A week before this she was my third arrival from the BICC, a couple of minutes behind loft mates that were 37^th, 38^th open provisionally. What a pigeon! In fact mate this was my first race back in the National Flying Club since I won 1^st open NFC Messac two years ago and nearly won it again! I was over the moon to win the section and I'm really proud of my hens and what they have achieved in just their first two channel races and hopefully there will be more to come from them. While I'm on the subject of the National, I would like to congratulate the winners, as I know what a great feeling it is to win the greatest club in the country. I would like to also congratulate all the section winners, especially Darren and Josh May for taking the first five in their section with a phenomenal team performance. Take a bow boys! Going back to my Federation  result from Honiton, from my first eight arrivals, there were one nephew, one daughter, one son, two brothers and a granddaughter of my National winner, together with a son and a daughter of my ‘King Rudy’ cock. It's taken longer than I hoped to rebuild my team, but I now think I'm really close to what I wanted, so hopefully the future's looking bright for my pigeon racing’.

After a wonderful season in 2020 when Terry and Sue Leonard were Three Borders Federation ‘Individual Points Trophy’ winners, they came on and had an even better year in 2021. As always, the competition in the Three Borders Federation had been very ‘hot’ that year and Terry and Sue won the Federation ‘Individual Points Trophy’ for the second time, plus a long list of premier positions including: 1^st Federation Okehampton (735 birds), 1^st Federation Kingsdown (485 birds), 1^st Federation Yeovil (397 birds), 1^st Federation Yeovil (615 birds). The 2022 season has seen the Ashridge club partners win many premier positions in the Federation, including 2^nd twice. Terry and Sue’s two pigeons were: ‘Parkview Frank’, winner of 2^nd Federation Wincanton and ‘Tommy’s Girl’, winner of 2^nd Federation Exeter and both are Ceulemans from Frank and George Bristow. ‘Tommy’s Girl’ is a very special hen, having won a lot of premier positions including 2^nd Three Borders Federation two years on the trot. She was 2^nd Federation Okehampton (735 birds) in the 2021 season, beaten on the ETS by her loft mate, ‘Tony’s Girl’. She was bred from two 2019 late breds and is closely related to ‘Nigel’, the winner of seven firsts and many top positions in the large Peterborough North Road Federation. In one race Frank won the first four positions in the Federation and ‘Nigel’ was out in front by three minute clear.

Three Borders Federation: Winners of Yester Year (Part 14).

Mick and Pauline Worsfold of Bisley.

Mick and Pauline Worsfold enjoyed a good racing season recently as he dose ever year, with a recent high light being the L&SECC Guernsey old hens race, when he had three birds come more or less together to record 11^th, 12^th and 14^th open. First pigeon on the clock was Mick’s good blue hen, ‘Molli’, and she had previously won five firsts racing, including three in the very strong ‘Lion Brewery’ Mid-Week Club. Jamie Berry of Egham gifts the Worsfolds a few youngsters from time to time to try out on the channel and ‘Mollie’ was one of a batch bred by Jamie. All three hens were raced well in that season, but rested for a month before the old hens races and after a couple of mid-week warm up races were sent to Guernsey sitting ten day old eggs.

Mick is mostly interested in channel racing, through to Palamos and is famous in the Surrey pigeon fraternity for his brilliant performances from France and Spain through the years. His birds are raced on the natural system and are fed a high protein mixture, with the longer Channel races in mind. Mick keeps about 20 pairs of racers, which are paired up any time after 14^th February and although he used to have a few stock birds, he doesn’t bother keeping any these days. He says he tries to compete with the 50 youngsters he breeds each year, but he races young birds only really for educational purposes and some do race up to 200 miles, with yearlings racing through to Bergerac (450 miles). Mick is a great believer in sending young birds across the channel to France. He likes to give the youngsters as many training tosses as possible before their first race and the old birds have two 35 mile tosses every week, during the racing season. The youngsters are raced to the perch and Mick is not a liker of the ‘dark’ system, and told me, he would never use it. Mick buys his corn in bulk when it is at its cheapest and fed beans, peas and maize, with wheat replacing the peas in the winter. Red Band is used for trapping and linseed for the moult. Mick doesn’t show his birds much in the winter mouths, but does a lot of judging, which he enjoys very much. His favourite condition for birds being sent to the long races is sitting ten day old eggs. Most of the training is off the south coast, with the longer channel racing in mind and all the birds, old and young, get as many tosses as Mick and his wife, Pauline, can give them. For many years now Mick’s wife, Pauline, has been his pigeon partner and is a major factor behind his continuing success, with her help with training and the general loft management.

Mick Worsfold had always raced in partnership with his father, George, until his death in the early 1980’s. This was a very unsettling time for Mick and his family, but he decided to carry on with the pigeons although he had to travel several miles to George’s garden, where the lofts were sited. The partners certainly lived up to their nicknames, ‘The Bergerac Aces’, winning countless major prizes in the Combine and National events, including twice 1^st open Combine Bergerac (450 miles). Their first Bergerac Combine win was in the SMT Combine in 1975, with 4,027 birds competing and the star bird was a 1973 bred blue chequer hen of the Kirkpatrick and Bricoux strain. This great hen previously won several top prizes, including 1^st club Exeter, but pigeon racing being what it is, with ups and downs, she was lost from Pau. The main family was Kirkpatrick with Bricoux crosses, and he bought in the old fancied pigeon now and again to try out. A firm favourite at the Worsfold loft was a mealy cock called, ‘John Courage’, and what a great pigeon he was! He flew the channel over 20 times. In his prime he flew in five Nationals and was never beaten by a loft mate in those five races. This wonderful old timer was also an outstanding breeder, siring many good racers including a yearling which won 2^nd club, 23^rd open SMT Combine Bergerac. ‘John Courage’, on his many channel crossings chalked up many major positions including: 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (7,003 birds) Avranches, 1^st club, 3^rd Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (4,234 birds) Niort, 8^th section NFC Nantes and 1^st club Guernsey.

The 1976 season saw the Worsfold partnership win the combine from Bergerac for the second time, but another highlight of that year was when they won 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation, 5^th open SMT Combine (3,801 birds) Laval, with the blue chequer cock, ‘Vacation’. This Kirkpatrick / Bricoux was a brother to the 1975 Bergerac Combine winning hen. Behind every great racing team you normally find a good stock team and the Worsfold’s stock loft was no exception. At one time Mick turned down a very good offer for his Kirkpatrick red pied stock cock, ‘Sir Duke’, which was the sire of countless winners, including ‘John Courage’. The old Bricoux blue chequer cock, ‘Fall Guy’, was another great racer. When he was retired to stock, he bred ‘Vacation’ and the 1975 Bergerac combine winning hen. Mick said that George’s favourite pigeon was the grizzle Kirkpatrick stock cock, ‘Sidney’, bred by Sid Allcock, which had flown the channel 20 times in his racing career, but had excelled as a breeder. On the road he recorded: 1^st club, 12^th Federation (1,628 birds) Weymouth and 3^rd club (beaten by two loft mates), 8^th Federation, 40^th open SMT Combine (4,003 birds) Bergerac. At stock he bred many winners, including, ‘Rowdy’, the 1978 Bergerac BTB Combine winner. The Kirkpatrick grizzle cock, ‘Rowdy’, in his build up to winning the combine that year he had six channel races. This champion cock’s full racing performance was 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 1^st open BTB Combine (1,852 birds) Bergerac, 1^st club, 7^th Federation Exeter, 4^th club Angers, 6^th club Niort and 27^th open London & South East Classic Club.

The late George Worsfold had kept pigeons for many years, but at one time he had a long spell in hospital and young Mick had the job of looking after the birds. Mick was about 15 years old at the time and had to sell the pigeons because of a shortage of cash. Two years later, when things sorted themselves out, George and Mick started up again as partners. The original birds were Bricoux / Sion, which Mick obtained from Amos Foster of Chertsey and in the late 1960’s the Kirkpatricks were brought in from J. Johnson of Larne, Northern Ireland. Mick says he looked up to Les Davenport and the late Eric Cannon of Wormley as his ideal fanciers and maintained, if he had been to be second to any fancier in the National result, it would be Eric Cannon. He is 100% channel minded and maintains that if he couldn’t fly the channel he would pack up pigeons, as inland racing doesn’t give him any thrill whatsoever.

Since George’s death, Mick has continued racing the Kirkpatricks with outstanding success, winning 1^st Federation inland and many times from France. In recent seasons he has won 1^st open British Barcelona Club (twice) and 1^st open London & South East Classic Club (twice). Mick said that his loft is more or less all Kirkpatrick now, with the Bricoux greatly reduced. His 1985 1^st open B.B.C. Rennes winner was the Kirkpatrick dark chequer hen, ‘Darkon’, which was a granddaughter of ‘John Courage’. The old mealy cock, Champion ‘John Courage’, was also the grandsire of the Kirkpatrick blue hen, ‘Wombat’, winner of 1^st open L&SECC Guernsey in 1987. The following season this fantastic hen won 1^st open L&SECC in the Poitiers Yearling Derby, which was a very hard race and her dam was a Kirkpatrick blue hen that chalked up 2^nd open SMT Combine Nantes in 1986 for Mick.

Our Mick is one of the great workers in the sport and holds a list of offices, which he works very hard at. His jobs including President and Chairman of the Berkshire Federation, President of the Sunningdale RPC and Secretary and President of the ‘Lion Brewery’ Mid-Week Club. He runs the ‘Lion Brewery’ like clockwork and the club has enjoyed some brilliant times in recent seasons under his good care and due to his hard work! He thinks the ETS is the way forward in our sport and he says it disappoints him to see the low birdage in some of the long distance races these days. He told me although his great champion ‘John Courage’ was a late bred, he has no real use for them and only breeds a few if he has had bad losses in the young bird season. Mick says the south of England has been the home of many brilliant pigeon flyers over the years including: Eric Cannon, Les Davenport and Bobby and Ken Besant, but the best of the modern day crop is his club mate, Mark Gilbert of Windsor.

Mick has been a good friend of mine for most of my time in the pigeon racing sport and he is a great guy. With Mick, a spade is a spade, and what you see is what you get. No flannel. There you have it, Mick Worsfold, a brilliant channel racer!

Eric & Jamie Tate of Chertsey.

The father and son partnership of Eric & Jamie Tate of Chertsey had only been in the sport since 1985, but had chalked up many major positions in the Federation, Combine and National. At club level they had won an amazing forty six times 1^st, forty eight times 2^nd, forty five times 3^rd and thirty seven times 4^th since 1985 racing in the very strong Sunningdale RPC (Three Borders Federation).

In 1984 Eric caught the pigeon bug when he purchased two pet birds for his daughter Kellie, and in turn he got interested. His first pigeons he had to race were purchased from the pigeon shop in Chertsey, then run by Roy Bishop, plus a late bred from local fancier Paul Johnson. The Johnson pigeon was still in the loft on my visit, racing very well and in fact it won the last old bird race inland in 1988. The main pigeons he had at the start were Secretins from Eric Higginbottom of Sandhurst and Marshall, Evans & Allan of Bristol. Eric said these pigeons won for him in 1985 as young birds and were still winning in 1988. Eric was introduced to Eric Higginbottom by his workmate Alfie Taylor of Frimley, who was a great help to Eric on starting up in pigeon racing. In 1985 the Tates raced two old birds, the Johnson late bred and an old broken in hen and started properly with a full team of young birds that year, when they lost their novice status. In the early days he got a lot of encouragement from the late local ‘ace’ Fred Elliott, who Eric regarded as the best fancier in the area. His first loft was a second hand wire fronted Natural loft and said his main mistake in those early days was over-feeding. Eric still regarded himself as a novice and said he still made plenty of mistakes at that time.

Some of the partner's best positions were: 1^st sect, 6^th open Guernsey (8,500 birds) N.F.C., 10^th sect, 17^th open Rennes (6,250 birds) N.F.C., 11^th open Rennes B.C.C., 7^th open Nantes B.B.C., 5^th open Combine (3,717 birds) Weymouth, 4^th open Combine (3,929 birds) Rennes, 1^st Hersham Open Weymouth, 8^th open Combine (3,943 birds) Plymouth and several times 1^st Federation. Eric said his biggest thrill was in 1988 when he sent one bird to the very hard B.B.C. young bird Rennes race to record 9^th sect G, 11^th open from 840 birds and lifting £164.

The Tates had several very neat lofts which were self-built and closed in with Sputnik traps. Eric said the main features are dryness and contentment for the inmates. Up to 1988 the partners kept ten pairs of stock birds, 16 pairs of racers and bred about 50 youngsters each year. The winter of 1988 saw 25 pairs of stock birds introduced, mostly Janssens from Louella Pigeon World and Alec Martin of Godalming. The stock birds were housed in a new loft with open wire flights and when I visited the Tate's home in mid-January they had 25 pairs of youngsters in the nest almost ready for weaning. All the old birds, stock and racers, were paired up at the end of December. Widowhood was the main system raced, although they did practice some Natural racing, having recorded some excellent performances with hens. Jamie said in 1989 they were trying the Roundabout system so as to get the best of hens and cocks.

Eric took over the Chertsey pigeon shop from the late Roy Bishop (Pigeon Racing Gazette) when he moved to Plymouth, which was then his main occupation, and he supplied the local fancy of all their needs. He said he was very lucky as the whole family were very interested in the pigeons, sometimes over enthusiastically. Many's a time while he had been out they gave the birds a bag of corn!

Probably the best racer in the loft then was the handsome Secretin blue chequer cock 'Bullet' and he had chalked up 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 4^th open Combine Rennes; 1^st Hersham-Weymouth Open and three times 1^st club Weymouth. 'Bullet' was sire of many winners including one of the loft's best 1988 youngsters, 'Young Bullet', winner of 9^th sect, 11^th open Rennes B.B.C., 89^th open Guernsey N.F.C., 1^st Surrey Championship Club Guernsey; 8^th Hersham Weymouth Open; 3^rd Havant Guernsey Open flying Guernsey three times as a young bird. Another ‘ace’ young bird in 1988 was the Janssen blue chequer cock 'Rocky' winner of 1^st club, 12^th Three Borders Federation Blandford.

Eric said the Secretins were good right up to 450 miles and he had crossed them with the Vanden Bosch / Janssen and produced some good hens for hard days. The furthest the old birds were sent was 550 miles, with selected yearlings racing to 460 miles and young birds raced the programme to 230 miles. A good clean mixture was fed and generally Eric liked birds sitting ten day old eggs for the longer distance races. The partners worked the birds when it was needed; Jamie maintained that rest was just as important as hard work. Eric was secretary of the Chertsey midweek club and said he kept out of pigeon politics as there were too many people just looking for power, who never race pigeons themselves properly.

The loft, although racing widowhood, housed some outstanding hens, such as the four year old blue 'Blue Lady', winner of 1^st club, 1^st Three Borders Federation, 8^th open Combine Plymouth, and three times 1^st club Weymouth. Another star was the pied hen 'Eric's Choice' which had chalked up 1^st sect, 6^th open (8,512 birds) Guernsey N.F.C. 1^st club Weymouth; 4^th Hersham Weymouth Open. The partners didn’t consider themselves ‘ace’ showmen, but have shown three times in that winter winning three firsts. Jamie said, "We enter what we think looks good and only take them straight out of the loft". The Tates were not really into eyesign, although they had won some good open eyesign shows. They maintained the main factors behind success was creating a happy environment and a good education for the young birds. Eric said they had bred a few late breds and found that they made good two year old racers. They had never had a flyaway with the youngsters and once weaned got them out on the loft as soon as possible. Granules were used on the loft floors while breeding and they found this kept the loft really dry. The partners had a great crop of youngsters in 1988 and two more good one’s were the pied cock 'Slatey' which Eric said was their most consistent young bird winning a considerable amount of pool money and 'Blue Boy' winner of 1^st club, 6^th Federation Guernsey. Jamie said success in pigeon racing was down to good birds and dedication; you only get out what you put in. There you have it, Eric & Jamie Tate!

That’s it for this week! Well done to all the above winners, what a great season they are enjoying  racing in the Three Borders Federation, If you win and want a write up in this space, please contact me on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)