“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
‘Show Racer World’ Number 11.
Doug McClary of Australia (formally of Exeter).
Doug McClary is a fancier I have admired for many years for his showing, racing and wonderful writing in his regular page in the fancy press, and several books he has had published. He is famous in the Show Racer world for holding the record for many years, for wins at a BHW Blackpool Show, with five first, which is now held by Petty & Crawford, with six firsts in 2018. Doug and his wife, Ann, recently up sticks and moved, pigeons and all, to Australia, to start a new life down under with family that were already living there. I must say, he is greatly missed on the English showing scene, but in regular email that we exchange, it seems he is really working hard to get the Show Racer code going in Australia. Back in the mid-1990’s I went to Exeter, in Devon and had the good fortune to meet this great fancier for the first time and look at his 'Ace' team of pigeons and lofts. Doug is famous in our sport for being one of the top show men in the world, but in recent seasons had raced a small team on Widowhood with outstanding success.
In showing he has won most of the top shows including three years running B.I.S. at the Great Yorkshire Amal, B.I.S at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’ and many other top awards. In recent years showing has tended to take second place owing to business demands and because of growing interest in racing. Through the years, pigeons have taken him to many parts of the world including several times to the USA, where he judges many of the top shows on the eastern seaboard. His most thrilling experiences in the sport have been winning the GYA three years on the trot, winning his Section in the National Flying Club, and being invited to judge so often in the USA. He first judged there at the National YB Show at Louisville, Kentucky in 1981, and after judging a huge entry of over 600 birds, he awarded BIS to a cracking blue cock owned by Jim Isslehardt. Four years later he judged at Charlotte, North Carolina and awarded BIS to the same blue cock and of course in the meantime had not seen the pigeon or the owner. That pleased Doug, greatly! Racing his pigeons, Doug has won every race point North Road to Thurso and on the south he has won Section D of NFC twice, been 3rd Section and taken several other good positions, always with a small entry of two or four birds. Top pigeons at the Exeter lofts were: 'Brian' blue chequer cock: winner of nine 1sts racing all Devon County Championship Club Nantes races, a fantastic pigeon!
The list of champion Show Racer to grace the Exeter loft would be far to many to list, but here is a few: "Medallion Cock” mealy cock: winner of Welsh Region RPRA showing award; Devon & Cornwall Region RPRA showing award, Supreme Champion Devon & Cornwall SRS, 1st Old Comrades Show, 1st and Best Opposite Sex at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’, four times Best In Show. 'Sparnon Queen' blue hen a great show winner, 1st Birmingham Mail, 1st GYA, 1st and B.I.S. GYA, 1st and B.I.S. at the B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’ (when her sister was runner up), 1st. B.H.W. Blackpool ‘Show of the Year’, 1st and B.I.S. Southern Region Show, 1st Welsh Open Show, a total of 13 Classic show positions. “Del Boy” blue white flight cock, one of Doug’s finest breeders, winner of several times Best in Show, including three at successive shows of the Devon & Cornwall S.R. Society. “Georgia” blue hen, winner of Best in Show at the National Young Bird Show (1,364 birds) and many other premier wins. This wonderful hen is now at stock in Australia. “Double Eight” mealy cock. Doug says, this cock is a wonderful type and colour, and is an excellent breeder. “Roly” blue white flight cock. One of Doug’s favourites and he told me he was one of the best powder blues he had ever seen. A magnificent pigeon!
Doug had a very smart loft set up, which overlooks rolling hills and wonderful Devon countryside. The show racers, racers and stock birds were all housed in separate lofts, which have all got corridors running along the fronts. Ventilation is by adjustable glass .louvers along the front and in the rear of the lofts. He considers the most important factor in pigeon loft design is space for the fancier. This may seem unusual but he is quite convinced that a corridor of sufficient width allows for much easier control of the loft, a better flow of air and the opportunity to observe. Compartments should be of optimum size to allow the birds room, yet to control them. Doug mainly raced Widowhood, with nine pairs, but in 1996 worked a team of nine cocks on the celibate system and he says he found it very easy to use and also rewarding. He feeds a varied good mixture throughout the year, varying it as the seasons. Dictated by moulting, racing, showing and winter resting. His birds come to his house back door for small doses of Red Band and peanuts, and Doug maintains this helps the understanding between fancier and pigeons. Old birds training was varied with a couple of north road tosses, before having a last one or two south on the line of flight. In showing he is founder member and long serving secretary of the Devon and Cornwall Show Racer Society, as well as former president and founder of British Show Racers Fed. Doug says in some ways the sport has progressed in recent years, thanks to better clocks and better technology. Transportation of race birds must be improved and economy is the enemy of pigeon comfort, too many fanciers do not even know what conditions their birds experience when they go off to the race point. He maintains we must design and build better transporters, ,and our pigeon unions should do much more to make the sport more professional. Our leaders seem more interested in maintaining their official standing than in promoting the sport and money within the sport shou1d be used to make it better for fanciers .and birds. The Fancy is however in great danger from the predations of raptors and we must all do our part to safeguard the sport in this respect. The problems of fanciers in the south west, Wales, Cumbria and Scotland will soon be problems of all. Doug McClary’s loft was first Show Racer set up that I ever visited, and it gave me a great buzz to start with one of the best!
Thoughts of the ‘Master Craftsman’.
Doug McClary is a great pigeon man! He writes his articles in the fancy press brilliantly, he exhibits his Show Racers brilliantly and at one time, when he lived in Exeter, he raced his pigeons brilliantly. Doug must be described as the ‘Master Craftsman’! I’ve known this Cornish gentleman for about twenty five years and in that time we have become very good friends, but previous to that, I admired him as one of our leading fancier in the sport. Several months ago when I first had the idea of ‘Show Racer World’ series for the ‘British Homing World’, the first person I contacted was Doug McClary, who now lives in Australia. Doug being the worker he is for the Show Racer fraternity instantly offered me any help I needed to produce this series. So I emailed the man ‘down under’ for some info on the sport in Australia. A week had gone by and he sent me some of his thoughts on the Australian pigeon scene, which I think should be printed as he sent them. So to continue this week’s show article we are going to feature the thoughts of the ‘Master Craftsman’, Doug McClary!
Ever since our visit to Australia to visit our son in Victoria, we had thoughts about a possible move. We were so impressed with the country, with its relaxed ways and quality of life .The standard of living seemed to be extremely high with people seeming to have more time for leisure activities and so on.
However, when I got home from that first visit I looked at my three lofts, the birds, all the fittings, my office which was full of pigeon literature and other books and decided that the effort at my age was just too great. Then our daughter who had previously lived and worked in the USA told us that should we ever think of going to Oz, then she would like to do so also, but that they would not do it without us, having taken our grand daughters from us on that previous occasion when they went to the States. We therefore made enquiries about obtaining a Visa and found that we could move on the basis of a retirement visa. However before making a decision I had to know whether some birds could come. It is a fact that had this not been possible I would not have moved. I had cultivated my family since 1963 and felt so attached to them that I could not imagine life without them.
Enquiry revealed that unvaccinated birds could be imported into Australia including birds which passed a blood test showing that any residual antibodies had diminished low enough for them to enter the country. I surmised that the best course would be to breed a large round of youngsters in 2003 and take the best of them. However, when I took my first list of birds to the vet for blood testing, I took some of my favourite stock birds and even some yearlings. The results were extremely encouraging opening up possibilities of birds which could accompany me. You can imagine the trauma of selecting birds to come with me. Never a large team fancier, nevertheless, it was sad to leave each and every one of them.
Worse still, being unable to vaccinate in 2003 I severed all ties with the showing and racing being afraid to bring any disease or virus into the lofts. I couldn’t show, race or even judge birds for fear of this and made excuses for fanciers and friends to stay away. I had to do this as we had no final decision on our Visa and didn’t wish to announce our move until it was certain. It was a difficult year I can tell you. Lists were revised frequently but finally after several visits to my vet and numerous blood tests I had the final total of fourteen pairs of my show racers and six pairs of Dragoons. Their shipment was arranged in conjunction with a large shipment and in October 2003 I travelled up to see Colin Surtees in Co. Durham with my precious cargo of birds.
It was with heavy heart that I left them there knowing full well that they faced a long time in quarantine two months in England and a further month in Australia before I would see them again and then only if everything went well in the general shipment. Worse decisions were to come because I then had to dispose of my other birds including some of my very best. I drew up a list for an advertisement but suddenly a one-man buyer took the lot, meaning that the Kemyel family could remain together within the British Isles. However, the time came when all the birds had been taken from my lofts at Argyll Road, Exeter and I was without pigeons for the first time in over 40years. It was all extremely sad.
We moved across to Australia in February 2004 and three days after our arrival I was notified that the birds could leave quarantine in Melbourne. Luckily Richard Clingan, the editor of the Australian Racing Pigeon Journal had agreed to house my birds for me until I bought a house and a loft. Together we went to collect the birds on a very hot and sunny morning. When the outside doors of the Quarantine building were opened, a wonderful sight was there for me as I could see my lovely powder blues in the pens blinking in the sunlight. What a relief and what a joy. Richard took my birds home to his place about three hours down the road from where I now live and cared for them as his own.
We moved into our house on the 25th March 2004 but it wasn’t until; May 15th that my loft was ready to take the birds. I had travelled down to see them once in that time but when I went down with Ann to pick them up I was extremely happy and so became a fancier again. Some of the birds had gone into a moult, some had not. They were a confused bunch of birds as their world had been turned upside down literally and of course all the seasons were in reverse. In July of that year the Australian National was in Perth, Western Australia and I went across to judge the racing homers show type. I was not allowed to judge as only Australian rung birds are eligible for the National. My first egg was laid on the 31st July and the rest soon followed. Most of the birds settled to the breeding very well but one or two did not and I bred hardly any reds or mealies in the first year. Even now I have a mealy cock which has failed to breed a 2003 bred bird.
It was my intention to spread my birds as widely as I could and knew that only the very best would enable the breed to be accepted... Whenever fanciers came to my loft I gave them full choice to select any birds they wished (2004 bred in Australia birds). There were no provisos in this I made a full and unconditional offer. I have since seen one rather foolish English fancier proclaiming that I would have only sold birds I didn’t want myself. He made this statement on the internet for the world to see without knowing what my intentions were or are. It has been an odd experience, for how does one sell a product when there is no market for it. Show racers of the British quality are unknown over here. The only hotbed is in the Sydney area and while I have only seen a few of their birds, they are not the type we know in the show halls of the UK. In fact, the show racer scene as I have seen it so far is as follows. Victoria - There are no show racers being shown but whenever my birds have been exhibited they have been instantly admired and I feel so sure that in time we can create and manage an interest. Western Australia where I judged at the National. There was a good entry in the racing homers show type but they were mainly out and out racers. There were two or three birds which were reasonable show racers and they easily won the show. Queensland - I judged the Queensland State show and found a small entry of racing homers show type. One fancier had very good birds and took most of the prizes. I was impressed by him and his birds. In general terms therefore, show racers are few and far between or at least were. I have sold birds to every State in the country and hopefully those buyers will do their bit in showing the birds and also in breeding and spreading them still further.
The Australian National Pigeon Association agreed to my birds being shown as British Show Racers but wanted a standard. I am against standards but used the one in the NPA book of standards which speaks in general terms avoiding awarding set points for various qualities. It is a standard of acceptability.
I am still working to spread my birds around. This year already buyers coming here have been invited to choose whatever they want. Obviously it hurts when a cherished youngster is chosen but I can never be accused of selling nonly birds I don’t want. Indeed with fourteen pairs of old birds I have as large a team as I normally keep and could not find space for many more. I ended the first year with a blue white flight hen and a chequer cock the latter has won a number of Best in Shows and reserve B.I.S. I also kept a yellow hen telling visitors that she was the result of a special experiment and that I would like to further this trial for another year. They will probably now stay with me. Furthermore, I have imported two opal mosaics to add another colour to my birds.
My task is not an easy one. As I say, wherever they are seen at shows they are greatly admired especially by racing enthusiasts. I have just given a talk to a local club and when I produced my birds there were gasps of amazement and genuine questions about them and about showing.
There are not many racing pigeon shows out here. The club I spoke to intends to have a show series and when the National is held near Melbourne in 2007 it is my intention to try to couple it with a Victorian State racing pigeon show. In this way we might make showing popular and thus provide an opportunity for the show racer as we know it to take hold. What I write in five years time about the show racer in Australia is a matter for conjecture but whatever, I will be doing my best to promote the breed, to promote showing and to help the racing side of the sport also. Wish me luck!
Several Years On!
I guess that if I knew then what I know now, I would not choose to go through the strangulated process of getting my birds into Australia again. It was a time of considerable stress and decision making. How does one find the right selection out of a family of Show Racers which had been kept closely bound for over forty years and based upon my first powder blues? Neither was it as simple as choosing the best or most valuable, but in being able to take only birds which passed the DEFRA blood tests.
All this had to be done while other processes had to be sorted out such as the sale of the house, the shipping of the furniture, the car and the dogs. However, the day finally came when I took the birds up to Colin Surtees and was then able to dispose of the remainder and disposal of three lofts. The day also came in my first week here in Australia when I was notified that my pigeons could be released from Quarantine in Melbourne. Thanks to the late Richard Clingan who had offered to care for them, we duly presented ourselves at the Spotswood Quarantine station and when the doors were thrown open, what a wonderful sight greeted me, for there blinking in the sunshine were my lovely powder blues. Thank goodness for Richard, for at that time we had no house and certainly no loft for the birds...
No British show racers had ever been imported into Australia although amazingly many fanciers out here were well aware of them and expressed great interest in them. I eventually took a selection into a Melbourne show and sale at the racing headquarters of one of the top Federations when clocks were being read after a holdover. I can remember now how racing fanciers strolling through the pens to the clock reading were stopped in their tracks by the show racers. Also, there was considerable interest from the fancy pigeon enthusiasts.
I found these reactions encouraging as I entered into my first breeding season in 2004 in a newly constructed loft. I was stepping into the unknown with little or no understanding of the fancy in Australia and how many would be interested in keeping a few show racers. I had decided that anything bred could go and that my own requirements were secondary to getting the birds spread about Australia. Anyone coming to see the birds were encouraged to select what they wanted and while this was heartbreaking at times, seeing birds going out that I would love to have kept for my own future, I remained faithful to that cause.
In the meantime I had negotiated with the Australian National Pigeon Association to get the British birds accepted and scheduled. Previously, classes were and still are scheduled for ‘racing homers show type’ and while I felt able to go along with that arrangement could see that it could be a possible source of conflict. Therefore, my birds were deemed to be British Show Racers and classification provided for them.
So, five years later it would be fair to say that the British Show Racer has well and truly arrived. There must be thousands which have mainly been bred out of the original twelve pairs I brought in. Some additional birds have now been brought in and will have been bred from but I have yet to see what they have produced. The heartening thing was to see my birds take off in Sydney, the home of the oldest show racer club in the world. I indulged in no persuasion and in fact asked them to remain loyal to the Australian show racers and to preserve them for the future. Their birds were good pigeons, with good handling on the basis of keeping them as good looking racing pigeons. However where they fall down is in the colour and clarity of colour and chequering, factors where the British show racers excel.
We are now in the realm of having 200 British Show Racers in our largest shows and numerous fanciers are having a go at keeping and showing them. We have the British Show Racer Club of Australia with members from most States. So far it is a success story providing the breed with a second base after the quality and quantity kept in the British Isles. The Australian fancy has embraced the breed and my great hope is that this interest will continue and that in time, we will be up in numbers approaching the competitive nature of the top British shows.
It has not been easy but what an honour to have been able to bring my own carefully nurtured Kemyel family to this huge country and to have been able to see them accepted and bred in such large numbers. I have spent a lifetime working for the British Show Racer and at least towards the end of my showing career I can observe the fruit of my labour in fact at the Australian shows I can hardly avoid seeing it!
Well did you enjoy that, because I did! The ‘Master Craftsman’ is pushing the sport forward in Australia and he is greatly missed at all the premier U.K. shows. I do know that one of the pigeons he took with him to Australia was his wonderful blue hen, ‘Georgia’, and she recorded Best in Show at the National Young Bird Show, plus many other wins in Classic shows.
That’s our article for this week! I hope my readers have enjoyed our little insight into the work of the ‘Master Craftsman’. I can be contacted with ant pigeon ‘banter’ 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).