“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Three Borders Federation (Blandford (2) Race).

Derek Reid of Weybridge has been one Surrey’s premier pigeon racers for many years, winning top honours in Federation, Combine and National every season. The Three Borders Federation sent 1,264 birds to Blandford (80 miles) for the third old bird race of the 2018 season and Derek was back at the top of the Federation result sheet, with a good three year old widowhood cock. The Federation convoyer, Dom McCoy, liberated the birds at 08.30hrs in a south east wind and Derek’s game cock won the Federation by 3ypm clear! The recent general adverse had improved, so the membership could train their pigeons and as a consequence the Federation birdage had greatly improved. Derek Reid has been ‘knocking on the door’ for a Federation win, after previously winning in the first two races: 5th, 7th, 8th Federation Blandford (1), 20th Federation Yeovil. Terry Goodsell of the Ashridge club is up there again at the top of the result sheet, recording 2nd Federation after winning 1st Federation Yeovil the weekend previous.

The first ten in the Blandford Federation result were: 1) Derek Reid 1438: 2) Terry Goodsell 1435: 3) Frank & Sue Carson 1434: 4) N. Godwin 1433: 5) Terry Goodsell 1431: 6) Terry Goodsell 1431: 7) Mr & Mrs. S. Gasson 1423: 8) Terry Goodsell 1422: 9) Terry Goodsell 1422: 10) Terry Goodsell 1422.

We are three weeks into the 2018 racing season and members of the Spelthorne club have won: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th Federation Blandford (1), 13th, 14th, 16th, 20th, 22nd Federation Yeovil, 1st, 15th, 17th, 18th Federation Blandford (2). What a brilliant start to the season! The competition in the Three Borders Federation was strong and hard in the 2017 season, and once again the mighty Esher & Dist. RPC came out on top, winning the ‘Federation Points’ Trophy’, on 176 points, with the runners up being the Spelthorne club, on 171 points. The Spelthorne club has the very high quality membership, winning 107 Federation positions, including seven 1st Federation winners in the 2017 season and three 1st SMT Combine winners in recent seasons. The club’s Three Borders Federation winners in the 2017 season were: 1) Paul Johnson & Partners 1st Federation Blandford (1,211 birds): Terry Smart 1st Federation Exeter (1,018 birds): D. Seedwell 1st Federation Kingsdown (649 birds): Derek Reid 1st Federation Messac (317 birds): Richard Kent 1st Federation Yeovil (740 birds): Paul Johnson & Partners 1st Federation Messac (435 birds): Richard Kent 1st Federation Blandford (769 birds). Federation trophies won by members in the 2017 racing season were: ‘Blackwell Rose Bowl’ Derek Reid: ‘Cooper Challenge OB Trophy’ Paul Johnson & Partner: ‘Longest Old Bird Race Trophy’ (shared) Derek Reid / Paul Johnson & Partner: ‘Gazette Perpetual Trophy’ Derek Reid: ‘Fred Mott Memorial Cup’ Derek Reid: ‘A. Knight Trophy’ Derek Reid: ‘Pigeon Fancier Trophy 2’ Richard Kent: ‘Sandhurst Trophy’ Derek Reid: ‘Falkland Trophy’ Richard Kent: ‘F. J. Elliott Trophy’ Richard Kent: ‘Federation Rose Bowl 1’ Derek Reid. Fantastic pigeon racing!

I visited Derek Reid’s home in Weybridge just after his Federation win in July 2015 and what a fantastic garden and loft set up he has there in Surrey. He lives about a mile or so from where my daughter, Caroline, lives, so I was familiar with the area and we could not have picked a better day weather wise for the loft visit. Derek has several smart lofts at the bottom end of his massive lawn and all had pan tiled roofs. He races the widowhood system and uses tradional widowhood nest boxes. The lofts are all closed in and the main widowhood racing loft is fitted with a big trapping station for ETS clocking, and has a corridor, with grill floors for easy cleaning out. The stock birds have a very spacious loft, fitted with a wire flight so the inmates can get out in the weather. Derek’s young birds have their own loft and when I visited, his wife was out giving the youngsters a training toss.

Talking to Derek after he won the Three Borders Federation from Taunton in 2015 , he said, ‘I don’t know how I won the Federation from 117 miles with one of my long distance Jan Aarden cocks. The winning pigeon, ‘Louis’, is a son of my champion cock, ‘Dark Smaragd’, winner of 1st section G, 1st open BBC Palamos (675 miles) in the 2005 season and his gran dam was a daughter of Champion ‘Incredible’, winner of ten premier prizes from 620 to 793 miles, including three times Barcelona’.

Derek Reid has a fantastic racing record over many years some of his best pigeons are: the blue cock, Champion ‘Ryan’s Express’: 1st section E, 1st open NFC St. Nazaire in 2005, Champion ‘Dark Smaragd’: 1st section G, 1st open BBC Palamos (675 miles) in 2005, Champion ‘Wim’: 1st section G, 1st open BBC Bordeaux (450 miles) in 2006, ‘Black Jack’: 2nd section, 2nd open BBC Bordeaux in 2006 ( beaten by ‘Wim’) and ‘The Tours Cock’: 2009: 1st Three Borders Federation, 2nd SMT Combine Tours (280 miles).

Derek tells me his local pigeon club at Spelthorne is going from strength to strength and with a recent influx of new members, has now got 17 flying members. The Spelthorne South Road is only a small friendly club, based at Spelthorne Sports and Social Club, Staines Road West, Sunbury on Thames, just one mile off Junction 1 of the M3 Motorway. Small club it might be, but is of the highest quality, having several Federation winners in recent times and had three 1st SMT Combine winners in the space of three seasons. In one of those seasons the Three Borders Federation flew it first channel with the SMT Combine from Alencon in mid- May. Mick Nunn, the then hard working secretary of the Spelthorne SRFC won the Federation by 15ypm clear and at the same time topped the Combine with his good widowhood blue chequer cock, ‘Elisee’s Choice’. Mick purchased the dam of the Combine winner at the 2010 Three Borders Federation Breeder / Buyer sale for £35 and she was bred by Derek Reid. She was named ‘Derek’s Girl’ and was bred from the very best of Derek’s National winning family. A while ago I drove to Laleham near Staines, to visit the 2013 Federation winning loft of Will Worley, and you couldn’t get a smaller set up than his. Will had had a lot of good success in recent years and the 2013 season has seen him win 1st, 2nd Spelthorne club, 1st, 3rd Three Borders Federation Yeovil (1259 birds), 1st Spelthorne club Taunton, plus several other premier positions in one of the strongest clubs in the Federation. Derek Reid had bred Will a batch of ten young birds to race and the 1st and 3rd Federation winners were part of that job lot. The Federation winner was a handsome dark cock and Wil told me at the time that he really liked the pigeon from the first time he saw him, and the 3rd Federation winner was, ‘The 52 Hen’, a beautiful blue chequer hen. These two birds were mated together and went to the Yeovil race sitting eggs in a bowl on the loft floor. The two birds came from the race together, trapped together, but were split in the Federation result by Will’s slow clocking method! Derek Reid’s pigeons have been very successful for his loft at Weybridge and for many other fanciers in the UK.

That’s our article for this week. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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