“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT”

Three Border Federation (Champions of the 2023 season).

The competition in the Three Borders Federation has been strong and hard in the 2023 season, and once again the mighty Ashridge RPC have come out on top, winning the ‘Federation Points’ Trophy’, with 64 points. The club has won the championship several times in recent years and this time it was a good compaction, with the runners up being the Esher & District RPC the 2023 champions, on 63 points. One point difference, that’s how strong the competition is in our Federation! It is common knowledge that the Ashridge is a very strong club, sending up to 200 birds a week and in most races, short or long, members have to more or less win the Federation to win the club. Needless to say the Ashridge member’s presence is very strong in the Federation results and they have won 116 racing positions, including seven 1^st Federation winners in the 2023 season. A fantastic club performance! The Ashridge club must rate as one of the premier clubs in the south of England and is dripping with top quality fanciers who are hell bent on winning the Three Borders Federation every weekend. Congratulations to the Ashridge lads!

The Federation ‘Individual Points Trophy’ was won by Terry Goodsell of the Ashridge club, on 89 points and he won 54 Federation positions, topping the Federation five times and won the ‘Young Bird Average’ in the 2023 season. The runner up for the trophy on 47 points was Terry and Sue Leonard also of the Ashridge club and they topped the Federation twice. Congratulation to the two Ashridge Terrys on their brilliant performances!

On behalf of all the members of the Federation I would like to thank all the officers and worker for their good work in the 2023 racing season. They were just brilliant! Our hard working secretary, Bryan Poulton, tells me he has done the job for 37 years now, which is an incredible achievement. Bryan was born in Hersham, near Weybridge in Surrey, and first became interested in pigeons as a 14 year old when visiting his friend, Dave Newman, who was a pigeon fancier. He has now had his pigeons 68 years and still loves the sport. Bryan's father wasn't a fancier but was very keen on greyhounds, so with Dave's help Bryan obtained pigeons from Harry Wheatcroft of Reigate and Freddie Ranaboldo of Molesey, to start himself off in the sport. He started racing his pigeons in 1954 and says he admired the performances of Freddie Ranaboldo and Charlie Maycock, who were the premier local fanciers at that time. He had his first race with young birds in 1955, flying in the Walton RPC and recorded 3rd and 4th club. Bryan was a founder member of the Esher & District RPC and was their first secretary. The first Poulton loft was an orange box on stilts and after some help from local fanciers, including Mark Finestone, he progressed to a 20ft loft with a large bay.

Bryan says he likes the loft to have plenty of air circulation, but it must be dry and warm. The loft houses 30 natural pairs of racers, which are paired up on 14^th February. Bryan says he likes to treat them as pets and tends to over feed them. He has no stock birds, only breeding from his best racers, and has a young bird team of about 50 birds each season. His pigeons are the original Heide family bred from the Wheatcroft cock birds and the Ranaboldo hens. He thinks the original Harry Wheatcroft stock came from Rey Brothers of Scotland. In recent years, he has introduced the Dordin and Cattrysse pigeons with outstanding success. The Poulton pigeons are now his own inbred family and he says they have always tended to be better from the longer races. From the Continent, he maintains that his best performance was racing from Bergerac in two clubs on the same weekend, taking the first three positions in one club and the first two in the other, all with birds clocked on the day of liberation. He has also won the Federation many times over the years.

The Three Borders Federation winners in the 2023 season were: 1) Terry Goodsell (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Wincanton: 2) Terry & Sue Leonard (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Wincanton: 3) Terry Goodsell (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Honiton: 4) Vic Emberson (Esher) 1^st Federation Okehampton: 5) Terry Goodsell (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Yeovil: 6) Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak (Isleworth) 1^st Federation Bodmin: 7) Jim Andrews & Son (Mitcham & Merton) 1^st Federation Honiton: 8) Vic Emberson  (Esher) 1^st Federation Honiton: 9) M. Wojtczyk (Isleworth) 1^st Federation Yeovil: 10) Graham Evans  (Isleworth) 1^st Federation Yeovil: 11) Vic Emberson (Esher) 1^st Federation Honiton: 12) Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak (Isleworth) 1^st Federation Okehampton: 13) Malik & Khan (Esher) 1^st Federation Wincanton: 14) Terry & Sue Leonard (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Wincanton: 15) Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak (Isleworth) 1^st Federation Yeovil: 16) Terry Goodsell (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Yeovil: 17) Terry Goodsell (Ashridge) 1^st Federation Honiton: 18) G. Koritsas  (Mitcham & Merton) 1^st Federation Newton Abbot.

Three Borders Federation 2023 trophy winners were: ‘Longest OB Race Trophy’ Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak: ‘Gazette Perpetual Trophy’ Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak: ‘Hartley Challenge Trophy’ G. Koritsas: ‘Heritage Trophy’ G. Koritsas: ‘The Fred Mott Memorial Cup’ Vic Emberson: ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ (Pigeon of the Year) Paul Arnold - GB 21 N 06445 winner of 3^rd, 3^rd, 3^rd, 10^th, 14^th Federation: ‘Sandhurst Trophy’ Jim Andrews & Son: ‘Falklands Trophy’ Terry Goodsell: ‘Federation Rose Bowl’ Vic Emberson: ‘Federation Rose Bowl 2’ (Individual Points) Terry Goodsell: ‘Federation Points Shield’ (Club Points) Ashridge RPC.

Three Borders Federation 2023 averages winners were: Old Bird Average: Jim Andrews & Son, r/u Vic Emberson: Young Bird Average: Terry Goodsell, r/u G. Koritsas: Combine OB & YB Average: Vic Emberson: Best Average Three Longest OB Races: Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak, r/u Vic Emberson: Best Average Longest OB & YB Races: Vic Emberson, r/u   Mirek & Malgorzata Burczak.

What a great feeling it was back in April! The summer was just around the corner and pigeon racing had started the new 2023 season. That was first time for a few years that we haven’t mentioned Covid and all we’ve had to worry about was ‘bird flu’. What a crazy world we now live in! At long last the new season had kicked off and we could enjoy racing our pigeons again! The Three Borders Federation held its first Wincanton race in late April and flying 91 miles into Morden, the Ashridge ‘master’, Terry Goodsell, took ‘first blood’ and chalked up his first Federation win of the new campaign! Terry must be describe as a ‘legend’ of the Surrey pigeon racing fraternity, with his countless brilliant performances over many years in the local Federations. Terry Goodsell recorded a brilliant 1^st, 2^nd , 5^th, 14^th, 15^th, 18^th, 19^th, 25^th  Federation and Ashridge club members took thirteen positions the first 25 on the Federation result. Brilliant pigeon racing! This was just the start of a fantastic season for Terry winning five times 1^st Three Borders Federation and finishing up the Federation champion and winning the Federation ‘Individual Points Trophy’, plus several other premier trophies. This is the third time he has won the Federation championship trophy, previously lifting it in 2018 and 2019. Terry has won it all in the 50 odd years that I’ve known him and is simply the best at Federation racing, and is a ‘legend’ in the Surrey racing fraternity. Terry Goodsell’s  performance in the Three Borders Federation in the 2023 season was: (Old Bird) 1^st, 2^nd, 14^th, 15^th, 18^th, 19^th, 25^th Federation Wincanton, 10^th, 24^th Federation Wincanton, 1^st, 2^nd, 12^th, 13^th Federation Honiton, 8^th Federation Okehampton, 1^st Federation Yeovil, 15^TH Federation Yeovil, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 9^th, 12^th Federation Honiton, 3^rd, 10^th, 20^th Federation Okehampton, (Young Bird) 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th, 25^th Federation Wincanton, 6^th, 7^th, 10^th, 12^th, 16^th, 20^th Federation Wincanton, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 13^th, 14^th Federation Yeovil, 1^st, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 11^th Federation Honiton, 3^rd, 4^th, 20^th,, 21^st, 22^nd Federation Newton Abbot.

Brilliant pigeon racing!

Terry Goodsell is successful with racing his pigeons all most every season, with his recent highlights being: The Three Borders Federation was at Blandford with the young birds for the second weekend on the trot in 2022 season. This was the sixth and second to last young birds race of the season and the membership enjoying a good fast race with excellent returns. The 2002 racing season was bang on and the Federation Saturday team had produced some great racing again that year! The Ashridge ‘master’, Terry Goodsell won the race, recording his second Federation winner of the season and chalked up: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 14^th, 15^th, 16^th Federation. Brilliant pigeon racer! Terry had only been racing babies in the 2022 season and had hit top form, after all his hard work training with his good friend, Rafa Suchocki. The highlights of his 2020 season racing in the Three Borders Federation were: 1^st Federation Honiton (925 birds), 1^st Federation Yelverton (710 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd Federation Wincanton (1,051 birds), 1^st Federation Wincanton (761 birds), 1^st, 2^nd Federation Wincanton (738 birds), plus many other premier positions. Pigeon racing at its very best! The competition in the Three Borders Federation had been strong and hard in the 2019 season, and  Terry Goodsell’s club, the mighty Ashridge RPC, came out on top for the second season on the trot, winning the ‘Federation Points’ Trophy’. Terry Goodsell won the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ and his positions won  in the Three Borders Federation in the 2019 racing season were: (Old Bird): 15^th, 17^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 21^st Federation Yelverton (1,279 birds), 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 20^th Federation Honiton (822 birds), 9^th, 10^th, 16^th, 23^rd Federation Kingsdown (1,018 birds), 3^rd, 5^th,8^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 14^th 21^st, 22^nd Federation Yelverton (826 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 13^th, 14^th, 15^th, 16^th, 17^th, 18^th Federation Exeter (608 birds), 2^nd, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, 15^th, 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th Federation Honiton (939 birds), 1^st,2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th 6^th, 15^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th, 25^th Federation Bodmin (806 birds), 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 15^th, 16^th Federation Kingsdown (629 birds), 1^st, 5^th, 11^th,13^th, 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th Federation Truro (595 birds), 21^st, 23^rd Federation Yeovil (761 birds),8^th, 9^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 14^th, 15^th Federation Honiton (633 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 10^th, 18^th, 19^th, 24^th, 25^th Federation Sennen Cove (488 birds), (Young Bird): 18^th, 19^th Federation Blandford (713 birds), 11^th Federation Yeovil (673 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 13^th Federation Blandford (1,044 birds), 19^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 24^th Federation Yeovil (812 birds), 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 19^th Federation Kingsdown (677 birds), 25^th Federation Newton Abbot (464 birds). Previous to this wonderful performance in the 2019 season, Terry, had won six times 1^st Three Borders Federation and the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ in the 2018 season. Brilliant pigeon racing!

Terry Goodsell’s pigeons are raced on the widowhood system, which consists of a team of 20 cocks and he says he liked to keep the widowhood cocks warm in the loft. The birds are paired up after the BHW Blackpool Show in January and the families raced are mainly Soontjens and Janssen of Arendonk, with the Janssens being obtained from the Ponderosa Stud in Holland and Fountainhead Stud. New families introduced recently from the Ponderosa UK Stud are the Heremans-Clusters and Koopman- De Weerdt. He maintains the Janssen are good right through the programme to 455 miles, although the Soontjens are very good up to 250 miles. As far as his pigeon loft is concerned he is very keen to have warmth, a good dry floor, together with good ventilation, with no draughts in his lofts. He told me over feeding was the biggest mistake a fancier can make and was totally against fat pigeons at any time of the year. He says, many fanciers make the mistake of over exciting their birds and feed them too much hemp. Terry feeds the birds according to the temperature in the loft, using a good racing mixture, but with more carbohydrate when it was colder. I’ve known Terry Goodsell of Mitcham since the mid 1970’s when he was put up brilliant performances in the Surrey Federation and SMT Combine with his widowhood cocks, and I featured him in the fancy press. He was a brilliant fancier then and he is still a brilliant fancier today, winning many 1^st Federations through the years! He now races his pigeons to his loft in Morden and he enjoyed a wonderful old bird racing season recently in the Three Borders Federation, winning many premier positions including 1^st Federation Kingsdown (1,205 birds). Terry’s good blue pied widowhood cock, ‘Bibby’, won the Federation by 27 ypm clear and he is the nest mate to the ‘ace’ blue chequer pied cock, ‘The Workman’, winner of 2^nd South Downs Premier FC twice, plus several hundred pounds in that season. Another premier performer in that same old bird season was the blue cock, ‘The South Downs Cock’, and he won one the club’s races, also lifting several hundred pounds for Terry.

At the end of the 2017 racing season Terry Goodsell had sent to seventeen races and won twelve firsts. The Three Borders Federation sent 918 birds to Yeovil for the fourth young bird race and the Federation convoyer, Dom McCoy, produced yet another great race, liberating the birds at 06.45hrs in a Westerly wind. Terry Goodsell, secretary of the Ashridge club is enjoying a great 2017 young bird season and had five quick ones on the ETS from Yeovil to record: 1^st, 4^th, 5^th, 19^th and 21^st Federation. Terry is doing very well with his newly introduced Heremans-Ceusters pigeons from the Ponderosa UK Stud in Weymouth and his Federation winner was a blue chequer hen bred from these stock birds. He races his young birds entirely on the natural system and this game little hen was raced to the perch. The Ashridge club missed out on one of the eight young birds races and in the seven that they sent too Terry recorded: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th club, 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 22^nd, 23^rd Federation Blandford (769 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, 15^th, 16^th, 22^nd, 24^th, 25^th Federation Yeovil (1,023 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, 1^st, 4^th, 5^th, 19^th, 21^st Federation Yeovil (918 birds), 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd club, 4^th, 10^th, 19^th Federation Exeter (628 birds), 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, 11^th, 22^nd, 23^rd, 25^th Federation Newton Abbot (648 birds) Brilliant pigeon racing!

Year in and year out a name that is consistently in the Federation and Combine results is that of Terry Goodsell of the strong Ashridge club. The club has only been formed for several short years, racing in the Three Borders Federation and Terry is one of the main ‘cogs’ running this very successful new pigeon racing club. I have known Terry since the mid 1970’s and he has rarely had bad season in all that time. Terry started keeping pigeons at the age of ten, at which time he used to help his friend to clean out his father’s pigeons and became interested. His uncle built his first loft which was 8ft x 6ft and his first birds were obtained from the late Alf Neal of Mitcham and some youngsters of the Sion strain from G. Lay. Terry told me, Alf Neal gave him a lot of help to get started and Bill Shepherd’s great performances always stood out in his mind as brilliant in those early days. He had been racing ten years, being a member of the Mitcham Common Club from the start. Terry had raced widowhood for five years, beginning with a basic system according to the book and along the way the finer points had been picked up through trial and error. The Goodsell lofts housed some of the Billy Shepherd of Mitcham pigeons and Terry told me that Billy had been a great help with advice since he started up.

Terry was a pioneer of widowhood racing with cocks in the Surrey area in the 1970’s and won everything in front of him. I have heard of some bad luck since I started up in our sport, but Terry Goodsell’s 1979 racing story of twice being beaten on decimals for 1^st open S.M.T. Combine must take the cake. In fact Terry had been 2^nd open Combine three times in three years as in 1977 he was 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th club, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Surrey Federation (3,060 birds), 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) Plymouth. The sad fact about Terry being 2^nd open SMT Combine twice in the 1979 season was that he was beaten twice by club mates and was thus pushed into 2^nd club, 2^nd Surrey Federation. He was premier prize winner in the very strong Mitcham Common Flying Club in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978 and had lifted the highly rated old bird points trophy three times. Terry won the Surrey Federation points trophy in 1977 when he was the Federation top prize winner and was third highest in the 1978 season, when he won the Inland Average Cup. He was highly rated by many premier Surrey fanciers and although he was mostly known as a sprint fancier, he chalked up 2^nd open SMT Combine Bergerac (455 miles) in 1979.

The Goodsell pigeons in the 1970’s were raced on the widowhood system and Terry said he liked to keep the widowhood cocks warm in the loft. The families raced then were Roosenbroeck and Janssen of Arendonk. When I visited the Goodsell lofts 1979 the birds looked really well, despite the moult which had just fallen on them. Terry was very keen on gardening and the lofts and garden were a real credit to him. His daughter, Vicky, was very keen on the pigeons and she trapped then on their return from training. She clocked a 3^rd Federation winner for Terry in the 1979 season. The Goodsell’s had two lofts, the old 16ft x 5ft widowhood racing loft and a new three section 24ft x 5ft loft which housed six pairs of stock birds, young birds and the widowhood hens. All trapping was through open doors and the loft fronts were closed in for warmth.

In those days, Terry was only really interested in the sprint races and paired his racers up the third week in February, with the West Croydon and Selhurst open races in mind. These opens took place before the Federation programme started and Terry sent eight birds to the Selhurst open (300 birds) in 1979 and recorded 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th,  8^th, 9th, 16^th, 22^nd  open and lifted £337. The Selhurst open winner was a yearling blue chequer cock named, ‘Capitol’, which had previously won three firsts. He handled medium long cast and was a Roosenbroeck / Janssen cross. The first pigeon in my hand on my 1979 visit was a seven year old blue chequer cock, ‘Mr. Nice Guy’, another cross, this time Roosenbroeck / Billy Shepherd. This long cast cock had won five times 1^st club, twice 1^st Federation and over £1,000, with his best performance being 3^rd open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) being beaten by a loft mate. ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ was the sire of blue chequer cock, ‘Terry’, the 2^nd open SMT Combine Bergerac winner in 1979. ‘Terry’ was a late bred in 1976 and was sent to Bergerac driving his hen to nest, as Terry let the widowhood cocks have their hens three weeks previous. This cock had a fantastic season in 1979 recording 2^nd Combine Bergerac and 4^th Combine Plymouth and had previously won 1^st club twice. ‘Wizard’ a yearling Roosenbroeck / Janssen blue chequer cock won 2^nd open SMT Combine Plymouth in 1979 and his sire, ‘Janssen’, won 1^st Surrey Federation Weymouth in 1979. Another ‘star’ of the Goodsell loft was the six year old Roosenbroeck blue cock, ‘Billy’, a brother to ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and ‘Capitol’. This handsome cock had won many major positions including 1^st club, 1^st Surrey Federation, 2^nd open SMT Combine (7,787 birds) Plymouth in 1977. The principal pigeon in the stock loft then was a four year old Janssen blue chequer hen named, ‘The Duchess’, and she was a tiny pigeon with a very light eye. This little hen had bred nine 1^st prize winners up to that time and was obtained direct from the Ponderosa.

Terry maintains that fanciers should be dedicated to their pigeons 52 weeks a year and not just in the racing season. He didn’t like deep litter as it affected his breathing, but said it’s a good idea if kept dry. Terry scrapes the widowhood loft out every day and is a believer in the old adage that prevention is better than cure. The birds are regularly given preventatives against coccidiosis, worms and canker. The birds are kept 100% healthy at all times and are paired together in such a way to keep the family intact. He reckons selection should be severe at all times and the basket takes care of the rest. Terry mentioned one little trick with his widowhood system, which is throw in a handful of nesting straw about an hour before basketing to go for race marking, which he said, keys the birds up without over exciting them. He thinks there are many little tricks with racing widowhood, but the main one is not to let them get bored. Terry likes the young birds to be as tame as possible and spends a lot of time in the loft last thing at night, getting to know the birds and their temperament, which helps him to select his future widowers.

There you have it Terry Goodsell of Morden! Here we are all these years after my first loft visit and Terry is still racing in Morden, and winning the Federation positions out of turn. He must rate as one of the all-time great in the London area! I really enjoyed doing this one, Terry is a great worker for the sport and deserves all the praise he is given!

Terry and Sue Leonard have been premier pigeon racers in the Surrey area for many years, including winning the Three Borders Federation championship twice in recent seasons. They enjoyed another great year in 2023, winning many trophies, including R/U for the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ and premier positions in the Federation, including twice 1^st Federation. The Federation were at Wincanton with the young birds and Terry and Sue of the Ashridge club enjoy some great success by recording their second Federation winner of the season and taking the first five positions in the Wincanton Federation result. This was the partners first young bird race of the season, after have some bad luck on the build-up. Terry had his ‘A’ team first round youngsters in two crates in the garden and while he was in the house getting ready for work, they were attacked by a Fox. The Fox chewed two dowels out of the end of the crate and killed 12 of the 14 youngsters in it! He had to replace the killed birds with ‘B’ team later bred youngsters, which was a major setback for his racing preparation. Terry missed the first race and sent 16 babies to the Wincanton race, with the first three birds on the ETS being ‘B’ team youngsters. His Federation winner was the Ceulemans / Peter Van Der black pied cock, ‘Parkview Kayla’s Bro’ and he is half-brother to Terry’s good Federation winning hen, ‘Kayla’s Girl’. The second bird home, to win 2^nd Federation was the Ceulemans blue pied hen, ‘Parkview 34’. The Three Borders Federation were at Wincanton on the last weekend of April in 2023 for the second old bird race and members sent 855 birds, for what turned out to be fast race, being liberated  in a southerly wind. Terry and Sue were ‘knocking at the door’ on the previous weeks Federation result from Wincanton (1) recoding 4^th, 8^th, 9^th, 10^th and the partners hit the top spot on Wincanton (2) recording 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 12^th, 15^th Federation. The Wincanton Federation winner was a Ceulemans cross blue chequer hen from the best Frank and George Bristow bloodlines and she is now named, ‘Parkview Consistent’. This game hen has had other wins from in land race points.

Terry and Sue Leonard’s wonderful performances in the Three Borders Federation in the 2023 season were: (Old Bird) 3^rd, 8^th, 9^th.10^th Federation Wincanton, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 12^th, 15^th Federation Wincanton, 11^th, 14^th, 15^th Federation Honiton, 4^th, 7^th, 16^th Federation Okehampton, 22^nd Federation Yeovil, 4^th, 7^th, 8^th Federation Honiton, 4^th Federation Honiton, (Young Bird) 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Federation Wincanton, 1^st Ashridge club Yeovil, 7^th, 13^th Federation Newton Abbot. Brilliant pigeon racing!

The Three Borders Federation held it’s second to last old bird race of the season from Honiton on the 1^st July and the member enjoyed the fastest race of the season. Dom McCoy, the Federation convoyer, liberated the birds at 09.30hrs in to a strong west / north west wind situation and produced a wonderful race. Vic and Lou Emberson of the Banstead recorded their third Federation winner of the season for the Esher club by winning the race and recording 1^st, 5^th, 6^th, 10^th, 14^th, 16^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th Federation Honiton. Vic and Lou finish up the 2023 season being third for the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ with 41 points. Vic Emberson had pigeons as a child, but really started racing in 1988 at the Banstead lofts. His late uncle is, Fred Emberson, who has been an outstanding channel racer in the London area for many years and he was a great help in getting Vic started in the sport. The Emberson loft has won the Federation countless times through the years; including five times 1^st Three Borders Federation in the 2022 season and has recoded 1^st open National several times, including 1^st open NFC Fougeres (old hens) in 2004. Vic and his wife, Lou have won many major prizes in National racing in their years in the sport, but rated highly their performance in the 2005 season by recording 1^st open BICC Alencon National. Vic’s recent account of the Alencon race was; “On the day of the BICC Alencon race the wind was strong westerly and we were expecting the winner to be in the East Section. On arrival, the cock came out of the east, confirming our belief that the winner would be in that section, but what a pleasant surprise we had when we were informed we had the leading pigeon, which was named ‘Valiant Leader’. This cock was half-brother to our 2000: 1^st open Alliance of Specialist Clubs Millennium National race and car winner, ‘Alliance Leader’ and was also related to ‘Ellie’, our 2004 NFC Fougeres old hens winner”. A great family of winning pigeons!

That’s my lot for this week! Well done to the Ashridge club members and to Terry Goodsell of the Ashridge club on their wonderful success in the 2023 season! If you win and want a write up in this space, 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)